The Murder Mansion is a 1972 Spanish-Italian mystery horror thriller film about a group of people stranded at an old house by a heavy fog.
Directed by Francisco Lara Polop (The Monk, 1990) from a screenplay co-written by Luis G. de Blain and Antonio Troiso [as Antonio Troisio], based on de Blain’s story.
The Mundial Film (Spain)-Tritone Cinematografica (Italy) co-production stars Andrés Resino (The Werewolf vs. the Vampire), Lisa Leonardi (All the Colours of the Dark), Franco Fantasia (Seven Blood-Stained Orchids; Knife of Ice), Alberto Dalbés (Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein), Yelena Samarina (The Werewolf vs. the Vampire), Jorge Rigaud, Evelyn Stewart (Seven Notes in Black; Knife of Ice; Spirits of Death), Eduardo Fajardo (Nightmare City; Lisa and the Devil) and Analía Gadé.
Our review:
The Murder Mansion opens with various people separately travelling across the countryside. A few minutes is devoted to allowing us to get to know them and we quickly discover that they are all familiar giallo types. There’s the cold businessman, the lecherous man with the beard and the driving gloves, and, of course, the free-spirited young lovers who have just met. There’s also the emotionally unstable, Elsa (Analia Gade).
When a thick fog rolls in, Elsa is the first of the travellers to find herself stranded outside of a foreboding mansion. She thinks she sees two shadowy figures in the fog — a woman and a hulking man dressed as a chauffeur — pursuing her. As she runs through the fog, she runs into the young lovers, who are also similarly stranded. They decide to seek refuge inside the mansion and … guess what? It turns out that all the other travellers have decided to seek refuge there as well!
It turns out that the mansion is looked after by a housekeeper named Martha (Ida Galli, aka Evelyn Stewart). Martha explains that the former owner of the mansion was killed years ago in an automobile accident, along with her chauffeur. (Hmmm….) Martha also goes on to explain that the village around the mansion is deserted because the villagers became convinced that the woman and her chauffeur were vampires. Martha then invites everyone to spend the night.
As everyone prepares to turn in for the night, they can’t help but notice a few strange things. First off, why is every bedroom decorated with a disturbing painting? And why does the painting of the former, now deceased, owner of the house look so much like Martha?
As you probably already guessed, a mysterious figure soon starts to prowl around the house, killing the travellers one by one. Meanwhile, Elsa continues to have her nervous breakdown and soon starts to have flashbacks to some unspeakable acts that were committed by her father…
The Murder Mansion is an enjoyable little giallo, one that is full of creepy atmosphere, twisty plot developments, and memorably strange characters. It’s actually a lot of fun to watch as our heroes creep around the mansion and try to put together all of the clues.
As far as blood, gore, and nudity are concerned, The Murder Mansion is actually remarkably tame by the standards of Italian (and, for that matter, Spanish) thrillers, which makes it an appropriate introduction to the genre for people who may not have previously seen many Giallo films.
Lisa Marie Bowman, guest reviewer via Through the Shattered Lens
Choice dialogue:
Porter: “I keep having the sensation we’ve crossed the barrier from real to unreal”
Blu-ray release:
Vinegar Syndrome released The Murder Mansion as part of the 3-disc Forgotten Gialli Volume 3 box set along with Autopsy and Crazy Desires of a Murderer.
Newly scanned and restored in 4k from its 35mm original camera negative
Includes the original Spanish language soundtrack with new English translations, as well as the English and Italian language dubs (Italian dub is not translated)
“Lady of the Mansion” – an interview with actress Ida Galli aka Evelyn Stewart
Reversible cover artwork
Newly translated English SDH subtitles for the original Spanish soundtrack
Region Free Blu-ray
Cast and characters:
Evelyn Stewart … Martha Clinton; Analía Gadé … Elsa; Lisa Leonardi … Laura; Andrés Resino … Fred; Franco Fantasia … Mr Porter; Alberto Dalbés … Ernest; Yelena Samarina … Mrs Tremont; George Rigaud … Elsa’s Father; Ingrid Garbo … Ellen; Eduardo Fajardo … Mr Tremont; José Luis Velasco … Chauffeur/Ghost; Saturno Cerra … Man in the Road; Emilia Rubio … Female Hotel Guest; José Félix Montoya … Hotel Guest; Magoya Montenegro … Second Female Hotel Guest; María Reniu … First Female Hotel Guest
Filming locations:
Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain
Guadalajara, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Technical specs:
1 hour 26 minutes
Eastmancolor
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Audio: Mono
Alternate titles:
La mansión de la niebla “The Mansion of Fog” (Spanish title)
Quando Marta urlò dalla tomba “When Marta Screamed from the Grave” (Italian title)
Maniac Mansion
Trailer [4K Ultra HD]:
Full film – free to watch online [4K Ultra HD]:
Discover more from MOVIES & MANIA
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
