Starring: Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Stephanie Beacham, Ian Ogilvy, Geoffrey Whitehead, Guy Rolfe.
Director: Roy Ward Baker
It's taken me awhile to get something starring Cushing or Lee, and that's pretty surprising. I know basically only what was on the back of the DVD box and little else about it. I know the work of Roy Ward Baker, though, so I'm pretty excited about this entry.
I love the old British stuff, really. The lavish set work (that still very much looks like the type of stuff you'd see on a stage in a theatrical production), the sweeping camera work over the countryside...it's lovely.
The set pieces of this film are, of course, just as lovely as you'd expect and very, very stagey. It looks like you could place a live audience off to the side and see the stairs, the walk-ways on the second floor, the long hallway with doors off to the sides...I hope they utilize the space well.
Didn't take long to go for a scare: as Catherine is staring at a creepy portrait of a very angry looking man we get a lovely jump scare. See, internet: the british were doing these things long before you decided to jump on the bandwagon of hating them. Jerks.
But we have a lovely couple in period dress smiling and fawning over one another, Catherine looks so content and pleased with herself and her newly minted Husband....and then a crawling hand in the hallway. The attack on Catherine comes quickly and without warning, and is actually subtle. Obviously, they weren't about to show a graphic attack scene in this thing: a hand clamps over her mouth as she screams, another hand obviously cut off, we cut away to her Husband running-great use of the space, guys! We see him running from one end of the house to the other-grabbing an axe and ramming himself through the door while big, loud musical bursts jar the senses. Excellent stuff.
The theatrical influences are so present in these old Hammer films (I'm not sure this was actually made by Hammer, but it certainly feels like Hammer): not just in the space, as we've covered, by in the performances and scene blockings as well: Stephanie Beacham as Catherine shows her fear with extremely wide eyes and exaggerated movements (the heaving bosom, the cautious head rolls, shivering shoulders)...people move as they talk, going from one end of the room to the other...very stage play.
Poor Catherine. Things aren't going so hot for her ever since she moved in: attacked in bed, guy with no eyes leering at her through the windows and coming out of paintings, creepy woodsman in the cemetery (also leering...this is very much a leering movie). My sympathies lie more with the woodsman, though: being a servant or a peasant during this period really sucked, so...Catherine may be being haunted, but she's in pretty good shape in society.
I hope she falls in love with Silas The Woodsman. He seems pretty rad. His response to Catherine's questioning makes me kind of love the guy. Kind of a jerk. I'm not sure why Catherine is so concerned about real estate transactions, but apparently "our marriage, even our very lives depend on it!" If this movie becomes about Catherine trying to take land back from a poor Woodsman who lives in a hovel...well, Republicans would love it. How dare he give land to poor people? Let them earn it through the class system of inherited wealth like everyone else!
The window starts to open by itself...so she grabs it and tries to hold it closed. That's awesome!
Poor Silas The Woodsman! Now he's being accused of murder by the man. Just because he's poor doesn't mean he's a criminal! I mean, he might be the murderer. But still.
The ghost does not want the Maid to tell Catherine anything, apparently. Actually, it was a pretty cool haunting scene: winds blowing stuff around, slow motion and then it just...stops completely. It's a jarring effect, the sudden stop. Pretty awesome. Guess the maid was right to fear reprisal.
Aunt Edith is not screwing around. I love when characters just say "to hell with this nonsense, let's just get out of here." Of course, she's then killed by the crawling hand (which looks pretty great, by the way). Stephanie Beachem is a great screamer.
Silas is awesome. The way he says "Master" is filled with such disdain...and then sarcastically responds to accusations of disturbing Catherine with "Well, wouldn't want to do that..." and refers to his house as his "ancestral hovel." I'm going to start referring to my apartment as my "ancestral hovel" from now on.
Catherine once again shows some guts: just hack the shit out the painting. It now appears she didn't know what she was doing, really, but it still is a bad-ass response to haunting stuff. It does seem like Catherine can't go five minutes without some sort of trauma. Falls down the stairs, then the next day attacked by a dog. Might want to consider a divorce, Catherine.
Silas to the rescue! Of course, Catherine can't bother saying thank you. This movie is classist!
Wonderful performance choice from Beachum. She throws the medicine into the river, comes back and finds a the bottle still there on her nightstand...then there's this wonderful close-up of her clutching her temples, wide eyed, trying to get out a scream and then...hysterical laughter as she completely snaps. Excellent performance.
Have no fear. Peter Cushing is here! There's something deeply comfortable about Cushing as a hero. He's just so assured and confident. Watch some of his old Vampire flicks where he plays a Van Helsing type..he even has this simple physicality. I totally buy that Cushing can kick ass. I doubt we'll get any of that here, considering he's just a Psychiatrist...unless it turns out that Catherine is getting gas-lighted, which I haven't ruled out in lieu of a ghost. Ghost is still the most likely outcome, though, considering what happened to the Maid. Cushing will get to the bottom of this, though.
Well, shit, this isn't going to be easy Cushing. Every time someone even starts talking about the backstory they die. The Doctor literally got six words out before dying suddenly. Luckily, it seems that Charles might be immune.
I dunno, the guys "house of debauchery" seems kinda fun. Just the peasants drinking and singing songs and playing drinking games. So, because he was down to earth and entertained the poor he's a villain? That's so classist. The guy gave permission for Silas to get married, man. Seems like a pretty good guy, actually, but because he let the poor drink and party in his house he was a man of debauchery. Okay. Well, okay, so he brought a rape party to Silas' house on his wedding night for some Prima Nocta. That's not so cool.
As curses go, Silas Senior has a pretty good one. Well deserved, too. I mean, it's poor Catherine who is suffering for it, which is totally uncool because she doesn't seem so bad. She doesn't seem terribly pregnant, but...hey, since it's likely the baby of a ghost that might make some sense.
Charles is apparently an extremely good shot: shot out both of Silas' eyes. Silas and his creepy laugh were pretty great. Can't say he's without sympathy, though: considering everybody is kinda screwed by the actions on one dick forty years back or whatever.
Cushing attempts to stop Charles from desecrating a grave and then basically decides it just isn't worth it and watches as the guy drags out the dead body from the tomb, smacks its head off and starts smashing it against the cement. Awesome stuff.
Oh, snap: Baby has the birthmark and no hand. That's pretty grim. Cushing didn't seem to solve this at all...everything just played itself out. I like it. That's how you do a downer ending properly. The curse is not removed, can't be stopped, and plays itself out. All because one dude who is no longer alive was a huge asshole. Vengeance cannot be stopped.
Final Thoughts: Classy flick, very well made and executed. As I mentioned before, the stage influences are really what make this stuff work the most: even as the film visits shacks and tombs, the fact that everything is a set piece that stands on it own, even serving as its own location, is just so incredibly arresting. The film is very much interested in entertaining it's audience and wastes no moments. It all works very much like a play. The performances are great: Cushing may not have really been needed here but he approaches every scene with a fantastic sense of gravity and seriousness that keeps it all grounded. Stephanie Beachem is wonderfully theatrical, too.
Final Rating: Three and a Half Stars.
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