I saw this Schockley horror film a half of dozen times since the 1970's and although anyone who seen it would have to admit it very flawed, it to me was a lot of fun to watch! It is an old school type of horror film,doesn't go to far with the blood and gore and relies on spooky atmosphere, music, and sound effects! And man was that atmosphere spooky, especially the opening score! In my own personal opinion, the opening score was one of the spookiest ever in a horror film, and I have seen many! The music from the chorus, the creepy looking house and paintings, the sound effects, and showing how each Beale family member died make that intro very, very, scary! If the rest of the film was as good as the introduction this film would have been a classic, but they didn't seem to want it to be that way! But, for some reason, I still love this film and hope someday they make a remake of it, with the same atmosphere, music, sound effects and creepy mansion, this time focusing on the Beale Family and what lead to their demise!
49 Reviews
House of the Bad Comments by IMDb Users!
daveydalek8 January 2008
I am honestly confused by most of these reviews and comments. There is nothing really THAT BAD about this film. It plays like an extended version of an episode of "Night Gallery." There is obvious comparisons to "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" and other genre films but this film really doesn't belong in those categories. I am a fan of the 70's horror genre and did not expect much when I sat down to re-watch this film after twenty years. (DID NOT EXPECT MUCH-GOT THAT!) I would not call it boring or confusing. Too many people enjoy writing overly critical reviews of movies that were never intended to be masterpieces. Too many reviewers also feel the need to compare all movies to each other rather than seeing them for what they are really worth individually. In all of it's "stiffness" this film is still more entertaining than the CGI crap Hollywood dumps on the public in 2008!
I've seen worse...
preppy-318 January 2006
...but I've seen better too.
The story here is predictable--a film crew trying to film a horror movie in a place where murders occurred. Three guesses what happens. This isn't a total bomb--the cast is fairly good with pros John Ireland, Faith Domergue and John Carradine giving the best performances. It's reasonably well-made--for a low budget film. Just don't expect any nudity, swearing, blood OR gore (the film has a very mild PG rating). I was never totally bored--it's OK viewing on a quiet night. I saw it on video--it was a HORRIBLE print--very dark and some scenes were impossible to see. Still I didn't hate it and it does have a cool ending which surprised me--basically nothing happens up till then so it catches you off guard. Worth seeing but only if you're a horror film completest.
The story here is predictable--a film crew trying to film a horror movie in a place where murders occurred. Three guesses what happens. This isn't a total bomb--the cast is fairly good with pros John Ireland, Faith Domergue and John Carradine giving the best performances. It's reasonably well-made--for a low budget film. Just don't expect any nudity, swearing, blood OR gore (the film has a very mild PG rating). I was never totally bored--it's OK viewing on a quiet night. I saw it on video--it was a HORRIBLE print--very dark and some scenes were impossible to see. Still I didn't hate it and it does have a cool ending which surprised me--basically nothing happens up till then so it catches you off guard. Worth seeing but only if you're a horror film completest.
Strangely Hypnotic
Krug Stillo1 June 2003
Warning: Spoilers
After watching a few foreign new wave horror/mystery/suspense films, including Ringu and its sequels, Audition, Open Your Eyes and The Eye I was in the mood for something that did not require reading subtitles for the length of a film. Where could I find such brainless fun? Obviously the old Italian zombie movie was my first choice, then I came across this old flick and found it strangely engaging. The House of Seven Corpses is an atmospheric supernatural/zombie film that deserves rediscovery.
SPOILERS AHEAD ... The story involves a group of filmmakers, who unwisely raise evil forces with the use of an old book of spells and conjurations (ala Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things or The Evil Dead). The fascist director, who screams and shouts at his cast at the drop of a hat, decides to make his film in an old house with a sinister history of murder and mystery. It's in the last quarter of the film that most of the action takes place, but until then tension, atmosphere and twists develops well enough to keep viewers involved in the well conceived film-within-a-film narrative. There's little gore, relying more on mood and eerie shots of a dead body floating along a stream, Carradine wandering amongst gravestones and the silhouette of the zombie creeping through the old house. With its downbeat ending and interesting-for-the-time plot, House of Seven Corpses established itself as an enjoyable experience and I was happy for not getting what I originally ordered.
SPOILERS AHEAD ... The story involves a group of filmmakers, who unwisely raise evil forces with the use of an old book of spells and conjurations (ala Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things or The Evil Dead). The fascist director, who screams and shouts at his cast at the drop of a hat, decides to make his film in an old house with a sinister history of murder and mystery. It's in the last quarter of the film that most of the action takes place, but until then tension, atmosphere and twists develops well enough to keep viewers involved in the well conceived film-within-a-film narrative. There's little gore, relying more on mood and eerie shots of a dead body floating along a stream, Carradine wandering amongst gravestones and the silhouette of the zombie creeping through the old house. With its downbeat ending and interesting-for-the-time plot, House of Seven Corpses established itself as an enjoyable experience and I was happy for not getting what I originally ordered.
The House of Seven Corpses (1974) **
JoeKarlosi22 February 2009
A movie crew shoots its latest satanic flick at a house which had experienced seven actual murders. John Carradine plays the grim grounds keeper who warns of the impending dangers. This felt very much in the spirit of the superior CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS, I thought. And like that film we have to sit through a lot of exposition until we get to the ghoulish mayhem at the very end. There isn't much to recommend for most of the first three quarters, unless you like watching people shoot movies. But I always get a kick out of seeing Carradine wandering about in any horror film. Also starring in this movie is an older Faith Domergue (50's sci-fi beauty) which is interesting. And it's funny watching John Ireland playing the part of the most insufferably arrogant director any underpaid actor would ever want to work for. ** out of ****
Boring up until the last confusing 20 minutes
mdouglasfresno22 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
After reading the previous comments, I'm just glad that I wasn't the only person left confused, especially by the last 20 minutes. John Carradine is shown twice walking down into a grave and pulling the lid shut after him. I anxiously awaited some kind of explanation for this odd behavior...naturally I assumed he had something to do with the evil goings-on at the house, but since he got killed off by the first rising corpse (hereafter referred to as Zombie #1), these scenes made absolutely no sense. Please, if someone out there knows why Carradine kept climbing down into graves -- let the rest of us in on it!!
