The events in "House of Mortal Sin" make it more than clear: repressing your sexuality can have serious consequences!! This third collaboration between controversial director Pete Walker and scriptwriter David McGillivray is lesser known than "Frightmare" or "House of Whipcord", and maybe also not as good, but it still is very inventive exploitation with some twisted themes and exhilaratingly horrific sequences. Walker and McGillivray openly assault the Catholic Church here and associate the "holy institution" with hypocrisy, sexual perversion and even murder. Walker's intention clearly was to shock audiences and to stimulate an angry reaction from the Church. Perhaps he couldn't achieve all this, but "House of Mortal Sin" nevertheless remains an enjoyable and schlocky horror movie, surely worth purchasing in case you're into unhinged 70's cinema. The story follows a troubled young girl who hesitatingly goes to confession at her local church. The priest, Father Meldrum, is quite out of his mind and starts stalking the girl and even killing the so-called sinful men in her life. No matter who the girl turns to for help, Father Meldrum stays above suspicion at all times because he's a respected man of the Church and she's just a mentally unstable blonde. The main storyline gets a little tedious at times but there's a delightfully insane sub plot involving the priest's seemly 273-year-old senile mother and the disturbing housekeeper played by Sheila Keith! Eccentric characters and the downright oddball relationships between them are still Walker's greatest specialty and also the unhappy ending is present. The gore and violence is less outrageous than in "Frightmare" but the priests' killing methods are quite ingenious and, of course, religiously themed, like poisoned sacred wafers and rosary strangulations. Recommended!
31 Reviews
Charming story
bloody-314 March 2000
The charming story of a priest.....who murders people! Meet Father Xavier Meldrum from the Church of the Sacred Heart. He uses religious means to bump off his enemies such as a poisoned wafer, incense burner and rosary beads. Splendid performance by Anthony Sharp (remember him as the government minister in A Clockwork Orange?) as the obsessed vicar and a good turn by Pete Walker regular Sheila Keith as a one eyed housekeeper. A well done musical score by Stanley Myers is also featured. Remember this movie the next time you go to confession!
Not one of Walker and McGillivray's best collaborations
world_of_weird5 December 2005
Coming hot on the heels of the sleazy HOUSE OF WHIPCORD and the outrageously gruesome FRIGHTMARE, veteran exploitationer Pete Walker and his puckish screenwriter David McGillivray decided to stir up some more mischief, this time aiming their vitriol at the hypocrisy of the Catholic church, with a blackmailing killer priest who uses the tools of his trade (incense burners, rosary beads and communion wafers) to deal out death to non-believers. Given the hoo-hah the Monty Python team caused with LIFE OF BRIAN four years later, you'd have expected the controversy to rage as Pete and David had hoped it would, but HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN barely raised a murmur - most likely because it's a rather dull and restrained affair compared to their earlier exercises in wonderfully hideous terror. Anthony Sharp is fine in the lead as the crazy cleric, alternating between pompous bumbling and trembling mania at the drop of a hat, whilst Susan Penhaligon makes a memorably vulnerable victim, but the film feels too much of a cut-and-paste catalogue of borrowed elements (the mother fixation from PSYCHO, Sheila Keith basically reprising her WHIPCORD role as Sharp's demented housekeeper, the dysfunctional family business from FRIGHTMARE) to really ring true. The set-piece murders are impressive, and the ending is as bleak and as desolate as you'd expect, but the film contains more padding than a cheap mattress and Walker seems to have confused tension with tedium in several scenes. Still, it's entertaining enough for a slow evening.
Effective and dreary at the same time
jangu7 May 2001
The church is corrupt, that's what director Walker seems to be saying in a rather clumsy way with this exploitation effort. Elements of "Psycho" are mixed uneasily with "Rosemary's baby", about a mad priest who tapes his confessional sessions and keeps his bedridden mother in the attic. There is extortion, murder (by religious symbols like a rosary and an incense-burner) and an accomplice with a disfigured face (eye-patch and all!). Some scenes, ie the ones with the bedridden mother, border on the tasteless, but I somehow think that that was the point. Surprisingly good performances from a largely unknown cast, with Sheila Keith as a standout in a (too) minor role. Boy, can she give a murderous glance! It's not a stunning tour-de-force like "Frighmare" by the same director, but still manage to pack a punch or two, despite some dreary bits (most of them involving the hero-priest who is too goody-goody to be interesting). For those who is familiar with Pete Walker and his movies, the ending will come as no surprise, but to others it will be shocking/frustrating in about equal measures.
