The Haunted House of Horror

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.

It's interesting noting some of the comments of displeasure about this film -- "boring", "dull", "uneventful". What's funny is that this is an early prototype of what became known as the Mad Slasher film where a scarred, dysfunctional wretch goes on a killing spree in some secluded locale, using a flashy means of disposing his victims who more often than not are just getting what they had coming. What is amusing is seeing the fans of the modern day versions of the basic story reacting with a certain amount of glib indifference. I felt the same way about French Impressionism when taking art history; "BOR-RING." Boy, was I wrong.

THE PLOT; A group of perpetually drink-clutching and cigarette puffing modly dressed hipsters who have obviously seen BLOW-UP decide to go have a smashing party at the local supposedly haunted manor out in the middle of nowhere. Some of them have more than one story to tell as far as why they are drawn to their circle of friends, who seem to regard each other with scorn when gathered together & more friendly-like when off on their own. A scruffy Scotland Yard detective (priceless Freddie Jones) and a scruffy, pock-marked, sinister private investigator are both caught unprepared when someone starts slaughtering the kids both during and after their party, and the clues seem to hint that it's either a vengeful poltergeist ... or one of their own.

DON'T ANYBODY GIVE AWAY THE ENDING!! It's not much of a surprise but it then again that's half the fun of these things. What makes this one kind of tick are the hipster trappings which seem unaware that it wasn't 1967 anymore, and how it seems to pattern itself after the "Giallo" films coming out of Italy at about the same time. I wish the supernatural angle had been played up more but found the three rather grisly killings to be quite over-the-top, had fun remembering what it was like to poke around inside of old houses with a candle with your knucklehead buddies on a dare, and it's always great to see Kim Haworth back in her leggy, sexy fox days. If you're looking for shocks this probably isn't a good suggestion but it's a finely made very British film that just banks more on style instead of flying body parts.

It's also kind of too bad that as the "Trivia" section hints at, the then just starting to heat up David Bowie was suggested and then rejected for a key role. If he'd gotten the part this might have retained a certain cult status beyond the sum of it's parts like Roeg's PERFORMANCE ... Frankie Avalon does not a Thin White Duke make. What a lousy decision.

5/10; Neutral. Neither good nor bad, but then again how very British.

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.

When I was about 10 years old me and my friend saw this on TV and the ending really freaked us out! We had never seen so much blood and gore on television before and it stunned us. Well, 30 years later I've finally seen this film again. I've been searching for it ever since. I didn't know the title but I never miss a horror film so I was bound to run into it again. It took 30 years! The film starts slowly with Frankie Avalon playing a rare serious role. The film has two very bloody scenes that you don't expect from an Avalon film during this time. The ending is strange and inconclusive. One of the things that I did enjoy are the real 60's London mod style of clothing. Very interesting to see the style during these times. But the film does have a fatal flaw. There just is to much talking and not enough time spent in the horror house. So after all these years the two bloody scenes still pack a wallop but its still a tedious film. A curio, though.

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?