Le manoir de la peur

Pete Walker's "House Of The Long Shadows" of 1983 may be an extremely silly and partly even ridiculous movie, all right, but it is still an absolute must-see for any serious lover of horror, and even for any serious film fan, as it features FOUR of the greatest Horror icons in the history of motion pictures, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and John Carradine in one movie. This unique cast alone makes this movie essential, regardless of the ridiculous storyline.

Young American author Kenneth Magee (Desi Arnaz Jr.) makes a ridiculous bet with his English publisher that he can write a novel as great as Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" within 24 hours. His publisher therefore sends him to a Welsh manor, where Kenneth is supposed to have the necessary quietude to work effectively. Soon after his arrival, however, some strange guests show up, amongst them some of our favorite Horror icons...

Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee AND John Carradine - A movie with this cast is, once again, absolutely essential for any fan of Horror. These four legendary actors clearly had a lot of fun shooting this over-all silly movie together, especially Price plays his role very humorously and seems to enjoy it a lot. Apart from the four Horror legends, the movie has little to offer. Desi Arnaz Jr. delivers a dreadful performance, and Julie Peasgood is not exactly a very good actress either. The story and its many twists are quite ridiculous. There were some points in the movie when I actually started to like the story, but these moments are quickly destroyed by silly twists again. If it wasn't for this movie's stars, the film would, if for anything, be remembered for its silly premise, but Price, Cushing, Lee and Carradine make this an absolute must-see!

An over-all silly film with a ridiculous storyline, "House Of The Long Shadows" is made a real joy by the four great Horror legends. A film that unites Price, Cushing, Lee and Carradine is a must-see for every Horror fan and serious lover of cinema!

This is the only film I can think of that has all four horror greats in the same film at the same time and in the same scenes. Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and John Carradine are the big four, and their presence alone makes seeing this film a must. I don't think any other film had three of these men in the same film, same time, and same scenes(Scream and Scream Again has Lee, Cushing, and Price, but Cushing does not share screen time with either Lee or Price). The men are all still great to see and brought a flood of nostalgia to me as they made their entrances into the film. The film, however, is weak, and there really is no denying that. I like the film because of the four boogeymen, but cannot say in good faith that it is a good film. It is not. The story concerns an author having a bet with his publisher to stay in a creepy place and produce a book in one evening for twenty thousand dollars. It is a very worn plot, and to make matters worse, the scriptwriter butchers his way through the script trying to squeeze out anything that might have been thoughtful and original. The male lead is none other that that master thespian Desi Arnaz Jr. I know hearing his name makes you tingle with anticipation, but this man has no clue how to perform. Plainly put, he is awful, and painful to watch as he delivers hackneyed dialogue with a smug manner. He certainly canot hold his own with the reverent cast or even female character actress Shelia Keith who really shines in her small role. Some of the dialogue is funny, some serious, but there are only four reasons to watch this film: Price, Cushing, Lee, and Carradine. They put in this film what little life this film has. Of the four, watch for Vincent Price playing ever the ham! He is superb.

Well yeah, in all honesty, "House of the Long Shadows" is an extremely disappointing and weak film, but I'm convinced that there isn't a single (real) horror fan out there that can bring him/herself to spread an entirely destructive criticism about this unique feature. After all, it is the only movie that ever managed to assemble no less than four of the most legendary genre icons and even show them in the same scenes! Something that stars Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine all at once is simply fundamental viewing for horror fans, whether or not the storyline is any good. The plot is a re-working of the famous 'Seven Keys to Baldpate'-novel and introduces Ken Magee as a rather cocky writer who bets his publisher 20.000 Dollars that he can complete a successful novel in the likes of Wuthering Heights in a short period of only 24 hours. To have the required isolation for writing, his publisher gives him the key to an old deserted mansion in Wales. Instead of finding peace and quiet there, the writer is subsequently interrupted by his publisher's attractive secretary and four uncanny members of the Grisbane family that reunite in the house to release their mad youngest brother after an imprisonment of forty years. Writing a novel is completely out of the question when it turns out Roderick Grisbane escaped from his room and started a new killing spree around the house. "House of the Long Shadows" is a heavily flawed and clichéd film that would have been long (and righteously) forgotten by now if it weren't for the top notch cast listing. First and foremost, the film got released at least a decade too late. The early 1980's were an era dominated by raw and blood-soaked slasher movies and an old-fashioned haunted-house chiller simply couldn't fascinate the audiences any longer. Then it also takes far too long before something interesting happens. The story is over halfway by the time all four horror legends are fully introduced and it takes another twenty minutes before anything even mildly horrific occurs. Then there suddenly are too many childish and overly implausible plot-twists going on in the last sequences, resulting in a totally unsatisfying climax. The tone and themes of the film, as well as the murder-scenes, are regretfully tame. It's actually hard to believe that Pete Walker directed this film! He was the British exploitation master during the 70's and made shocking movies about murderous priests ("House of Mortal Sin"), cannibalistic grannies ("Frightmare") and barbaric women prisons ("House of Whipcord"). "The House of Long Shadows" doesn't feature one single shock and hardly any suspense moments, apart from Christopher Lee's gruff facial expressions. It certainly isn't the masterwork I secretly hoped it to be, but if I could make one wish, it would be going back in time and pay a visit to the film set.

Everyone probably figured that Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing would have to all co-star in a movie, but who ever would have guessed that Desi Arnaz Jr would also co-star? Far removed from his parents' famous roles, Arnaz plays Kenneth Magee, an American author who goes to an old Welsh estate to write a novel. He is supposed to have no disturbances, but Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and John Carradine arrive to release their brother who has been locked in his room for forty years, and Christopher Lee arrives to claim ownership of the mansion. Naturally, things don't go as everyone expects.

"House of the Long Shadows" doesn't have anything that we wouldn't anticipate in a movie about a dark old mansion, but it's got more twists and turns than a roller coaster. So, I recommend it, and I hope that they don't try to remake it.

Desi Arnaz Jr. Plays Kenneth Magee, an American writer who makes a best with his publisher, Sam Allyson (Richard Todd). His ego is great enough that he thinks that he can write something on the level of "Wuthering Heights" (which he doesn't hold in high regard) in 24 hours. At stake is $20,000 of his money. So Sam procures for him a Welsh manor named Baldpate where Kenneth can supposedly write in seclusion. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and Kenneth is interrupted all night long by a family looking to exorcise their old demons and a man looking to purchase the manor.

This effort by the cult filmmaker Pete Walker ("Frightmare", "House of Whipcord") is notable mostly for uniting four legendary horror actors: John Carradine, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee. "House of the Long Shadows" is a must see for their work, if nothing else. Walker and this fine cast does seem to have fun with the material, which was meant to be played with a sense of humor. Certainly some of the tropes of the genre are present and accounted for: the dark, stormy night, the locked room, the old family secret, etc. What this viewer appreciated most about the film was the old school atmosphere of a classic "Old Dark House" type of story, and for the fact that Walker and screenwriter Michael Armstrong so completely manipulate their audience.

While this viewer didn't dislike Arnaz Jr. As much as most people who've seen this, it's still probably better to say as little about his performance as possible. But don't see it for him. See it for Price (who rattles off the exposition in style), Lee, Carradine, Cushing (whose comic performance is simply wonderful), and Walker regular Sheila Keith (who plays Carradines' daughter).

Good fun for fans of the genre.

Seven out of 10.