A mostly successful exercise in 70's British Horror
acidburn-102 January 2021
This is another decent directing effort by Pete Walker with a captivating premise that is well executed and maintains a dark & macabre interest throughout (mostly), although the pacing does lag in a few places, but the brooding atmosphere & intriguing performances does enough to keep you interested until the chilling climax. The film's tone is relentlessly bleak and grim, yet the effective and really quite compelling, with some decent & chilling death scenes throughout.
The cast here are pretty-stellar with standout performances by Anthony Sharp as the demented and fantastic performance as the unhinged and repressed Father Meldrum with his layered performance that's well-written for his tortured character. Pete Walker's mainstay Shelia Keith also gives a standout performance as the overbearing housekeeper with a sinister presence. Norman Eshley & Stephanie Beacham adds some much-needed warmth with their blossoming relationship & both have decent chemistry together, despite the movie's overwhelming gloom. Then there's Susan Penhaligon who plays the troubled Jenny who becomes the object of the priest's obsession. She does a fine job, but could have been given more to do, as she's pretty much absent from the climax.
On the whole this a really cracking and tense horror/thriller with some cool Giallo elements that although the pace may drag a bit at times, its still worth a watch.
The cast here are pretty-stellar with standout performances by Anthony Sharp as the demented and fantastic performance as the unhinged and repressed Father Meldrum with his layered performance that's well-written for his tortured character. Pete Walker's mainstay Shelia Keith also gives a standout performance as the overbearing housekeeper with a sinister presence. Norman Eshley & Stephanie Beacham adds some much-needed warmth with their blossoming relationship & both have decent chemistry together, despite the movie's overwhelming gloom. Then there's Susan Penhaligon who plays the troubled Jenny who becomes the object of the priest's obsession. She does a fine job, but could have been given more to do, as she's pretty much absent from the climax.
On the whole this a really cracking and tense horror/thriller with some cool Giallo elements that although the pace may drag a bit at times, its still worth a watch.
A very British slasher effort - tea with vicar and a dose of gore.
Wilbur-103 November 2000
Disappointing Pete Walker film which flirts with a variety of good ideas but manages to fumble all of them.
Story has vulnerable young woman (Penhaligon) going to Confession, where she is harassed by the priest whose fatherly concerns have a sinister element. He turns out to be a crazed killer, stemming from his mother (yawn!!) who still lives with him in a semi-vegetable state.
Plot goes into a poor-mans 'Rosemary's Baby' scenario, Penhaligon unable to convince anyone of the truth, with the Priest above suspicion because of his position.
Film labours its point that religious restrictions have fashioned Father Meldrum into a killer, while the younger Priest who tries to help is too wet for the audience to respond to. All this leaves Stephanie Beacham as the best thing here. At least the film doesn't cop-out at the end, but by then we are past caring. A film students favourite, but more interesting to study than to watch.
Story has vulnerable young woman (Penhaligon) going to Confession, where she is harassed by the priest whose fatherly concerns have a sinister element. He turns out to be a crazed killer, stemming from his mother (yawn!!) who still lives with him in a semi-vegetable state.
Plot goes into a poor-mans 'Rosemary's Baby' scenario, Penhaligon unable to convince anyone of the truth, with the Priest above suspicion because of his position.
Film labours its point that religious restrictions have fashioned Father Meldrum into a killer, while the younger Priest who tries to help is too wet for the audience to respond to. All this leaves Stephanie Beacham as the best thing here. At least the film doesn't cop-out at the end, but by then we are past caring. A film students favourite, but more interesting to study than to watch.
campy Brit horror flick
ksf-224 June 2014
Well... Mortal Sin opens with a pretty gruesome scene. Young chick comes home crying... runs up to her room, reads the bible, and we're off on the adventure. Then our star "Jenny" (Susan Penhaligon) meets up with her old school buddy (Norman Eshley) who is now a priest. Lots of talking, drinking tea, confessions in the church, and of course, eerie, creepy music. Anthony Sharp is Father Xavier, and plays a large part in our story. Some of the scenes don't really make sense, but I guess you have to buy into it. Next thing you know, her school, priest friend is now shacking up with Jenny. Holy guacamole, batman! Lots of odd things and nasty things. Not for the young 'uns. An entertaining viewing, but SO predictable. All of it.
