HouseoftheLongShadows

House of the Long Shadows (1983)

An American author in England for a book tour is arguing with his English publisher. The publisher says that the classic novels of the past are far better than what is being written now. The American author, Magee says with the right setting he could write one of those “old fashioned” novels in 24 hours. From this a bet is made for $20,000 dollars. If he can write his novel in 24 hours the writer wins, otherwise the publisher gets the money. Soon Magee is off to an isolated estate in the countryside that the publisher has provided for him. Guaranteed that he has the only key he is shocked to discover that there are caretakers at the house. Not only that but all thru the night people keep arriving at the home, all letting themselves in with keys. Eventually all is revealed, sort of, and a big family mystery is solved.

This is another remake of the classic Seven Keys to Baldpate, which has been filmed at least 5 or 6 times that I know of. I own and have watched several versions of the movie and have always enjoyed it. The story here has been modified just a bit to update it, but for the most part follows the basic premise as the previous movies. The movie is well-paced and fun to watch with plenty of twists and turns. It also manages to capture some of the humor that was really important to this sort of movie. Though I hear that this isn’t director’s original cut and that the distributors/producers cut it up for theatrical and VHS release. Still it is pretty damn cool to see a more modern take on the old dark house movies of the 30s and 40s. Also when I realized that this was another remake and that it was directed by Pete Walker (actually the last movie he shot) who I’m a huge fan of I was sold. But then I saw the cast and damn near fell off my chair. The movie stars Desi Arnaz Jr. as the author (no big deal really), but it is the supporting cast that gets top billing here. John Carradine, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Vincent Price all have nice roles. How is that for a cast? The best part is that it seems as if the characters were either rewritten for each star or that they were just allowed to run with them during filming. Each of the big 4 that I mentioned is in their element and on top of their games. Carradine is grizzled and feisty, Cushing is very gentile and accommodating, Lee is menacing, and Price is amazing in the last decent role he had in a horror movie.

Now I will admit that if you aren’t into the older horror films like the Old Dark House, or the movies that it spawned then you might think that this movie is really dated and slow. Also the ending might bug some people with it’s twists and turns. But I love the old movies that inspired House of the Long Shadows, and really appreciated seeing these legends together on the screen. This is a movie that really deserves an official DVD release! Until then you will just have to try and track down a VHS copy or head on over to the coolest website (other than Gutmunchers of course) at http://cultrararevideos.com/ to download and watch it for free.

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer