1960s British Horror Part Fourteen

HOUSE OF MYSTERY

(1961)

Dir - Vernon Sewell

Overall: MEH

 

British writer/director Venon Sewell filmed Pierre Mills and Celia de Vilyars' French play L'Angoisse four times throughout his career, House of Mystery, (Das Landhaus des Dr. Lemmin), being the final such adaptation and one that was later presented on the American anthology series Kraft Mystery Theater.  Told as a flashback within a flashback that bounces between three different timelines, the structure is clunky, though there are some interesting ideas at play.  A combination of murder mystery, infidelity drama, and ghost story with some scientific experiments thrown in as well, the under an hour running time does not lend itself to expanding on anything going on.  While this gives it a rushed feel coupled with the shifting chronology, it is also incredibly talky and difficult to pay attention to due to a severe lack of action.  That said, the finale almost makes up for the lumbering bulk of the movie as it introduces a clever comeuppance scheme and an effective, spooky twist to go out on.  Said twist might be predictable and the sly, pseudoscience maneuver at the end by Peter Dyneley may seem silly, but they still provide refreshing components to an otherwise stock production. 

 

THE SKULL

(1965)

Dir - Freddie Francis

Overall: GOOD

 

Amicus Productions' second horror film and also the second to be directed by Freddie Francis, The Skull also serves as the company's first collaboration with screenwriter Robert Bloch.  The Psycho author's short story "The Skull of the Marquis de Sade" was reworked by Amicus co-founder and producer Milton Subotsky as well as Francis himself; such script noodling being a frequent practice at the time.  Low on dialog, (at least during the final act), loud on music, and drenched in creepy atmosphere, the simple narrative is given an effective treatment where several unfortunate blokes including Peter Cushing are all supernaturally terrorized by Marquis de Sade's skull.  Though a highly sensationalized explanation is given as do who de Sade was, wisely the fantastical elements are never fleshed-out which gives way to several bizarre, tense set pieces that have no logical footing.  The best and longest of these is the roughly twenty-five minute finale where Francis and cinematographer John Wilcox really lean into the otherworldly mood, basking in Cushing's futile attempt to out-will the evil forces at play.  Christopher Lee, Patrick Magee, Nigel Green, Patrick Wymark, and Michael Gough round out the familiar British horror players, making this one of the better non-Hammer films with Cushing and Lee sharing a few scenes together.

THE FROZEN DEAD

(1966)

Dir - Herbert J. Leder

Overall: MEH

 

The first of two Hammer-style horror movies from writer/director/producer Herbert J. Leder, The Frozen Dead is notable as one of the early ones to combine Nazis with zombies, be it in an off-hand, sugar-coating manner.  It is viscerally uncomfortable to center the entire story on exiled Nazis in hiding who have spent the last two decades since the war ended clandestinely conducing experiments on frozen soldiers in order to eventually resurrect their political party for world domination.  Sans a few non-specific Holocaust references, all real life Nazi atrocities are noticeably omitted and things instead proceed in a bog-standard, campy, mad scientist route.  A severed, telekinetic-powered head being kept alive with wires, severed arms being kept alive with wires, soldiers that are either virtually mindless or frozen, one woman looking like a normal person when she puts on a mask to cover her scars, and various other silliness give it plenty of a tongue-in-cheek, B-movie charm.  That said, Leder's script is too wordy and padded, so the end result cannot overcome its stagnant pacing issues.  At least Dana Andrews doing a German accent is amusing though.

