Aside for being classic in the aspect of its cheesy lines and terrible acting, this film should never be watched unless you are looking for a good cure for your insomnia. I can't imagine anyone actually thinking this was a "good movie."
"Modern Ghosts Are Friendly Ghosts, Sounds Perfect..."
1980's "The Shining", one of the most seminal and memorable haunted-house-flix, had a lot of competition in the surrounding years of it's release. You had 1979's "The Amityville Horror", 1976's "Burnt Offerings", and later, 1982's "The House Where Evil Dwells"...(all three of these have been released in a big DVD ghost binge by MGM in recent years) - this late entry, sadly, turned out to be one of the not-so-great, ghost-themed competitors...
Despite the fact that this new DVD version has been packaged to look like a precursor to "The Grudge" (itself a re-make of the superior "JU-ON"), it's not nearly as tense or scary. Part of the drawback to any real suspense here is the idea that, unlike in the other films I mentioned, it's pretty damn obvious from the start what's going on. Other supernatural thrillers create an air of mystery first, which builds up and adds to the overall creepiness. "The House Where Evil Dwells", though, tips it's hand immediately and tells ya that the ghosts are those of a samurai, his unfaithful wife, and her lover, who were all killed in Japan, circa 1840, upon the samurai's discovery of the infidelity.
The point of "The House Where Evil Dwells", then, is to figure out if and how Edward Albert and a pretty hot-looking Susan George, playing husband/wife, and their daughter are going to survive in the titular house, which they are now renting for @ 47,000 yen per month ($250 American, at the time, btw). Because you see, the three butchered ghosts, despite their goofy, theatrical facepaint, are quite malicious and intent on tearing the family apart - figuratively AND literally. These haunt-films are ALL like that, it seems, with the supernatural goings-on coming between the unity of the family, playing them against one another, etc., and "The House Where Evil Dwells" doesn't do any better or any worse - it's very standard. Also, Doug McClure (looking like a more manly version of SNL character Stuart Smalley) shows up as an adulterous friend to Ted (played by E. Albert). There are one or two cool moments, such as a weird attack by scuttling, oversized crabs (!), and the sword-brandishing finale, but all told, "The House Where Evil Dwells" is rather predictable fare, worth seeing like, once or twice, tops. Not terrible, but certainly not a landmark by any means.
"There's an awful face in my soup!"
The first thing I noticed after receiving the DVD for the film House Where Evil Dwells (1982) is that the DVD cover art looks almost exactly the same as the cover art for the original DVD release of The Grudge (2004). Obviously Sony/MGM is trying to align the two (thereby leaching off the popularity of the newer film), and, while there are some superficial similarities (both take place in Japan and feature tales about the supernatural), I enjoyed The Grudge a bit more than I enjoyed this film. After watching this film last night, I think a more appropriate title might have been `House Where Mischievous Samurai Spirits Dwell'. Directed by Kevin Connor (The Land That Time Forgot, At the Earth's Core, Motel Hell), the film stars Edward Albert (The Greek Tycoon, "Falcon Crest", "Port Charles"), son of Eddie Albert (the "Green Acres" dude), Susan George (Straw Dogs, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Tintorera), and Doug McClure, whom you may remember from such films as The Land That Time Forgot (1975), The People That Time Forgot (1977), and Humanoids from the Deep (1980). Also appearing is Amy Barrett (Humanoids from the Deep), and Mako Hattori, Tsuiyuki Sasaki, and Toshiya Maruyama, all in their only silver screen appearance.
As the film begins it is the year 1840, and we're in Japan. A samurai comes home to find another pitching woo to his wife, becomes enraged, and a whole lot of nastiness ensues, as all three end up shuffling off this mortal coil...fast forward to the present and we see Ted Fletcher (Albert), his wife Laura (George), and their daughter Amy (Barrett) arriving in Japan, being met by a friend named Alex Curtis (McClure). Seems Ted is a writer, and a bit of a Japanese history buff, and has moved his family here to immerse himself in work, along with him and his family in Japanese culture, so much so they asked Alex to find them an affordable, traditional Japanese home, which he does, and it just happens to be the same house where all the nastiness at the beginning of the film took place. Alex then tells them the catch...supposedly the house is haunted, which is why it's so cheap. Seriously, would you turn people who are supposed to be your best friends on to a house where some grisly murders took place, and is now haunted? Thanks Doug, you a-hole...anyway, the family moves in (Ted and Laura `christen' the house proper in a tasteful love scene) and odd things begin happening like lights and fixtures turning on and off by themselves, objects getting knocked over, along with the occasion samurai apparition appearing here and there. Soon after settling in, a local monk comes around, issuing a warning and an offer for help, but isn't taken seriously. As the trio of ghosts prowl about, possessing the bodies of Ted, Laura, and Alex, a love triangle develops, much like that at the beginning of the film, and the spirits start to become more and more active, causing tension between Ted and Laura, which strains their relationship. After a few injuries and Amy getting a serious case of the crabs, the Fletchers decide to move out, but the threesome of spirits are reluctant to let go...
