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THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD
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The House That Dripped Blood is a movie of a title that suggests it definitely belongs with most of the hilariously awful films reviewed here. Nothing could be further from the truth. Rather, it is one of the earliest vignettes in the genre to so successfully tie together seemingly unrelated stories into a plausible sequence of events akin to such cult classics as Go with the distinctly British flair Hitchcock pulled off in films like Rebecca. And considering the budget, the cast and crew pulled it off with remarkable conviction. The House That Dripped Blood is a series of four stories related to a Scotland Yard investigator by the proprietor of a home that, while not haunted, definitely has its secret. The trick of the film is to understand the secret of the house, the thing that causes the unfortunate events to unfold in the lives of a succession ot tenents. Our first tenent is a writer who, with his wife, moves in to finish his latest horror story. He's attracted by a library containing a vast collection of macbre tales, and winds up suffering his fate at the hands of a character he created. Grand Moff Tarkin is featured in the following tale. He moves in and lives quietly for a time, until a discovery at a local waxworks horror museum triggers a series of events which ultimately lead to the demise of not only him but his best friend as well. Count Dooku is next; he takes on a teacher for his young but paternally inhibited daughter and eventually reveals his family's secret, though not in time to prevent his own death. And finally we are faced with the vampire tale, though the cheekiness gained in relation makes it difficult to suspend disbelief in the story. It was obvious that research was lacking in this department by their attempts to fleece the public with the supposed knowledge of this tale's lead. Still, they did what they could with it, and the story did serve to move the film forward to its logical conclusion if taken as an event instead of dissected scene-for-scene. At this point the inspector is insistent that he visit the house, and though the proprietor attempts to persuade him that the following day would be more appropriate, our inspector is not to be dissuaded. The events that follow are not so much a tale in their own as at attempt to remain consistent, after which the proprietor faces the camera and explains the secret of the house to the audience. The reasoning for the four (five) tragedies is decidedly British, as is much of the film, but as such may surprise a number of the film's American viewers. While the precepts and tricks of the movie have been done since to a greater degree of success, there's something charming about this film, lending itself to the list of unsung greats of early British thrillers. While this is by no means a blockbuster, it should be in the libraries of most proclaimed lovers of psychological horror cinema. The House That Dripped Blood serves as a superb example of what can be done with very little. Given a reasonably plausible script and a good eye for underrated acting talent, this is proof that an excellent film is possible on even the smallest of budgets. © 2005 actionplant.com. all rights reserved.
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