All the action is confined to the last 20 minutes so I'll attempt a synopsis. John Carradine comes out to the cemetery to investigate, and is throttled by Zombie #1. So far, so good. But then we get the confusing scene where John Ireland and Jerry Strickler, out for a little moonlight filming in the graveyard, discover Carradine's dead body. Strickler repeatedly tries to push Ireland into the open grave from whence Zombie #1 had emerged, but Ireland succeeds in flipping him into the open grave instead, and PRESTO! Strickler comes out as Zombie #2! Yeah, I guess we can infer that Strickler was dead all-along (a witch?), but why he changed from normal appearance into rotting-flesh version by flying into Zombie #1's grave is never explained. (Considering how excruciatingly slow-moving these zombies are, I'd of thought he would have preferred to stay in his "normal" form until his business was concluded). This scene also brings a question to mind -- just who the heck IS Zombie #1 ??? We can only assume Zombie #1 is one of the original murder victims shown during the movie's opening credits, but who knows which one, nor why he has a particular grudge against the film crew.
Anyway, after Ireland sees this transformation and runs away, we see the EXACT SAME SHOT of Zombie #2 shambling through the trees as we saw for Zombie #1. (This leads to momentary confusion over just how MANY zombies there really are). Then in best 1950's horror-movie fashion Ireland manages to trip while fleeing. He conveniently knocks his head on the small headstone of Faith Domergue's dead cat (wasn't that nice of John Carradine to chisel a tombstone for a cat that he barely knew?)
Meanwhile, Zombie #1 has been wrecking havoc up at the house. He easily dispatches three film-crew members, then starts up the stairs. Faith Domergue hears him, and thinking it's lover John Ireland back from his night-shoot, goes out. Upon seeing it's only Zombie #1, she lets out a scream and retreats into a bedroom where she retrieves Ireland's revolver. While starlet Carole Wells is showering at this point and can't hear the scream, her co-star Charles Macauley (who's boozing and hamming it up at a mirror in his bedroom) does. Taking his sweet time (and only after some more swigs from his hip-flask) he finally decides to investigate. (One thing that strikes the viewer during the last quarter of this movie is how SLOW TO REACT the stars are to screams and gunshots). Domergue comes back out into the hallway armed and ready, but mistakes Macauley for Zombie #1 and shoots him six times! He does a nice acrobatic flip over the railing, then a horrified Domergue backs up, right into the waiting arms of Zombie #1.
Carole Wells is by now out of her shower and drying off when she hears gunshots and Domergue's screams; she too feels no great urgency in running out to investigate. So during this time Zombie #1 has time to string Domergue up from the neck with a rope. Wells sees Domergue's hanging corpse and faints dead-away. The next time we see her is in a stream outside the house (???) -- but more on that later. Meantime, Ireland has recovered his senses and stumbles into the house where he discovers Zombie #1's bloody carnage. Though Ireland has just stumbled upon 3 murdered people he's more concerned that his film has been exposed and ruined! Mercifully for him (and the audience), Zombie #1 throws some movie equipment down on his head from the 2nd floor. That's the last we see of Zombie #1. At this point the audience is treated to a montage of all the deaths, showing that the new ones "mirror" the old ones. How profound.
Zombie #2, meanwhile, has gotten near the house (remember, these zombies move as slow as molasses in January) where he happens to see Carole Wells floating by in a stream, and fishes her out. How did she get there? Did Zombie #1 carry her down, throw her in, then zoom back upstairs just in time to crush John Ireland? Apparently one of the original victims was drowned in the tub, so Wells has to drown too (but why outside in a stream, instead of in the tub, is never explained). Zombie #2 never makes it into the house himself (everyone's dead by now, anyways, thanks to Zombie #1) but instead he carries Carol Wells back to the graveyard. As the end credits flash on screen, we see Zombie #2 with his dead love still in his arms, descending into the open grave.
The viewer is left wondering: Yes, but wasn't this Zombie #1's grave? Why is Zombie #2 taking up residence? And what if Zombie #1 comes along and wants to climb back in -- is Zombie #2 gonna let him, or will there be a zombie fight? Will the zombies share both the grave and the newly deceased Carole Wells? And what about now-dead John Carradine -- where's he gonna stay? After all, from the earlier scenes we know he's clearly at home in the grave... If this plot synopsis of the finale has left you confused, don't worry cause you're not alone.
All the action is confined to the last 20 minutes so I'll attempt a synopsis. John Carradine comes out to the cemetery to investigate, and is throttled by Zombie #1. So far, so good. But then we get the confusing scene where John Ireland and Jerry Strickler, out for a little moonlight filming in the graveyard, discover Carradine's dead body. Strickler repeatedly tries to push Ireland into the open grave from whence Zombie #1 had emerged, but Ireland succeeds in flipping him into the open grave instead, and PRESTO! Strickler comes out as Zombie #2! Yeah, I guess we can infer that Strickler was dead all-along (a witch?), but why he changed from normal appearance into rotting-flesh version by flying into Zombie #1's grave is never explained. (Considering how excruciatingly slow-moving these zombies are, I'd of thought he would have preferred to stay in his "normal" form until his business was concluded). This scene also brings a question to mind -- just who the heck IS Zombie #1 ??? We can only assume Zombie #1 is one of the original murder victims shown during the movie's opening credits, but who knows which one, nor why he has a particular grudge against the film crew.
Anyway, after Ireland sees this transformation and runs away, we see the EXACT SAME SHOT of Zombie #2 shambling through the trees as we saw for Zombie #1. (This leads to momentary confusion over just how MANY zombies there really are). Then in best 1950's horror-movie fashion Ireland manages to trip while fleeing. He conveniently knocks his head on the small headstone of Faith Domergue's dead cat (wasn't that nice of John Carradine to chisel a tombstone for a cat that he barely knew?)
Meanwhile, Zombie #1 has been wrecking havoc up at the house. He easily dispatches three film-crew members, then starts up the stairs. Faith Domergue hears him, and thinking it's lover John Ireland back from his night-shoot, goes out. Upon seeing it's only Zombie #1, she lets out a scream and retreats into a bedroom where she retrieves Ireland's revolver. While starlet Carole Wells is showering at this point and can't hear the scream, her co-star Charles Macauley (who's boozing and hamming it up at a mirror in his bedroom) does. Taking his sweet time (and only after some more swigs from his hip-flask) he finally decides to investigate. (One thing that strikes the viewer during the last quarter of this movie is how SLOW TO REACT the stars are to screams and gunshots). Domergue comes back out into the hallway armed and ready, but mistakes Macauley for Zombie #1 and shoots him six times! He does a nice acrobatic flip over the railing, then a horrified Domergue backs up, right into the waiting arms of Zombie #1.
Carole Wells is by now out of her shower and drying off when she hears gunshots and Domergue's screams; she too feels no great urgency in running out to investigate. So during this time Zombie #1 has time to string Domergue up from the neck with a rope. Wells sees Domergue's hanging corpse and faints dead-away. The next time we see her is in a stream outside the house (???) -- but more on that later. Meantime, Ireland has recovered his senses and stumbles into the house where he discovers Zombie #1's bloody carnage. Though Ireland has just stumbled upon 3 murdered people he's more concerned that his film has been exposed and ruined! Mercifully for him (and the audience), Zombie #1 throws some movie equipment down on his head from the 2nd floor. That's the last we see of Zombie #1. At this point the audience is treated to a montage of all the deaths, showing that the new ones "mirror" the old ones. How profound.