Recommended on the Frank Dicaro show (XM radio), this is one of the campy horror flicks which didn't start out to be that way. Written, directed, and produced by Peter Walker, British director. Acc to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Walker_(director) , he had made films that fell under various categories in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, frequently using the same cast of characters.
Recommended on the Frank Dicaro show (XM radio), this is one of the campy horror flicks which didn't start out to be that way. Written, directed, and produced by Peter Walker, British director. Acc to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Walker_(director) , he had made films that fell under various categories in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, frequently using the same cast of characters.
Not nearly as much fun as it should be.
BA_Harrison9 January 2014
Catholic priest Father Xavier Meldrum (Anthony Sharp) becomes obsessed with parishioner Jenny Welch (Susan Penhaligon) who unwisely pays a visit to his confessional after a break-up with her boyfriend. Excited by the gorgeous young woman, but unable to have her, Meldrum is driven to kill using rosary beads, a flaming incense burner and poisoned communion wafers as his weapons.
House of Mortal Sin sees British exploitation legends David McGillivray and Pete Walker having fun at the expense of Catholicism, depicting the murderous antics of a sexually frustrated Catholic priest with a mother complex whose mind has been twisted by a lifetime of repressed carnal urges. It should be a whole lot of salacious silliness, but sadly falls short of the mark.
Despite the film's deliberately controversial subject matter and plenty of sadistic violence, House of Mortal Sin is actually one of my least favourite Walker movies thanks to a dreary narrative, a plodding pace and surprisingly uninspired direction. Penhaligon is lovely as the poor subject of Meldrum's attention but is given little to do other than look frightened; likewise, Sheila Keith is wasted in yet another role that calls for her to be cruel and emotionless.
House of Mortal Sin sees British exploitation legends David McGillivray and Pete Walker having fun at the expense of Catholicism, depicting the murderous antics of a sexually frustrated Catholic priest with a mother complex whose mind has been twisted by a lifetime of repressed carnal urges. It should be a whole lot of salacious silliness, but sadly falls short of the mark.
Despite the film's deliberately controversial subject matter and plenty of sadistic violence, House of Mortal Sin is actually one of my least favourite Walker movies thanks to a dreary narrative, a plodding pace and surprisingly uninspired direction. Penhaligon is lovely as the poor subject of Meldrum's attention but is given little to do other than look frightened; likewise, Sheila Keith is wasted in yet another role that calls for her to be cruel and emotionless.
A new favorite of mine when it comes to Pete Walkers' filmography.
Hey_Sweden19 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Leonard Maltin describes this Pete Walker film as a "lurid melodrama" as if that's a bad thing. Really, this is quite entertaining and appropriately infuriating, as story author / producer / director Walker uses it as a means of giving the Catholic church a scathing indictment. His main character is a priest, Father Xavier Meldrum (Anthony Sharp) who uses the institution of the Church to do such things as tape record confessions (for the purpose of blackmail) and serve up a poisoned wafer at communion! Troubled young Jenny Welch (Susan Penhaligon) becomes the victim of his machinations, while a progressive young priest, Father Bernard Cutler (Norman Eshley) might possibly discover what Meldrum has been up to.
"House of Mortal Sin", a.k.a. "The Confessional", is a very well made and engrossing picture, telling a story that is certain to push some buttons. Yet, he dares to make Meldrum a more than one dimensional character, one that could even earn some sympathy, despite the basic fact that this guy is a murderer. Of course, Meldrum doesn't quite see himself as the bad guy (although he does feel some guilt, especially after a case of mistaken identity). He naturally believes that he's on the side of Good, and this, coupled with the fact that people give little credence to Jenny's accusations, ensures that Meldrum seems to be untouchable. Walker gives the excellent Sharp and his favorite actress, Sheila Keith (as a nursemaid to Meldrums' bed- ridden mother), some real showcase moments towards the end, and they are riveting. The whole cast is fine, though, with Penhaligon, Stephanie Beacham (as Jenny's sister Vanessa), and Eshley delivering personable performances.
