The Fall of the House of Usher

I bought (for £22) a standard 8 sound copy of this film and showed it at a meeting of Group 9.5. We attempt to show films that are not normally shown on TV, so this was a rare opportunity for the members to see this British version. Graham Murray was at the show and told me why it doesn't appear on TV in the UK. He worked for Granada TV and was on the panel that rejected the film as being too poor to show on TV-but he bravely sat through the show that night. Despite the rather crude technical quality of the film,I liked it.

"Found Objects" are those things generally discarded or ignored that somehow possess an intrinsic artistry, and this "Quota Quickie" certainly qualifies. Dashed off in what looks like a couple of weekends on whatever locations were handy, with badly-synchonized sound and wretched acting of pointless dialogue, it nonetheless conveys a genuine creepiness I found oddly haunting. The photography reminds one of the French New Wave, which came along a decade later, with starkly realistic images contrasted with baroque set-ups and disorienting editing. The story -- as much as I could understand -- offers a nightmarish progression through some sort of curse, and a mockingly down-beat ending.

I watched this one night by myself after coming across it by chance. I thought I might as well give it a go and kill some time. I was actually quite impressed by the film. It wasn't some amazingly famous movie with an all-star cast. It was a small and fairly amateur film that won me over with its quiet but definitely present unease. It's ever-present darkness, both physically and mentally, sets the mood for a bleak and unsettling movie that uses visuals more than dialogue. It's an obscure and relatively unknown movie, but it's one of the best amateur thrillers I've ever seen.

The Fall of the House of Usher (1949)

** (out of 4)

This British version of the Edgar Allan Poe story has pretty much been forgotten over the years thanks to two very good versions from 1928 and of course the Roger Corman/Vincent Price film that was released after. This here features a cast of unknowns, most of them making their first and only film appearance. The story is the same that you're used to as a friend (Irving Steen) shows up at the house of Roderick Usher (Kay Tendeter) and gets caught up in a mystery. THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination but it's unique enough to where it can hold your attention throughout its short 70-minute running time. I think the biggest problem with the movie is the fact that director Ivan Barnett isn't able to create any sort of pacing and this becomes a problem. It really does seem like every scene is something onto its own and it was hard to really feel that the film ever really connected together. This is again due to the pacing, which is just all over the place. I will say that the director manages to create a pretty good atmosphere and the ending is actually extremely good. The performances are all a mixed bag but for the most part I thought they were just fine. If you've seen any other version of the story then it's doubtful this one here is going to blow you away. Still, it's a rather interesting movie and its forgotten status makes it even more curious.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER is a low budget British adaptation of the storyline that has been somewhat eclipsed by the lush and colourful Roger Corman/Vincent Price version of the tale. That's a shame, because this is an interesting little movie in its own right, a film where every penny of the budget has been put on screen.

The film has a disjointed, almost dream-like atmosphere to it which reminded me of the horror classic VAMPYR. The set design is absolutely wonderful and the film as a whole is packed with creepy and atmospheric locales which really add to the experience. Some aspects of the Poe tale have been altered, and the acting from the unknown cast members is nothing to get excited about, but the quality of the direction and script helps make up for these shortcomings. The addition of the hag character for a number of jump scares is a good one too, although the make-up job is a little crude by modern standards.