"Beautiful Presentation of a Horror Classic"
One of the finest anthology movies to be made by England's Amicus Films gets a gorgeous limited edition release from Second Sight.
Horror film star Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) has disappeared. Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) discovers from a local police sergeant (John Malcolm) and an estate agent called Stoker (John Bryans, completing the framework story 'trilogy of Johns') that the house Henderson rented might have had something to do with it.
Using the title location as an excuse to package four Robert Bloch short stories, HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD achieves the admirable quality of swinging between psycho-crime thriller ('Method For Murder'), Peter Cushing & Joss Ackland being threatened by the really rather weird ('Waxworks'), Christopher Lee being upstaged by witchy four year old Chloe Franks ('Sweets to the Sweet') and comedy (the quite marvellous Pertwee facing off against an equally excellent Geoffrey Bayldon going full Ernest Thesiger in 'The Cloak').
There aren't many horror anthologies that can put their funny episode last and pull the entire thing off with such aplomb, but director Peter Duffell makes it all look easy. Each episode very much has its own character (and facet of the house) but that doesn't detract from HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD working as a stylish, well made whole. It's one of the best of these kinds of movies Amicus made and while one can understand why Duffell didn't want to make any more one still wishes there could have been.
Second Sight's Blu-ray transfer looks absolutely wonderful if you've only seen the old Anchor Bay DVD, otherwise it sparkles in the same way the US Scream Factory Blu does. Extras are on the whole similar to that disc as well. The Troy Howarth commentary track which was new to that release has been carried over, as well as the Peter Duffell / Jonathan Rigby one from the DVD. There's an interview with second assistant director Mike Higgins and an archival featurette featuring interviews with Duffell, Franks and Bayldon. You also get radio spots, trailers and a still gallery.
Second Sight's Limited Edition also comes with a rigid slipcase showcasing some lovely Graham Humphreys artwork, a fold-out movie poster featuring the Humphreys artwork on one side and the US one-sheet poster art on the other, and finally a nice little book containing essays by Allan Bryce (an overview of Amicus and the film in question), Jon Towison (a nice piece on Robert Bloch, one of my all-time favourite writers) and a very decent essay by Kat Ellinger that gave this reviewer, who has watched THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD more times over the last forty years than I dare to count, a new angle from which to examine the film - great stuff.
THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD Limited Edition is a top quality package of a top quality 1970s British horror film. Well done to Second Sight for going the extra mile. Fans should snap this up, while those new to 1970s UK horror could do worse than start here.
THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD - Limited Edition is out on Blu-ray from Second Sight on Monday 29th July.
One of my all time favourite horror movies! Can't wait to buy it tomorrow when it comes out, along with Asylum. Now all we need is a similar Second Sight release of FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE.
ReplyDeleteI will be selling the Shout Factory editions of both The House That Dripped Blood and Asylum, as these two Second Sight beauties are much too hard to resist buying!
ReplyDeleteI think we may have to wait a while on FROM BEYOND (but yes that would be great). But I agree - you don't need the US Blu-rays if you've got these, and these are lovely!
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