House of Mortal Sin

The charming story of a priest.....who murders people! Meet Father Xavier Meldrum from the Church of the Sacred Heart. He uses religious means to bump off his enemies such as a poisoned wafer, incense burner and rosary beads. Splendid performance by Anthony Sharp (remember him as the government minister in A Clockwork Orange?) as the obsessed vicar and a good turn by Pete Walker regular Sheila Keith as a one eyed housekeeper. A well done musical score by Stanley Myers is also featured. Remember this movie the next time you go to confession!

A very fine Walker effort. Not really a horror film nor a giallo but very British. Must have upset as many as it pleased upon release with it's uncompromising attack upon the Church in general and the Catholic Church in particular. Excellent central performances and it is these performances that helps the film over the odd script shortcomings. Not for the easily offended but for everyone else quite a treat and who is to say accusations of wrong doings by priests and cover ups by other self righteous members of society is so far fetched? Begins well and although gets a bit lost halfway through, there is a full powered body strewn build up to a surprising ending.

The church is corrupt, that's what director Walker seems to be saying in a rather clumsy way with this exploitation effort. Elements of "Psycho" are mixed uneasily with "Rosemary's baby", about a mad priest who tapes his confessional sessions and keeps his bedridden mother in the attic. There is extortion, murder (by religious symbols like a rosary and an incense-burner) and an accomplice with a disfigured face (eye-patch and all!). Some scenes, ie the ones with the bedridden mother, border on the tasteless, but I somehow think that that was the point. Surprisingly good performances from a largely unknown cast, with Sheila Keith as a standout in a (too) minor role. Boy, can she give a murderous glance! It's not a stunning tour-de-force like "Frighmare" by the same director, but still manage to pack a punch or two, despite some dreary bits (most of them involving the hero-priest who is too goody-goody to be interesting). For those who is familiar with Pete Walker and his movies, the ending will come as no surprise, but to others it will be shocking/frustrating in about equal measures.

Disappointing Pete Walker film which flirts with a variety of good ideas but manages to fumble all of them.

Story has vulnerable young woman (Penhaligon) going to Confession, where she is harassed by the priest whose fatherly concerns have a sinister element. He turns out to be a crazed killer, stemming from his mother (yawn!!) who still lives with him in a semi-vegetable state.

Plot goes into a poor-mans 'Rosemary's Baby' scenario, Penhaligon unable to convince anyone of the truth, with the Priest above suspicion because of his position.

Film labours its point that religious restrictions have fashioned Father Meldrum into a killer, while the younger Priest who tries to help is too wet for the audience to respond to. All this leaves Stephanie Beacham as the best thing here. At least the film doesn't cop-out at the end, but by then we are past caring. A film students favourite, but more interesting to study than to watch.

Tense, horrible, and funny at the same time, made without frills, for both practical and aesthetic reasons, this is my favorite of Pete Walker's trilogy because it is the strongest-centered, in the characters of the priest and his main victim (the actors have a lot to do with this). It's a study in how to generate suspense with a minimum of resources. Rather than a would-be giallo, I'd identify it as an updating of 19th-century melodrama. The director plainly worked best on minuscule budgets, using them to maximum effect, but he couldn't entirely disguise their restrictions (e.g., where is everybody? don't these people ever go anywhere?).