The House That Dripped Blood (1971)

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   Siskoid

   Four by Robert Bloch, The House That Dripped Blood struggles to tie his little tales of ironic horror together, I think, with everyone telling a police detective that the house did it every time, but there's really very little about the house that could be responsible for its tenants' ignominious ends. Nevertheless, the horror plots come to a crashing conclusion soon after renting the place. A writer haunted by his psychotic character, two old friends obsessed with a waxworks beauty, a father who fears his own child, and a prima donna horror film star who buys a mystical cloak and comes to regret it. In each case, there's a twist and then often a supplementary twist that only works in terms of horror logic and can be goofy is stared at too long. The first of the tales is the best, the most Hitchcockian from the writer of Pyscho. The middle ones are kind of standard fare, but benefit from using Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in relatively unusual roles (victims). The third is interesting to Doctor Who fans because it stars Jon Pertwee who is very much originating some of his Who wardrobe in this film, and is assisted by future Who co-star Ingrid Pitt (another horror icon) and almost-Doctor-but-eventually-got-to-do-it-for-Big-Finish Geoffrey Bayldon. Unfortunately, it's also the goofiest story and Pertwee brings to it his trademark gurning, which clashes with the general tone of the film. Casual entertainment, but not a top-tier anthology film. 1 year 2 months ago

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