The Shuttered Room (1967) User Reviews

Good Late Night Fare For Those Who Like Lingering Dread

[secragt · 7/10 · 6 June 2003]

I mirror the comments of the plethora of those before me. Saw this as a 9-year-old on the telly and it stayed with me for a long time. The suffocatingly Gothic overtones, lovingly twisted POV camera-work, evocative jazz score and wonderfully creepy, dilapidated locations still spiral through my brain from time to time. Perhaps most memorable are Oliver Reed's warped, leering eyes staring at a helpless Carol Lynley through the dollhouse window, which has to be one of the more simultaneously terrifying and arty shots from any horror movie of the past 30 years.

This is a flick where the sum of the parts may not quite match the individual moments, but what a bunch of moments they are. The extended cat and mouse stalking of Lynley, the bizarre and frightening secret in the basement, Gig Young and Oliver Reed's spot-on hammy genre acting, the moody cinematography; it all adds up to a movie any fan of Gothic or horror will definitely want to check out. Surprisingly tense and graphic given the era; easily one of the more suggestively violent movies I ever saw on local channels during daylight hours in the 1970s, and considerably more graphic than PSYCHO but clearly owing a debt to it. Quintessential movie for Oliver Reed and Carol Lynley fans; among their best, most interesting work on celluloid.

Minor-scale thriller, lackluster but not bad...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 19 March 2006]

Carol Lynley as a woman who returns to her childhood home on the British isles with her American husband in tow and is perplexed by the mysterious presence residing there. Screen-treatment of an H.P. Lovecraft story has too many sordid supporting characters, the heavy threat of rape, and an idiotic action sequence wherein hubby Gig Young takes down a few of the local toughs. Still, it offers a few suspenseful scenes, interesting parallels to the later "Straw Dogs", and a fine cast. Oliver Reed, sweaty and indecipherable as the most obnoxious of the villains, must've been heartsick at playing this same role again and again (he's offered no new opportunity to stretch), but Lynley and fatherly Young have a nice rapport. Overall, it's rather a lackluster thriller jazzed up with artistic cinematography and an overripe score, but the location shooting on the Norfolk Coast is good and the wrap-up satisfying. **1/2 from ****

The thing hiding in the attic MIGHT not be the scariest thing in this film...

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 10 April 2013]

weird hearing Sutherland's voice coming out of Zebulon odd casting two Brits in film as well as location Australian, Americans double for Young how'd she get bra back on? cool ending with aunt and 'thing' "The Shuttered Room" is a very good horror movie. It's consistently creepy and offered a few surprises.

The film is difficult to place. While some of the cast are Americans and the countryside looks a bit American (especially with the American car which is prominently seen throughout the film). But, the film also features some Brits and at least on Aussie--giving the film a rather strange pedigree. But, this is a minor concern.

"The Shuttered Room" begins in the past. Some weird creature is living in a house and has escaped--and Dad rushes off to return it to its attic lair. Now the film jumps ahead about 20 years. The young child in the beginning of the film has grown (now played by Carol Lynley) and has returned to this weird village after having been removed and raised in New York soon after the initial scene. She has now returned with her husband (Gig Young) to reclaim her home--one that apparently has sat gathering dust during this intervening period. But the family matriarch (Flora Robson) warns them not to enter the home...it's cursed! While you know that they will eventually move in to the home, in the meantime another evil force is afoot. The lady's cousin (Oliver Reed) is a bit of a sociopath and he and his friends seem bent on rape and/or murder--all for 'kicks'! So who should the couple fear--the cousin, the 'thing that is in the attic' or both?

Overall, the film does a great job of setting a creepy mood and providing lots of terror for the couple. The acting isn't bad, though the idea of Young playing an action hero seemed a bit silly--as did the bad use of a double in his fight scenes (it's so obviously NOT him). Howver, the good easily outweighs the bad and it's well worth your time if you like creepy movies...and I do.

By the way, early in the film it was rather disconcerting to hear Zebulon speak, as it clearly was NOT his voice but Donald Sutherland's! I am not sure why they had him dub this man, but he is listed in the IMDb credits for this.

A couple inherits an old house in New England that harbors a dark and terrifying secret!

