The House that Dripped Blood Review

The House that Dripped Blood is one of a number of Amicus portmanteu horror films released in the 1960s and 1970s. All the films consisted of a number of short stories, usually with a twist in the tale, loosely linked by a framing device.

Unfortunately, house is one of the lesser Amicus films. Only the third tale has any real bite, and a great cast (Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Ingrid Pitt and Denholm Elliott to name but a few) are sadly wasted.

The first tale has an interesting premise, albeit one that has been dealt with many times before and since, in which a writer is haunted by his own character, but the tale is let down by a disappointing twist and a final few seconds which seem to make no sense whatsoever.

The second tale introduces Peter Cushing (looking like an aged Jason King) who, shortly after moving into the titular house, comes across a waxwork musuem containing an effigy of his dead lover. To be frank, this one made no sense whatsoever and the whole segment was rendered even more laughable by the bizarre late seventies clothing Cushing is wearing, in particular an ever more tasteless selection of neckerchiefs.

Things finally begin to pick up with the third tale, a genuinely creepy story of a stern father (Christopher Lee) who hires a nanny for his somewhat unusual daughter. While the father's behaviour initially seems cruel it soon transpires the daughter is not all she seems. There is an unusual sense of foreboding throughout, and the ending is one of the few chills in the movie.

Unfortunately, things rapidly plummet downhill again with the final tale. A vain horror movie actor (Jon Pertwee), in a quest for authenticity, obtains a genuine vampires robe and begins to take on some of the qualities of its erstwhile owner. Once again, an interesting premise is let down by poor execution. The story features some of the most laughable vampire / flying effects commited to celluloid and no matter how hard you try it's impossible to forget youre watching Worzel Gummidge as a vampire. Even Ingrid Pitt cant save this one.

One final point, and a bugbear for countless films of this type, is the framing device, in which a policeman (and later a real estate agent) recount the tales of terror. How the fuck they can recount events which they did not witness and in which the participants have been variously strangled, beheaded, melted and vampirised is beyond me.

For a much better example of the Amicus anthology films, check out 'Dr Terror's House of Horrors', which apart from featuring an unpleasantly racist segment involving Roy Castle and voodoo jazz, provides much more entertainment and has a more interesting and pleasing framing story.

Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith has long had a blog, called 'my boring ass life' in which he ruminates on his day to day existence. Often the title provides an all too accurate description of the contents. If you ever want to know his toilet habits in detail, this is the place to go.

More recently however, he has posted a lengthy, and ongoing, article about Jason Mewes (Jay to Smith's Silent Bob) and his battles with heroin addiction. Whilst the generalities have been raked over previously, this is a detailed and fascinating account. Smith describes eloquently the emotions and difficulties of watching a close friend decline into a spiral of drug abuse. Heart felt and also very funny, it confirms my views that Smith is at least an interesting writer as a film maker.

My Boring Ass Life � 2006 � March

Hollywood & The Holocaust

BBC4 have been running an interesting documentary as part of their storyville strand, detailing the relationship between Hollywood studios and the holocaust, both on screen and politically.

For an industry in which the majority of powerbrokers were of European Jewish origin, it transpires that there was none reticence to deal with the subject than expected. Wartime films likely did not deal with the subject because the extent of the situation was not known, it wasn't until many years after the war ended that the subject was dealt with explicitly.

Whilst there's some interesting stuff in there, and some clips that hadn't been seen before, the whole thing felt like it was only scratching the surface. Interesting observations, such as the industry's reliance on Germany as a source of overseas revenue, and the political implications of addressing the subject whilst the USA was still a neutral observer, were dealt with only fleetingly. There was no talk of allegorical holocaust films, or the use of holocaust imagery in films not specifically about the subject (Abel Ferrera's Vampire film 'The Hunger' being one interesting example). Comedic (for want of a better word)treatments of the subject got short shrift, whilst the great dictator (which is not really a holocaust film) was discussed, films such as the producers and Jakob the liar were mentioned only very briefly or not at all.

Notwithstanding the above, it was an interesting primer on the subject. It was also good to see at least some criticism of Schindlers List. I have often pointed out that on;y Spielberg could make a feel good film about the holocaust, and the documentary at least in part voices that concern. It also has some interesting points to say about narrative and characterisation in relation to that film.

This being BBC4 it will doubtless be repeated over the next few weeks. Check it out.

An interview with the director is here:

http://www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/05march/anker.htm

more about the film here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/storyville/hollywood-holocaust.shtml