The Haunted House of Horror

England's Tigon films the people behind Witchfinder General produced this boring 1969 effort, an early slasher movie, and Michael Armstrong who directed the entertaining Witchfinder rip off Mark Of The Devil directed. In swinging London, a group of friends are attending Frankie Avalon's dull house party and decide to go to a haunted mansion to hold a seance instead. When one of their group is brutally murdered the others abandon his body and flee the scene knowing that one of them is the killer. Boris Karloff was originally supposed to play the detective investigating the goings but was too ill to appear, so Dennis Price took the role instead. Armstrong wanted Ian Ogilvy to play the lead role, but American backers AIP insisted that the part go to Frankie Avalon (who was nearly 30 at the time and under contract to them). There are a few decent shock sequences and a liberal flow of blood, but this supposedly haunted house is more likely to induce sleep than give you nightmares.

When I was about 10 years old me and my friend saw this on TV and the ending really freaked us out! We had never seen so much blood and gore on television before and it stunned us. Well, 30 years later I've finally seen this film again. I've been searching for it ever since. I didn't know the title but I never miss a horror film so I was bound to run into it again. It took 30 years! The film starts slowly with Frankie Avalon playing a rare serious role. The film has two very bloody scenes that you don't expect from an Avalon film during this time. The ending is strange and inconclusive. One of the things that I did enjoy are the real 60's London mod style of clothing. Very interesting to see the style during these times. But the film does have a fatal flaw. There just is to much talking and not enough time spent in the horror house. So after all these years the two bloody scenes still pack a wallop but its still a tedious film. A curio, though.

i really enjoyed this movie.

why?

because it is FUN to watch. movies don't have to be deeply meaningful or classy or poetic..

more important than all that is that it is fun to watch.

i don't mean comedy-funny, i mean a flow, a structure and a story that doesn't make you snooze. (maybe some actors that actually can act, but thats a dying breed)

this movie is entertaining and fun, sure the story is thin and the middle drags a little, but it really doesn't matter..

you got frankie avalon, a dark old house and some outrageous 6oties hairdos, what more can you want?

This film is available on disc in the UK from Anchor Bay as part of their Tigon box-set, along with 'The Beast in the cellar', 'Witchfinder General', 'Virgin Witch', and 'The Body Stealers'.

'Haunted House' was available on the late lamented Vampix video label in the early 1980's in the UK. That release was notable mostly for the dark, drabness of the print. It looks considerably improved here, with lustrous, bright colors and correct aspect ratio. The film itself is not up to much, but remains watchable for its late 60's period frills and a couple of effectively nasty murders.

What makes this incarnation of the film interesting is the director's commentary supplied as an audio extra. Michael Armstrong's career had unfortunate beginnings: He shot this flick, his first, when he was 24 and the experience was painful, with the film taken away from him and his original cut undone by studio re-writes and re-shoots. The following year he went to Germany to make 'Mark of the Devil' and suffered exactly the same fate. The financial success of both titles (especially 'Mark', which was a huge exploitation hit) was little consolation to the tyro film-maker and he vowed to stay away from movies until he was guaranteed complete creative control.

Armstrong here explains the changes made to his original concept in great detail, pointing out exactly which scenes he shot and how they would/should have fitted into his scheme of things. The film he wanted to make - 'The Dark' - certainly sounds pretty interesting the way he tells it, and the most frustrating thing about the whole episode is that it seemed to boil down to a personality clash between him and Louis 'Deke' Hayward, AIP'S man-in-London at the time.

Hayward tried to shoehorn Boris Karloff (who owed AIP one film as part of a contract) into the plot at various junctures, a ploy which Armstrong vigorously resisted, resulting in a war of wills that Hayward was destined to win. Hayward went on to extensively re-write the script, inserting Dennis Price as a policeman and George Sewell as a lurking spurned suitor, and employed a technician called Gerry Levy to shoot the necessary patch-up sequences. It's fascinating to watch the film whilst Armstrong indicates continuity errors in the insert sequences and identifies the various loose ends that commemorate the residue of his original script.

Its no surprise, then, that 'The Haunted House of Horror' is a bit of a mess. Its perhaps remarkable that it plays as well as it does. But I recommend this release for the commentary, yet another that uncovers machinations and interference undreamed of by the casual viewer. As an education in the unseen political wranglings of film-making it is most enlightening.

The Haunted House of Horror is one of those time capsule movies that was probably out of date before they finished editing it.

I first saw it when I was 4 or 5 years old, It was one of the first colour horror movies that I remember seeing. Now 35 years later I can now give it a review. Lets put it this way, Haunted House of Horror is not a good film. But that doesn't mean its not interesting. The story concerns a bunch of young groovy British teenagers lead by the not so young, not so groovy, American Frankie Avalon. Anyway after a party they decide to go to the so called haunted house for kicks? After exploring the house for a bit, One of the teens is brutally murdered. Anyway, after lots of hysterical screaming, mainly by the females of the group. The group lead by Mr Avalon decide to hide there murdered friends body and leave the house.

Why would they do this. Well.. Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway after a few plot contrivances and another bloody murder the teens decide to go back to the house, where guess what.. More Murders. As you can probably tell Haunted house of horror is a bit lame. The direction by Michael Armstrong is very amateurish. The plot and Script are also pretty dire even the music is really rubbish.

The acting is mostly OK. When I say mostly I mean there is one terrible performance in there. ( Its very noticeable). So what, may you ask makes Haunted House of Horror so interesting. Well.. All these wrongs make this little film quite unique and strangely watch-able. It has child like quality that strangely reminded me of Scooby Doo. Like Fred in the cartoon, Frankie Avalon is the leader of the gang, Directing everyone what to do. I should also say that he is the only American in the movie. Actually he's quite good in it. I should also mention the Lovely Jill Haworth and her mini skirts. This is also another plus for the movie. At worst Haunted House of Horror can be seen as a bit of a Spring time for Hitler. "So bad its good. At best it can be seen as true British cult horror. I'd just call it harmless fun.