[verna55 · 23 September 2000]

Creepy! This is an unfairly unappreciated and extremely effective Gothic horror flick from the late 60's. It is also one of the better attempts to bring literary mastermind H.P. Lovecraft to the screen. The acting is magnificent! Carol Lynley and Gig Young are in top form as the bewildered young couple whose arrival in the small, tranquil village seems to trigger off a series of bizarre and ultimately deadly occurences. Veteran character actress Flora Robson is genuinely affecting as the strange old lady who seems to know a great deal more than she's telling about the secret that's hidden away in THE SHUTTERED ROOM. Oliver Reed is appropriately menacing as a young roughneck. This one is a little tough to find these days. It's not readily available in video stores, and though once popular on late night television, they rarely run it on TV. But should you be so fortunate to come across it, don't pass it up!

THE SHUTTERED ROOM (David Greene, 1967) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 19 October 2008]

This is one of the few examples from vintage horror to take as its source an H.P. Lovecraft tale (written with August Derleth); I'd always wanted to watch it because, while awarding it no stars, late British (and famously conservative) critic Leslie Halliwell had nonetheless singled out for praise its direction and cinematography! And he was perfectly right – because director Greene (in his feature-film debut!) makes expert use of the camera, including via his then-ground-breaking adoption of the killer's POV technique.

Though set in America, the film was entirely shot in England – so that British actors like Oliver Reed (in a role reminiscent of the one he played in Hammer's oddest outing, Joseph Losey's THESE ARE THE DAMNED [1963], down to his yearning for a female relative!) and Flora Robson (as the old lady who obviously knows more than she lets on, lives inside a lighthouse and keeps an eagle for a pet: incidentally, she would herself play an extension of this same character in THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR [1970]!) affect an American accent throughout; the leads, then, are nicely filled by genuine Americans – Gig Young (the typically no-nonsense hero) and Carol Lynley (in what amounts to a dual role).

She's returning to her hometown, a remote and backwoods community living under a cloud of mystery and dread (as it happens, fabricated) relating to the house in which the incoming couple intend to stay! Their tenure there isn't made any less comfortable or safe by the somewhat obnoxious antics of the menfolk led by the hot-tempered and virile Reed (though he's eventually put into place in a surprising – and amusing – karate fight with Young). Still, towards the end, while hubby Young is eventually being humiliated by the rest of the gang, Lynley is followed to her house and assaulted by Reed (anticipating Sam Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS [1971] in this regard!)…though he has reckoned without the dangerous figure lurking in the titular location (incidentally, its rapacious movements seem to be echoing those of Robson's eagle itself)! Many, perhaps jaded by Lovecraft's trademark supernatural allusions, were disappointed by the ultimate earthly revelation; however, I hardly think this type of film demanded a monster in the strictest sense of the word – because, in any case, the script seems to be making parallels between the menace it provided and that inherent in the behavior of aimless modern youth! Another definite asset to the film is Basil Kirchin's score, who supplies atypical but highly effective jazz-oriented accompaniment to the ongoing suspenseful and melodramatic events.

Though the film has been recently released on DVD through Warners (as a double-bill with the maligned Golem-related effort IT! [1966]), I had actually acquired this only a little time before its announcement. Consequently, the edition I ended up with was not only sourced from VHS (with resultant intermittent artifacts) but in the full-frame format to boot!; for what it's worth, the same practically goes for three sci-fi titles which have also just debuted on the digital format – namely MOON ZERO TWO (1969), PHASE IV (1974) and THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR (1975)!

Slow-burning horror mystery

[The_Void · 7/10 · 13 August 2006]

I was thinking that the reason this British horror film has flown under the radar may be because it isn't from one of the 'big' studios at the time (Hammer, Amicus etc), but I reckon the reason is more likely because it's simply not as memorable as many of the better remembered horror films from the time period - but that's not to say that it's a bad film! David Greene's film is a sombre, slow-build effort that is as much about as atmosphere and tension as it is about characters and situation. It's true that The Shuttered Room doesn't take advantage of it's positive elements as much as it undoubtedly could have done, and it harms the film overall; but there's enough in reserve to keep it ticking over. The plot follows Mike Kelton; husband of Susannah, a young woman haunted by a traumatic event in her past. He hopes that by returning to her home town, she may be able to confront her past and get over her trauma; however, the threat returns upon her hometown comeback, and it all seems to focus on what lingers within a room in an old house...

