Rating: 
Summary: house that dripped blood
Review: one of amicus films greatest anthologys. it has it all, spooky old english manor, vampires witches and not forgetting the presence of both christopher lee and peter cushing turning in superb performances. they are supported by a great cast too.
this film is very hard to find as it has been deleated since the eighties.i have an original but even a copy is a must inevery horror addicts video libary. it even attracts dr. who fans as jon pertwee plays the part of a horror actor who ,by mistake buys a real vampires cloak.ingrid pitt soon leads him to the darkside in a wity sendup of the vampire world. all in all see it for yourself its a great piece of fantasy genre. ENJOY !
Rating: 
Summary: This House doesn't have a solid foundation
Review: Sadly, The House That Dripped Blood doesn't have a very solid foundation. The termites of time have chewed away at the film's frame and the result is a film that sags when it should chill. Before you give me a "not helpful vote" hear me out.
I'm very fond of the low-budget but crisply directed series of films that Amicus productions released during the 70's. Unfortunately, The House That Dripped Blood isn't one of their better titles. Stick with the imaginative Asylum and Tales From The Crypt. Both these anthology films are much bolder and better made than this entry.House comes off looking like an English knock-off of Night Gallery. While there's a very good cast buried in this film, the writing by original Psycho scripe Robert Bloch doesn't sever them very well. Denholm Elliot (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who)and Ingrid Pitt do their best given the material but there isn't much here to begin with. Bloch's script has no teeth and the direction is on a par with very average 1970's television programs. It's a pity. The framing story for this anthology promised much more than it could deliver. A famous horror film actor (Jon Pertwee)has disappeared and one of Scotland Yard's finest is sent down to refer on the case. It turns out that the house where the actor was staying has a curse on it. Horror things happen to everyone that has rented it from A. J. Stoker (in an all too obvious tip of the hat to Bram Stoker and Dracula). The first tale starts promisingly enough. A writer (Denholm Elliot)suffering from writer's block is hoping to jump-start his new novel about a strangler with a change of scenery. His wife doesn't care for the place but it suits the writer's personality to a tee. Fiction intrudes on reality when the writer begins seeing the murderer from his novel everywhere. His wife doesn't see anything. When the writer nearly strangles his wife, she insists that he seek help. Needless to say, things end badly. The second tale involves a retired stockbroker (Peter Cushing giving a solid performance as always). He rents the house for the isolation and escape from the real world. He discovers a wax museum which would have seemed at home in the film House of Wax. He recognizes one of the figures; it resembles a former lover that he and his best friend fought over years ago. When Cushing's friend shows up to visit, he takes him into town. They visit the wax museum. The friend is mesmerized by the likeness of his former lover and can't leave the town. The third tale involves a little girl isolated from all other children and her very frightened father who hires a teacher to tutor her. The third tale like the first two have a lot of potential. The telling of the tale is so poor, though, that it's hard to develop any sympathy for any of the characters or care what happens to them. The fourth and final story provides the resolution for the framing story about the missing actor. It seems that the actor was appearing in a horror film about a vampire. When the actor purchases a cloak that belonged to a real vampire the tongue-in-cheek tale takes a turn for the worst for the actor and his co-star. The transfer and print look exceptional. The colors are rich and the print suffers from minor analog imperfections. The mono sound is occasionally distorted but, on the whole, it sounds pretty good. The extras are minimal but given the nice transfer and widescreen presentation, fans may forgive this oversight. There is a nice interview with one of the producers. What prevents the film from being effective are the telegraphed endings, hamfisted direction and lackluster writing. All of this is a surprise given the other films that came from Amicus Productions during the 60's and 70's. The film looks like an average television movie and has as much ambition. Horror film veterans like Roy Ward Baker (Asylum and Scars of Dracula) might have given this film a bit more energy and visual inspiration. Unfortunately, House is a relic of an earlier, more innocent time when bell bottoms were king and the few worthwhile horror films were low budget but sharp looking efforts from England. No doubt I'll get some no helpful votes on this review (particularly if you remember this film fondly as I did)but, sadly, it hasn't aged well at all. The House That Dripped Blood has a couple of creepy and suspenseful moments but most of these are courtesy of the performances of Elliot, Cushing and Lee.
Rating:
Summary: This House doesn't have a solid foundation
Review: Sadly, The House That Dripped Blood doesn't have a very solid foundation. The termites of time have chewed away at the film's frame and the result is a film that sags when it should chill. Overall, "House" doesn't chill the way it used to but then perhaps that's more to do with the explicit quality of the many movies out there now. Before you give me a "not helpful vote" hear me out.
I'm very fond of the low-budget but crisply directed series of films that Amicus productions released during the 70's. Unfortunately, The House That Dripped Blood isn't one of their better titles. Stick with the imaginative Asylum and Tales From The Crypt. Both these anthology films are much bolder and better made than this entry.
