‘Terror waits for you in every room in’
The House That Dripped Blood is a 1971 British horror anthology film based around a secluded old mansion for rent.
The movie was directed by Peter Duffell and produced by Amicus Productions. It stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Nyree Dawn Porter, Denholm Elliott, and Jon Pertwee.
The film is a collection of four short stories, all originally written and subsequently scripted by Robert Bloch, linked by the protagonist of each story’s association with the eponymous building.
Shortly after renting an old country house, film star Paul Henderson mysteriously disappears and Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) from Scotland Yard is called to investigate.
Inquiring at the local police station, Holloway is told some of the house’s history. He then contacts the estate agent (John Bryans) renting the house, who elaborates further by telling Holloway about its previous tenants…
‘Method for Murder’ (originally published in Fury #7, July 1962)
A hack writer of horror stories (Denholm Elliott) moves into the house with his wife (Joanna Dunham) and is haunted by visions of Dominic (Tom Adams), the murderous, psychopathic central character of his latest novel.
‘Waxworks’ (originally published in Weird Tales Vol. 33 #1, January 1939)
A retired stockbroker (Peter Cushing) and his friend (Joss Ackland) become fixated with a macabre waxwork museum that appears to contain a model of a lady they both knew.
‘Sweets to the Sweet’ (originally published in Weird Tales Vol. 39 #10, March 1947)
A private teacher (Nyree Dawn Porter) is perturbed by the cold and severe way a widower (Christopher Lee) treats his young daughter (Chloe Franks), even forbidding her to have a doll. The teacher feels like a helpless bystander, but his daughter is not everything that she seems.
‘The Cloak’ (Unknown, May 1939)
Temperamental horror film actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) moves into the house while starring in a vampire film being shot nearby. He buys a black cloak from a peculiar shopkeeper (Geoffrey Bayldon) to use as his film character’s costume. The cloak seems to instil in its wearer strange powers, something Paul’s co-star (Ingrid Pitt) quickly discovers…
“The House That Dripped Blood is one of Amicus’ classier anthologies, strongly acted and imaginatively staged by Peter Duffell [who] gives the proceedings a discreetly self-reflective tone from the outset. Trawling the interior of the fateful house, the camera comes to rest on a skull perched astride a copy of Lotte Eisner’s book The Haunted Screen at the very moment that Duffell’s director credit pops up.” Jonathan Rigby, English Gothic book, 2004 (third edition)
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“By far and away the best of Amicus’s compendium horror films, directed with flair by Peter Duffell and working both as straightforward horror film and, in The Cloak, as a witty and effective send-up of the genre.” Alan Frank, The Horror Film Handbook, 1982
” …neatly made and generally pleasing despite a low level of originality in the writing.” Leslie Halliwell, Halliwell’s Film Guide book, 1981
Trailer and clips:
Blu-ray release:
Second Sight Films released a Limited Edition UK Blu-ray disc of the Amicus horror anthologies The House That Dripped Blood and Asylum. Each release will be presented in a box set featuring original artwork from Graham Humphreys alongside a host of special features, including essays from horror aficionados and a collector’s booklet. Street date: 29 July 2019
Special features:
- Audio commentary with director Peter Duffell and author Jonathan Rigby
- Audio commentary with film historian and author Troy Howarth
- Interview with Second Assistant director Mike Higgins
- A Rated Horror Film: Vintage featurette featuring interviews with director Peter Duffell and actors Geoffrey Bayldon, Ingrid Pitt and Chloe Franks
- Theatrical Trailers
- Radio Spots
- Stills Gallery
- Reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys and original artwork
- Rigid slipcase featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys
- 40-page booklet with new essays by Allan Bryce, Jon Towlson and Kat Ellinger
- Reversible poster featuring new and original artwork
In the USA, Scream Factory released The House That Dripped Blood on Blu-ray on May 8, 2018. The special features are:
- New audio commentary by film historian/author Troy Howarth
- New interview with second assistant director Mike Higgins
- Audio commentary with director Peter Duffell and author Jonathan Rigby
- A-Rated Horror Film – Vintage featurette with director Peter Duffell and actors Geoffrey Bayldon, Ingrid Pitt, and Chloe Franks
- Theatrical trailers: English and Spanish
- Radio spots
- Amicus radio spots collection
- Still gallery
Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com
Cast and characters:
‘Framework’
- John Bennett as Detective Inspector Holloway
- John Bryans as A.J. Stoker
- John Malcolm as Sergeant Martin
‘Method For Murder’
- Denholm Elliott as Charles Hillyer
- Joanna Dunham as Alice Hillyer
- Tom Adams as Richard/Dominic
- Robert Lang as Doctor Andrews
‘Waxworks’
- Peter Cushing as Philip Grayson
- Joss Ackland as Neville Rogers
- Wolfe Morris as Waxworks Proprietor
‘Sweets to the Sweet’
- Christopher Lee as John Reid
- Nyree Dawn Porter as Ann Norton
- Chloe Franks as Jane Reid
- Hugh Manning as Mark
- Carleton Hobbs as Doctor Bailey
‘The Cloak’
- Jon Pertwee as Paul Henderson
- Ingrid Pitt as Carla Lynde
- Geoffrey Bayldon as Theo von Hartmann
- Jonathan Lynn as Mr. Petrich
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca
Filming locations:
Community Hall, Weybridge, Surrey, England, UK (waxworks/antique shop)
Filmed from 29 June 1970 at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK (the titular house was Yew Tree House, a lodge on the back lot that was subsequently demolished in the early 1970s)
Film Facts:
The BBFC initially awarded the film with an ‘A’ certificate until Amicus were asked by distributors to request an ‘X’ instead, fearing that its intended audience would be put off by such a youth-friendly rating.
