House of the Living Dead
Encyclopedia
House of the Living Dead is a British
horror
and science fiction
film made in 1973 by director Ray Austin. Set on a plantation
in Apartheid-era South Africa
, it deals heavily with the occult
. Its tagline is "It drives you mad before it kills!"
in South Africa
. The family consists of a mother and her two sons, Michael and Breck (both played by Mark Burns
). Michael runs the house while Breck spends his time alone in his room, deformed and insane, conducting experiments to try to prove the soul is an organic object able to live outside the human body. Michael's fiancée arrives to marry him, much to the mother's dismay as she wants to family to end so the long history of madness can stop. Meanwhile strange things begin to happen at the plantation, such as voodoo, which is assumed to be the work of the local black
neighbors, and murder
.
and no zombies at all, as would generally be expected of a title containing "Living Dead". It is sometimes confused with the substantially more popular video game series "House of the Dead
". It is 86 minutes long (85 in the UK cut version) and is rated Australia: R (and UK PG). It goes under various names- Curse of the Dead and Doctor Maniac in the US, and Kill, Baby, Kill when released to video.
.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
and science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
film made in 1973 by director Ray Austin. Set on a plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
in Apartheid-era South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, it deals heavily with the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
. Its tagline is "It drives you mad before it kills!"
Plot
The storyline follows a white family running a plantation farm on the CapeCape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The family consists of a mother and her two sons, Michael and Breck (both played by Mark Burns
Mark Burns
Mark Burns was an English film and television actor.Burns was born in Bromsgrove in the county of Worcestershire and educated at Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire...
). Michael runs the house while Breck spends his time alone in his room, deformed and insane, conducting experiments to try to prove the soul is an organic object able to live outside the human body. Michael's fiancée arrives to marry him, much to the mother's dismay as she wants to family to end so the long history of madness can stop. Meanwhile strange things begin to happen at the plantation, such as voodoo, which is assumed to be the work of the local black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
neighbors, and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
Content
The film contains very little goreGraphic violence
Graphic violence is the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as literature, film, television, and video games...
and no zombies at all, as would generally be expected of a title containing "Living Dead". It is sometimes confused with the substantially more popular video game series "House of the Dead
The House of the Dead (series)
The House of the Dead is a video game franchise published by Sega and created by in-house designer Atsushi Seimiya of AM1....
". It is 86 minutes long (85 in the UK cut version) and is rated Australia: R (and UK PG). It goes under various names- Curse of the Dead and Doctor Maniac in the US, and Kill, Baby, Kill when released to video.
Production
The film, which was shot in South Africa, was directed by Ray Austin, a well-known television director, and written by Marc Marais, who adapted the original plot idea by John BrasonJohn Brason
John Brason is a British script writer and script editor, best known for the series made in collaboration with television producer Gerard Glaister, Colditz and Secret Army, both set during World War II....
.