Let's Kill Uncle

William Castle perhaps wasn't the greatest horror director in history, but he remains - and deservedly so - a favorite of many fans who don't take themselves, nor the genre, too serious. Castle is most legendary for his gimmick-featuring semi-classics, like "The Tingler" and "House on Haunted Hill", but he also made a variety of lesser-known films, like the child-friendly, but certainly not too childish, "Let's Kill Uncle".

When a millionaire (cameo by Castle himself) dies in a vicious car crash, his only son is escorted by a police officer to go and live on the island mansion of his uncle Kevin Harrison; - his only living relative and a former war-hero. The arrogant kid, Barnaby, and the police officer arrive on the island first, and make friends with a woman and her niece. When uncle Kevin finally arrives, he makes it abundantly clear to Barnaby straight away that he intends to kill him, because he's broke and needs to inherit the complete fortune of his brother. Since the adults don't believe him, Barnaby teams up with the little niece and decide it's best to kill the uncle before he kills them.

The goofy but effective premise only kicks in gear when Nigel Green (as uncle) arrives on the island in his plan, and for some strange reason this takes more than half an hour. The start is thus slow, but Green compensates for this tremendously with a fantastically over-the-top performance. The death traps are also very ingenious with a shark in the hotel pool, tarantulas, and a walk towards the edge of cliff while hypnotized. The ending is a bit of a downer, but by then the film already earned a place in your heart.

"Let's Kill Uncle!" is an enjoyable black comedy, though a little too soft at the end. Its strongest point is the genuine, natural relationship between Barnaby and Chrissie; both look and act like real (early) teens, smart and resourceful but not "Disneyfied", and both young actors are bright and talented. **1/2 out of 4.

Great energy created through well constructed juxtaposition gets this film revved up from the get-go. A car crash is followed by children nearly fist-fighting... then cross-cutting to sharks feeding. Castle uses some good depth of field on the ship creating a sense of transportation (restlessness is a key theme in the film). The staging/blocking is sound creating a sense for the relationships of the characters and their motivation. The direction is attuned for spectator identification and Castle's spooks have heightened effectiveness as a result. The dialogue has an honesty and naturalism reminiscent of Castle's The Americano. Then the titular uncle arrives and good acting all around keeps the film engaging and entertaining. The plot contrivances have to be overlooked simply for the fact that Let's Kill Uncle is a William Castle film! This is one of his better "screwball horror" films which followed his gimmick horror films.

Orphaned, imaginative youngster (Pat Cardi), living on an isolated (some say haunted!) island with his uncle (Nigel Green), learns that his bug-eyed relative wants him dispatched permanently in order to cash in on the lad's $5M inheritance. The boy then involves his bickering playmate (Mary Badham) in turning the tables on the nefarious grown-up, who seems to take delight in this deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Screenwriter Mark Rodgers, working from a novel by Rohan O'Grady, and Castle appear to be targeting the family audience with this thriller. Much like their goal, the film is curious and intriguing without being truly provocative. The kids plot to poison Uncle with mushrooms but are somehow thwarted, while Uncle--armed with a can of gasoline--attempts to set the two on fire (but how would he explain their deaths to the authorities?). You absolutely cannot look for logic in a Castle screamer, but imagine how good--if not great--his films might have been with a little smarts! *1/2 from ****

Though it starts off somewhat slowly, things instantly pick up when Nigel Green enters the scene. He is a hoot as the coniving uncle, and his various activities (like practicing judo in the house) and dialogue are hilarious (the breakfast conversation with his nephew is the best such scene. I would say the movie gets better as it goes along, getting more twisted with its black comedy. However, the final minute of the movie is a real disappointment. It's as if the screenwriter was running out of time to submit the script to the studio, and wrote in an ending both strange and feeling unfinished.

It's still worth a look - if you can find it. It seems that Universal has withdrawn the movie for some reason, and currently the only way to watch the movie is through bootlegs. Perhaps the current owners of the studio are uncomfortable with the whole uncle-trying-to-kill-nephew/nephew-trying-to-kill-uncle thing, even though all this is never presented in a serious manner. Let's hope they eventually find a sense of humor.