Zombie #2, meanwhile, has gotten near the house (remember, these zombies move as slow as molasses in January) where he happens to see Carole Wells floating by in a stream, and fishes her out. How did she get there? Did Zombie #1 carry her down, throw her in, then zoom back upstairs just in time to crush John Ireland? Apparently one of the original victims was drowned in the tub, so Wells has to drown too (but why outside in a stream, instead of in the tub, is never explained). Zombie #2 never makes it into the house himself (everyone's dead by now, anyways, thanks to Zombie #1) but instead he carries Carol Wells back to the graveyard. As the end credits flash on screen, we see Zombie #2 with his dead love still in his arms, descending into the open grave.
The viewer is left wondering: Yes, but wasn't this Zombie #1's grave? Why is Zombie #2 taking up residence? And what if Zombie #1 comes along and wants to climb back in -- is Zombie #2 gonna let him, or will there be a zombie fight? Will the zombies share both the grave and the newly deceased Carole Wells? And what about now-dead John Carradine -- where's he gonna stay? After all, from the earlier scenes we know he's clearly at home in the grave... If this plot synopsis of the finale has left you confused, don't worry cause you're not alone.
It's not nice to fool the Father of Lies!
Sterno-220 June 2000
Schlocky '70s horror films...ya gotta love 'em. In contrast to today's boring slasher flicks, these K-tel specials actually do something scary and do not resort to a tired formula.
This is a B movie about the making of a B movie...that went horribly wrong. Faith Domergue (This Island Earth) stars as an over-the-hill, B movie queen making a movie about a series of grisly murders that befell a family in their home. Her boyfriend/director, who looks and acts like Gordon Jump with an attitude, is filming on location and on a tight schedule. The Ken doll co-star discovers a book of Tibetian chants that they work into the script to add "realism". Unfortunately, "realism" is something they could have done without.
John Carradine, having long since given up looking for the 17th gland (The Unearthly), now eeks out a humble existence as the caretaker for the estate. He goes about his daily work, but always seems to run afoul of the director.
The horror builds slowly; a dead cat here, John Carradine entering a grave there, finally culminating in seven, yes seven murders. (At least there's truth in advertising.) It's just sad that the ghoul didn't understand that there was a movie being made above him. How was poor Faith to know that those darn Tibetian chants would actually work? Face it, you just can't go around tugging on Satan's coat and expect him to take it lying down.
Sterno says perform an autopsy on The House of Seven Corpses.
This is a B movie about the making of a B movie...that went horribly wrong. Faith Domergue (This Island Earth) stars as an over-the-hill, B movie queen making a movie about a series of grisly murders that befell a family in their home. Her boyfriend/director, who looks and acts like Gordon Jump with an attitude, is filming on location and on a tight schedule. The Ken doll co-star discovers a book of Tibetian chants that they work into the script to add "realism". Unfortunately, "realism" is something they could have done without.
John Carradine, having long since given up looking for the 17th gland (The Unearthly), now eeks out a humble existence as the caretaker for the estate. He goes about his daily work, but always seems to run afoul of the director.
The horror builds slowly; a dead cat here, John Carradine entering a grave there, finally culminating in seven, yes seven murders. (At least there's truth in advertising.) It's just sad that the ghoul didn't understand that there was a movie being made above him. How was poor Faith to know that those darn Tibetian chants would actually work? Face it, you just can't go around tugging on Satan's coat and expect him to take it lying down.
Sterno says perform an autopsy on The House of Seven Corpses.
Not Bad 70's Horror Mystery!
gwnightscream1 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This 1974 horror film tells of a director and his crew filming an occult flick
in an old house where 7 family members were murdered. Soon, they become haunted by the ghoulish corpse of the murderer awoken by an ancient book. This isn't bad except for some of the editing and audio, but it still has a decent cast including horror legend, John Carradine and some eerie moments. The film seems like it inspired "The Evil Dead" and I'd
check it out at least once if you're into horror mysteries.
It's 903 corpses short
bensonmum211 July 2005
- A film crew is shooting a horror movie in an old, supposedly cursed house where over the years, seven people have mysteriously died. One of the crew finds an old book of spells and it looks like it would be perfect to use in some of the ritual scenes in their movie. It is reasoned that the spells in the book are better written than the script they are using. But as the book is read, the graveyard outside suddenly comes to life. Now the cast and crew are faced with real danger .
- IMDb lists a running time of 90 minutes. For the first 60 of those minutes, nothing happens. Far too much time is spent on the movie within a movie. Are we supposed to be frightened by the horror movie that they are shooting? We already know that their movie isn't "real". These scares just don't work.
- There are very few things to enjoy about The House of Seven Corpses. The acting is atrocious. Most of these "actors" would have trouble making a elementary school play. The score is terrible. It is very reminiscent of a 70s television series and provides no atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, other than a few moments at the end of the movie, there is none to speak of. Character logic is all but non-existent. Even in a movie, you expect characters to behave in a certain way. Here, I don't think I remember one scene where a character didn't choose the most illogical avenue available to them. And finally, there's those first 60 minutes of the movie that I've already mentioned. Can you say BORING?
- I haven't rated The House of Seven Corpses any lower because of instances where the movie (probably by accident) actually works. My two favorite are the beginning and ending. The opening title sequence presents the deaths of the seven previous owners and may be the highlight of the movie. And, the ending scenes on the massive staircase as the zombie menaces the film crew are somewhat effective (what a ringing endorsement). Overall though, these moments aren't enough to make this a good movie.
Take it for what it is...
KMR15 November 1999
A creepy, fun little low-budgeter about a hideous walking dead man stalking the cast and crew of an in-production horror movie filming at spooky old Beale Manor. I watched it over and over as a kid and it never failed to spook and entertain me. A good renter for horror buffs on an idle Thursday evening.......
Not a bad film idea, but the movie is riddled with too many clichés to take it seriously.
planktonrules8 February 2013
I don't think I expected a lot from "The House of Seven Corpses"---after all, it IS named "The House of Seven Corpses"! However, given the initially very interesting premise, I do feel I was very disappointed in the movie. They sure could have done a lot better--as it was riddled with very bad clichés--too many to make it enjoyable.