The mystery elements of the plot make up the film's backbone, and bode well with the dark and ominous atmosphere that the director creates around the central theme. The plot is a little too wayward to take full advantage of this theme, as the idea of exactly what lurks within the title location doesn't often make up the main plot line, and at times even feels like an afterthought. The characters are well presented, and the central two; Mike and Susannah Kelton are easy enough to get along with, although much of the reason for that is that neither one is particularly well defined, and exist merely as amiable caricatures. Oliver Reed's performance is, as you would expect, the film's main highlight; as the Hammer regular delivers a strong support performance and completely commands ever scene he's in. The way the story plays out is usually interesting enough, without ever standing out too much; but it boils down to a satisfying conclusion which nicely wraps all the story threads in a plausible manner. Overall, I wouldn't recommend going to the ends of the Earth to track this down; but even though there's better sixties British horror films out there, this one is still worth a watch.

Creepy

[tamstrat · 5/10 · 14 April 2005]

As stated by several other folks here, I watched this movie with my twin sister when I was about 10 years old on the local station horror movie hour and was terrified by it. I remember it even now, how eerie the whole atmosphere of the movie was and the feeling of Carol Lynley's character being watched by some unseen but evil being, it really scared me as a child and I would love to watch it now to see if it would have the same impact. Probably not, but if you ever get the chance to see this film, I would encourage you to do so. Kind of weird too, Gig Young, who played the husband, went on to murder his wife in real life and then kill himself. Pretty weird.

Little-known but watchable British horror

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 20 December 2016]

As far as Lovecraftian adaptations go, this one isn't bad at all and is a lot better and more subtle than trash like THE DUNWICH HORROR, thanks to the literate script and engaging performances from a varied cast. Filmed in England but set in New England, the scenery is barren but beautiful and good use is made of these locations to convey a loneliness and isolation. While it's not a perfect film (the ending is FAR from perfect), it is certainly more adept at achieving the actual aims of Lovecraft in terms of a creepy, brooding atmosphere than many other so-called adaptations have been.

The acting is pretty much great, especially from the two male leads. Gig Young is the ageing, imported American actor who was on the way out but still impresses, while Oliver Reed was the up-and-coming actor who also impresses in his turn as a brooding, rebellious youth with one thing on his mind. Carol Lynley is fine as the typically pretty blonde girl caught up in all the chaos, and Flora Robson puts in a fun frumpy turn. It's also nice to see old faces like Charles Lloyd Pack popping up in a film mainly full of youths.

Funnily enough, the actual creature in the room isn't where most of the horror comes from in this film. As a sideline, the plot introduces a gang of male youths who view Lynley as a sexual object and will do anything to get her. Much of the film consists of her narrowly escaping from these men (primarily Reed) before she is finally trapped and cornered and turns the table on them, with predictably fatal results. The action scenes are kind of amusing in an unintentional way as Young uses special karate moves on the bad guys.

This film's main flaw is that while it successfully builds up a lot of suspense as it goes along, the payoff is a big disappointment. The thing in the shuttered room doesn't even turn out to be a monster or a mutant, just a normal human being - what a cheat! There are a couple of mildly gory death scenes thrown in there but this film's main obsession is the dark sexual undercurrent. This makes it an interesting, well-shot, well-acted, and watchable little film which deserves to be seen by many more horror fans than it has been, as it seems to have somewhat sunk into obscurity these days.

You stay here in this creepy old mill... I'll go drive around a bit.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 11 February 2017]

Middle aged New Yorker Mike Kelton (Gig Young) accompanies his young wife Susannah (Carol Lynley) to the New England island where she was born, where they visit the old mill that was her childhood home. While there, they run into trouble with a gang of hooligans led by loutish lunk Ethan (a glowering Oliver Reed), and uncover the terrible family secret harbored by Susannah's Aunt Agatha (Flora Robson).

Although The Shuttered Room is billed as a horror movie, it is, for the most part, more akin to the rural thriller genre, Reed and his menacing cronies seeming to serve as inspiration for Sam Peckinpah's uncouth country ruffians in Straw Dogs. Only in its closing moments does the film enter genuine horror territory with that hoary old chestnut of a revelation, the deranged relative chained up in the attic.

