THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD

Amicus Productions is famous for their horror anthologies, and The House That Dripped Blood is one of them. Four separate tales center around a mysterious house in the country, which has the power to reflect the personalities of the people who happen to be unfortunate enough to rent it.


foreign release poster

Method For Murder is the first tale to arrive on the chopping block, and I must say that I find it to be the weakest story. Charles Hillyer (Denholm Elliot) is a horror author with a mighty case of writer's block who moves into the house with his reluctant wife Alice (Joanna Dunham). This roadblock disappears when he creates a character named Dominic, who then proceeds to come to life and terrorizes him. It is very easy to predict the main plot twist when Hillyer starts telling his wife that he is actually seeing Dominic. It's a shame because I really enjoy Elliot's performance and the earnestness that he brings to the roll. It's a basic plot that was executed before this was made, and has been done many times since. There is a special little twist at the end, but that doesn't make up for the predictability of the tale as a whole.


The next one up is Waxworks, and it is about a widower by the name of Phillip Grayson (Peter Cushing) who inhabits the house by himself. Still distraught over the death of his wife, he visits a wax museum and discovers that the waxen image of Salome looks just like his beloved. With the help of a deranged museum owner and an obsessed friend, Grayson is made lonely no more. This is the most tragic segment of the movie because Cushing plays Grayson with such a sad and lonely air that you can't help but feel his pain. The only part of this tale that I didn't understand was the connection between Grayson's wife and the museum owner. Do they have a past, or is it merely all a coincidence? The question is left for you to answer.


Peter Cushing

Sweets For The Sweet centers around John Reid (Christopher Lee) and his troubled daughter Jane (Chloe Franks), who move to the house in order to escape from society. Reid is afraid that the old adage 'like mother, like daughter' is going to come to fruition, and unfortunately for him nightmares can come true. The biggest thing that this segment has going for it is the fact that you are made to wonder what the hell is wrong with the sweet little girl. She's smart, polite, and well groomed so what is going on to make Reid panic so much about where she goes and who she sees? Unlike a lot of the current 'spooky evil kid' movies, the answer to what is really going on isn't obvious. I actually didn't figure it out until certain evidence was presented. This is a good solid entry and helps anchor the movie.


Lastly there is The Cloak. This is my favorite part of the movie and it is hysterical! Horror film icon, and self proclaimed supernatural expert, Paul Henderson ( John Pertwee) constantly complains about the lack of authenticity on current horror film productions while on a movie set with his co-star Carla Lynde (Ingrid Pitt). He acquires a cloak from a mysterious costume shop and then receives exactly what it is he wishes for. Both Pertwee and Pitt give very good comic performances and play up their roles to the hilt. Pitt should have made an effort to appear in more light hearted roles, such as this, because she really is a hoot as a comedic actress.


House's most iconic image

Robert Bloch wrote the majority of the film, and needless to say the man is a horror legend. That may be the case but he really missed the mark with Method For Murder. Maybe he was writing the segments with a mainstream audience in mind, but it seems very unsophisticated compared to a lot of his other work. On the other hand he shows off his comedic genius with The Cloak. This imbalance in the screenplay doesn't sit right with me. That is not to say that I don't enjoy the film, because I do, but instead of being a really great horror movie it is flawed. There are, however, some pleasant surprises such as a real estate broker named A.J. Stoker and a waxen effigy of a certain famous horror icon that just happens to appear in the film


The sets in the film look pretty good and I especially like the wax museum, because the shadows and waxen images really set the tone for the scenes that take place there. Why can't there be something spooky and eerie like that where I live? The director, Peter Duffell, does a competent job and some of the shots in The Cloak are creatively done.


The House That Dripped Blood is a flawed horror film but that doesn't mean that you should give it a pass. The acting is first rate and it is filled with some of the greatest horror icons that have ever lived.


3 1/2 out of 5 pints of blood


- Hammer Fangirl