Film Review: THE HOUSE WHERE EVIL DWELLS (1982)

Cultural ghost stories are always interesting as they try to meld two different cultures into a seamless ghost story that entertains and does justice to both cultures.  The House Where Evil Dwells (1982) is one of these films that manages to be both an entertaining ghost story and the story of an American family being terrorized by a three Japanese ghost.  The Fletcher family have moved into the perfect Japanese home not knowing that it is the place where a samurai warrior killed his wife and her lover before taking his own life.  Soon the Fletchers begin to find themselves being possessed by the Japanese spirits as they relive the moments of the spirits’ lives before they died which leads them on a deadly course that may have them reliving the fate of what happened to the Japanese spirits.

Edward Albert and Susan George star as husband and wife Fletcher whose fates lie in whether or not they can break free of the Japanese ghost before it is too late.  Directed by Kevin Connor (who directed Motel Hell) the film is a character driven ghost story as you watch a seemingly perfect family decay under the influence of jealous ghosts.   It’s a slow, yet deliberately paced film that still holds up thirty years later.  Albert and George are especially good as the perfect couple whose lives fall apart due to the influence of ghosts.

Although it might seem passé for some audiences looking for more shock value in their horror films this is a moody and atmospheric ghost story that gets under the skin without peeling it away and showing all the veins underneath.

Film Review: HAUNT (2014)

Evan Asher (Harrison Gilbertson) and his family have just moved into a house that holds a dark past and many secrets in the atmospheric film Haunt (2014).  Evan is an introvert who quickly makes friends with his neighbor Sam (Liana Liberato), who has her own secrets, but curiosity gets the better of them when Sam talks Evan into using a radio box left behind by the previous tenant to communicate with the spirit of a past resident.  Once they communicate with the dead there is no end to their curiosity no matter how dangerous their lives become as the mystery of discovering who the spirit was over powers them. 

Written by Andrew Barrer and directed by Mac Carter the film is a well done haunted house feature which relies on atmosphere to create a sense of dread and menace.  Although there is nothing in this film that hasn’t been explored in previous haunted house films Carter does an extremely good job with the material and the two leads are really good together keeping you engaged from beginning to end.

This being said, it’s still just another haunted house story that hinges upon how much you love the genre.  The jump scares are prevalent and it is an effective film that does what it’s expected to do but not much else.

Film Review: THE HOUSE THAT WOULD NOT DIE (1970)

The spirits of the dead cannot rest in the made for TV movie The House That Would Not Die (1970) in which Barbara Stanwyck stars as Ruth Bennett who has just inherited a house from a recently passed aunt.  Ruth moves into the house with her niece Sarah (Kitty Winn).  During a house warming party a séance goes wrong and Sarah is suddenly possessed by a mysterious woman with a connection to the house.  As Ruth tries to understand what is going on, Sarah’s mental health declines and a revelation to the house’s original owner is revealed when she comes across a hidden Bible within the house’s walls.  With the help of her neighbor Pat (Richard Egan) and Sarah’s boyfriend, Ruth must discover the truth of the possession before she loses Sarah to an unspeakable evil. 

 

Based on the novel by Barbara Michaels, the screenplay by Henry Farrell does a good job of presenting the material.  Although dated by today’s standards, as a ‘70s film it played to the sensibilities of the time as it explored the séance as a “party favor” and touched upon its ramifications and fears of the time.  There is a very logical explanation to the possession (unlike many such films of today) and it’s even laid out as a mystery to be solved.

Although John Llewellyn Mosey’s direction is flat it works for the film as it doesn’t allow for style to get in the way which many theatrical possession films of today do.  For a TV movie you can do worse than this and although it won’t leave a lasting impression it is a film that shows the ‘70s possession film for what it was.