The House in Nightmare Park

Struggling 'master of the spoken word' Foster Twelvetrees (Frankie Howerd) is hired to give a performance at the spooky stately home of the Henderson family, unaware that he is also a Henderson and heir to both the estate and the vast fortune of diamonds that lies hidden within. But will he live long enough to find out about his inheritance?

"Titter ye not!", as Frankie Howerd would say, and there's pretty good chance that you won't, even if you were raised on a steady diet of '70s British comedy and Carry On films. I'm a big fan of Howerd's droll humour and sly innuendo, but the succession of stale gags on offer in The House in Nightmare Park did little to make me chuckle.

I'm not saying that the film isn't enjoyable -- as a fan of the 'old dark house' format, I appreciated the creepiness, murder and mayhem -- but while this spoof of all things that go bump in the dark is fun, it isn't all that funny. Howerd does his best, but the material just isn't up to standard, meaning that those who tuned in for 90 minutes of side splitting double-entendres and general bawdiness will leave feeling rather disappointed.

Director Peter Sykes (whose previous film was the lacklustre Hammer thriller Demons of the Mind) conjures up some genuinely creepy moments - the homicidal old lady in the attic, the macabre Dance of the Dolls performed by the Hendersons, and the exploration of the snake house are actually superb - which makes one wonder whether this film would have worked much better if it had been played for real scares rather than for laughs.

N.B.: A lingering shot of a chandelier suggests that the crystals are actually the missing diamonds. They're not.

N.B. again: The marvellously gothic titular house is actually The Oakley Court in Berkshire, England (now a hotel), as seen in several Hammer horror movies and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Well worth a gander if you're ever in the area.

I have seen this film, or movie if you prefer, on a couple of occasions and found it very entertaining.

Critics of the film have over the years said it would have been so much better with Bob Hope in the lead role, but this is surely the kind of role that Hope, albeit very effectively, played to excess through his career? so its nice to see another actor have a stab at a 'Hope-esque' role.

Howerd breezes through the film delivering his lines with a 'poker' face, as only he could, and seems to be rather enjoying the experience. I would say that this is one of his more engaging performances.

Some scenes are superbly weird, especially the family's 'living marionette' act, at the end of which Howerd asks in his memorable diction "I wonder what they do for an encore?"

Watching this film is a very passable way of spending a couple of hours!

This has become a bit of a cult film for our family. Two branches meet and we have to watch house on nightmare park. Yes the humour is crass, but we love it. We know the one liners and get a kick out of being the first to say them, ' I was only showing her my little Nell', ' you filthy swine' etc. Excellent British non pic humour.

I've seen some crazy films with absurdly far-fetched storylines in my days, but I can safely state that "The House in Nightmare Park" has one of the most bonkers and wickedly convoluted scripts I ever beheld. Well, actually, I'm not sure there even was a script! It looks as if the film may be adapted from a stage play but, I swear, it often feels as if the plot simply got improvised as they went along! Don't get me wrong, though, it's a hugely entertaining and immensely creative hybrid between whodunit-mystery, comedy and horror, but it's practically impossible to write a half-decent synopsis! The titular house is the gathering place for four siblings that are awaiting the death of their oldest brother Victor and greedily look forward to the inheritance. The patriarch Stewart (the fantastic and versatile Ray Milland) hired the clumsy but good-hearted stage actor Foster Twelvetrees; - supposedly to provide some distracting amusement during the evenings, but it's quite evident that Twelvetrees got lured to the house for other and much more macabre reasons! Absolutely nothing or nobody in this house is even remotely normal. The silent and grumpy sister nurtures an impressive collection of killer snakes in the basement, the entire family performs in genuinely spooky dance/sing-along acts and their hatchet-wielding old hag of a mother is locked away in the highest attic! The gags and comical aspects nearly don't always work, but when they do "The House in Nightmare Park" is downright laugh-out-loud funny. I'm personally not very familiar with lead actor Frankie Howerd, who resembles Albert Finney but with goofier grimaces, but he's good and carries the film rather well. The patience of horror fanatics is tested for quite long, but when the first murder occurs the rest quickly follows. The biggest trump of "The House of Nightmare Park" is definitely its originality. The plot is full of surprising and ingenious twists, like the final one, for example! The ending is truly one of the most mischievously joyful ones I've ever seen.

First off this is the only review I've ever posted for a film, so that must say something about how strongly I feel for this one in particular, it really is a good film and I assure you is most enjoyable, you will not regret watching it.

Secondly I would like to Pooh-Pooh The_Void from Beverley Hills, England's review (see above or below or wherever it is located) what utter tosh! this film is remarkable, a great cast, great atmosphere, engaging story of horror and in-family skulduggery, I don't know what film you were watching mate but to be honest you say that the jokes fell flat and blah, blah, blah but you then put your very own handle as "The_Void from Beverley Hills, England" is that supposed to be some sort of "funny" joke? Well, if that's the extent of your humour, no wonder you didn't enjoy this flick.

This is a very rare film and if you get the chance to catch it I'd seriously recommend it.