1960s British Horror Part Thirteen

BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING

(1965)

Dir - Otto Preminger

Overall: GOOD

A psychological thriller adaptation of the novel of the same name by Merriam Modell, Bunny Lake is Missing is loaded with details and unveiled with painstaking patience by director Otto Preminger, even if Preminger himself basically dismissed it as insufficient fluff.  In typical murder, (or in this case, kidnapping), mysteries, red herrings are a vital component and each suspect that we meet here is given both credible excuses to be innocent as well as questionable eccentricities or shadiness to be guilty of at least something unwholesome.  Martina Hunt as an isolated old lady listening to tape recordings of children's nightmares, Noël Coward prattling on about his "melodious voice" that women find irresistible as he is aggressively harassing Carol Lynley's understandably troubled mother whose daughter has gone missing, and of course her brother played by Keir Dullea who seems up to no good long before such things are blatantly confirmed.  As the diligent, quick-witted police inspector, Laurence Olivier is in typically fine form as he pursues sly, intimate tactics to cross every T and dot ever I in his investigation.  Preminger utilizes long, elaborate takes to keep the viewer on edge, soaking in disturbing and somber specifics, particularly so during the final act.

 

THE DEADLY BEES

(1966)

Dir - Freddie Francis

Overall: MEH

A dopey nature horror work from Amicus Productions, The Deadly Bees crumbles under its lazy special effects and talky, uninteresting script.  Robert Bloch's initial screenplay had both Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff in mind, the latter reprising his role from a 1955 television episode of The Elgin Hour called "Sting of Death" which was based off of Gerald Heard's same novel A Taste for Honey.  Both Lee and Karloff were unavailable, (i.e. too expensive), so Bloch's treatment was reworked by Anthony Marriott and director Francis and the results have one or two familiar British horror faces, but no scene-stealing star power to carry the drab material through.  As the title would suggest, there are indeed killer bees who spring to violent action due to some asshole putting a certain fragrance on things in order to do away with his enemies, even though several other people also get attacked anyway which was apparently just an egregious oversight on said bad guy's part.  The super-imposed bees look ridiculous on screen and they only show up a small handful of times compared to how much other time is spent watching character's go about their petty, low stakes drama.

DOCTOR FAUSTUS

(1967)

Dir - Richard Burton/Nevill Coghill

Overall: GOOD

The lone directorial effort from Richard Burton and Oxford scholar Nevill Coghill, Doctor Faustus is a wonderfully pretentious cinematic adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's 16th century play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus.  Itself a reworking of the often interpreted German legend of Faust, this one brings together Burton with the Oxford University Dramatic Society, whom along with Coghill, had done a production of the play the previous year.  An obvious vanity project for Burton, the noted thespian chews through what is essentially a ninety-three minute monologue, with A-list wife Elizabeth Taylor irregularly appearing as a dialog-less/usually painted up Helen of Troy.  Because the story itself is both so familiar and simplistic in its cautionary, tragic agenda of doomed vanity and avarice, the heavy, early modern English vernacular is less intimidating that it would otherwise be, which is further helped by a superb production design all around.  Colorful and elaborate sets, simple special effects, and soft focus lighting create a consistently engaging presentation of baroque macabreness which makes the whole thing excessive in a befitting way to the material; material which is anything but subtle.

1960s British Horror Part Ten

THE HAND

(1960)

Dir - Henry Cass

Overall: MEH

Mislabeled as a horror film as it is instead merely a police procedural drama with a lone macabre element, The Hand was one of the last projects produced by Walton Studios and it is one that slowly runs out of steam to the point where most audience members will probably check out before the measly sixty-four minute running time has run its course.  The opening segment sets things up with an, (incorrectly dated), flashback to World War II in the Burma campaign where a small handful of POV's are roughed-up appropriately, but once things switch back to Merry Ole England, the entire rest of the movie plays out with detectives following leads until things come full circle in a rushed, anticlimactic manner.  Henry Cass' direction is as flat as can be, though to be fair, he seems to be working with a budget of almost nothing and sans any atmospheric cinematography or gripping set pieces in Ray Cooney and Tony Hilton's script, the only move to be made is loading the film up with stock jazz music to try and create some sort of upbeat pace.