"House" comes off looking like an English knock-off of Night Gallery. While there's a very good cast buried in this film, the writing by original Psycho scripe Robert Bloch doesn't quite gel. Denholm Elliot (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who)and Ingrid Pitt do their best given the material but there isn't much here to begin with. Compare this to the TV movie "The Night Stalker" with Darren McGavin or "Trilogy of Terror" (another anthology film but made for TV). Both of these films are superior to "House" despite the splendid production design.
It's a pity. The framing story for this anthology promised much more than it could deliver. A famous horror film actor (Jon Pertwee)has disappeared and one of Scotland Yard's finest is sent down to refer on the case. It turns out that the house where the actor was staying has a curse on it. Bad things happen to everyone that has rented it from A. J. Stoker (in an all too obvious tip of the hat to Bram Stoker and Dracula) so it's no surprise that those that move in never get the chance to move out.
The framing story features a detective called in to locate a missing actor (Jon Pertwee). The detective hears about the haunted history of the home where the actor was staying. The first tale starts promisingly enough. A writer (Denholm Elliot)suffering from writer's block is hoping to jump-start his new novel about a strangler with a change of scenery. His wife doesn't care for the place but it suits the writer's personality to a tee. Fiction intrudes on reality when the writer begins seeing the murderer from his novel everywhere. His wife doesn't see anything. When the writer nearly strangles his wife, she insists that he seek help. Needless to say, things end badly.
The second tale involves a retired stockbroker (Peter Cushing giving a solid performance as always). He rents the house for the isolation and escape from the real world. He discovers a wax museum which would have seemed at home in the film House of Wax. He recognizes one of the figures; it resembles a former lover that he and his best friend fought over years ago. When Cushing's friend shows up to visit, he takes him into town. They visit the wax museum. The friend is mesmerized by the likeness of his former lover and can't leave the town.
The third tale involves a little girl isolated from all other children and her very frightened father who hires a teacher to tutor her. The third tale like the first two have a lot of potential. The telling of the tale is so poor, though, that it's hard to develop any sympathy for any of the characters or care what happens to them.
The fourth and final story provides the resolution for the framing story about the missing actor. It seems that the actor was appearing in a horror film about a vampire. When the actor purchases a cloak that belonged to a real vampire the tongue-in-cheek tale takes a turn for the worst for the actor and his co-star. We discover all too quickly the fate of our actor friend and his co-star when the inspector visits the house.
The transfer and print look exceptional. The colors are rich and the print suffers from minor analog imperfections. The mono sound is occasionally distorted but, on the whole, it sounds pretty good. The extras are minimal but given the nice transfer and widescreen presentation, fans may forgive this oversight. There is a nice interview with one of the producers.
What prevents the film from being effective are the telegraphed endings, hamfisted direction and lackluster writing. All of this is a surprise given the other films that came from Amicus Productions during the 60's and 70's. The film looks like an average television movie and has as much ambition. Horror film veterans like Roy Ward Baker (Asylum and Scars of Dracula) might have given this film a bit more energy and visual inspiration. Unfortunately, House is a relic of an earlier, more innocent time when bell bottoms were king and the few worthwhile horror films were low budget but sharp looking efforts from England.
No doubt I'll get some no helpful votes on this review (particularly if you remember this film fondly as I did)but, sadly, it hasn't aged well at all. The House That Dripped Blood has a couple of creepy and suspenseful moments but most of these are courtesy of the performances of Elliot, Cushing and Lee.
Rating: 
Summary: ...and Some of Its Friends
Review: This anthology of four stories had a surprising number of famous stars in it. Peter Cushing is in the second story, with Christopher Lee following in the third, and Jon Pertwee (known by most Whovians as the third "Doctor Who") in the fourth.
But these famous actors cannot hide one thing: only the first of these stories involves characters directly affected by the house! The second story involves its problems with a wax museum. The third story's problem was already existant before the residents moved into the house. The final story's problem involves a vampire cloak, not the house. So when the retail agent says, "It's the house causing all this" it isn't too believable. The fact all four residents lived in the house probably doesn't matter - I'd say the whole town's a little screwy!
The first story was scary, the others are built more on storyline. However, I must admit it got a bit tiring having to sit through one story after another, particularly after the third one. Everytime a story finishes and you think the movie's over, someone says, "No wait - someone ELSE lived in that house." Insert general grumbling and rolling of eyes and gnashing of teeth and slitting of wrists...
This is a one-time viewing movie, but only if interested. Like I said, keep in mind the title is very misleading. Come to think of it, there's very little blood in this thing at all!
