House of the Damned

Not too bad. With a running time of 64 minutes I was expecting a cheap thriller and it has a lot of setup. When things start to get weird the movie gets a little better but you know the closer and closer the end gets you will find out what's going on and then the movie will Immediately end! Kind of unsatisfactory. Some good creepy use of shadow and and the acting was better than I expected. Same thing with the production values.

Director Maury Dexter's films are, it seems, generally not much appreciated, but personally I found just about every one, with the exception of Young Guns of Texas, to be thoroughly engaging little support features that were often a cut well above the main attraction. House of the Damned came about mid-way through his early sixties output,and was beautifully lit and photographed in the particularly pleasing combination of black and white with the added benefit of CinemaScope. This is no film for horror fans. It is an atmospheric drama with a sad,low-key ending. Solid cast with popular leading man of the times Ron Foster, and Merry Anders, always a joy to watch, and especially good in Dexter's Police Nurse. House of the Damned rated X for over 16's only, topped the bill at the Rialto Theatre Coventry Street in London's west-end. A limited release in the capital's suburbs saw it supporting another Fox entry Witchcraft. Dexter's output was unpretentious but consistently entertaining, and it would be nice if the Fox Archive people were to release some, if not all of his films in their correct theatrical release ratio. Maury Dexter's contribution to the illustrious history of 20th Century-Fox may be small but it is certainly worthy of recognition.

Estranged couple Richard Crane and Erika Peters have just taken possession of a creepy old mansion which has a few interesting legends attached to it and a murder allegedly committed there by the wife of a past owner who is in a loony bin.

They've invited architect Ron Foster and Merry Anders who is Foster's wife for the weekend to look over the place to decide on needed changes and repairs.

But someone or a few is scaring the two couples pretty good and such is the basis of our plot.

I won't say any more, but think of the great Tod Browning classic Freaks and you'll know a great of what is happening.

Because of that connection this film had the germ of a good idea for a movie. Sadly a mediocre production and a substandard script fixed that.

House of the Damned (1963) is a movie I watched off my DVR after recording it on FXM. The storyline follows an architect and his wife who has been asked to survey a house that was built for an eccentric lady. As they try to complete what should be a simple task they are approached by strange things within the house. Will the young couple be able to escape the house or will they be bound there forever?

This movie is directed by Maury Dexter (Hell's Belles) and stars Ron Foster (The Money Pit), Merry Anders (Tickle Me), Richard Crane (Behind Green Lights), Erika Peters (GI Blues) and Richard Kiel (Happy Gilmore).

This is an early 60s movie in black and white that honestly feels more 50s than 60s. The acting is very good and the dialogue is well written. The horror elements rely on circumstances and background music. They did do a good job creating a few good jump scares and there's some classic scream scenes (Psycho like).

Overall this is a fun, above average addition to the genre if you enjoy horror films from this era. I would score this a 6/10 and recommended seeing it once.

"House of the Damned" is a quickly made Fox second feature, (inexplicably shot in CinemaScope) which offers the viewer pleasing performances from Ronald Foster, the always fine Merry Anders, and Richard Crane, who apparently is playing fast and loose with his new French bride (Erika Peters) whose acting is - how shall I say? - lousy. These four are exploring an old house with a grim history (what else is new?) which the owners want remodeled. Occasional scares, (supposedly) unexpected events, and undeveloped story reduce this one to a series of build ups to nothing in particular. The photography, however, is above average for this sort of thing. Unfortunately, it's mostly wasted here. Try "House of Dark Shadows", "House of 1000 Dolls", "House of Whipcord" or "House Of Women" instead. Incidentally, the original movie posters announce the film thusly: ''13 Keys Open The Doors To The House Haunted By The Living Dead!' If ever there was a case of fraudulent advertising, this was it. Any appearances by The Living Dead are strictly in the minds of the 20th Century-Fox publicity department.