L'altra casa ai margini del bosco

I guessed the identity and motive of the killer in The Corruption of Chris Miller early on, but this didn't spoil my enjoyment of the movie as a whole, which is a trashy delight thanks to a wonderfully lurid story line, a few bloody set-pieces, and the presence of two very easy on the eye actresses: ex-child star Marisol as tasty temptress Chris (before watching I had assumed that Chris was a man, but how wrong was I?) and Jean Seberg as Ruth, Chris's sexy stepmother (which makes her a SMILF!).

Abandoned by her no good puppeteer husband, Ruth lives with Chris in her secluded country house. When she discovers a charming young drifter, Barney Webster, sheltering in her barn, Ruth initially threatens to call the police, but eventually takes the man into her home for breakfast, and into her bed for desserts soon after. When Barney sees Ruth's ravishing stepdaughter, he goes for the stepmom/stepdaughter combo, actively encouraged by Ruth, who wants to get back at her husband by corrupting his not-so-little girl. This volatile situation is heightened by some latent lesbian urges (Ruth's love for Chris runs a little deeper than she would care to admit), rivalry for Barney's affection, Chris's sudden bursts of stabbiness, and the fact that the ladies' house guest may be the psycho who has been carving up people in the surrounding area.

Opening with the messy murder of a woman by a man dressed as Charlie Chaplin, The Corruption of Chris Miller knows how to grab the viewer's attention, and with the introduction of the film's two lovely leading actresses, it's hard to say no to this sexually charged giallo-esque thriller, no matter how predictable the mystery is. The direction by Juan Antonio Bardem is reasonably stylish, with plenty of atmospheric rainy scenes (which terrify Chris, as we learn that she was raped in the shower when she was younger), and those well-orchestrated murders, which include the slaughter of an entire family by the sickle-wielding sicko, and the death of a major character from multiple stab wounds. Spanish censorship laws of the time prevent there from being too much in the way of nudity, but Marisol in her bikini is still reason enough to watch.

The Corruption of Chris Miller is often labelled as a Giallo; this is not really the case, although the film does feature some of the trademarks of the genre amongst its multilayered plot. I'd say it falls somewhere between a murder thriller and a psychological drama; and the two main plot lines represent both genres. The film reminded me a lot of René Clément's masterpiece Joy House in the way that the relationship between the three central characters works. The film begins with a grisly murder, committed by someone dressed as Charlie Chaplin. From there, we move on to a house inhabited by two women, a mother and a stepdaughter; who is scared of the rain as she was raped in the shower by a bodybuilder when she was a child. The mother later finds a drifter taking a nap in the barn, and after some convincing, agrees to take the stranger on to do odd jobs for them in return for free board. However, it's not long before the man's presence makes tensions rise among the mother and daughter; and the murders in town are continuing.

The film does not make murder its central plot line, and there's not a lot of blood either. The main plot is the relationship between the mother, stepdaughter and the mysterious drifter, and this takes up the majority of the film. The three way relationship is not disinteresting, although it has to be said that it's a bit long winded and spoiled by some less than brilliant performances. Chief among them is Barry Stokes; who is extremely wooden. Jean Seberg and Marisol so-star and are better, though none of the actors particularly impress. Director Juan Antonio Bardem does succeed, however, in creating a foreboding atmosphere; the countryside setting creates a feeling of isolation and this bodes well with the plot line. The film really does pick up in the final third and the ending is strong, as well as wrapping things up nicely. Overall, while this film is not a Giallo; it will certainly be of interest to Giallo fans and is well worth tracking down.

Having been left by their husband and father , a disturbed wife : Jean Seberg and deranged stepdaughter : Marisol hire a drifter handyman : Barry Stokes at their secluded state. While six brutal murders terrorize the town . As a series of killings committed by a psycho murderer starts horrifying the villagers and things go wrong . See it with rains it pours ... blood!. See it with someone you can hold onto!

A thrilling and suspenseful movie about a lurid subject matter concerning two women trapped alone in a locked house and along the way a psychopathic killer is on the loose . Dealing with the peculiar and complex relationships among three main characters played by the French Jean Seberg , the Spanish Marisol and British Barry Stokes . Interesting and twisted screenplay by Santiago Moncada, a prolific and prestigious writer who wrote several stories in all kinds of genres during the 60s, 70s and 80s . Stars Jean Seberg who provides a solid and sensitive acting as the unsettling abandoned wife and the ex- prodigy girl Marisol who is pretty well as the tramautized daughter long time ago suffered a terrible event, while Barry Stokes is nice as as the hunky and suspicious drifter . And a good support cast with some familiar Spanish faces, such as : Perla Cristal, Gerard Tichy , Mariano Vidal Molina , Gustavo Re, Goyo Lebrero, Rafael Luis Calvo and director Juan Antonio Bardem himself.