The film is set in a horrible old house where John Carradine plays the caretaker. The place is horrible because over the years, seven people were murdered or committed suicide there--and it's obviously cursed. However, inexplicably, a film team comes there to film a horror film--so the movie is, at times, a movie within a movie. Things go well with filming until, foolishly, they use a book of demonic spells (not a good idea) into the script. Soon after, a nasty zombie crawls out of the nearby cemetery and does nasty stuff. This SHOULD have been great--after all, the zombie looked wonderfully nasty. But, instead it was VERY slow and, as I mentioned above, full of clichés--such as the woman who keeps falling down as the zombie nears her, a lady who faints and the like. No one thought to just leave the (literally) damned place! If you are really undemanding and don't mind laughing along with the film, "The House of Seven Corpses" isn't bad--otherwise, I say skip it--the early to mid-1970s simply produced a lot of horror films that were better. A waste of Carradine, John Ireland and Faith Domergue.
The film is set in a horrible old house where John Carradine plays the caretaker. The place is horrible because over the years, seven people were murdered or committed suicide there--and it's obviously cursed. However, inexplicably, a film team comes there to film a horror film--so the movie is, at times, a movie within a movie. Things go well with filming until, foolishly, they use a book of demonic spells (not a good idea) into the script. Soon after, a nasty zombie crawls out of the nearby cemetery and does nasty stuff. This SHOULD have been great--after all, the zombie looked wonderfully nasty. But, instead it was VERY slow and, as I mentioned above, full of clichés--such as the woman who keeps falling down as the zombie nears her, a lady who faints and the like. No one thought to just leave the (literally) damned place! If you are really undemanding and don't mind laughing along with the film, "The House of Seven Corpses" isn't bad--otherwise, I say skip it--the early to mid-1970s simply produced a lot of horror films that were better. A waste of Carradine, John Ireland and Faith Domergue.
Intense Horror Film that has you on the edge of your seat !
champs234526 August 2008
My wife and I were looking for a movie that was older and not the average run of the mill stereotype horror film you see today, and we found it !! "The House of The Seven Corpses" had us horrified as well as on the edge of our seat waiting for the next outcome. Carole Wells did an amazing job as Anne as she portrayed the ultimate girl next door role as chaotic an atmosphere to be in. I love the cast, it has some of my favorite key role veteran actors such as John Ireland and John Carradine, and for you younger guys these are actors that can play any role and are head honchos when it comes to screenplays. Very similar to your Robert Downy Jr. and William H. Macy of today. The plot is designed for a crowd of more mature older teen and up crowd with many twists and turns and mind blowing outcomes. It has a feel of "Saw" and Firday the 13th edged into one screenplay, making the characters capture their roles and having its audiences emotional appeal. I am into movies that have substance, and this one has it tons of it. Unlike a ton of the horror movies over the past 30-40 years where everything is the same and the actors are picked for their looks instead of their actual talent, "House of the Seven Corpses" has a cast thats dedicated to cinema and has a passion for the script. I am not giving anything away but pay attention to the film from the beginning, it slowly puts the viewer in a certain mood that relaxes you and makes you more susceptible to being frightened....at least I was. If you like movies that have meaning and are filled with gruesome, mind blowing scenarios you will like this. Overall, I loved this movie!!! Maybe a little too scary for the young kids though!!
The House of Seven Corpses
Scarecrow-8814 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I have to say, I'm surprised The House of the Seven Corpses is considered such a rotten apple. I found much to my personal liking. I like how it has a foot in the modern (as of '73, that is) and the Gothic (the Old Dark House films; those "sinister houses with a dark history). I also liked the "film within a film" storyline. John Ireland is a force to be reckoned with. I wonder if his demanding, impatient, fiery low budget film director was based on someone (or a number of) he had worked with in the past. He is really one of the major reasons I thought House was so much fun to watch. But, man alive, does Ireland's Eric Hartman abuse his fading star, Gayle Dorian (Faith Domergue of This Island Earth and It Came from Beneath the Sea). Sure, Gayle can be a bit of a diva, using her diminishing clout (once a star, now reduced to B-pictures) with expectations of star treatment that no longer exists. Hartman can be harsh to everyone on set. Especially his actors. He wants them ready and on set, make-up in place, the slate ready, and the camera in position. Time is important to him. He wants the film done as soon as possible. So Gayle's concerns, or anyone else's for that matter, mean little to him. It is all about his finished product, how he sees each scene, and that his cast come prepared and ready to perform with little wasted film, effort, or time. His rigorous approach to handling actors is certainly well established throughout the production of the cheap B-movie Eric wishes to see in the can without much delay. Gayle isn't really the kind of actress who fits in the mold of Eric's style of rushed direction. She would prefer that Eric made sure she looked good on camera and that her performance/character was superior to all else. I kind of look at her as a sort of Joan Crawford, but Eric is not William Castle
no sir, far from it.
The setting of Eric's picture is an authentic house of horrors where members who lived there died under various ugly circumstances. The opening credits (I thought were a grabber) show each family member dying in disturbing fashion, inside the house. So the house itself has bad mojo. It is the perfect place to exploit for an old fashioned chiller in the Gothic vein. However, when a "Tibetan Book of the Dead" is found, the perfect prop to also exploit in his film (even read from by a member of the cast), it calls forth an undead member who once lived at the house of their shoot, rising from his grave (oh, and he won't be the only one ), and crashing the "set" after the film is about over (this is their very last night in the house), the cast and crew not anticipating a murderous zombie (why would they?). John Carradine pops up as a caretaker with plenty of knowledge in the history of the house, balking at Eric's handling of the subject matter as it pertains to their current location. John's Edgar Price even disrupts the shooting of a certain scene and is a bit of a nuisance to Eric (intrusive where he should stay out of the way, but Edgar simply doesn't like that Eric takes the house's history so lightly). I think perhaps the problem is that the horror doesn't come until late in the film, with a good breadth of the running time devoted to the machinations behind low budget filmmaking in regards to a tyrant director and the cast/crew who must endure this harsh, taxing, exhausting taskmaster. The house has that old atmospheric charm almost a necessity and requirement in films such as this. We spend a lot of time with members of the cast and crew behind and in front of the camera. That might be considered tedious and unexciting. I liked this all, though. The zombie might be considered similar to those you'd see in Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972), but director Harrison doesn't dwell on his features that much. You do get the hand bursting from its grave, with Carradine getting strangled in the process. The title of this film might seem to describe those who died in the house previous to the shoot, but this could also be seen as foreshadowing as well.
