18. The House in Nightmare Park (1973), dir. Peter Sykes

[strange_complex]

AND FINALLY (for now), this is a fairly standard narrative about a dysfunctional family bumping each other off for an inheritance with Frankie Howerd thrown in for comic relief, which I watched with lady_lugosi1313 after it was screened on Talking Pictures recently. It wasn't awful, but it dragged a lot more than it should have done given the suspenseful potential of the plot. Frankie Howerd was relatively toned down, perhaps so that he would fit appropriately into a story about family murders, but it ended up feeling like an unhappy compromise - neither funny enough nor horrific enough to entertain. To be fair to it, the sets and a lot of the cinematography were actually very good, and we had fun spotting all the cliches and guessing what was going to happen. But it wasn't a patch on comparable British horror comedy Carry on Screaming.

Since no more need be said about this film, I hereby declare myself UP TO DATE with reviewing at long last. That's basically taken me the whole of the bank holiday weekend, but it was a worthwhile investment. Who knows what crazy things I might get up to now!

Comments

[magister]

Have to say, I really enjoyed this. I've a soft spot for old dark house comedy thrillers like this, What a Carve Up and both versions of The Old Dark House.

[strange_complex]

Yeah, like I said it certainly isn't awful. We just found our attention wandering a bit. I've seen the 1932 version of The Old Dark House, which I think is wonderful, but not the 1963 one yet (though I have it recorded).

[magister]

The lead in the 63 version isn't great, but the supporting cast makes up for it.

[magister]

And the 32version is one of my favourite films. Given that the remake was at the height of the Carry On films, I've always been a little disappointed that they didn't cast Kenneth Williams as Horace From. Ernest Thesiger always reminds me of Williams made up as the Chaney Phantom of the Opera.

[strange_complex]

Oh god, yes, Williams would have been PERFECT in that role! I will push the 1963 version a little way up my to-watch list on your recommendation.

[poliphilo]

Frankie Howerd was a wonderful comedian- but his talent was for monologuising in front of a real or imaginary audience. Put him in a role that calls for run of the mill clowning and he's just not funny.

[strange_complex]

You might be onto something there.