Although the characters have kept the surname they had in Boileau-Narcejac's "celle qui n'était plus " ,although the boarding-school for boys was replaced by a sanatorium ,this MTV version owes more to Clouzot 's "Les diaboliques " than to the initial novel.
It must be pointed out : in the novel ,it's the husband and his mistress who build up this ominous plan ; and of course, it's the wife who comes back to haunt the husband:in Boileau-Narcejac 's novels ,par excellence the thriller of the victim ,the victim is always a man (see also "vertigo" ) ,and one cannot deny a certain misogyny .Besides ,there were lesbian undertones between the two women ,although the last line of the novel is ambiguous :" who told you I didn't think twice?"And the ending was thoroughly immoral.
This MTV "house of secrets " ,although it cannot hold a candle to Clouzot 's 1955 classic ,is somewhat better than the abominable 1996 remake starring Stone and Adjani . It's a very good idea to have situated the action in New Orleans : the French name of the heroes ("Ravinel" ) makes sense and there are bribes of the language all through the movie (a man calls Gilbert "mon petit chou" =honey );the first part is rather listless,but the second one leaves the thriller for the fantasy and horror genre , with a supernatural final : New-Orleans was the ideal place ,with its carnival ,its man with a mask who pursues Gilbert ,and mainly its voodoo ,its dolls ; thus the introduction of the black character ,who seems irrelevant when the movie begins, makes sense . Mélissa Gilbert as the frail victim with a heart condition ,and Cecily Tyson,as the ruthless avenger ,are the stand-outs.On the other hand ,Michael Boatman as sgt Dubois ,repeating more or less the part of Charles Vanel in the 1955 movie, is insignificant ; Bruce Boxleitner is no match for Paul Meurisse ,as far as nastiness is concerned, and Kate Vernon's performance pales next to Simone Signoret's.
This MTV "house of secrets " ,although it cannot hold a candle to Clouzot 's 1955 classic ,is somewhat better than the abominable 1996 remake starring Stone and Adjani . It's a very good idea to have situated the action in New Orleans : the French name of the heroes ("Ravinel" ) makes sense and there are bribes of the language all through the movie (a man calls Gilbert "mon petit chou" =honey );the first part is rather listless,but the second one leaves the thriller for the fantasy and horror genre , with a supernatural final : New-Orleans was the ideal place ,with its carnival ,its man with a mask who pursues Gilbert ,and mainly its voodoo ,its dolls ; thus the introduction of the black character ,who seems irrelevant when the movie begins, makes sense . Mélissa Gilbert as the frail victim with a heart condition ,and Cecily Tyson,as the ruthless avenger ,are the stand-outs.On the other hand ,Michael Boatman as sgt Dubois ,repeating more or less the part of Charles Vanel in the 1955 movie, is insignificant ; Bruce Boxleitner is no match for Paul Meurisse ,as far as nastiness is concerned, and Kate Vernon's performance pales next to Simone Signoret's.