It contains an intriguing and frightening musical score by the prestigious composer Waldo de Los Ríos who soon after , unfourtunately , committed suicide . Atmospheric musical score by Juan Gelpi, though an adequate remastering being really necessary because of the film copy is washed-out. Being completely shot on location in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain. The picture was competently directed by Juan Antonio Bardem . This director was a good and notorious filmmaker , being his film debut : Esa pareja feliz 1951 co-directed by Luis Garcia Berlanga , after that , he made Cómicos 1953 about stage world , following an enjoyable comedy : Felices Pascuas 1954 . And eventually shooting his big hit : Muerte de un ciclista 1955 . And of course , his another big success : Calle Mayor with Betsy Blair. Some years later, he made this La Corrupcion de Chris Miller that has a rating 6.5/10. Better than average Gialli film. The flick will appeal to Jean Seberg and Marisol fans.

This early 70's mystery-thriller from Spain is a film that most genre fans have never heard of, let alone seen, and it's a shame.

A repressed woman living in the Spanish countryside must deal with her disturbed stepdaughter but their world is about to become more troubled when a sexy drifter wonders into their lives. Will he create a void between the two and furthermore does this charming stranger have anything to do with the local family that just got butchered by an elusive killer?

The Corruption of Chris Miller is one slippery thriller. Its wonderfully twisted plot always manages to catch the viewer off guard in every act with some truly surprising turns and revelations. Its one thoroughly well-written tale that's compelling from its sinister opening to its chilling final images. In addition the direction of Juan Antonio Bardem is stylishly done with some nice camera work and lovely filming locations. The lush music score is also a welcomed plus.

One of the biggest highlights here is the cast. Star Jean Seberg is great as the revengeful Ruth, as is Marisol as the lonely and traumatized Chris. The gorgeous Barry Stokes is probably the best of the cast though as his likable, mysterious, and just possibly dangerous character. The supporting cast is solid as well.

For those that take their thrillers seriously The Corruption of Chris Miller is a true lost gem. It has a touch of Hitchcock, a bit of Italian giallo, and even a foreshadowing of the slasher genre. In short it's a wild-card treat for genre fans. Obscure and difficult to find yes, but oh so worth being unearthed!

*** 1/2 out of ****

I hate mimes, so I found the start of this film more disturbing when a guy dressed as Charlie Chaplin murders a nagging woman in a house, then continues to act like the silent film actor afterwards while moving the body, before inexplicably unmasking and running off into the night. The stuff of nightmares indeed.

This killer is terrorizing the local countryside inhabited by neurotic girl Chris Miller, who gets really upset every time it rains, and her stepmother Ruth. Both seem to be waiting for Chris's dad to return home, and seemingly spend their days languishing around the place, arguing and what not. Chris especially seems to get really upset at night, having flashbacks to a ballet class (with a weightlifter nearby) and then stabbing the nearest object she can find. Ruth does her best to calm Chris, even if her methods seem a little too familiar...

One day, annoying hippy drifter Baz or whatever turns up, giving Ruth a full frontal in the barn and then generally trying to charm the pants of her...which works! Chris at first seems a little jealous of this set up, but then when Ruth actively encourages Baz to put the moves on Chris, things don't quite add up and not everyone is as innocent as they appear to be...but is one of them the murderer, who has just carved up five people in one house with a scythe?

For a film with three main characters and not a whole lot of side characters to last almost two hours is a bit of an endurance test. There's almost an hour between the first murder and the slaughter of the family, and in between there we get to see the tension between Chris and her stepmother, the hippy guy making eggs, playing acoustic guitar, and bedding Ruth, and find out exactly what happened to Chris's dad and why Ruth seems determined to 'corrupt' Chris. It even goes some way to explain why Ruth lives in a place where it rains so much even though Chris goes nuts every time it does. But come on... At least there's a few mental things that happen later to keep you awake, like a brutal knife murder and a corpse being found due to peas growing from the body and cracking tarmac (and if you've grown peas, you'll know the plants can barely stand up on their own, never mind cracking tarmac!). This is a bit of an obscure one, and for those with plenty of patience. Of course, the bad copy I watched didn't help, as it rendered quite a lot of the dark scenes unwatchable.