 

THE PSYCHOPATH

(1966)

Dir - Freddie Francis

Overall: MEH

 

Amicus steps into the psychological thriller vein with The Psychopath, the second film for the production company to be written by Robert Bloch.  Director Freddie Francis had several horror movies under his belt at this time already and he does good work here staging some eerily quiet, suspenseful moments.  Though clearly capitalizing on the "psycho" word in the title, Bloch's script is a far cry from his source material to Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece even as it borrows some minor narrative details that are easy to spot.  Speaking of easy to spot, the mystery reveal is anything but surprising and is actually downright lackluster in the final moments, though we still get some odd/silly images to leave off on.  The movie is mostly a slapdash combination of weird dolls, detective work, a crazy old woman, and her slightly eccentric son, again ala Psycho.  Margaret Johnston is a delight though as said wacka-doo lady, chewing the scenery in heaping mouthfuls as one would expect or even demand.  There is not enough else here to heighten the proceedings, but it is an adequate production that was just made by many who have done much better.

IT!

(1967)

Dir - Herbet J. Leder

Overall: MEH

 

Deliberately tailored after Hammer Studio's unique brand of horror film by writer/director/producer Herbert J. Leder, It!, (Anger of the Golem, Curse of the Golem), has some intriguing elements despite a half-baked script.  Scoring Roddy McDowall in the lead is of great advantage to the production as he effortlessly portrays a young, eccentric would-be museum curator who finds himself in control of an ancient golem that has just been obtained.  There are bizarre elements to the story that are directly ripped off from Psycho that serve no other purpose than to further enhance the neurotic nature of McDowall's character who is plenty socially aloof enough without keeping his mother's corpse in his home while pretending that she is still alive.  Aside from that pointless ingredient, the story eases into its fantastical elements well enough, even if Leder scripts himself into a wall for the finale which ends on a whimper instead of a bang, (even though there is a literal "bang" present).  None of the other performances are anything of much note, leaving McDowall to carry the proceedings along with the indestructible stone monster of Jewish folklore, both of which thankfully get to some decent, macabre business along the way.

1970s Vincent Price Part Two

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN
(1970)
Dir - Gordon Hessler
Overall: MEH

Released the same year as The House the Dripped Blood and being the second pairing of Vincent Price with director Gordon Hessler, Scream and Scream Again was Amicus Productions' version of a hip, contemporary-set sci-fi thriller.  The horror tinged title is not the only misleading aspect as the three icons in the genre who receive top billing, (Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing together in one film for the first time), collectively have the least amount of screen time out of anyone present.  Not only that, but besides one brief moment near the end, they also share no scenes together.  Foiled expectations out of the way, what is left is an impressively confusing presentation.  For almost the entire film's duration, the plotting is so unapologetically obtuse that by the time it explains everything, (or tries to), in one gigantic expository dialog dump, there is still an alarming number of questions in place of answers.  While repeated viewings may make sense of a few more things, the drawn-out pacing and dated, unsuspenseful music also hinder the whole.  Too impenetrable to truly recommend, its complexity is somewhat admirable at least.

DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN
(1972)
Dir - Robert Fuest
Overall: GOOD

It says a lot that a movie with an almost insultingly lazy, hole-ridden script following up an unarguable masterpiece within its genre can still get by on its stylish charm, violence, and of course Vincent Price in top, camp-fueled form.  While The Abominable Dr. Phibes wrapped up with an open-ended enough finale, it still unmistakably comes off that its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again rather concocted a premise out of the ether.  Wouldn't Phibes had mentioned something in the first film about sleeping for three years to go find the river of life in Egypt when the stars aligned?  In any event, things cruise along at a near-laughable rate and the storyline barely takes a breath to explain how Phibes' fancy bed right under his demolished house managed to go undiscovered, how he still has gallons of disposable income, a fully equipped, electricity-laced hide-out in a presumably unexplored cave in a different part of the world, elaborate murder contraptions at his disposal at all times, a beautiful assistant who just materializes to life after being burned to death in the last movie, and a police force who proclaims "he always comes back" when in fact this is actually the very first time that he has come back.  All of the goofy ideas mesh well enough with the intended humor and Price's expertly tongue-in-cheek performance.  Even if it is a mess compared to its predecessor, it is a damn fun mess to be sure.

