Horror House

source: Horror House

i really enjoyed this movie. why? because it is FUN to watch. movies don't have to be deeply meaningful or classy or poetic.. more important than all that is that it is fun to watch. i don't mean comedy-funny, i mean a flow, a structure and a story that doesn't make you snooze. (maybe some actors that actually can act, but thats a dying breed) this movie is entertaining and fun, sure the story is thin and the middle drags a little, but it really doesn't matter.. you got frankie avalon, a dark old house and some outrageous 6oties hairdos, what more can you want?

Filmed under the much more appropriate title "THE DARK" this movie quite often airs on television in a darkened print. Darkened so that the blood can't be seen so clearly! In a couple of shock sequences, still shocking today, there's an awful lot of it! It has been said that David Bowie was originally cast in this film! Also Peter Cushing was supposed to play the George Sewell part originally. The film opens on location around the definitely in-place of the sixties - Carnaby Street. Despite the slightly silly Scooby Doo "teenage" characters that are introduced early in the film at a swinging sixties house party, the acting gets realistically serious as we enter the haunted house of the title. I've always been intrigued by this early example of teenage serial killer horror film, especially since it subverts the slasher genre quite drastically. Despite all the screaming, it's the men who are the victims - no more pointedly than in the film's finale... The acting is very good, the plot keeps you guessing and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife!

I remember seeing this movie at the drive-in when I was very young and I was so scared! This is probably Frankie Avalon's only scary flick. This is one for the horror fetishist, complete with ketchup-like gore!

I caught this British horror movie on late night TV back in the late 70s--it was called "Horror House" back then. The print was very dark and the two murders were edited out of the print I saw (making the end very confusing). According to the magazine Video Watchdog, the original had a different title ("Haunted House of Horror"), the two very bloody murders were purposely darkened to get a PG rating and 20 minutes were cut out! Now we have the full version available and it is an improvement--but it still isn't a good film. A bunch of 20 somethings in 1968 England decide, for no reason, to go ghost hunting at a deserted, supposedly haunted house. While there one of them is brutally stabbed to death. Who did it? The plot is predictable and done by the numbers here. Aside from the murders (which are shocking even by today's standards) this is pretty standard stuff. Top billed Frankie Avalon gives a horrible performance but everybody else is pretty good--especially Jill Haworth and Mark Wynter. There are also some pretty creepy moments in the old house and the characters aren't too annoying. And the murders are extremely bloody--be warned! Worth catching now in a beautiful, uncut print that's playing on cable. A minor horror movie, but worth seeing at least once.

The Haunted House of Horror is one of those time capsule movies that was probably out of date before they finished editing it. I first saw it when I was 4 or 5 years old, It was one of the first colour horror movies that I remember seeing. Now 35 years later I can now give it a review. Lets put it this way, Haunted House of Horror is not a good film. But that doesn't mean its not interesting. The story concerns a bunch of young groovy British teenagers lead by the not so young, not so groovy, American Frankie Avalon. Anyway after a party they decide to go to the so called haunted house for kicks? After exploring the house for a bit, One of the teens is brutally murdered. Anyway, after lots of hysterical screaming, mainly by the females of the group. The group lead by Mr Avalon decide to hide there murdered friends body and leave the house. Why would they do this. Well.. Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway after a few plot contrivances and another bloody murder the teens decide to go back to the house, where guess what.. More Murders. As you can probably tell Haunted house of horror is a bit lame. The direction by Michael Armstrong is very amateurish. The plot and Script are also pretty dire even the music is really rubbish. The acting is mostly OK. When I say mostly I mean there is one terrible performance in there. ( Its very noticeable). So what, may you ask makes Haunted House of Horror so interesting. Well.. All these wrongs make this little film quite unique and strangely watch-able. It has child like quality that strangely reminded me of Scooby Doo. Like Fred in the cartoon, Frankie Avalon is the leader of the gang, Directing everyone what to do. I should also say that he is the only American in the movie. Actually he's quite good in it. I should also mention the Lovely Jill Haworth and her mini skirts. This is also another plus for the movie. At worst Haunted House of Horror can be seen as a bit of a Spring time for Hitler. "So bad its good. At best it can be seen as true British cult horror. I'd just call it harmless fun.

