THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD
UK, 1970, 102 minutes. Colour.
1. Method for Murder: Denholm Elliot.
2. Waxworks : Peter Cushing.
3. Sweets to the Sweet: Christopher Lee, Nyree Dawn Porter.
4. The Cloak: Jon Pertwee, Ingrid Pitt.
The House that Dripped Blood contains, believe it or not, not one visible drop of blood. Instead this over-sensationally titled film is an enjoyable horror-thriller containing four separate episodes with some of the stars of British horror-thriller movies. The stories are modern equivalents of Poe, each well done with Peter Cushing Christopher Lee, Denholm Elliot and, finally Jon Pertwee in a funny send-up of vampire films. The film shows successfully (for both adult and adolescent audiences) the creepy thrills of horror stories (and that over-gruesome sequences are not always necessary) that everybody enjoys a good scare. And then the film draws a moral at the end.
1. Was this merely a collection of horror stories built around the central interest in the house, or was it more?
2. Author Robert Bloch writes horror stories as 'moral fables' - to entertain audience, to appeal to their fear, to their consciences, to learn by the fables. How is this evident here? Is the film successfully contrived to be a prod to conscience?
3. Does the house itself become a 'character' in the film? How?
4. What moral was drawn at the end? How is it illustrated in the four stories?
a) the character, madness, obsessions and jealousies of the writer;
b) the past murdering the prim stockbroker and his fascination with his past love. the murderous jealousy of the proprietor;
c) the sinister in the middle of angelic appearances. the horror of the innocent-looking little witch. the inadequate father and his suffering. the uncomprehending governess;
d) the satire on the actor and his absorption with his role. Even the final succumbing to Carla by the Inspector. 5. What effective techniques did the film use to gain its horror effects successfully - especially. light and darkness. colour. satire. jokes - the agent in Stoker! Audience presuppositions about horror films? 6. Did you notice that not one drop of blood was visible during the whole film? Did the film need blood visible or not?
