One of my favorite things about Vinegar Syndrome sales is picking up movies I have never heard of before. Sometimes I find gems like GRAVE ROBBERS. Other times I find duds like THE HOUSE ON TOMBSTONE HILL that have some good points but ultimately let me down. BLOODBATH AT THE HOUSE OF DEATH was definitely worth the price of admission and falls into the gem category of films.
If you’ve never heard of the film, it’s a British horror-comedy that is a spoof on films like THE HAUNTING and POLTERGEIST. It takes place in a manor house where there was an aforementioned bloodbath as Satanic monks killed eighteen people back in 1975. In the present day of 1984, a group of scientists led by Dr. Lukas Manderville (Kenny Everett) and Dr. Barbara Coyle (Pamela Stephenson), head to the house to investigate the haunting of the House of Death. This doesn’t sit well with the Sinister Man (Vincent Price), who is a several hundred year-old Satanic monk who wants to keep the house empty for his own nefarious reasons.
Will anyone make it out of the manor alive? Why exactly do the monks want the house empty? What the hell is up with Manderville’s prosthetic leg?
Watch it and find out!
A genuinely funny and spooky movie, BLOODBATH AT THE HOUSE OF DEATH has a game cast that is up for the hijinks that ensue. In addition to the first two doctors, you have a drunk, a woman with mommy issues, two gay men, and a young couple, all available to get dispatched in hilarious ways. Which are including but not limited to death by toilet, lightsaber attack and killer teddy bear. I wasn’t familiar with Kenny Everett before this movie but he is great as Dr. Manderville, slipping into a German accent whenever he gets frazzled because he used to be a German surgeon. (It’s weird but makes sense, sort of.) Pamela Stephenson works well as his foil as they explore the haunted house. Vincent Price steals the show in the few scenes he’s in, which is no surprise as he is a legend and I could honestly watch him read the phone book. It’s always a treat when he’s on screen and how can you not laugh at him telling someone to “piss off”? Not all of the jokes might land, but enough of them do to keep you laughing until the end.
And it’s not just a clever movie title, as the movie does feature quite a bit of blood. Sometimes with the older horror comedies they skimp on it a bit. No, we start off strong with the murders of the eighteen people and as the scientists go about their investigation they are dispatched in some gory ways. There’s even an actual blood bath! I don’t’ think any of them are going to end up on anyone’s “best of” lists but they’re fun and some are surprisingly gruesome.
All in all, BLOODBATH AT THE HOUSE OF DEATH is a fun ride that you won’t be disappointed you took. Check it out.
