Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Revenge In The House Of Usher; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.00
Direction: 0.75
Pace: 0.25
Acting: 0.75
Enjoyment: 0.75
TOTAL: 3.50 out of 10
Oh dear, what happened to Jesus Franco? After watching his version of Dracula, which I didn't mind, I thought I'd keep an eye on this director. However, had I viewed any of his subsequent films first, I would never have watched Dracula. It would appear Franco plummeted after old fang face. Though Revenge shows a glimmer of hope in its direction, the story is atrocious.
However, its awfulness isn't too surprising. Not when you consider the three rewrites it required to get international distribution. Three revisions and three movies. Why not forget the project after being laughed at and booed out of the festival and revisit it later? I don't mind the premise for the final story. The trouble is that Franco tries to cobble it together with the original tale, making it problematic. It would have been better to start afresh with a new script. He then shoots the new scenes and patches them into the previous work to create a new monster. Yep. Franco is Frankenstein, but his creation isn't as entertaining as Victor's.
That said, I did see a glimmer of hope in Franco's filming. Some segments are pretty decent. He utilises shadows and light to create an uneasy atmosphere. There are some diverse camera angles to add interest to the scenes. Sadly though, he doesn't get the best from his cast. And they often let him down, as does the flow of the picture. It's okay for a set to be lit and filmed perfectly, but if the sequence drags on too long or the performers don't bring their characters to life, the segment starts to fail. And there are too many of these in Revenge. One of the worst and best things with Revenge is Dr Orloff. Franco takes a large portion of the black and white Dr Orloff flick to use as a backstory to his character of Eric Usher. The good thing is that both films' lead character is portrayed by Howard Vernon. The terrible thing is also Howerd Vernon playing both characters. In the old B&W clips, Vernon is a much stronger actor. He comes across with panache and flair. In Revenge, it's a different story. He looks bored and comes across as tired, for the most part. The lack of umph is a hindrance to the film. It adds to the picture's lacklustre feel and dullness. It's a shame as he appeared to be a talented actor.
In fact, a few of the cast members suffer from the same malediction. The worst is the second lead, Antonio Mayans, as Alan Harker. Franco could have saved money by substituting Mayans for a cardboard cut-out - It would have possessed the same emotional range.
Revenge in the right hands and with the right performers could have been good. Sadly, the hands belonged to Jesus Franco and his regular cast of actors and actresses. Therefore, unless you're a die-hard Franco fan, I suggest you beat a clear path away from this House Of Usher.
Please feel free to visit my Killer Thriller Chillers and Absolute Horror lists to see where I ranked Revenge In The House Of Usher.
Take Care & Stay Well.