ALICE COOPER: THE NIGHTMARE
(1975)
Dir -  Jorn H. Winther
Overall: GREAT

Given the chance to promote his first solo album Welcome to My Nightmare after the Alice Cooper band officially folded, good ole Vincent Furnier indulged his love of theatrics and horror movies with the television special Alice Cooper: The Nightmare.  Originally broadcast on ABC on April 25th, 1975, (a month and some change after the album was released), it is essentially a series of promotional music videos for every song off said record, plus "The Ballad of Dwight Fry", thankfully so.  The "Steven" and "The Awakening" segments are probably the creepiest while "Some Folks" and "Department of Youth" are the most kitsch-friendly.  Also, Vincent Price is in it, expanding his role as the "Black Widow" guy on the album as the Spirit of the Nightmare here.  Cooper's eventual wife Sheryl is spottable too as a dancer in a few sequences, namely as the title character in "Cold Ethyl".  All parties involved seem to be having a splendid time, Cooper and Price playing off of each other in such a hammy, fun way that it is a shame they did not work together on any further spook show projects.  Considering that WTMN is the strongest solo Alice album, there is not a weak moment present musically.  The overall production is excellently staged though as a camp-fueled, macabre variety hour.

1970s Vincent Price Part One

CRY OF THE BANSHEE
(1970)
Dir - Gordon Hessler
Overall: MEH

The second film in so many years that had Vincent Price playing a malevolent witchhunter, (1968's Witchfinder General being the other one), Cry of the Banshee has a noticeable air of redundancy to it.  The same could be said about House of Usher and The Pit and the Pendelum from the previous decade though, which also can fairly be seen as two different versions of the same movie.  In any event, this would be the last pairing of Vincent Price and director Gordon Hessler, (with Christopher Wicking likewise returning to re-write the screenplay), and it is neither particularly unique nor terrible.  Price rarely participated in any horror movies squarely on the side of terrible, but he is also not really given too much to work with in order to elevate anything here beyond the realm of mediocrity.  The script is not without its share of inconsistencies and in fact a major plot point revolves around Price's Lord Edward Whitman acting quite out of character and letting a proven witch and her coven escape into the woods instead of doing away with them as he does anyone else who is simply accused of being in league with evil Pagan deities.  An opening title sequence by Terry Gilliam certainly helps a little bit though.

AN EVENING OF EDGAR ALLAN POE
(1970)
Dir - Kenneth Johnson
Overall: GOOD

This television production made by American International Pictures has a simple enough premise of Vincent Price in different period costumes and wigs reciting four different works from Edgar Allan Poe.  Primarily shot as a live theater piece, (Price is not literally sitting with a book of Poe's works in front of him, but has in fact memorized them as a monologue as he would on stage), Price is unhinged in the very best of ways.  Considering that most of Poe's works are from the perspective of an individual succumbing to madness, the horror icon lets loose here, enthusiastically sinking his thespian claws into each performance as feverishly as anyone ever has.  The camerawork has a hard time keeping up with his physical mannerisms occasionally, but otherwise the presentation is solid by making the most out of the minimal setup and only indulging in some production enhancements with the final "The Pit and the Pendulum" segment.  Aside from that one, other popular pieces "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado" are also present, though it is nice that the lesser-known "The Sphinx" is given a spotlight as well.