Director David Greene goes for the slow burn approach, intent on generating an atmosphere of foreboding and menace (aided by a wild jazz score), but his best efforts are undone by a rather silly script that sees Susannah and Mike repeatedly failing to take the proper precautions given their precarious situation (when a group of lecherous thugs clearly have ill intentions, don't go out of your way to let them succeed by taking a lonely stroll across a remote beach or by giving one of them a lift in your car!).

gloom abode

[lee_eisenberg · 6/10 · 28 May 2018]

One of the lesser known British horror flicks from the '60s depicts a husband and wife going to a house where mysterious things start happening. A big difference is that this one is set in the US, and Oliver Reed affects a US accent for his character. The movie itself is nothing special, although the end is a bit of a surprise. Carol Lynley is certainly a babe. The version that I saw had the edges cut off, so the opening sequence was confusing.

Basically, it's no Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee movie, but it's enjoyable enough for its run time. The British horror flick from 1967 that I recommend, though, is "It!", starring Roddy McDowall as a man who comes into possession of a golem.

Mill Freak on a Leash

[Coventry · 4/10 · 10 January 2022]

Even though I was tremendously looking forward to "The Shuttered Room", for a variety of reasons, it pains me to say the film never at one point surpasses the level of mediocrity.

Here are a few reasons why I eagerly anticipated the film: #1 - the source material. The script is adapted from a short story by none other than H. P. Lovecraft. He's one of the greatest authors who ever lived, and his bleak tales always guarantee horrifying denouements. #2 - The cast. Next to the unearthly beautiful Carol Lynley ("Bunny Lake is Missing", "The Poseidon Adventure") and the reliable veteran Flora Robson ("The Sea Hawk", "Wuthering Heights"), the film stars the downright brilliant Oliver Reed in the role that suits him best, namely the brutal and perverted village thug. #3 - the location and set pieces. Although filmed in England, "The Shuttered Room" takes place in New England (= Lovecraft Country), more particularly on a remote little island community. And you know, in horror movies, small islands and their inhabitants are always ominous!

As you see, all the ingredients for a splendid horror-cocktail are there, but regrettably the script is severely lacking. Lovecraft's "The Shuttered Room" is a SHORT story, and maybe that's what went wrong here. Quite obviously, there is something evil in the attic of the old mill, which links back to the childhood trauma of Susanna Whately and the family curse auntie Agatha keeps raving about, but the script prefers to conceal this vital aspect until the climax. Instead, it's a sort of "Straw Dogs" with Lynley and her elderly husband (Gig Young) being pursued and terrorized by the village yokels led by Oliver Reed. Interestingly, "Straw Dogs" only came out four years later and became a massive cult hit. And besides, even when "The Shuttered Room" reaches its long-overdue finale, it's still a massive letdown.

This has only gotten 4.6 in the IMDB ratings?!?!?!?

[Mr. OpEd · 10/10 · 5 July 2001]

I first saw this when I was about 10. Yikes! Creep city. I can still remember the effect (if not the melodies) of Basil Kirchin's acid jazz music, Gig Young's Thunderbird and martial arts, Carol Lynleys' soft-edged innocence and beauty, the thugs led by oily Oliver Reed, and the mystery of the house itself (what is IN that room?). Years later, I see it as a middle-aged man, and unlike so many other films from my youth that fall flat, this holds up as a brilliant work of fear making, the kind of horror film that keeps enough in the shadows to keep one guessing but reveals enough to make one uncomfortable and on edge. IMHO, a classic.

Stylistically...May Be Ahead of Its Time?

[wkduffy · 6/10 · 13 March 2009]

After two strange attempts to buy "The Shuttered Room/It" WB horror two-fer flick on DVD from Amazon sellers and neither of them ever making it to my mailbox over a two-month span (is Oliver Reed intercepting my packages?), I finally found an Amazon seller up to the job of actually getting this thing into my DVD player.

Anyway, the digital transfer of "The Shuttered Room," as stated by others, is not so bad--some artifacts here and there (so the film for all intents and purposes was not cleaned up), but the flick is anamorphic and fills a widescreen, which is nice. For those who have not seen it (or not seen it recently), the film is very deliberately and carefully made--that means the technical specs are up to snuff for a film shot in the late 60s anyway. The focus is clear and crisp, the colors are sharp and vivid. The settings are very pretty--even with all the "horror" lurking about.