The setting of Eric's picture is an authentic house of horrors where members who lived there died under various ugly circumstances. The opening credits (I thought were a grabber) show each family member dying in disturbing fashion, inside the house. So the house itself has bad mojo. It is the perfect place to exploit for an old fashioned chiller in the Gothic vein. However, when a "Tibetan Book of the Dead" is found, the perfect prop to also exploit in his film (even read from by a member of the cast), it calls forth an undead member who once lived at the house of their shoot, rising from his grave (oh, and he won't be the only one ), and crashing the "set" after the film is about over (this is their very last night in the house), the cast and crew not anticipating a murderous zombie (why would they?). John Carradine pops up as a caretaker with plenty of knowledge in the history of the house, balking at Eric's handling of the subject matter as it pertains to their current location. John's Edgar Price even disrupts the shooting of a certain scene and is a bit of a nuisance to Eric (intrusive where he should stay out of the way, but Edgar simply doesn't like that Eric takes the house's history so lightly). I think perhaps the problem is that the horror doesn't come until late in the film, with a good breadth of the running time devoted to the machinations behind low budget filmmaking in regards to a tyrant director and the cast/crew who must endure this harsh, taxing, exhausting taskmaster. The house has that old atmospheric charm almost a necessity and requirement in films such as this. We spend a lot of time with members of the cast and crew behind and in front of the camera. That might be considered tedious and unexciting. I liked this all, though. The zombie might be considered similar to those you'd see in Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972), but director Harrison doesn't dwell on his features that much. You do get the hand bursting from its grave, with Carradine getting strangled in the process. The title of this film might seem to describe those who died in the house previous to the shoot, but this could also be seen as foreshadowing as well.
They all looked pretty dead to begin with
caseyabell14 July 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Sometimes it's hard to tell the living from the dead, like when hammy actors are stuck in a slowly oozing wreck of a horror flick. For almost all of this godawful mess, we're treated to the filming of a horror-movie-within-a-horror-movie at some dump of a mansion. I don't know which is worse, the outside movie or the inside movie.
Finally, to end the insufferable boredom, a zombie or two - it's tough to keep track - wanders into the mansion at molasses speed and finishes everybody off. For good measure one of the zombies - I'm not sure which, and neither was the scriptwriter - hauls the blonde and freshly deceased ingénue off to the grave with him. They live coldly ever after. The other zombie apparently doesn't get any nookie for his efforts.
A few particularly hammy bits, especially from the movie-with-a-movie's dictatorial director John Ireland, are so goofy that they save this hunk of junk from the dreaded one-rating. But it's a long slow wait between the sort of entertaining bits. Any decent zombie would tell you to avoid the waste of time.
Finally, to end the insufferable boredom, a zombie or two - it's tough to keep track - wanders into the mansion at molasses speed and finishes everybody off. For good measure one of the zombies - I'm not sure which, and neither was the scriptwriter - hauls the blonde and freshly deceased ingénue off to the grave with him. They live coldly ever after. The other zombie apparently doesn't get any nookie for his efforts.
A few particularly hammy bits, especially from the movie-with-a-movie's dictatorial director John Ireland, are so goofy that they save this hunk of junk from the dreaded one-rating. But it's a long slow wait between the sort of entertaining bits. Any decent zombie would tell you to avoid the waste of time.
Yes Virginia, John Carradine is in this film!
Nozze-Foto20 March 2002
How do you not like a film that has seven murders while the opening credits are rolling? Even the fact that the director write many episodes of the Saturday morning kids show H.R. PUFNSTUF does not detract from the fun (remember that DUNGEON OF HARROW was directed by the man who drew "Howard The Duck"). The film-within-a-film idea was used to great advantage in FRANKENSTEIN 1970 (will someone please release that to DVD in widescreen?) and it works rather well here too. John Ireland is the hard boiled director making a movie about witchcraft in a spooky old house (actually the former Utah governor's mansion) whose owners have all died mysteriously and whose last tenant was a real life witch. John Carradine is Edgar Price, the caretaker who knows the whole family history and is not shy about interrupting filming when Ireland gets it wrong. Faith Domergue (THIS ISLAND EARTH) is the tempermental movie star who seems to be Ireland's now-and-then lover. Also on hand is Charles MacCauley, best remembered as Dracula from the blaxploitation classic BLACULA as a drunken has been whose career is well past its twilight. The action gets a little confusing near the end. We know that a zombie rises from its grave because Ms. Domergue has read a magic chant from the Tibetan Book Of The Dead (conveniently located on a bookshelf) but what happens with Mr. Ireland and a crew member named David is likely to get you wondering "Huh?". Like, is there one zombie or two, and if there are two where does the first one disappear to and other nagging little things like that. Don't let it spoil your fun though, this film is worth seeing. nobody panders to the outrageous plot, everyone turns in a good performance. John Ireland gets the most unforgettable line. About to spirit Ms. Domergue to his bedroom Ireland's romantic plans are sunk when she insists on searching for her lost cat. Handcuffed by the PG rating Ireland barks "FRITZ the cat!" and stomps out of the scene. Fun, and lots of it.
Anemic and Lame
LeonLouisRicci15 July 2013
For Horror Completest only, this is not an awful attempt at making a low-budget Horror Movie about the making of a low-budget Horror Movie. But it is too confusing in Plot development and is an erratic and disjointed delivery of an incoherent Storyline.
This does have a few ironic Scenes but the Movie within the Movie contains the best Violent and disturbing Horror Movie turns and since it is known that these are being filmed there is a total lack of scariness.
There are elements of a good First-Draft Script here that seems abandon and rushed. The layers are thin and the in-comprehensiveness is just too much to make this an enjoyable Entertainment. Not enough incompetence to make it a Good Bad Movie and not enough Professionalism to make it anything more than a lifeless look inside the backside of B-Movie Making.
This does have a few ironic Scenes but the Movie within the Movie contains the best Violent and disturbing Horror Movie turns and since it is known that these are being filmed there is a total lack of scariness.
There are elements of a good First-Draft Script here that seems abandon and rushed. The layers are thin and the in-comprehensiveness is just too much to make this an enjoyable Entertainment. Not enough incompetence to make it a Good Bad Movie and not enough Professionalism to make it anything more than a lifeless look inside the backside of B-Movie Making.
Stiff as a corpse.
lost-in-limbo15 December 2007
A director and his crew head out to the isolated Beal mansion, to make a low-budget horror film about the seven mysterious deaths of the Beal family that have occurred there in the last century. Even with warnings by the caretaker, the director pays no attention to the supposedly cursed house. One of the crew find a book titled Tibetan Book of the Dead, and use some of the passages from it for their script. But in doing so, when red they raise a ghoul from its grave.