MADHOUSE
(1974)
Dir - Jim Clark
Overall: MEH

One of the final films by Amicus Productions, Madhouse whether intentionally or coincidentally represents sort of an end of an era for its star Vincent Price.  As the semi-autobiographical horror actor Paul Toombes, (Dr. Death), Price is haunted by his own real life movies, clips of which are shown from several.  While he was anything but washed up or bitter about his typecasting in horror, his prolific output in the genre did take a sabbatical after this film which pays homage to and also knowingly parodies some of his renowned and popular works from the previous decade and some change.  The premise starts off promising enough yet after awhile, it becomes a bit silly as so many people in and around Toombes' television comeback keep being outlandishly done away with while the production never gets shut down and no arrests ever get made.  Plot issues persist elsewhere, frequently becoming more odd and awkward as it goes on.  The spirit to make it a campy and macabre romp is present, but it never quite delivers.  At least not in the way that the Price movies it references and aspires to deliver.  The Dr. Death make-up is cool and Peter Cushing is dressed as Dracula in one scene though, so there is that.

1970s British Horror Part Twenty

WHAT BECAME OF JACK AND JILL?
(1972)
Dir - Bill Bain
Overall: MEH

At the turn of the 70s, Amicus Pictures attempted to break into more strictly exploitative terrain to counter act their excellent, contemporary-set anthology films.  What Became of Jack and Jill?, (an adaptation of Laurence Moody's novel The Ruthless Ones), was the lone result of this concept and it is a rather stodgy one at that.  Australian director Bill Bain spent the later years of his career working in Britain, never on anything that substantial.  Not that the blame lies exclusively at his feet here, but this is mostly sluggish, uninteresting scenes set to no music.  Because the story plays out as a combination of unpleasant and boring, it fails to create a properly moody atmosphere.  Instead, we just watch a lazy, scumbag young couple vaguely torment and manipulate an elderly woman into thinking the youth is out to get old people as they wait for her to croak so that they can carelessly spend her inheritance.  As an interesting side note, this would be the penultimate film appearance from Vanessa Howard, who would abruptly, (and to some, mysteriously), retire after the following year's The Picture of Dorian Gray television production.

TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS
(1973)
Dir - Freddie Francis
Overall: MEH

In the midst of working for both Hammer and Amicus on a consistent stream of horror properties, director Freddie Francis made a brief detour with the lesser known World Film Services while sticking with the exact same sort of material, namely anthology horror.  Tales That Witness Madness has Donald Pleasence and Joan Collins on board as well as a small hodgepodge of other familiar British character actors, many of which regularly appeared in other such omnibus productions.  Scripted by actress Jennifer Jayne, (whose only other writing credit was the same year's Harry Nilsson-starred spoof Son of Dracula, also helmed by Francis), its segment concepts are either generic or positively odd.  There is the standard, imaginary friend story, but that is followed by one where a portrait of someone's uncle possesses him to ride a penny-farthing bicycle to travel back and time, (?!?), and then one where a tree and a wife jealously fight over the same man's affections.  The most unsettling comes last and involves some sort of Hawaiian pagan ceremony in which Doctor Who's Mary Tamm plays a significant role.  None of the stories are poor, but they and the presentation is pretty formulaic, be it still mildly enjoyable.

DRACULA
(1974)
Dir - Dan Curtis
Overall: MEH

A dream team collaboration of sorts between prolific horror television director Dan Curtis, prolific horror screenwriter and I Am Legend author Richard Matheson, and Jack Palance rather ideally cast in the title role, this British, 1974 televised adaptation of Dracula is mostly of note for said personnel being involved.  As far as offering up anything unique against the enormous crop of other versions, this was the first to portray the Count and Vlad Țepeș as the same person and also the first to introduce the concept of a resurrected love, Lucy in this case.  Otherwise, it is a polished, adequately produced interpretation, but also one that mostly feels rushed.  Usually the first act between Dracula and Johnathan Harker at the former's Gothic Transylvanian residence is the most atmospheric and moody, but it is regrettably gotten out of the way quickly here.  Then, entire other characters and sub-plots such as Quincey Morris, John Seward, and even Reinfeld are omitted altogether.  This is not particularly singular amongst Dracula films which often slice and dice the source material to make for something more compact though.  Those familiar with the rightfully better known Dracula movies will not have a hard time keeping up with the hurried presentation, but so many have been made that this one inevitably bleeds together with the rest.  Pun intended.