Two random thoughts: 1. For some reason, I remember the chained-up individual (keeping it vague here) as being horribly disfigured. But nope--it's just a regular person having a bad hair day. That was a bit disappointing--guess my memories of this horror are a bit blurry.

2. Last, and most interesting: This film looks much, much closer to an early 1970s horror film than one released in 1966 to me; it always has. The film techniques, use of hand-held perspective shots, extreme close-ups, the very progressive soundtrack, Lynley's "heroine" who is both sad and brooding but not entirely a weakling, and the lyrical, dreamlike extended credits/introduction--all of it adds up to a film that seems, in hindsight, to be ahead of its time. In some ways, the "dreadful feel" of the film, the style of it, the haunting quality of it, seems to predict so many 70s horror films that were yet to come--Zohra Lampert's sympathetic heroine in "Let's Scare Jessica to Death," or maybe the strange isolationist townsfolk in "The Brotherhood of Satan." While comparisons can be misleading, I'll just say this feels like a film DECIDEDLY NOT looking backwards toward the old days of Gothic Hammer horror (although "The Shuttered Room" has its Gothic moments); instead, it tries very hard to be...contemporary, looking forward to the next decade, which would be 1970. And I think it works. I presume credit for that goes to director David Greene. It seems odd then that Greene, who apparently showed a lot of promise early on in his directing career, would not amount to much over time (or, so says Phil Hardy in the Overlook Film Encyclopedia). Strange.

A good short film dragged out to feature length

[LCShackley · 5/10 · 5 November 2008]

The problem with SHUTTERED ROOM is that the writer and director seem to be making two films side by side.

The first is a standard "haunted house" flick, where an innocent couple come to claim an old mill house that everyone in the neighborhood seems afraid of. That plot, with its prologue and resolution, would have made a decent TV episode.

But there's also a sort of backwoods British "Deliverance" film happening at the same time, where some slack-jawed character actors (doing pretty good American accents), led by the always menacing Oliver Reed, try to lure the lovely Carol Lynley away from her seemingly clueless husband, Gig Young. You'd think that Gig would catch on earlier and keep his wife on a short leash (for her own safety). But no...she's always putting herself at risk and even Gig's silly karate skills can't always save her.

HP Lovecraft fans will look in vain for the touch of "the master," since this film is based loosely on a story clapped together by August Derleth, best known for picking the literary bones of the Lovecraft estate.

This film could have fallen in the same category as WICKER MAN; even the look of the film shares some similarities. But it's nowhere near as eerie, and without the visceral punch.

Why has it disappeared?

[fatoldslapper · 25 June 2001]

I too watched this film as an elderly child/young adult. Up to about the late 1970's, 'The Shuttered Room' was staple late-night stock on BBC 1 and ITV, usually on a Friday or Saturday night. Then, for some reason it has never shown again to date in this country, at least to my knowledge that is.

From memory (it is a long time ago, so forgive me, for any inaccuracies!)the movie(based on a story by HP Lovecraft) is supposed to be set in a small and isolated New England fishing village (it's really shot Cornwall in England) and concerns a young well-heeled woman (Carol Lynley), returning to her roots from a posh life in the big city, with her new husband (Gig Young), fter inheriting a (supposedly) abandoned and creepy old millhouse, that she used to live in as a child. Within that house, at the very top, hidden from normal view, is a heavily locked/bolted/nailed/chained mysterious room, that within contains a dreadful, appalling secret!!!

Back to the village, which appears to contain a lot of backward old yokels/hicks putting on dodgy American regional accents - as Lynley and Young appear to be the only actual American actors in it! Also there, lurks a gang of country bumpkinish uneducated thugs, led by a young and smouldering Oliver Reed. Reed and his cronies take an immediate and intense sexual interest in Lynley, and dislike to the monied, well-dressed, big car driving city boy Young.

Without spoiling the main plot (as one day, hopefully, the movie may be shown again), events progress with Lynley meeting up with her old Aunt (Aunt, I think) (Dame Flora Robson) who lives at the top of big tower, and who makes Norman Bates's mother appears sociable and outgoing! Robson is overseer and controller of what is in the shuttered room, that all too soon, the overly inquisitive Carol, will discover to her and everybody else's cost!

