Customer Reviews

The House of Seven Corpses [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

There is a definite generation gap when it comes to appreciation of films in general and horror films in particular. At a mere 36 years old (OK, 37), I have no tolerance for the likes of The Mummy with Brendan Frasier or most other mass market video games masquerading as films. This stuff is all empty, loud, mind-numbing product, no different from the Coca-Cola you drink when you watch it. If this kind of talk is making you angry, you will not at all be interested in The House of the Seven Corpses, which is atmospheric, well-scripted and DOES feature rotting corpses. BUT they don't run really fast in massive groups, and the hero is about 65 years old so it wouldn't be becoming for him to leap 20 feet into the air and sever all 7 corpses at once.
Seven reasons to see The House of Seven Corpses:
1) Intriguing film-within-a-film self-reflexive weirdness
2) Clever dialogue as delivered by John Ireland
3) Cantankerous dialogue as delivered by John Carradine
4) A chance to stay with the entire cast for several nights at the creepy Governors' Mansion in Utah
5) Eerie choral musical score AND stock music from Outer Limits
6) Convincing rotting corpses
7) Opening credits sequence

If that's not enough, I have more. If you're still reading this, hopefully a few of the reasons above will suffice. And for those of you who think this film is awful, I understand why a measly seven corpses, with only two of them SLOWLY coming back to life, will not.

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.

The film's logic flaws are legion - whoever dreamed up a Latin translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, for instance? - and its ending won't stand up to close scrutiny. But if you're partial to those old Creepy and Eerie magazine stories that used to be put out by Warren Publishing, you'll love this flick - it performs exactly like those schlock horror mags read.

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.

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................

I wasn't expecting much from The House of Seven Corpses, and for that reason the fact that this horror film is clever (but not too clever) and funny (but not too funny) came as a pleasant surprise. Others have already commented on the plot, which doesn't altogether make sense on a literal level, but symbolically makes perfect sense, so I'll just comment on some of my fave things about this movie.

The irony and self-reflexiveness that the film-within-a-film made possible was my favourite aspect. I hate the newer movies that have that sort of humour, but this film wasn't smug and in-your-face about it, so it worked for me. Especially the ending, where one of the zombies drops a... well, I won't say, but it's perfect!

I love the way they used cross-cutting, and the montage sequences were neat in a cheesy way. The directing was wanna-be Hitchcock (esp. the use of mirrors), but on a low budget, even Hitch would look like a wanna-be of himself.

Another funny bit was when one of the actresses discovers her cat Cleon cut in half and she goes into hysterics. Then later, if you look closely, you can see John Carradine's character (Price) chiselling the cat's name onto a headstone. No one draws attention to it, but if you're sharp you'll catch the name. Also, there are lots of other visual jokes which I found myself rewinding the movie to laugh at again.

About the actors- no Academy Award performances here, but everyone was competent. The tyrant director (played by John Ireland) was my fave of all. It was great when the zombie was chasing him and he notices the film scattered all over the floor and gets more upset over that than being stalked by a killing machine (My film! Oh God!). While this movie is not a masterpice, it's good for a laugh or two.

I first saw this on TV a while ago, and loved it. At times it seemed it went from color to black and white, it flickered colors at you, and the sound suddenly changed volume. So when I ordered it on VHS, I wasn't expecting much. It's not the greatest quality, but it was a lot better than the TV's quality.

The story itself is a bit interesting... and after watching how many times I still don't get the ending, but it kept my attention. Nothing like the newer movies coming out. I don't go to movies just for the fact I'd probably fall asleep due to a stolen plot/story that I've already seen before.

Some of the actors are just pathetic. You just want to meet them in person to kill them. What do you expect, though?

If you have money to spend, buy it. If you haven't seen it before, don't buy it till you see it.

Studio: Desert Island Films
DVD Release Date: July 13, 2011
This is not the new dvd that has been released by Severin Films. This is a no better than the other versions.
I don't like when seller's try this on Amazon. Wait for restock on the other.

A group of low budget film makers attempt to finish making a horror movie
in an old mansion with a murderous past.
Old time horror legend John Carradine has a small but effective role
along with John Ireland who is clearly enjoying the role of a short tempered movie director.
The movie is slowly paced, but this helps the atmosphere, in fact it is
not until the hour mark that anything really happens. This helps to build up a palpable sense of dread, and there are some nice insights into the world of low budget film making. Recommended for fans of 60's/70's B movies, looking for something more accomplished.

You know a movie is going to be good when it starts off with creepy ambient choir music, and people being hung, stabbed, and shot.

The grainy film quality, the way the title comes up with a huge, haunted house in the background.

I had to stop the movie and order pizza hut before going any further.

If you are in to old, eerie horror you must have this movie.

I understand why this movie was $5.99 new at the local shop.
Its 89 minutes of non stop boredom on a disc. The basic story is
not very unique or original and the characters are of the same mold.
A film crew and its cast are shooting a movie inside a mansion where
all the previous tenants have met a terrible demise. Some of the
crew do not feel comfortable in this mansion, but proceed to shoot
their film anyways. Passages are read from the Tibetan Book Of The
Dead and oh my, something dead and putrid rises from the graves
outside the mansion. I could go on, but this film is a mess. The acting
is terrible, the amazingly non scary zombie like creature who kills the
crew is laughable. The killings are not realistic, and many are not
on screen. This is understandable, as the movie is rated PG. There is
no suspense, no intensity and nothing scary about this film, or even
funny for that matter. The movie could not have ended soon enough.
Even the twist ending could not save this putrid and vile mess. You are
left with more questions than answers, but frankly you wont care anyways.
Not sure where all the positive reviews are coming from, I had to look
at the cover to make sure I had seen the same movie!