This sordid story does flirt with genres such as horror (and gets pretty gory), Giallo (the priest does wear black gloves sometimes), and exploitation (there's a tasteful moment of nudity from Penhaligon), and keeps on track thanks to its storytelling, themes, and uncompromising attitude. Walker does also adhere to at least one trope of the horror genre by having the climactic action take place on a dark and stormy night.
The ending is inevitably going to anger some viewers, but it's not exactly that unbelievable.
Eight out of 10.
"House of Mortal Sin", a.k.a. "The Confessional", is a very well made and engrossing picture, telling a story that is certain to push some buttons. Yet, he dares to make Meldrum a more than one dimensional character, one that could even earn some sympathy, despite the basic fact that this guy is a murderer. Of course, Meldrum doesn't quite see himself as the bad guy (although he does feel some guilt, especially after a case of mistaken identity). He naturally believes that he's on the side of Good, and this, coupled with the fact that people give little credence to Jenny's accusations, ensures that Meldrum seems to be untouchable. Walker gives the excellent Sharp and his favorite actress, Sheila Keith (as a nursemaid to Meldrums' bed- ridden mother), some real showcase moments towards the end, and they are riveting. The whole cast is fine, though, with Penhaligon, Stephanie Beacham (as Jenny's sister Vanessa), and Eshley delivering personable performances.
This sordid story does flirt with genres such as horror (and gets pretty gory), Giallo (the priest does wear black gloves sometimes), and exploitation (there's a tasteful moment of nudity from Penhaligon), and keeps on track thanks to its storytelling, themes, and uncompromising attitude. Walker does also adhere to at least one trope of the horror genre by having the climactic action take place on a dark and stormy night.
The ending is inevitably going to anger some viewers, but it's not exactly that unbelievable.
Eight out of 10.
"He's gone out again, I'm afraid... you're all alone again... with me."
bensonmum229 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I've really got to disagree with most of the reviews I've read on House of Mortal Sin (I prefer that title to The Confessional). Most reviewers seem to see it as one of Pete Walker's weaker films. I saw it as one of his best second only to House of Whipcord. It's an entertaining tale of one Priest's madness and the young girl who tries to reveal his secret. Instead of uncovering the truth, she's the one who is labeled "mad" for making such accusations against such a respected figure. She can't get anyone to believe her until it's too late.
House of Mortal Sin includes some really suspenseful and tense moments. Viewing the picture, you learn early on just what the Priest is capable of. He's a holier-than-thou, above reproach figure who relishes his perversions and is quite at ease with viciously disposing of those who he feels stand in his way. It's really creepy watching the way he twists religion to meet his depraved desires. And to see the twinkle in his eye as he's trying to get the young girl to discuss her sex life is quite disturbing.
Pete Walker was capable of getting more out of a group of relative unknown actors than most any director I've seen. As I've already alluded to, Anthony Sharp is outstanding as the demented Father Xavier Meldrum. Stephanie Beacham, Susan Penhaligon, and Norman Eshley all give terrific performances. And what can you really say about the genius of Shelia Keith. The woman was amazing. In the grand scheme of things, I'm a relative newcomer to Pete Walker's films. So my experiences with Keith are also relatively recent in nature. Still, having been aware of the woman for less than a year, I'm ready to put Keith on a list of my favorite actresses in horror movies alongside the likes of Barbara Steele and Edwige Fenech. Obviously, Keith is a different kind of actress with a vastly different style and look, but she's every bit their equal in the pleasure I derive from her work.
House of Mortal Sin includes some really suspenseful and tense moments. Viewing the picture, you learn early on just what the Priest is capable of. He's a holier-than-thou, above reproach figure who relishes his perversions and is quite at ease with viciously disposing of those who he feels stand in his way. It's really creepy watching the way he twists religion to meet his depraved desires. And to see the twinkle in his eye as he's trying to get the young girl to discuss her sex life is quite disturbing.