This is one of those films with a pretty poor reputation that means I haven't got around to watching it until now. I wasn't missing much. THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR – one hell of a title that has little to do with the film itself – is notable as one of the earliest examples of the slasher genre, the sort of film where lots of pretty young folk are offed one by one by an unknown killer. It has assured direction by Michael Armstrong, who afterwards went to the continent to shoot grisly witchcraft horror MARK OF THE DEVIL, and a cast of youthful actors who were once big names in their heyday. Frankie Avalon, a one-time singer, has one of the major roles playing his typical character – young, handsome, popular with the ladies, charismatic to boot. He could almost be said to be playing himself. Then there's an obnoxious Richard O'Sullivan, before he found fame on television, and red herring George Sewell, who lurks around looking shifty a lot but that's about it. Dennis Price pops up as an inspector but he only gets a couple of scenes himself, while Jill Haworth's sole contribution is to sit around and look pretty, which she does well enough. Unfortunately, although the film looks good, it goes nowhere. The script is sub-par and the story plodding. It takes an age for the set-up to get going, and then things look like they're going to pick up with an exceptionally shocking and gory murder sequence about halfway through. Then things kick back to first gear and nothing else happens until the denouement, which itself consists of a couple of people chatting in a room for about ten minutes while suspense builds. There's more gore at the climax, and then everything's left unfinished, so it feels as if they ran out of money. Aside from those two murders, there's nothing to remember about this movie. The characters are trite, self-centred, and rather irritating, particularly in O'Sullivan's case, and the incredibly annoying Veronica Doran is another detraction the film has. There's far too little incident taking place, which would be all right if this was an exercise in atmosphere building, like some of the Italian gothics from the same era, but it's not. I enjoyed looking at the colourful '60s costumes and sets, but that enjoyment only went so far – and in the end I was just sitting, waiting for something – ANYTHING – to happen. It never did, which is why this one's a dud.

Haunted House of Horror, The (1969) * 1/2 (out of 4) Frankie Avalon and a group of friends are bored hanging out in an apartment so they go walk around a haunted house when one turns up butchered. Was a member of the group or perhaps a ghost? The only way to find out is by the group going back there at a later date to see once and for all. This British film from the Trigon Productions has a few interesting items but for the most part this thing is deadly dull from start to finish. I have an issue with many British horror films and that's because they talk and talk and talk and don't ever know when to shut up. That curse follows this film as we get plenty of talk and most of it has nothing to do with the main plot point of the film. The subplot involves a young woman trying to break free from a married man, which seems to be more fitted for a soap opera so why on Earth throw it into a slasher movie? The performances are okay for this type of film with Avalon leading the way and I'm sure he was the first to cash his paycheck. The film is great to look out with the wonderful colors and set design but you still need a story to make all of that count. There are a couple very bloody murders, which I was surprised to see and I'll give the filmmakers credit for the ending, which doesn't go the way you might expect. Even with that said this is a very hard film to get through because of how dull it is.

This movie is soooo slow. They don't even start thinking about going to the titular haunted house until a half hour into the movie. Once there, eventually one of them is stabbed to death, but after that the movie apparently tired itself out and needed to "rest" for a while longer. At Frankie Avalon's suggestion they cover up the murder, and then proceed to talk about it for most of the rest of the movie. Like most 60s and 70s horror movies, this is worth watching because of the awful clothing, poor acting, and worse script. The second of the two stabbings is hilarious (if you can stay awake that long - it took me two tries to get there) and there's a kind of cool chase scene in a museum that sort of reminded me of the Prisoner. All in all, this movie is horrible, but what else would you expect?

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this one; I went in expecting nothing and actually found a more than decent horror movie. The film is directed by Michael Armstrong, a British man who would go on to direct the excellent 'Mark of the Devil' a year later. The title is a bit misleading as it makes the film out to be a haunted house movie, when in fact it's closer to the slasher genre if anything. The film takes place in sixties 'swinging' London and focuses on a group of young friends. They're out one night and looking for a party when one of them suggests that they go to an old house that is supposedly haunted. Their party turns sour when one of the friends gets sliced by an unseen killer and, believing they would be in trouble with the local bobby's if they come forward, they decide to dispose of the body themselves. I have to admit that the film is really quite predictable and even though it's a "whodunit", there's never a great deal of mystery surrounding anything in the film. The film is very well shot, however, and the director does a good job of capturing the swinging sixties feel. It's also a very colourful film, which is nice. The acting is rubbish of course, but that's not too important and it all boils down to a nice little twist at the end. I can't say this is brilliant stuff; but it's not bad and worth a look for horror fans.