The Haunted House of Horror (1969 film)
Encyclopedia
The Haunted House of Horror, also titled Horror House and The Dark, was an early type of teen "slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...

" set in late 60's England. It starred Frankie Avalon and Jill Haworth as young adults looking for a thrill by spending the night in an old mansion in the English countryside. Although portraying a teenager, Avalon was nearly 30 years old at the time of filming. It was directed by Michael Armstrong
Michael Armstrong (cinematographer)
Michael Armstrong is a British writer and directorArmstrong trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was writing and directing films at the age of 22 with the award-winning short, The Image starring David Bowie and Michael Byrne...

 who would go on to direct Mark of the Devil.

Plot

In swinging London, a group of twenty-something friends are attending a rather dull party, and they decide to gather for kicks at an old supposedly haunted mansion where one of their number used to play as a child. Among the group is American ringleader Chris, his bored partygirl girlfriend Sheila, promiscuous Sylvia who has her eye on handsome two-timing Gary, and his "good girl" date Dorothy. Also tagging along are nervous, heavy-set Madge and her sarcastic, hot-tempered boyfriend Peter, and sweet faced Richard (who suggested going to the mansion), and his friend Henry. They are all followed by Paul Kellet, Sylvia's older jealous married ex-boyfriend.

They have fun exploring the mansion, even holding a seance before separating one by one by candlelight on the moonlit night. Sylvia, frightened by the mansion, leaves and hitchhikes toward home, but Kellet, hangs behind at the mansion. While all the partiers are alone, Gary is brutally knifed; his body is discovered by the panic-stricken Dorothy and the others. Since some of them have a criminal record, Chris convinces the group to leave Gary's body far from the home and to pretend that Gary left and no one knows where he went. They are all shaken by Chris' assertion that one of them must be the murderer.

During the next few weeks, the survivors are possessed by tension and guilt, and after Gary is reported missing, they are further shaken by questioning from the police. Kellet confronts Sylvia, learning that she may have lost a lighter that could link them at the mansion. He returns there where he is also killed.

Dorothy calls the survivors together to ask to confess. However, Chris convinces them to return to the house to discover who among them is the killer before they all succumb to a gruesome death. Meanwhile, Sylvia is visited by the police again, and she discloses the location of the house after learning of Kellet's disappearance. At the mansion, Dorothy becomes hysterical, prompting several of the group to depart, leaving just Chris, Sheila, and Richard. While Sheila is out of the room, Richard recounts a tale of how he was locked in a basement for three days as a child and how he has a paralyzing fear of the dark or anyone he suspects will lock him away. Despite Chris' efforts, he is also knifed and Sheila is frantically chased around the mansion. Just as Richard is about to strike, the moon goes behind a cloud, bringing about his reversion to childhood and fear of the dark, thus saving the Sheila as the police arrive.

Cast

  • Frankie Avalon
    Frankie Avalon
    Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...

     as Chris
  • Jill Haworth
    Jill Haworth
    Valerie Jill Haworth was an English actress.Haworth was born in Sussex, to a textile magnate father and a mother who trained as a ballet dancer ....

     as Sheila
  • Dennis Price
    Dennis Price
    Dennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...

     as Inspector
  • Mark Wynter
    Mark Wynter
    Mark Wynter is an English actor and former singer, who had four Top 20 singles in the 1960s, including "Venus in Blue Jeans" and "Go Away Little Girl"...

     as Gary
  • George Sewell
    George Sewell
    George Sewell was an English actor.-Early life and early career:The son of a Hoxton printer and a florist; Sewell left school at age 14 and worked briefly in the printing trade before switching to building work, specifically the repair of bomb-damaged houses...

     as Kellett
  • Gina Warwick as Sylvia
  • Carol Dilworth as Dorothy
  • Julian Barnes as Richard
  • Veronica Doran
    Veronica Doran
    Veronica Doran is a British character actress who remains best known for her 18 month stint as Marion Willis in the ITV1 soap opera, Coronation Street. She appeared in the series from 1982 to 1983.- Early life :...

     as Madge
  • Robin Stewart
    Robin Stewart
    Robin Stewart is an English actor who is best known for playing Mike Abbott in the 1970s sitcom Bless This House.He acted on television and in feature films in both the UK and Australia...

     as Henry
  • Jan Holden
    Jan Holden
    Valerie Jeanne Wilkinson was an English actress who was known as Jan Holden.Jan Holden was a stage actress known for her performances in light comedy and also for her appearances in several popular television series during the 1950s and 1960s. She was an elegant woman notable for her arresting...

     as Peggy
  • Clifford Earl
    Clifford Earl
    Clifford Earl is an English actor who has appeared in numerous television programmes and films. He appeared in the TV series Doctor Who twice, as the Station Sergeant in The Daleks' Master Plan in 1965, and as Major Branwell in The Invasion in 1968...

     as Police Sergeant
  • Robert Raglan
    Robert Raglan
    Robert Raglan was a British actor best known for his semi-regular role in Dad's Army, as Colonel Pritchard. He also starred in a number of other television series and films such as Fabian of the Yard and The Haunted House of Horror...

     as Bradley
  • Mel Churcher as Melinda Churcher
  • Freddie Lees as Dave
  • Richard O'Sullivan as Peter

Film Locations

  • Bank Hall
    Bank Hall
    Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion south of the village of Bretherton in Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* Listed Building. The hall was built on the site of a previous building in 1608 during the reign of James I by the Banastre family who were Lords of the Manor. It was extended during the 18th...

    , Bretherton, Lancashire, England, UK;
  • Birkdale Palace Hotel
    Birkdale Palace Hotel
    The Birkdale Palace Hotel was a luxury hotel located in the coastal resort of Birkdale, Southport, on the north-west coast of England. It was opened in 1866 and demolished in 1969. During the Second World War it was a rehabilitation centre for US airmen, and in the last two years of its existence...

    , Southport, Merseyside, England, UK;
  • Carnaby Street
    Carnaby Street
    Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in London, United Kingdom, located in the Soho district, near Oxford Street and Regent Street. It is home to numerous fashion and lifestyle retailers, including a large number of independent fashion boutiques...

    , Soho, London, England, UK


Film Notes

  • The film's tagline was "Behind its forbidden doors an evil secret hides!"
  • Some exterior scenes where shot at Bank Hall
    Bank Hall
    Bank Hall is a Jacobean mansion south of the village of Bretherton in Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* Listed Building. The hall was built on the site of a previous building in 1608 during the reign of James I by the Banastre family who were Lords of the Manor. It was extended during the 18th...

     in Bretherton
  • The Interior Scenes where shot at the Birkdale Palace Hotel
    Birkdale Palace Hotel
    The Birkdale Palace Hotel was a luxury hotel located in the coastal resort of Birkdale, Southport, on the north-west coast of England. It was opened in 1866 and demolished in 1969. During the Second World War it was a rehabilitation centre for US airmen, and in the last two years of its existence...

    , Southport
  • Michael Armstrong
    Michael Armstrong (cinematographer)
    Michael Armstrong is a British writer and directorArmstrong trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and was writing and directing films at the age of 22 with the award-winning short, The Image starring David Bowie and Michael Byrne...

    's original script was much more psychedelic and envisaged David Bowie
    David Bowie
    David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

     in the role of Richard, but he was overruled by AIP as it was considered that Bowie would clash with Frankie Avalon
    Frankie Avalon
    Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...

    . He was replaced by Noel Janus but objections by Equity led to him being replaced with Julian Barnes (who had originally been cast as Henry).

External links

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