The climax to the film, is genuinely terrifying (well it was when I was 12!) and involves the nasty Reed and his cronies, pursuing Gig Young in a thrilling drive-you-off-the-road car chase, through Cornish country lanes, as he races back to try to get to Carol.

The actual end of the film centres on........on..... well, I can't tell you that now can I???

Suffice to say, many may mock the quality of director David Greene's Sixites flick, as typical of the sort of low(er) budget horror shocker movies that were made in great number then. But I think 'The Shuttered Room' had/has a lot more going for it than that, and if somebody would release it to the world again, would even today, be seen by many, as a well-made, well-acted (apart from the accents!) and genuinely scary piece of work.

An oddity worth catching

[ianbrown65 · 7/10 · 7 January 2015]

An offbeat curiosity, this laid back, quirky suspenser is based on a HP Lovecraft story set in New England but was shot, more or less convincingly, in (Old England) Norfolk. Apparently Ken Russell was originally slated to direct but the job fell to Canadian TV graduate David Greene. While intriguing to imagine what Russell would have made of it, Greene has endowed this underwritten yarn with a strange, dreamy quality that sustains the interest enough to transcend the slight story. And he uses landscape well - bare sandy heathland and rocky coastlines - to give the setting a rather other-worldly feel. Carol Lynley's doll-like beauty makes the vulnerable heroine seem even more fragile, but Gig Young as her older husband is just too square for the Swinging Sixties. Oliver Reed seems strangely subdued; he never quite gets a chance to really get to grips with his character, a menacing backwoods psychotic. Flora Robson also underplays her part as local witch, but her restraint is more effective. Greene stayed in Britain to make the equally original The Strange Affair with Michael York.

Great August Derleth Story

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 2 November 2008]

A friend of mine took me for a ride in Wisconsin and on a country road he showed me a rather old house that was hidden by a great deal of trees and bushes My friend proceeded to tell me that in this house August Derleth lived who was a great writer of mysteries and Sci-Fi books. Once I found out this information I started to read most of his books and this film shows his great talent for writing very scary tales of murder and the mentally ill. Gig Young, (Mike Kelton) and Carol Lynley, (Susannah Kelton) leave New York and decide to look at an old mill that Susannah had been willed which is on an island and with very few people living around this area. The people are not very friendly and warn them about going into the old mill and even staying the night. Oliver Reed, (Ethan) plays the role as a very horny man who is constantly after Susannah, even though she is married and this goes on throughout the entire film. Great entertaining film which will hold your interest. Enjoy.

Shuttered Stuttered,

[hitchcockthelegend · 5/10 · 9 October 2013]

The Shuttered Room is directed by David Greene and written by D.B. Ledrov and Nathaniel Tanchuck. Adapted from a story by August Derleth and H.P. Lovecraft, it stars Gig Young, Carol Lynley, Oliver Reed, Flora Robson and Judith Arthy. Music is by Basil Kirchin and cinematography by Kenneth Hodges.

Returning to her childhood home, an old mill house on the island of Dunwich, Susannah (Lynley) and her older husband Mike (Young) are plagued by local rowdies led by Susana's cousin Ethan (Reed). Not only that but the local elders constantly keep telling them it would be unwise to take up residency in the old mill...

It's funny that some film fans have expressed disappointment with the final revelation of The Shuttered Room, because the secret is revealed from the get go! Something which takes the mystery away and goes someway to explaining why director Greene then fills his film with 90% of narrative based around Oliver's Army being uncouth and seriously detrimental to the sexual well being of poor, confused, traumatised, Susannah.

Here's the problem, even forgiving that it's about as Lovecraftian as a Rob Zombie remake, the film just doesn't have the requisite horror substance to make it viable as frightening. Don't get me wrong, had I watched this as a boy I'm sure I would have been spooked out by the spooky old mill that houses a secret, resplendent with holes in the woodwork where prying eyes watch goings on, and most likely be more terrified by Reed's bonkers over acting and Young's transformation into Bruce Lee than the iffy accents I wouldn't have recognised back then. But really, the shuttered room axis of the story is very much a secondary item, and not even the classy Flora Robson can wring out terror from such clumsy story construction.