Boring, confusing and tacky all rolled up into one, equals this penniless midnight horror production. What feels like an eternity, it just never seems to get going or demonstrate anything effective from somewhat decent ideas. Even though director Paul Harrison's clunky, tensionless direction did construct a couple eerie, moody and atmospheric set-pieces. But laziness did set it early. The whole film within a film structure takes up most of the movie and in this time little to nothing happens of great interest. Nor is it fun. Think of Bob Clark's "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972)", and now we've got older actors in the part. However I found "Seven Corpses" to be inferior. The script early on has some cutting wit abound, before it ends up being drab, predictable and left with many unfulfilled possibilities. The cheap foundation involving limited sets didn't help matters either, but the mansion's dreary, dark appearance had a creepy air to it. Performances from a recognizable b-cast is mainly rigid. John Carradine in small part mainly lurks about. John Ireland plays a hot-headed director, Faith Domergue's washed-up actress demands attention and Charles Macaulay hams it up. The slow grinding premise is crossed between "Ten Little Indians" and your usual zombie set-up. However its not all that engaging, even with its occult and supernatural edge. Hell they even throw in some graveyard action, with no prevail. When the rotting ghoul makes its appearance finally, but a bit late. It does get a little better, if very baffling. Just like the inspired opening, the ending is deliciously downbeat. To bad in between, it constantly drags. Continuity in many scenes comes across non-existent, and the death scenes are more exciting and bloodier (but indeed poorly executed) in the movie they're making, then what actually happens to them when the zombie appears. The generic music score flounders on with its shuddery, but frank Gothic cues, and the camera-work is blandly staged with a lack of imagination. Shoot and frame. Shoot and frame. Job done. That's a wrap.
Boring, confusing and tacky all rolled up into one, equals this penniless midnight horror production. What feels like an eternity, it just never seems to get going or demonstrate anything effective from somewhat decent ideas. Even though director Paul Harrison's clunky, tensionless direction did construct a couple eerie, moody and atmospheric set-pieces. But laziness did set it early. The whole film within a film structure takes up most of the movie and in this time little to nothing happens of great interest. Nor is it fun. Think of Bob Clark's "Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972)", and now we've got older actors in the part. However I found "Seven Corpses" to be inferior. The script early on has some cutting wit abound, before it ends up being drab, predictable and left with many unfulfilled possibilities. The cheap foundation involving limited sets didn't help matters either, but the mansion's dreary, dark appearance had a creepy air to it. Performances from a recognizable b-cast is mainly rigid. John Carradine in small part mainly lurks about. John Ireland plays a hot-headed director, Faith Domergue's washed-up actress demands attention and Charles Macaulay hams it up. The slow grinding premise is crossed between "Ten Little Indians" and your usual zombie set-up. However its not all that engaging, even with its occult and supernatural edge. Hell they even throw in some graveyard action, with no prevail. When the rotting ghoul makes its appearance finally, but a bit late. It does get a little better, if very baffling. Just like the inspired opening, the ending is deliciously downbeat. To bad in between, it constantly drags. Continuity in many scenes comes across non-existent, and the death scenes are more exciting and bloodier (but indeed poorly executed) in the movie they're making, then what actually happens to them when the zombie appears. The generic music score flounders on with its shuddery, but frank Gothic cues, and the camera-work is blandly staged with a lack of imagination. Shoot and frame. Shoot and frame. Job done. That's a wrap.
death would be a fine alternative to watching this...
Jonny_Numb16 July 2006
Well...now that I know where Rob Zombie stole the title for his "House of 1,000 Corpses" crapfest, I can now rest in peace. Nothing about the somnambulant performances or trite script would raise the dead in "The House of Seven Corpses," but a groovie ghoulie comes up from his plot (ha!) anyway, to kill the bloody amateurs making a low-rent horror flick in his former abode! In Hell House (sorry, I don't remember the actual name of the residence), a bunch of mysterious, unexplained deaths took place long ago; some, like arthritic Lurch stand-in John Carradine (whose small role provides the film's only worthwhile moments), attribute it to the supernatural; bellowing film director John Ireland dismisses it as superstitious hokum. The result comes across like "Satan's School for Girls" (catchy title; made-for-TV production values; intriguing plot) crossed with "Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things" (low-rent movie about low-rent movie makers who wake the dead); trouble is, it's nowhere near as entertaining or fun. "The House of Seven Corpses" is dead at frame one, and spends the rest of its 89 minutes going through rigor mortis, dragging us along for every aching second...
A zombie movie. Sort of. Kinda.
BandSAboutMovies19 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Directors are notoriously horrible to the actors in their films. Witness the way Friedkin treated the cast of The Exorcist or how Hitchcock told Tippi Hedren that mechanical birds would be used in a scene in The Birds, only for real ones to be used in an incident that she described as "brutal and ugly and relentless."
The House of Seven Corpses is all about Eric Hartman (John Ireland, I Saw What You Did), a director who is making a film in an actual haunted house. A zombie is awakened because the actors find The Book of the Dead and use the words in it for authenticity.
Disclaimer: The Tibetian Book of the Dead isn't a book of evil spells but actually describes the period of time between death and rebirth.
Soon, people start dying left and right, starting with caretaker Edgar Price (John Carradine!) and leading to a grave featuring David, the director's assistant's name. One by one, the cast succumbs to the zombie, who finally takes his girlfriend back to his grave.
Director Paul Harrison was a writer on the TV show H.R. Pufnstuf. One wonders how much that experience colors this film. The director is completely out of his mind, screaming and yelling and damaging anyone that comes near to him. Perhaps he's the real monster.
This is an enjoyable trifle, but nothing to lose your brains over.
The House of Seven Corpses is all about Eric Hartman (John Ireland, I Saw What You Did), a director who is making a film in an actual haunted house. A zombie is awakened because the actors find The Book of the Dead and use the words in it for authenticity.
Disclaimer: The Tibetian Book of the Dead isn't a book of evil spells but actually describes the period of time between death and rebirth.
Soon, people start dying left and right, starting with caretaker Edgar Price (John Carradine!) and leading to a grave featuring David, the director's assistant's name. One by one, the cast succumbs to the zombie, who finally takes his girlfriend back to his grave.
Director Paul Harrison was a writer on the TV show H.R. Pufnstuf. One wonders how much that experience colors this film. The director is completely out of his mind, screaming and yelling and damaging anyone that comes near to him. Perhaps he's the real monster.
This is an enjoyable trifle, but nothing to lose your brains over.
Awesome opening credits!!! ... That's it.
