The House of Seven Corpses

Starring:John Ireland, Faith Domergue, John Carradine, Carole Wells, Charles Macaulay, Jerry Strickler, Ron Foreman, Larry Record, Marty Hornstein, Charles Bail, Lucy Doheny, Jo Anne Mower, Ron Garcia (II), Jeff Alexander, Wells Bond, Laurie Bartram
Director: Paul Harrison
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Customer Reviews:

Charming low-budget horror.......2007-06-06

Another film with a title reminiscent of Rob Zombie's films, but with much more taste and artistry, even on a low budget. This film has an old-school charm that is hard to find. I enjoyed the atmospherics of this film and the soundtrack. I liked the entire gimmick of the seven deaths being re-enacted over again, and the introduction that ties into this was also interesting.

Eerie Movie..............................2006-01-03

I think this movie is great.................The ending as well as the begning was very strange and creepy. For those of you who like I know what you did last summer or Texas chainsaw massacre stay away this movie is not for you. But For those who like good old fashioned artistic horror movies rent or buy. regardless of the other reviews this movie is really great................

A waste of Celluloid.......2003-07-12

After reading some of the glowing reviews, I took a chance on this film. I didn't have high expectations knowing that it was a low budget film.

In contrast to some of the reviews, the acting was too melodramatic, the sound quality wasn't that great, the script was dull and the entire film is too dated for today's audience, even for "B" movie fans.

Rent it first before deciding on purchasing it. Otherwise you may kick yourself for wasting money on a film you won't view a second time.

"The House of Seven Corpses" AKA: Who really killed Cleon?.......2002-08-29

The House of Seven Corpses was one of my favorite late night spooky movies that my brother and I would tune in on NYC's channel 9 or Boston's channel 36 beamed into our living room in upstate NY on early cable, sans the bells and whistles that today's teens enjoy. We used to take bets on who killed the ageing diva's (Faith Domergue's) cat Cleon (My money was on the director of the film within a film, John Ireland) as well as wonder why a witch like Mrs. Beale (at the start of the movie, they were re-enacting a seance scene for the movie the soon to be victims were shooting) would need a gun to protect herself from the Zombie she was summoning? John Carradine (who interrupts the seance/film shoot at the beggining of the movie) joined an excellent cast, including Faith and John, to put together a scary little film on a shoestring budget that is still fun and suspenseful even after multiple viewings. OK, you have to suspend disbelief, but that goes for most movies that provide escapist entertainment. As for the movie being violent, next to watching the evening news these days "The House of Seven Corpses" looks like a quiet walk in the park! The DVD is a high quality "Image" release and is recently available at a bargain price on top of it. It was originally selling at a fairly high list price, it is now quite a bargain here at our favorite internet site, Amazon[.com]. The wonders of the American recession! Don't forget the popcorn and don't put out the cat! Do enjoy this film on a stormy night curled up on the coach preferably with company, or at least the cat.

Utah Schlock-O-Rama!.......2002-08-13

Filmed in the Utah governor's mansion, this little cheap-o goodie is low on sense and high on atmosphere. It's highly entertaining, no matter how you choose to view it. On the one hand, it's actually pretty good as a simple, straightforward low-budget horror film; on the other, it's so cheaply made and (in some ways) nonsensical that you can good-naturedly laugh at it.

The story is a movie in a movie, which is always an enjoyable conceit: director John Ireland shoots a low-budget picture in the haunted Beal mansion, the owners of which all came to untimely and violent ends. The cast and crew don't take it very seriously, though middle-aged actress Faith Domergue (one of Howard Hughes' favorites, still surprisingly beautiful) wants to do her best since she is concerned about her future job prospects. In the interest of making the black-magic angle of the movie more believable - caretaker John Carradine heaps scorn on the filmmakers for their blatant disregard concerning the house's actual history - Domergue reads part of the script's ritual from a Latin translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead found among the Beals' belongings, and ends up raising a little real hell from the family graveyard...which causes the film's cast to gradually succumb to the same violent demises formerly suffered by the unfortunate Beals.

For as cheap a movie as this is, it's shot quite beautifully. The color is especially vivid and rich, and the cinematography is pretty crisp. There are looped sequences and some shoddy day-for-night photography, but it's rather impressive in spite of that. Dominic Frontiere's moody first season Outer Limits score is recycled for the soundtrack, to good effect. The actors play it all for real, and remain surprisingly credible. And the action sometimes surprisingly sucks you in, with a few gruesome and shuddery moments.

Description

When a motion picture crew decides to use the supposedly-cursed Beal Mansion as the location for their latest horror film, little do they realize that they are tampering with the supernatural. According to legend, seven Beal descendants met violent, but "accidental" ends in the ancient house, and the latest Beal victim had been dabbling in the occult before her untimely demise. After headstrong director Eric Hartman (John Ireland) demands that his leading lady Gayle (Faith Domergue) recite actual passages from the Tibetan Book of the Dead during the filming, he unleashes long-dead spirits that begin to re-enact the historical Beal murders and exact their own bloody revenge on the trespassers. What secret does caretaker Edgar Price (John Carradine) hold to the Beal family curse? And what do the empty picture frame and unmarked grave have to do with the mystery--could there be a remaining member of the Beal family lurking about, with murder on his mind?

Customer Reviews:

Charming low-budget horror.......2007-06-06

Eerie Movie..............................2006-01-03

A waste of Celluloid.......2003-07-12

After reading some of the glowing reviews, I took a chance on this film. I didn't have high expectations knowing that it was a low budget film.

Rent it first before deciding on purchasing it. Otherwise you may kick yourself for wasting money on a film you won't view a second time.

"The House of Seven Corpses" AKA: Who really killed Cleon?.......2002-08-29

Utah Schlock-O-Rama!.......2002-08-13

DVD:

DVD

Narc [FS] [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: The Thief

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