Still, on the plus side there's a unique unsettling musical score by Kirchin, a wonderful fusion of prog-jazz and medieval distortional beats, even if it's in the wrong movie! There's laughs to be had, though unintentional, especially with some of the dialogue being served on a dirty cheese board, and Lynley is good value as a troubled cipher. You have to wonder if Sam Peckinpah watched The Shuttered Room and thought he could do better and promptly sought out The Siege of Trencher's Farm novel to turn it into Straw Dogs, sensing that he knew he could make a similar themed film more frightening and controversial. But of course, The Shuttered Room wasn't meant to be a backwoods Gothic movie involving home invasion and the constant threat of rape. Was it? 5/10

Dumb characters and silly resolution ruin a promising horror story

[MissSimonetta · 6/10 · 15 August 2022]

THE SHUTTERED ROOM has all the ingredients needed for a decent chiller: a remote location, a potent sense of menace, and a genuinely intriguing mystery. Unfortunately, it suffers from a bad case of idiot plot-itis. The married couple are so unbelievably lacking in self-preservation that it becomes hard to care what happens. Why they continue to stay at that dump of a mill after being warned about the place by Lynley's aunt AND even more importantly, after Lynley was almost gang-raped by Oliver Reed and his pack of leering thugs is beyond me! And then the husband gives one of the would-be rapists a lift the next day-- how did he not know he was walking into a trap? Why did he leave his wife alone AGAIN despite her almost being raped the last time?

When the final mystery is revealed, it's also lackluster. The whole movie is just wasted potential.

Different strokes for different folks

[ddukart · 4/10 · 2 January 2007]

Well, I guess I'll be the devil's advocate on this one. Although I'm a "when I'm in the mood for it" fan of 70s horror films, most of the time the Flower Child-style hippy-horror makes me want to change the channel or drink beer until it's even more funny.

I tried to watch this film several times, because I'm a fan of HPL's writings, so I have collected everything there is on film (and most of it sucks). This one definitely doesn't suck, but the 70's flower-power influences and dry "low action" over-dialogued scenes(as seen in the liked of the Omen). Okay, I'm shallow and I want to see monsters, special effects, and yes, even boobs. Movies that are all "hinted at" scary stuff, lack the intensity to keep my ultra short attention span focused. So, I fell asleep every time I tried to watch it.

If you want to see a better Gig young movie, find a copy of "Spectre", which is another 70s made for TV quasi-Lovecraftian show, that was good. Almost like a forerunner of the Xfiles.

Oliver Reed Damned in Pre Straw Dogs Thriller

[TheFearmakers · 7/10 · 18 May 2022]

A near clone of Sam Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS only five years earlier, during the psychedelic era, which is only apparent from the bare-bone jazz soundtrack orchestrating a married couple consisting of a beautiful blonde wife with an ordinary, unassuming husband returning to her small New England-based island home (yet obviously shot in the beautifully rustic exterior of England), part of an eerie Gothic mill that's its very own living/breathing character...

Making the inevitable climax of who's hiding within the titular SHUTTERED ROOM not that important a surprise-twist having been teased during a surreal, horror-trope prologue by mostly TV-director David Greene...

Featuring one-horse-town gang leader Oliver Reed (a redneck version of his THE DAMNED character), doing his American imitation only not satirical, wielding his usual formidable prowess, making the couple's life hell, just like the Peckinpah classic, but with Reed the only interesting antagonist not including a sexy local and a spooky aunt (played by voluptuous Judith Arvy and semi-sinister Flora Robson respectively).

Compared to DOGS, this ROOM isn't as deep, fleshed-out or fulfilling... but for an H. P. Lovecraft adaptation, there's a sparse exploitation, drive-in body-count vibe where anything can happen, yet at any given minute instead of moment, which SHUTTERED needed more suspenseful pieces of...

Making what's left-over feel like half a puzzle albeit a pretty decent one... it's based on a short story, after all.

I First Saw This As A Child Many Years Ago ....

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 18 August 2003]

.... And wasn`t all that impressed with it then but decided to give it another chance by watching it again at the weekend . I must say I was very very impressed with the first ten minutes of THE SHUTTERED ROOM as it insinuates that many blonde bimbos will happily marry a man old enough to be her father , man you don`t know how happy for the future that made this 36 year old film critic who`s got thinning hair , but alas the film`s flaws cancelled out my initial optimism .

First criticism is the film`s score . I know jazz was fashionable and funky in 1967 but it really doesn`t belong in a horror movie especially when it jumps out and beats ( Geddit ? ) you close to death with its intrusiveness . Secondly it`s painfully obvious that despite being set in New England it`s actually filmed in old England by the way the familair Brit actors speak in totally false accents . In fact the cast put so much effort into their crap American accents that none of them manage a half way decent performance . Thirdly the dialogue is laughably bad . When told his neice is outside one character asks " Is she beautiful " ! What ? , you`re telling me male residents of this town are only interested in meeting long lost female relatives if they`re beautiful !, no wonder Suzanne was sent away as a child , a fact that`s spelled out every five minutes with lines like " I can hardly remember this place before I was sent away as a child " and " I remember you before you were sent away as a child "

On top of all this THE SHUTTERED ROOM is just not scary . It`s been said that HP Lovecraft adaptations never make for good films and this is true . It`s also true blonde bimbos will only marry a man old enough to be their father if he`s got a big car so I`ll have to invest in some driving lessons

Overdue for a DVD release

[scruffy58 · 8/10 · 8 November 2005]

I haven't seen this film in many years now, but it has always stayed with me. It has a terrific creepy air to it. The feeling of desolation, the barbaric local thugs led by the perfectly cast Oliver Reed; the lovely and vulnerable Carol Lynley, trying to unlock the mysteries of her childhood; the jazzy score (I can still remember the main titles - the camera peering through the windshield of that cool Thunderbird convertible looking upon Ms. Lynley's gorgeous face while the reflection of trees pass over her image and all the while the peculiar and somewhat jarring title music underscores the visuals). Great stuff. Sadly underrated and now, seldom seen, this film is a perfect companion piece to Ms. Lynley's other top drawer film - 1965's "Bunny Lake Is Missing". A DVD release is in order.

Chock Full O Rapey Tension.

[meddlecore · 6/10 · 17 October 2017]

So THIS is where the evil twin trapped in the attic trope originated from.

It all begins when Susannah Whately returns to her island home- with her new husband, Mike. After receiving word she has inherited her parent's old mill, following their tragic deaths.

The island is filled with a bunch of rapey rednecks, who have nothing better to do, than to try and sexually assault young Susannah.

Her aunt warns her to stay away from the old mill...as it harbours the family curse.

All of her relatives have met violent ends.

But the newlywed couple isn't so easily scared. They plan to clean the place up and make it their summer home.

Ominous warnings aside, most of the tension comes from the potential rape of Susannah- at the hands of local thug Ethan (played by Oliver Reed).

These scenes are genuinely disturbing, and are where most of the horror in this film is derived.

You are kind of led to believe that the person hidden away in the attic is deformed...so it's a surprise when you see it is a female, once the twist rolls around.

But, then you realize...hey, this is where The Simpson's got it from! Cool film, with lot's of rapey tension.

5.5 out of 10.

There's no Lovecraft to see here. Move along. Move along.

[onward-1 · 3/10 · 8 November 2008]

It's impossible to warn people about this film without spoilers.

The Shuttered Room does begin like a modern adaptation of a Lovecraft story would. Daughter sent away to live in the city. Parents killed by a lightning strike. An old crone harboring secrets. Soon however the plot descends into a running chase to keep the protagonist from being deflowered by a village tough, played by Oliver Reed. While Reed is good in this role (he may be the best actor in this film), Robert Blake did it better in "In Cold Blood." Gig Young is Uber-Urbanite in this film. He shows no fear, fights off scores of village ruffians (his kung fu is greater) and even drives a vehicle which reminded me of the Batmobile. Seriously. He solves the mystery of the Shuttered Room, which has persisted for decades, in a few days.

The crone's admission near the end of the film ultimately removes this film from anything even remotely associated with Lovecraft. Far from anything supernatural, the secret in the Shuttered Room is the protagonist's feral sister, the Whateley curse made up to protect the poor girl. Indeed, the director tries to make you feel sorry for the "monster." Right. Feel Sorry for the monster. This ain't no "At the Mountains of Madness." In my opinion, if you want Lovecraft on film, your best bet is still "The Dunwich Horror" with Dean Stockwell's creepy performance as Wilbur Whateley.