La casa del terrore

Back in 1973 I had a Bell and Howell 16mm projector and used to hire films to show to family and others.

This film was one of them and I can remember it scaring people back then.

Yesterday I watched it again through a modern projector, as BBC 2 had shown it recently, and thought it was just as good now as back in 1973.

It benefits from being shot in black and white, the acting is very good from all the cast, and there are some scary moments, the swimming pool being an obvious one.

It is really good to see an old fashioned horror film with no over-the-top effects, just a genuinely chilling story, well worth waiting for it to be shown again as not sure if available on DVD or video.

Whenever I think of Hammer Horror, I think of bright colourful camp films; but Hammer also made a handful of black and white mysteries, and many of these stand up as some of their best films. Hysteria, Nightmare and Paranoiac are all very good films; but Seth Holt's Taste of Fear tops the lot! This suspenseful mystery draws the viewer in from the start and doesn't let go until the credits role. The film introduces the wheelchair bound character Penny Appleby; an amiable young girl who strives for independence in spite of her disability. The story picks up upon her return home to the French Riviera for the first time in ten years at the request of her father. Her nightmare starts when she begins seeing the corpse of her father at random places around the house and grounds of the place where she's staying. The friendly chauffeur Bob decides to help the girl get to the bottom of the mystery, but everything is turned upside down when it becomes obvious that nobody in the film is what they appear.

Initially, the film plays out like it's going to be quite predictable; and indeed, my prediction for what is going to happen actually does happen...but director Seth Holt doesn't show his hand too early, and there is a major twist at the end that I certainly didn't see coming. Director Seth Holt does a really good job with this film, as he gets good performances out of all his cast, the twists are well worked; and best of all, the atmosphere is scintillating! Holt continually imposes an oppressive air of foreboding over the film, and the creepy house provides a fantastic location for a film like this to take place. The film features a relatively small role for Hammer regular, Christopher Lee, who gets to don a silly accent while remaining mysterious. Lead actress Susan Strasberg is the pick of the cast, however, as aside from being stunning; she's not a bad actress either. The film works principally because it keeps the focus on the mystery, and this means that it retains its thriller intentions throughout. Overall, this might be a lesser known Hammer film; but it's not lesser in quality, and I wouldn't hesitate to name this as one of the best films the studio ever produced.

Any fan of Hitchcock(ian) suspense and/or horror should track down this film...you won't be disappointed. This is one film where the actors really seemed to love being in their perspective roles...this is full of unexpected thrills! unpredictable twists and turns...this one will keep you guessing and watching. Don't miss it!

Atmospheric Hammer thriller with great sets (including a deceptively deep pool!). It feels a little slow in the middle, as it covers familiar "Gaslight"-type territory, but the final stretch has several clever twists which are worth waiting for, and a killer ending (no pun intended). Susan Strasberg is very good in the lead; perhaps the movie's only mistake is Christopher Lee's French accent! *** out of 4.

This is quite possibly the best of the Hammer films, it's labeled as 'horror', but is more of a classic psychological thriller. The plot revolves around Susan Strasberg's visit to her father's estate after a decade of estrangement. Her physical condition (in a wheelchair, unable to walk after a horseback riding accident) and the recent death of her long time companion set her up to be the 'perfect victim'.

Her step mother, Ann Todd, and the family chauffeur Ronald Lewis are oh-so accommodating and thoughtful, explaining that her father is out of town. But, Strasberg starts to see dead dad popping up all over, while Todd, Lewis, and family doctor Christopher Lee try to persuade her she's just stressed and overly-imaginative. Is she crazy? Are they gas-lighting her? Although the viewer will remain suspicious, we are wisely kept in the dark as to motives (of all the characters..) until the final twist. The black and white photography is really well done -moody, shadowy - and is probably as important as the characters which is not the usual Hammer screamer in intense shades of red.