For the first time in years the other night I re-watched HOUSE
OF HORRORS (1946). I've never thought it was a particularly great example of
Universal’s 1940’s output but I have to admit that for some reason this Blu-Ray
viewing managed to change my opinion of the film. It has officially shifted
from ‘not that great’ to ‘this is actually a pretty good movie’ status for me.
I found it to be an incredibly well-paced, well-structured little chiller. I
even found myself enjoying the characters! It almost plays as a smart character
study about different levels of the New York art world but there is also this
incredibly interesting look at regular people circa the middle of the late
1940s dealing with life and doing their jobs. Granted, these are some pretty high-status
jobs (for the most part) but in just a very few scenes we get a real sense of
these people and, in general, I like them. In fact, one of the bigger surprises
in going back to the film this time was how much I really like the characters
and their relationships. We're given a lot of pointed detail in very few scenes
that paint a coherent picture of these people and how they interact. The only
character left as a cypher is the Creeper (Rondo Hatton) who is simply a weapon
another character stumbles across and relentlessly points at his enemies.
Fascinating!
Who knew I’d find myself really looking forward to future
visits to this odd little overlooked film? I need to listen to the commentary
track included on the Scream Factory Blu-Ray.
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