Amicus Anthology Horror

TORTURE GARDEN
(1967)
Dir - Freddie Francis
Overall: GOOD

The first of three Amicus anthology films to be written by Psycho novelist Robert Bloch and the second of three to be directed by Freddie Francis, Torture Garden is a typically solid entry for both, even if it by default ends up being the least solid of the seven such productions from the studio.  Though Peter Cushing is only used in a bit part and Christopher Lee was swapped for Burgess Meredith and Jack Palance due to Columbia Pictures insisting upon more Americans in the cast, neither of these things is a hindrance.  Right in the middle of maintaining his now iconic roll as the Penguin on Batman and even busting out that trademark cigarette holder, Meredith is pitch perfect as the linking segment host Dr. Diabolo, (wonder who that could actually be), and Jack Palance is highly amusing as he slips in and out of a fake British accent and displays a consistent smirk while smoking his pipe and feverishly fanboying himself over Edgar Allan Poe.  The two female centered stories are less strong than the opening and closing ones involving a demon cat, then Poe and the occult, but the killer piano does warrant a decent chuckle.  The only thing one could say that Torture Garden is lacking is perhaps a little more suspense and flare to the individual stories, but they each deliver in their ghastliness all the same.

ASYLUM
(1972)
Dir - Roy Ward Baker
Overall: GOOD

Still on a roll with the fifth in their anthology series, Asylum was the first to be helmed by known Hammer director Roy Ward Baker, who would also go on to do Amicus' The Vault of Horror and And Now the Screaming Starts!.  Returning once again was Peter Cushing in a minor role and writer Robert Bloch who adapted several of his own short stories.  The results are typically satisfactory.  If one had to choose, the least great entry would be "Lucy Comes to Stay", which is too on the nose to provide any real shocks.  Elsewhere though, they are all excellent with a black magic-laced, glowing suit, a severed body that seeks revenge, and some killer toys.  The latter is certainly in the realm of silly with some adorable, mechanical wind up toys with human heads that are meant to appear menacing, but it is also rather fun and befitting to the campy nature of these films as a whole.  Though virtually all the would-be twists are elementary to spot pretty far away, the framing narrative that takes place in, (you guessed it), an insane asylum is also a hoot, further given a sufficiently inciting mystery of its own for us and the main protagonist Dr. Martin, (Robert Powell from The Asphyx), to uncover.

TALES FROM THE CRYPT

(1972)

Dir - Freddie Francis

Overall: GREAT

Probably the most popular of Amicus' seven horror anthologies was their first to be based off of EC comics in Tales from the Crypt.  The follow up The Vault of Horror came the next year and had a virtually identical framework, though the character of the Crypt Keeper, (played here by stage actor Sir Ralph Richardson), was omitted.  Only two of the stories actually come from the comic that the movie is named after, with two more from EC's sister titles The Haunt of Fear and one from The Vault of Horror.  All of them are solid though, with the opening "...And All Through the House" also serving as the second ever episode of the television series that would debut on HBO seventeen years later.  "Wish You Were Here" is a solid "Monkey's Paw" reworking and "Reflection of Death" has a Twilight Zone-esque twist and some brief though ghoulish makeup effects.  Same goes for the Peter Cushing-starred entry "Poetic Justice" and the closer "Blind Alley's offers up the most satisfying comeuppance set piece out of the bunch.  As was usual for these Amicus productions, the contemporary setting does nothing to deflate the eerie atmosphere and director Freddie Francis and the entire cast do top notch work all around.

