Reviewer:
The House That Dripped Blood
A seemingly harmless house for rent seems to be the catalyst for mysterious happenings.
Method for Murder:
Charles (Denholm Elliott) has a case of writer’s block, and the only cure is to take his wife Alice (Joanna
Durham) and get away from it all so he can get back to writing. They settle down to write in the house leased to them by agent AJ Stoker (John Bryans). Charles quickly immerses himself in his work about a serial killer named Dominick, who strangles his victims. Things are going well… until Charles begins to actually see Dominick. But that isn’t possible, is it? Dominick is just a character… or is he?
Waxworks:
Philip (Peter Cushing) has retired and decides to rent the house from Stoker. Searching for something to do, he comes across a waxwork museum, and becomes fascinated by the wax figure depicting Salome with the head of John the Baptist. But fascination turns to obsession, and them more…
Sweets to the Sweet:
Reid (Christopher Lee) brings his young daughter Jane (Chloe Franks) to the house. Deciding against sending her to school, he engages a nanny/teacher, Ann (Nyree Dawn Porter). As Ann grows attached to Jane, she finds the man’s attitude toward his daughter to be rather harsh as well as stifling. But perhaps there is a reason why he does the things he does…
The Cloak:
Paul (Jon Pertwee) has made a career of playing vampires, but the new movie he has been cast in is less than inspiring. He makes fun of the cheap seat they’ve constructed to represent his castle, and the cloak they gave him is laughable. He decides to take matters into his own hands and ends up at a small costume shop. The proprietor sells him a much butter cloak at a ridiculously low price. But when Paul puts on the cloak, strange things begin to happen.
This anthology of four stories was made in 1970, and stars four well-known talented actors. Typical of its time, it relies less on blood and gore than on actual story and psychology. Not everything is what it appears to be, and figuring out the twist is fun. One of the writers of the film was Robert Bloch, whom you may remember as having given us Psycho. I liked all of the stories, but especially the last two. The story that binds these four concerns a Scotland Yard detective who is working on a missing persons case. There are no jump scares in this film, and perhaps it’s not terrifying, but it’s certainly entertaining and worth watching. I’ll give this film 3.75 Stars.
Wednesday Briefs 