This was certainly an odd, little feature, displaying a good deal of visceral violence in the first and last ten minutes of the film, with little to none in-between. The story was kind of interesting, but the character less so...I never really got a strong sense of familial connection between the characters played by Albert, George, and Barrett, as most of the time they came across as what they actually where, three actors thrown together in a movie. Albert seemed a little too laid back throughout (when asked why he didn't leave the obviously haunted house earlier, he said something to the effect that he wanted to understand what was happening), while George, whom I've never really been a big fan of, turns on the emotional hysterics early, and rarely lets up, that is, when she wasn't busy getting her groove on with Ted or Alex (George does have a nice set of cans). Seemed like the only time she wasn't pitching hissy fits was when she was possessed by the spirit of dead woman, who was intent on resuming her adulterous ways. McClure provided the best performance in the film, which is kinda sad...I do love the McClure (who one half the inspiration for The Simpson's character Doug McClure, the other half being Troy Donahue), but only because the guy was such a ham. The one aspect I thought really strange was the lack of reasoning behind why these three spirits were about, and their intent towards mucking up the lives of whoever moved into the house. Oh, there was some business about a witchy woman, but it didn't really go anywhere. Now I don't need everything spelled out, or divided up into easily digestible chunks, but I do appreciate when a film meets me halfway, which didn't quite happen here. It just seemed flaky to me that the deceased trio should have to spend their spiritual existence together, for apparently no other reason than to pester the living by turning on their water faucets full blast...the funniest sequences for me (they weren't intended as such) both featured the little girl as in one scene, a mini, ghostly head appears in her soup (like a ghostly Alpha Bit), making faces at her, to which she asks her mother "What kind of soup is this?"...in another scene, while her parents are away, a whole bunch of lumbering crabs (both of the large and small variety), possessed by them mean ole spirits, torment the girl mercilessly, and chase her up a tree. I will say this, while some of the performances and aspects about the story didn't gel, the costumes, special effects, locations shots (the film was shot in Japan), the music, attention to detail and such all came together well to create a good backdrop. All in all the first ten minutes were stimulating, the next hour and ten minutes so-so (no real scares or creepiness), and the last ten minutes a real knock down, fists a flying, chop socky, sword slinging hoot.
This MGM DVD release offers a good-looking, full screen and widescreen (1.85:1) anamorphic picture, along with a decent Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track. I did think the dialog a bit soft at times, while the music tended to come through fine. The only thing available in terms of extras is a theatrical trailer. You know, while the film may have not been all that great, I'm still glad MGM seems dedicated towards a consistent releasing of their catalog. Not every one may be a winner, but at least they're not forgotten.
Cookieman108
If I learned anything from this film is that when a monk chases out the spirits from your haunted house and afterwards instructs you not to let anyone in, you should heed his advice...also, keep your katanas locked up...
FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM is one of the most disgusting, horrifying, and just plain nasty movies I have ever seen. It touches on subjects such as incest, necrophelia, and also has some strange stories that include voodoo, a traveling carnival, and a bunch of depraved and creepy kids (a la Children of the Corn). If you like horror movies, though, and think you can stomach this, I say give it a try.
It was a nice suprise to see one of my all time favorites, Vincent Price, presenting the four-part anthology. His atmospheric voice and often creepy face are perfect for a movie like this.
The stories revolve around the fact that Price's niece is presently being executed for murder. Price is explaining to a reporter how it is not her fault she is like that, but... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Vincent Price - Clu Gulager Director(s): Jeff Burr DVD Release Date: Released the 20 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I had this on Laserdisk years ago and the quality was HORRIBLE!It does look like MGM cleaned it up ALOT and it looks pretty clean compaired to the Crummy LaserDisk Version.I just wish the deleted scenes were included as well as a booklet.The Commentary by Cast members was lacking.Can you say "Boring As Hell?".They did not say anything about how a scene was done or behind the scenes.He seemed like he was not all there during the commentary.He remembered nothing and asked alot of weird questions to other cast members about filming(was he all there during filming too?).Is he ok?He is a funny actor and seems like a nice guy,I hope he is ok.The other cast members(including Lee),seemed like they were asleep and not really into the commentary much.With the exception of Carrie Lorraine,who... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Stuart Gordon DVD Release Date: Released the 20 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Jack sholder's 80's classic "ALONE IN THE DARK" is a unique slasher gem with some real substance to it! An intelligent scary film with a great little twist & only one weakness keeping it from being flawless & thats the unrealistic,un-emotional,overacting,bad dialog haveing,useless,annoying little blonde girl!(if she had any more dialog it may have ruined the movie!) With that said Martin Landau is truly excellent & scary as hell as The Preacher! This one is a horror fan must! More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Martin Landau DVD Release Date: Released the 13 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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One of the better examples of the mad-computer genre, Demon Seed is a sci-fi nightmare brimming with ideas. Julie Christie dominates the film as an unsuspecting woman whose house has been completely automated by her computer-genius husband (Fritz Weaver). He, in turn, has just completed Proteus, the world's smartest Artificial Intelligence machine. When Proteus traps Christie alone in the house, it--or he--has notions of passing his intellectual power to another generation... by impregnating her. One of the many intriguing things about Donald Cammell's film (based on a Dean Koontz yarn) is that Proteus's dreams are actually visionary and utopian, unlike the commercial uses planned for him by others. Of course, he's also scary as hell; the voice of Proteus, uncredited, unmistakably... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Julie Christie - Fritz Weaver Director(s): Donald Cammell DVD Release Date: Released the 04 October 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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"Hammer Horror Series" presents some of the studios best films from the early sixties period, though they might not be the most familiar to Hammer fans. A few, in fact, might come with baggage attached, but this collection dispells some of that baggage. In particular, Hammer's "Phantom of the Opera" has suffered more abuse over the years than any other of its films. The hard truth is, it's pretty good. The reason it has such a bum reputation might be because most people first saw it on television, which seriously impaired it. In it's proper aspect ratio, and with the extra scenes filmed for American TV left out, it's really pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty good. The biggest liability with the film are the horrendous opera sequences. "Evil of Frankenstein" has similarly been... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Herbert Lom - Heather Sears Director(s): Terence Fisher DVD Release Date: Released the 06 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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