 

FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE
(1974)
Dir - Kevin Connor
Overall: GREAT

Future Motel Hell director Kevin Connor's debut was the final installment in the Amicus anthology series From Beyond the Grave and it is a mighty strong one.  Just as he did for the very first outing Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, Peter Cushing hosts the framing segments here as well, this time as an antique shop owner who through some diabolical trickery manages to curse anyone who is dishonest and thrifty with him.  The best of the bunch involves the antiques themselves wrecking havoc for their new owners, first a mirror that hosts a vampire and the second a door made of blood that houses an evil blue room.  The segment involving Donald Pleasence and his real life daughter goes on perhaps a bit too long, but certainly comes through with a macabre enough ending.  Often but not always, there is one story in each of these films that acts as the overtly humorous one and "The Elemental" is a splendid joy to watch Margaret Leighton's Madam Orloff dramatically sing an invisible, shoulder mounted demon away.  The spooky atmosphere throughout all of From Beyond the Grave is maintained, even when it delves right into comical terrain as the cast that is not wonderfully hamming it up continues to play it straight.  There really is not a weak entry in the whole of Amicus' horror output, particularly where the anthology films were concerned and the last offering in it is as classy, controlled, and fun as any in the batch.

1970s British Horror Part Six

AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS!
(1973)
Dir - Roy Ward Baker
Overall: MEH

A rare Gothic horror outing from the Amicus production company, (who generally left period pieces to the more famous Hammer studios, Amicus instead utilizing more contemporary settings), And Now the Screaming Starts! does not quite live up to the higher quality of other films in their catalog.  Though the gruesome, ghostly goings ons begin almost immediately and are quite campy and memorable, the mystery of it all becomes far too frustrating.  It is because Stephanie Beacham, (Dracula A.D. 1972, House of Mortal Sin), begins seeing supernatural occurrences within minutes of walking into her new home and said occurrences do not let up that it is all too aggravating that every single person surrounding her refuses to divulge any information at all, even whilst admitting that they are keeping everything from her.  By doing so, they also keep it from the viewers while at the same time testing our patience to constantly believe that everyone, (especially her husband), would just watch this poor woman loose her mind.  On the other HAND though, (that is a pun for anyone who has seen the movie), it is rather the point that keeping us in the dark for so long very much mirrors the film's main damsel's plight.  Still, the "she's just imagining everything and needs a nap" excuse does get stretched a little too thin.

FULL CIRCLE
(1977)
Dir - Richard Loncraine
Overall: MEH

The first film adaptation from one of the works by author Peter Straub, Full Circle, (The Haunting of Julia in the U.S.), is a rather confused realization of the source material it is based on.  Mia Farrow, (who would portray a tormented woman in a number of horror films), is fine as the main protagonist caught up in the ghostly goings on, which is more than you could say about her estranged husband Keir Dullea who seems to be trying to win an award for having the least convincing/minimally even trying British accent in all of cinema.  The story follows many familiar beats as Farrow's Julia takes all the standard steps towards solving the mystery, like having a psychic medium freak out in her house, going to a library to look up old newspapers, interviewing a number of participants who partook of some wickedness when they were children, and finally a visit to the movie version of a loony bin where patients roam the hallways, walk in circles, spout nonsense, stare blankly at walls, and an old woman smiles creepily at her and then gets angry and threatening.  Yet there are a handful of loose ends along the way with characters whose deaths are never followed up upon, plus the point A to point B maneuvering of the plot seems to be missing a number of pit stops along the way.

SCHALCKEN THE PAINTER
(1979)
Dir - Leslie Megahey
Overall: GOOD

Broadcast during the same time slot as A Ghost Story for Christmas, Schalcken the Painter is based off the renowned Irish Gothic horror writer Sheridan Le Fanu's fictions "Strange Event in the Life of Schalcken the Painter".  Though a completely fabricated story, it nevertheless was part of the BBC's Omnibus documentary series, in part not only because it features real historical painters Godfried Schalcken and Gerrit Dou as characters, but also because it provides insightful reenactments into the Leiden Fijnschilders period of Dutch art.  John Hooper's cinematography, (based off Johannes Vermeer's paintings from around the same era), is the star of nearly every frame.  Utilizing natural candle lighting and period sets to showcase both deep shadows and layers of details, an ideal atmosphere for the film's more fantastical elements is created with such elements appearing to be subtly lurking in the background throughout.  The few actual horror movie moments could not be more successfully displayed and director Leslie Megahey cultivates a deliberate mood throughout the just over an hour running time, with very little dialog and sparsely used music working in unison to keep things delicately spooky.