Coventry15 March 2008
This is the type of movie where it actually hurts to acknowledge that it really, really sucks. I normally sanctify stuff like this! Early 70's grindhouse flicks with scrumptious sounding titles and a schlocky low-budget atmosphere usually ROCK. "House of Seven Corpses" appeared to dispose of even more trumps, since the cast is a gathering of great genre veterans (including John Carradine, John Ireland and Faith Domergue) and the filming locations (the titular house, the graveyard) are obviously very expedient for a gloomy tale of terror. The film opens with its absolute greatest and most hauntingly memorable sequences, though sadly enough they're the only ones that qualify as such. The credits are a splendid montage, complete with freakish color-effects and eerie freeze-frames, illustrating how the titular house received its notorious reputation. The last seven owners were mysteriously murdered here and the credits montage gleefully exhibits their final moments. Someone falls down the balcony screaming, a lady drowns in her bathtub, and another female body hangs dangling from the ceiling and four more macabre tableaux. Needless to say the house is cursed and the awkward behavior of t caretaker Mr. Price (Carradine) only fortify this reputation. In other words, the house forms the ideal turf for the acclaimed director Eric Hartman (John Ireland) to shoot his satanic horror film project. The film-within-film structure is what mainly causes "House of Seven Corpses" to be so boring and uneventful. A lot of movie-material is wasted on crew members putting films spools in the camera and dragging around cables or even worse Faith Domergue and Charles Macaulay portraying horridly intolerable actor stereotypes. The plot finally gets a little interesting (only a little, mind you) when one of the characters reads some lines from an occult book and accidentally awakes a rotting corpse in the backyard. The asthmatic (judging by the noises he produces) zombie slowly heads for the house and kills the entire movie crew, reminiscent of how the previous seven turned into corpses. After a running time of approximately 60 minutes, the film suddenly turns from humdrum into just plain weird and confusing. I'm still unsure whether the final twist has to do with the concept of reincarnation or just coincidence and all the remaining characters suddenly seem to go undergo vast mental transformations shortly before they die, for some reason. I honestly regret confirming "House of Seven Corpses" is a pretty dreadful movie. The locations and scenery are gloomy chilling, but not nearly used to full effect and there's a serious lack of gruesome bloodshed. Numerous low-budgeted 70's gems were stunningly gross, so the lack of financial means is no excuse and the film-within-film murders really don't count. Even the always-reliable veteran stars deliver hammy performances and Harrison's direction is completely uninspired. Not recommended, unless you think the zero cool four-and-a-half minute playing opening credits montage is worth the effort of purchasing a copy.
Bland at first but gets reasonably better
kannibalcorpsegrinder28 January 2013
Attempting to shoot a horror movie on a cursed location where the real life murders they're emulating occurred, a film crew accidentally conjures a deformed being that slowly begins killing them off one-by-one.
A slightly disappointing but overall quite creepy effort, this one really could've been great with the fixing of a few minor details. The main issue at hand here is the remarkably slow-paced offering, as there's just hardly anything going on but the movie shoot for the entire running time in the first hour, leaving this to rely on it's other efforts to work but basically doesn't even get started with it's killing until the hour mark or even making any mention of the killer until then and it causes the film to go along quite slowly. This is the most disturbing feature since the rest of the film is quite nice, with a large Victorian house serving as the basis for both the film and the movie being shot there giving off an incredible atmosphere, the slow-building set-up making for a chilly time and the rampage by the decomposing corpse being quite bloody and enjoyable, but overall it's just really hurt by it's slow set-up.
Rated R: Violence and Language.
A slightly disappointing but overall quite creepy effort, this one really could've been great with the fixing of a few minor details. The main issue at hand here is the remarkably slow-paced offering, as there's just hardly anything going on but the movie shoot for the entire running time in the first hour, leaving this to rely on it's other efforts to work but basically doesn't even get started with it's killing until the hour mark or even making any mention of the killer until then and it causes the film to go along quite slowly. This is the most disturbing feature since the rest of the film is quite nice, with a large Victorian house serving as the basis for both the film and the movie being shot there giving off an incredible atmosphere, the slow-building set-up making for a chilly time and the rampage by the decomposing corpse being quite bloody and enjoyable, but overall it's just really hurt by it's slow set-up.
Rated R: Violence and Language.
An Extra Vacancy In The Graveyard
bkoganbing19 October 2008
Warning: Spoilers
John Carradine, John Ireland, and Faith Domergue who as players all saw better days in better films got together for this Grade G horror film about life imitating art in a mysterious mansion.
For Carradine it was in those last two decades of his career that he appeared in anything on the theory it was better to keep working no matter what you did and get those paychecks coming in. With that magnificent sonorous voice of his, Carradine was always in great demand for horror pictures and the man did not discriminate in the least in what he appeared in.
He plays the caretaker of an old Gothic mansion who movie director John Ireland has rented for his latest low budget slasher film. It's even got a graveyard, but with a missing occupant. Faith Domergue is Ireland's aging star and Carole Wells is the young ingenue.
In the last twenty minutes or so most of the cast winds up dead that aren't dead already. The script is so incoherent I'm still trying to figure out the point. I won't waste any more gray matter on it.
For Carradine it was in those last two decades of his career that he appeared in anything on the theory it was better to keep working no matter what you did and get those paychecks coming in. With that magnificent sonorous voice of his, Carradine was always in great demand for horror pictures and the man did not discriminate in the least in what he appeared in.
He plays the caretaker of an old Gothic mansion who movie director John Ireland has rented for his latest low budget slasher film. It's even got a graveyard, but with a missing occupant. Faith Domergue is Ireland's aging star and Carole Wells is the young ingenue.
In the last twenty minutes or so most of the cast winds up dead that aren't dead already. The script is so incoherent I'm still trying to figure out the point. I won't waste any more gray matter on it.
The older you get, the less sense it makes
LJ2715 February 2001
Warning: Spoilers
WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS. I first saw this movie 20 years ago on Superstation WTBS (back when it showed horror stuff all the time) and it scared me to death almost. I really liked it. It had creepy music, a creepy opening title sequence and a better than average walking corpse. A few years before, I had seen a poster for it that showed the Beal Mansion in the background, with a hand coming out of the ground in the foreground and a tagline that read, "Eight Graves, Seven Bodies, One Killer...and He's Already Dead!" I only saw the film that one time as a teenager and remembered it as one of the scariest films I'd ever seen. Twenty years later, I bought the DVD and found the great poster for the film had sadly not been reproduced on the DVD package. Not only that but I also found that the print used for the DVD is brighter than what I saw on TV in the 80s and is in fact, too bright and kills much of the atmosphere. I also found that the storyline plays fast and loose and if you are prone to analysing films, this one does not hold up at all. Characters faint in hallways and are found floating in creeks later for no reason. One guy goes in and out of graves (shutting the lid behind him too) and no one really seems to think it odd enough to ask him about it. Corpses that shuffle along at a snail's pace manage to beat a guy who is running at full speed back to the house (and the guy running had a head-start too). Watching the film, it looks as if there are possibly two killers or maybe one guy transformed into the other but this is not made clear in the film. One of the killings is done before the chants resurrecting the dead occur which supports my two-killer theory. You are just left to wonder about it since the film offers no explanation. All the characters are stereotypes. As a kid I didn't notice but as an adult, I found I didn't care if they got killed off. Most of them were unlikeable anyway so who cares if they die? If you have never seen this film, I would still say it is worth a look. In 1980, I had not seen anything like it but like a lot of things, it doesn't hold up 20 years later. By the way, I remember reading somewhere that Paul Harrison, the film's director had something to do with the old H.R. Puffinstuff Show on Saturday mornings. I kept that in mind while watching it again and frankly, I can almost see the artistic stamp of that old show in this movie. I don't think this film ever got picked up for theatrical distribution and sat around for years before being sold to television. Watching it again, I can now see why.
