The
lowdown: 'The House That Dripped Blood' is a horror anthology
from Amicus studios, in a similar vein to the
better-known Hammer Horror
series, and uses many of the same actors (such as Peter Cushing and Christopher
Lee). Made in 1971, it features
four separate tales of terror set in a house which is reputed to be haunted.
The linking
scenes feature a police
inspector being told the stories of tragedy by a real estate agent, as
he investigates the
latest disappearance at
the house. The script was written by Robert Block, who is best-known for
'Psycho', and
this is widely regarded
as the best film in the Amicus series.
The fourth story in the anthology
is called 'The Cloak', and stars Jon Pertwee as a rather egotistical horror
movie actor
named Paul Henderson, who
is starring in a new film called 'Curse of the Bloodsuckers'. Pertwee is
in his element as
Henderson, who has a big
chip on his shoulder and is disparaging of the film, including the cheap
cardboard sets and
low budget. The vampire
cloak that the props department supplies draws particular scorn from Henderson,
who goes
to a mysterious shop to
buy his own cloak (one that might have been worn by a Transylvannian vampire).
The shop's
proprietor, Von Hartmann
(played by the marvellous Geoffrey Bayldon) has just what Henderson needs.
The cloak
seems perfect, and Henderson
discovers that it has strange properties that turn him into a vampire!
Henderson tries to
convince his co-star, Carla
(played by Ingrid Pitt), that the cloak turns him into a vampire, but Carla
has her own surprise
for him.
The
verdict: It is easy to see why this film is the most popular
of the Amicus anthologies. Despite its age, it is still
very entertaining and much
better than many similar films of its era. And who can resist a film that
features such
great actors as Cushing,
Lee and Pertwee? It also takes some gentle digs at other horror movies,
such as those
starring Christopher Lee
(the Hammer ones, presumably). 'The Cloak' in particular is a highly enjoyable
romp,
definitely the least serious
of the four stories, but Pertwee is marvellous and is clearly enjoying
himself.
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