1970s British Horror Part Three

MUMSY, NANNY, SONNY, AND GIRLY
(1970)
Dir - Freddie Francis
Overall: MEH
 
A rare auteur work of sorts from Freddie Francis that was not a directorial assignment from a production studio, Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny, and Girly, (Girly), was instead made independently and represents one of the exploitation British films from the turn of the 1970s that channeled more risque subject matter.  Based on Maisie Mosco's two-act play Happily Family, screenwriter Brian Comport toned-down or outright eliminated elements of incest, lesbianism, and sadomasochism, though the story kept the disturbed premise of a cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs family that holds up in a spacious mansion, kidnapping hapless people and making them partake of childish games and regulations.  Francis set up the project both as a means to attain full creative control and to shoot something at the Victorian Gothic house Oakley Court in Berkshire, which he had merely utilized for exteriors on other films.  Both Vanessa Howard and Howard Trevor behave like kids in a unwholesome home life that skews proper English etiquette into twisted playtime that go on perpetually, and Francis keeps the dark humor in check with all of the ghastly murders played for shock value as the ridiculous scenario goes on undeterred.  Excessive in length and repetitive with an unsatisfactory ending, it still has enough historical merit to recommend.

THE BEAST MUST DIE
(1974)
Dir - Paul Annett
Overall: GOOD

One of Amicus's more gimmicky entries, The Beast Must Die basically locks Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game together in a room with a werewolf.  The premise being a rather clever "who done it?" hybrid, much of the movie's success stems from its concept alone.  Peter Cushing has a bit part and the man could not come off as more classy and professional if he tried, plus other genre regulars Anton Diffring and Charles Gray bring in more familiarity.  In the lead, Calvin Lockhart is either delightfully or annoyingly over the top as the eccentric millionaire who is as equally obsessed with hunting a lycanthropian beast as he is making grandiose speeches at every opportunity.  The film slags a little bit as it becomes clear from the outset that we are going to sit through all three nights of the full moon before finding out what is transpiring.  There is ultimately little else to do but have Lockhart continually shoot at a wolf that keeps getting away and then accuse his party guests who grow less and less tolerant of the monotony of it all.  The climax is relatively satisfying though, all the more so for coming after a rather funny and meta "werewolf break", something rather unique to this movie.

THE SHOUT
(1978)
Dir - Jerry Skolimowski
Overall: GOOD

Boasting a genuinely strong cast, (including John Hurt, Alan Bates, and even Tim Curry for a few moments), Jerry Skolimowski's The Shout is the type of arty, psychological semi-horror film that very deliberately presents itself as a bewilderment.  Based off pf the short story by Robert Graves, there are minor hints of Lovecraftian madness, but the appearance of it all is something uniquely credited to Skolimowski most likely.  As a graduate from the National Film School in Łódź, (who also has Roman Polanski as one of its alumni), Skolimowski's direction of his actors particularly and the way the film is spliced together are its largest components to the intended on-screen delusion.  Yet the avant score from two members of Genesis not only contributes to the movie's hipness, but also does a bang up job of furthering what is strange about it.  The narrative increasingly bounces between what' is most likely the present and what is most likely not the "actual" past, and all the behavior from all of the characters does everything it can to make the viewer uneasy as to what on earth can be occurring.  No audience spoon-feeding allowed, it is a welcomed approach regardless of the overall outcome, but thankfully said outcome is quite effective in its subtle eeriness.