Update: I bought this movie on BluRay and the cleaned up picture helps clarify one mystery that was not made clear when I watched it on TV or DVD. However, that still doesn't eliminate several glaring plot holes, that I suspect were caused by someone cutting out footage that was necessary for understanding the plot, but maybe they figured they could sell it easier if it was shorter in length. I've never read that anywhere and even the commentary on the BluRay doesn't clear up much of the mystery. The only way to know for sure would be to track down a copy of the screenplay, but good luck with that. The movie has a lot going for it but generates way more questions than answers. Even so, I'm glad I got a nice copy on BluRay. Everything from the actors, atmosphere, makeup and music are good, and it makes it even more frustrating that there are so many loose ends left hanging. As a kid I assumed it was cut for TV showings but now I figure they either ran out of money to finish shooting or the film was subjected to harsh edits and the trims were lost to the ages.
Trust me dying is easy living is hard
sol-kay1 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Making a low budget horror movie at the haunted Beal House director Eric Hartman,John Ireland,is having trouble with the script until one of his assistants David, Jerry Strickland, find a book in the Beal family library "The Tibetan book of the Dead". Inspired by the "Book of the Dead's" contents Hartman starts filming feeling it will give him the inspiration to make his somewhat B or third string like horror movie into an all time cinematic classic. What in fact the new script did was bring back the ghost from the past, the Beal family, to recreate the terrible situations that lead to the deaths that they suffered in the house to Hartman and his cast and crew!
We already see what happened to the Beals at the very beginning of the movie and it wasn't pretty! It's as Hartman starts to direct his classic strange things begin to happen that's not exactly in the script. Like the star of the film former Hollywood glamor queen now washed up second rate actress Gayle Dorla's, Faith Domergue, pet cat Cleon disappearing.Cleon was later found in pieces on the lawn as Gayle was being filmed in a scene of hers in the movie. It's the creepy house caretaker Edger Price, a word play with the names Edger Allan Poe & Vincent Price, played by John Carradine who's on to what's really going on in the house. But in fear for his life Price keeps it secret. That in the fear that he may well end up becoming one of the house's future victims!
****SPOILERS**** Watching the film you don't exactly know what's happening on the screen. Are the events real or make believe or acting on the film crews part. That's until the very end when it becomes very apparent that the past horrors of the real Beal House and family were being duplicated and are the real McCoy not just part of Hartman's movie. Careaker Price who did everything to prevent the carnage from happening became the house first victim! After that everything that we've seen at the beginning of the movie,the Bael family murders, happens to director Hartman and his crew of actors and stage hands. What rattled Hartman more then anything else, even the deaths of his cast and crew, was that he found the film of his masterpiece movie had been exposed and now completely worthless!
With his life work now slated for the trash can all Hartman could do is wait for the inevitable to happen. That's with a heavy some 100 pound movie camera unit dropped from the balcony of the Bael House on his head by this Ghoul Man, Wills Boad, who was conjured up by the "Book of the Dead". And with that finally putting the by now emotionally and mentally destroyed Eric Hartman out of his misery!
We already see what happened to the Beals at the very beginning of the movie and it wasn't pretty! It's as Hartman starts to direct his classic strange things begin to happen that's not exactly in the script. Like the star of the film former Hollywood glamor queen now washed up second rate actress Gayle Dorla's, Faith Domergue, pet cat Cleon disappearing.Cleon was later found in pieces on the lawn as Gayle was being filmed in a scene of hers in the movie. It's the creepy house caretaker Edger Price, a word play with the names Edger Allan Poe & Vincent Price, played by John Carradine who's on to what's really going on in the house. But in fear for his life Price keeps it secret. That in the fear that he may well end up becoming one of the house's future victims!
****SPOILERS**** Watching the film you don't exactly know what's happening on the screen. Are the events real or make believe or acting on the film crews part. That's until the very end when it becomes very apparent that the past horrors of the real Beal House and family were being duplicated and are the real McCoy not just part of Hartman's movie. Careaker Price who did everything to prevent the carnage from happening became the house first victim! After that everything that we've seen at the beginning of the movie,the Bael family murders, happens to director Hartman and his crew of actors and stage hands. What rattled Hartman more then anything else, even the deaths of his cast and crew, was that he found the film of his masterpiece movie had been exposed and now completely worthless!
With his life work now slated for the trash can all Hartman could do is wait for the inevitable to happen. That's with a heavy some 100 pound movie camera unit dropped from the balcony of the Bael House on his head by this Ghoul Man, Wills Boad, who was conjured up by the "Book of the Dead". And with that finally putting the by now emotionally and mentally destroyed Eric Hartman out of his misery!
TCM channel yawner
cricket3026 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
It must have been about 230 this morning. I had a pomegranite seed stuck that wouldn't come out. That generally keeps me up. So I did what I usually do in suchnot cases and turned on the odd show network. Pretty soon this 7-corpse thing began. It started out OK, I guess, with some credits cut around 6 or 7 people killing themselves or being killed. After this snappy part, there was a longer thingee when this old lady in an orange dress dragging on the wood floor and black cape stepped into a circle or candles and seemed about to stab herself to death after chanting some jibber jabber. But then the camera close-up became a far-out and there was a bunch of people in the room with the old lady, who was actually an actress in a really cheap horror flick. But 7 CORPSES itself is even more of a ripoff than the imaginary movie!! At least in the fake horror film being filmed, someone gets offed from time to time. In the so-called "real" 7 CORPSES show, no one ever dies! At least, not while I was awake.
So, if you have something aggravational stuck in your teeth, and need help falling asleep, go ahead and see THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN CORPSES. It deserves 10 of 10 points for doing that trick. But if this was considered entertainment in 1974, it's just one more reason for me to be glad I wasn't there then.
So, if you have something aggravational stuck in your teeth, and need help falling asleep, go ahead and see THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN CORPSES. It deserves 10 of 10 points for doing that trick. But if this was considered entertainment in 1974, it's just one more reason for me to be glad I wasn't there then.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
