The House of the Living Dead

House of the Living Dead is about a family with a history of mental illness living on the Cape in South Africa. There is the mother and her two sons - Michael, the Master of the house and his brother Breck, the demented mad scientist. Breck, who is deformed and lives shut in a room at the top of the house, believes that the soul is an organic object that can be isolated and contained outside the body.

Michael's fiancé comes to marry him, but she's not welcomed at all by his mother. Strange things are going on at the plantation, including murder and some voodoo-like witchcraft being practiced by the natives.

At this point, the movie starts to drag. There are a couple of chase scenes and an eerie organ inside the house that seems to be playing on its own. When the local constable begins to investigate things, we begin to get a glimpse into what's really going on.

When watching this kind of movie, you hope there will be enough suspense to keep you riveted to the film. If you can't get that, you at least hope you'll get a good ending. I don't want to spoil things, so all I'll say is that this movie at least has a really exciting ending. However, the film leaves you with questions that were never answered and the viewer is left to wonder about certain things.

Overall, if this is a genre of movies that you enjoy, I'd say watch it. If the whole "suspense, mad scientist, witchcraft" thing isn't high on your list as to the kind of movies you like, you'll probably be disappointed.

Some people who have written reviews think the title of the movie is deceptive because it isn't a zombie movie. There is just cause for the title...if you're paying attention!

"An insane scientist has been experimenting with the transfer of souls between human beings. The crazed doctor has conducted his nefarious deeds upon even his own family members, including the exchange of his own soul into his brother's body. With his soul now inhabiting a new body, the madman believes he can continue his experiments uninterrupted," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

The title "House of the Living Dead" may be more an attempt to cash in on prior successful motion pictures than a reflection of what goes on in this movie. The story might have been above average, with the cast and crew involved; but, the execution is severely flawed. The lugubriously languid production picks up (slightly) in the last quarter. Leading man Mark Burns (as Michael and Breck) tries awfully hard; he maintains an long screaming scene remarkably well. Shirley Anne Field is a welcome attraction. But, the movie doesn't work.

While the title isn't strictly a misnomer as some reviewers have remarked, it remains misleading - this isn't a zombie movie per se but concerns a wealthy scientist, demented following a brain injury caused by a fall from an apparently primeval steed, conducting experiments on creatures in an attempt to capture their soul and transplant it into other beings. His aristocratic family run a farm in South Africa where the other son (Burns) is set to marry his English lass (Field), much to the chagrin of his fiercely protective mother (Inglis). A series of strange murders and rituals force Field to re-consider her commitment, as the enigma of the demented brother (locked away in the upper floor of the family mansion), becomes too much for her to ignore.

It's pure tripe wasting Field's considerable talents, and those of supporting actor Oxley as a concerned doctor whom Field befriends on the journey from England. Initially an affable character, Burns quickly becomes an arrogant aristocrat and borderline Oedipus complex to mother Inglis, who plays the family matriarch with all the usual pomp you'd expect. It's a relatively small cast lacking depth and familiarity beyond the three leads (Burns, Field and Oxley).

While the twist ending might leave some surprised, the revelations are lost potential, poorly executed and lacking suspense or thrills. Austin's movie relies on old-fashioned motifs like the club footed nut jobs who only come out at night and play the pipe organ, witch-doctors proffering sinister incantations that no one believes and chemical experiments that involve dozens of test tubes filled with colourful, smoky potions that make monkeys go berserk. Worse than dull, it promises a great revelation, then fails to deliver.

I got this film in a twelve pack of films that are zombie themed. This one should not have been included as there is nothing about this film that is zombie oriented. It is more mystery, but that is not very true either as it is not very difficult to see where this film is going if one has seen more than a couple of horror films during their lifetime. It was somewhat interesting at first though as I was wondering what was going to be happening as I still held out hope there would be zombies or something within the film. Not so late in the film, though, it became apparently clear how it would end so I spent a good portion of the film continually looking at the clock counter on the DVD player hoping it would hurry up and finish. Suffice to say, it was worth one look so I could properly review, but not a film I would ever care to pop in the player again during my lifetime.

The story has a plantation in Africa experiencing some problems. It is occupied by a mother and her two sons. One of the sons seems to be experimenting on animals while the other tries to keep the plantation together as a couple of people end up dead. This brother also has a fiancé coming in from London and his mother does not approve at all. More strange things happens as the film races to its somewhat bizarre, but thoroughly predictable ending.

The movie was just dull, as I said it started out interestingly enough as a man works on a monkey, but then there are just a lot of dead scenes that really add nothing to the plot. As the movie progresses it becomes less and less interesting as it is so obvious what is going on so all you are waiting for at this point is the ending to pop up. Thankfully, it did finally come on screen and I was more than happy to eject it and put it away. That being said, it is not terrible as the acting is decent, just to dull and predictable a story for my tastes.

Right off the bat, I previously had no idea that South Africa made any horror films, so, simply in that, I learned something.

Over a long career (1968-99), this was one of only three cinematic works that director Austin made (all in the early 70's)--usually he did TV work--and in fact, production value-wise, it seemed like made-for-TV fare. Basically a vineyard/plantation with black, witchcraft-practicing slaves, and the owner harbouring a dark secret: A genius twin brother, who was discredited in the medical community to begin with, and then, since an almost-fatal brain injury suffered in an accident a year ago, basically insane and confined to the mansion's attic.

It was decently made and, as late-night fare, perfectly acceptable. It could have been made a lot better in more capable hands. The underlying ideas were very interesting, though only decently carried out, and the climax was completely predictable, though no less enjoyable. I got my copy very cheaply, in Mill Creek's 50-pack 'Nightmare Worlds', and it's watchable, no better, no less.