Rating: 
Summary: Good Hammer Films horror anthology
Review: This horror entry in the early 70's is a Hammeresque Tales of the Crypt kind of horror anthology, regarding four tales. And apart from the fact that at least one person who lives in the title house gets murdered, there is something regarding what the house is all about.
Detective Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) is searching for a missing film actor, Paul Henderson. Through a combination of Sergeaant Martin and the realtor, a Mr. A.J. Stoker, (get the in-joke? Bram Stoker?) he learns that the house Henderson was living in has a dark history behind it, and that some people died tragically. The inspector of course doesn't believe in superstitious nonsense.
Story one concerns a writer specializing in gruesome horror. Charles Hillyer (Denholm Elliott) and his wife stay in the house, he mainly to write his new novel. He's even inspired enough to make a drawing of the main character, a homicidal maniac named Dominick. However, things get scary when the writer starts seeing Dominick! His imagination, or is it real? This is probably the best episode here, given the right amount of suspense
"Waxworks" involves a retired stockbroker, Philip Grayson (Peter Cushing), who plans to just relax, such as reading and listening to music. However, a trip to the local wax museum stirs something in him. The statue of Salome reminds him of a beautiful woman whose photograph he has kept. He gets an unexpected visit from his friend Neville (Joss Ackland), who happened to be passing by. He also goes to the waxworks, and like Philip, recognizes the same woman.
Christopher Lee appears in "Sweets To The Sweet," the story most like a Tales From The Crypt episode. He plays John Reid, a somewhat cold widower who with his timid daughter Jane move into the house. He hires a Ms. Ann Norton (Nyree Dawn Porter) to be a private tutor for Jane. She turns out to be nice and tries to bring some sunshine into Jane's life. However, he refuses to allow Jane to play with other children or to have any toys at all. And he's apparently glad that his wife is now departed, but why is he so cruel to his own daughter? The most gruesome death of all (offscreen) happens here.
When Jon Pertwee starred in "The Cloak," he had just become famous as the Third Doctor Who, and was inbetween his first and second seasons. Here, he plays the object of the inspector's search, the vain and arrogant horror actor Paul Henderson, who buys a genuine cloak from an antique store. When he puts the cloak on, strange things happen to him, like his growing fangs. Opposite him is his fellow performer and friend Carla, played by the sensuous Ingrid Pitt, who would gain fame as Carmilla and Elisabeth Bathory in other horror films. In his memoirs, Pertwee said he based his character on Christopher Lee, but couldn't tell Lee, his friend, when the latter asked him who his inspiration for the character was. In one scene, Pitt was supposed to slap Pertwee, who asked her use the hand without her sharp rings on it. When the scene came on, she forgot. Ouch!
The last segment is particularly interesting, as the production team tried to send it up. Pertwee recalls how much of the comedy and consequently his scenes were edited out when the producer saw what was happening and got mad, but seeing that the picture was already halfway done, couldn't reshoot scenes due to budget constraints so practically all the comedy ended up on the cutting room floor to retain the seriousness of the film.
A not bad, all-star British cast in this horror anthology outing. A different style from Mario Bava's Black Sabbath to be sure, but I bet Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were relieved not to be playing Dracula and Dr. Van Helsing for once.
Rating:
Summary: A Gruesome Delight
Review: This is a collection of four short narratives with a link story about the mystery of the creepy old house where all are set. In the first, a writer of horror stories fears he is going mad when the lunatic murderer he is writing about suddenly appears in his life and starts to stalk him. In the second, a respectable retired unmarried stockbroker is thrown off balance when he comes across a waxwork of a young woman that reminds him of his lost love. In the third, a young woman is hired as a governess and is puzzled to discover that her employer has forbidden his sweet little girl to play with dolls... In the fourth, a hammy old horror movie actor goes off shopping for a vampire's cloak and gets more than he bargained for. His subsequent disappearance has brought a Scotland Yard detective sniffing around whose investigations are a basis for the slender linking story. Five stars first of all because of the title. If it isn't the best title of any movie ever, what on earth is? And you know you're into a treat when you watch the rest of the credits: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott, Joss Ackland, Ingrid Pitt... But my most vivid memory is still one of NOT seeing it. When it was released I was a wee boy of seven or eight, a good ten years younger than the certificate said I had to be to go and see it at the cinema. But I saw it advertised and was, I remember, desperately frustrated: a film with such a title could not possibly fail, my small boy's bloodthirsty imagination insisted, to be the most brilliant ever made. Older and perhaps wiser (and able to watch it as often as I like without troubling the law), I'll now concede it my well not be the most brilliant, or even anywhere near the scariest, film ever made. But I think my seven-year old self would not have been disappointed by these lovely gruesome little tales (and would not, I confidently conjecture have suffered significant psychological harm from seeing them). And even now, at my present relatively disenchanted age, I can watch it with unmitigated and not particularly guilty pleasure.
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