Pete Walker was capable of getting more out of a group of relative unknown actors than most any director I've seen. As I've already alluded to, Anthony Sharp is outstanding as the demented Father Xavier Meldrum. Stephanie Beacham, Susan Penhaligon, and Norman Eshley all give terrific performances. And what can you really say about the genius of Shelia Keith. The woman was amazing. In the grand scheme of things, I'm a relative newcomer to Pete Walker's films. So my experiences with Keith are also relatively recent in nature. Still, having been aware of the woman for less than a year, I'm ready to put Keith on a list of my favorite actresses in horror movies alongside the likes of Barbara Steele and Edwige Fenech. Obviously, Keith is a different kind of actress with a vastly different style and look, but she's every bit their equal in the pleasure I derive from her work.
Dour and trashy Giallo wannabe!
Maciste_Brother10 June 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Spoilers!!!
What words come to mind after watching THE CONFESSIONAL? How about dour, sour, dreary, miserable, trashy, silly. Did I say dour? Watching THE CONFESSIONAL is as exciting as going to the doctor's office. It's miserably serious and silly at the same time. The mood of the film is fatalistic, very anti-Catholic and pessimistic, and yet the conveniently contrived plot twists in the script are constructed in such a way that one can't help but giggle at the silliness of it all, which clashes with the super seriousness of Walker's direction. The funniest parts are with the good Priest and his love affair with perpetually ditzy looking Stephanie Beacham. This trashy and useless plotline is just there to make fun of Catholic priests' oath of celibacy. It has very little to do with the main story and even when the good priest finds Beacham dead at the evil priest's home, he seems to be totally indifferent with the fact that the woman he was in love with and was about to leave the church for has been strangled to death. Seeing the dead Stephanie with her eyes bulging and tongue sticking out, tucked away in the background while the two priests talked made for some unintentional "Monty Pythonesque" moments. The script is filled with such silly moments that could have looked even more funny hadn't the direction been so dour and serious. Every single character in the movie deserved a miserable and painful death because they were so freaking stupid.
Critics complain that Dario Argento's movies are all flash and no substance. Well, at least his movie are great to look at (his earlier movies though). THE CONFESSIONAL wants to be a giallo of sorts but its uninspired direction and zero style make it a chore to sit through. This is my first Pete Walker movie and if THE CONFESSIONAL is one of his best films, well, I actually don't want to see another movie of his.
What words come to mind after watching THE CONFESSIONAL? How about dour, sour, dreary, miserable, trashy, silly. Did I say dour? Watching THE CONFESSIONAL is as exciting as going to the doctor's office. It's miserably serious and silly at the same time. The mood of the film is fatalistic, very anti-Catholic and pessimistic, and yet the conveniently contrived plot twists in the script are constructed in such a way that one can't help but giggle at the silliness of it all, which clashes with the super seriousness of Walker's direction. The funniest parts are with the good Priest and his love affair with perpetually ditzy looking Stephanie Beacham. This trashy and useless plotline is just there to make fun of Catholic priests' oath of celibacy. It has very little to do with the main story and even when the good priest finds Beacham dead at the evil priest's home, he seems to be totally indifferent with the fact that the woman he was in love with and was about to leave the church for has been strangled to death. Seeing the dead Stephanie with her eyes bulging and tongue sticking out, tucked away in the background while the two priests talked made for some unintentional "Monty Pythonesque" moments. The script is filled with such silly moments that could have looked even more funny hadn't the direction been so dour and serious. Every single character in the movie deserved a miserable and painful death because they were so freaking stupid.
Critics complain that Dario Argento's movies are all flash and no substance. Well, at least his movie are great to look at (his earlier movies though). THE CONFESSIONAL wants to be a giallo of sorts but its uninspired direction and zero style make it a chore to sit through. This is my first Pete Walker movie and if THE CONFESSIONAL is one of his best films, well, I actually don't want to see another movie of his.
''Sometimes Satan comes as a Man of Peace..."
slaterspins16 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This surprised me by its sense of urgency - the writer-director had a point to make and did - with a straight ahead drive, never straying from powering the plot along with extraneous moments. I'd have guessed its running time to be less than 104 minutes.
This is a credit to Walker who stamped his savage vision on a witch's brew of a film that is one quarter horror, one quarter suspense, one quarter giallo (the Father Cutler, Miss Brabizon, Mrs. Meldrum revelations - some dark secrets from the past are responsible for the twisted actions of the present) - and one quarter brutal social commentary.
While not as terrifying as FRIGHTMARE, a horror film with a shocking feel for family dysfunction in extremis, pitting family member against family member, until the jealousies and hatreds of the past build to a unremitting apex of cruelty, this film nonetheless makes the viewer feel as if something very dark has been learned about mankind.
Walker and McGillivray have a way with turning out a tight, creepy script. There's not a boring moment. It builds to a satisfying, and as in FRIGHTMARE, terribly cynical denouement. If FRIGHTMARE dealt with familial cruelties and WHIPCORD with sexual permissiveness, SIN deals with the discarding of free will for the rigidity of a fundamentalist belief that Walker tells us will surely destroy anyone who by nature is unable to sublimate his humanness to the point where his own earthly needs and desires for individual ideas are dsetroyed. SIN takes its place as part of a trilogy which deals, as with FRIGHTMARE and WHIPCORD, with unreasonable expectations, loss of control and ensuing madness leading to the victimization of and violence against others, especially against those who are felt to challenge or threaten the fixed ideas of the perpetrators. The least successful of the three is WHIPCORD, overlong and a bit unbelievable that the victims can't fight back against their dotty, frail captors.
The cast is excellent. Though Peter Cushing was offered the role of Father Cutler, I'm glad it was taken by a less familiar face and an actor not known for so many horror roles. More sinister than Cushing, Norman Eshley underplayed if anything, making the character's lunacy believable. The two sisters (staples of the other two films in the trilogy though used in different relationships) were well-cast. The heroine was a symbol of her day, a symbol for spunkiness, free expression and the questioning of authority. I thought it wise not to have her capitulate to the priest's sociopathic behavior "because he was a priest". In her mind he was a sick then evil man. Her sister was more given to doubts. Though in the end it didn't matter - not when they came up against a tortured mind, a disturbed psychosis, singular in its goal. Cast well to the last of the secondary characters, the sad Mrs. Davey stands out as the distraught mother of a daughter driven to suicide by the priest's hypocrisy and/or blackmail. She presents a pathetic picture in her sorrow that has nowhere to morph into except excitement at believing she is a match for the monster and can lay a trap for him.
The actual murders of the real and imagined heroine's lovers were horrific. The hospital scene where innocence collides with savagery left no doubt that the beast had won out - as he did through to the end. The death of the 'mistaken libertine' in his hospital bed had a sense of future doom.
The imposing actress Sheila Keith (happily) commands the screen whenever she is in the frame. In a role quite different from the petulant but vengeful cannibal of FRIGHTMARE, she is oddly affecting as the would-be bride of the killer priest who has waited chastely by his side all these years - though of course her affect (and that great eye patch) add sinister touches. The death throes of those who inhabit this house of mortal sin would live up to any horror or giallo fan's dreams.
If there is anything to quibble about it would be the younger priest's believing Father Cutler's every word and hurriedly renouncing the thought of not continuing in Cutler's shoes. But better than having him run to the police accusing Cutler. There is now the implication that evil will grow in his own church garden.
The shock ending shot of the priest pulling on his glove to kill the only "normal" human being left in the film illustrates his psychotic obsession left to flourish, because he has carte-blanche to carry out his murders hidden by the sanctity of the church. Great, unexpected last shot. The themes of Walker's trilogy seems to be there are unknown houses of horrors set amongst the everyday world of those trying to go about their own lives, who don't know they are viewed as sinners by unknown psychotics and don't even realize they are standing in some psychotic's path, viewed as an adversary to be dealt with. It makes you think - there are houses like that in every city - you could pass one unknowingly. Walker is a director not given anything like his full due. Just the quiet shot of the parishioners in SIN sitting joylessly and gullibly on the pews in the dank church are as disturbing as the shots of bloodshed. The film seemed real and menacing and I loved it.
This is a credit to Walker who stamped his savage vision on a witch's brew of a film that is one quarter horror, one quarter suspense, one quarter giallo (the Father Cutler, Miss Brabizon, Mrs. Meldrum revelations - some dark secrets from the past are responsible for the twisted actions of the present) - and one quarter brutal social commentary.
While not as terrifying as FRIGHTMARE, a horror film with a shocking feel for family dysfunction in extremis, pitting family member against family member, until the jealousies and hatreds of the past build to a unremitting apex of cruelty, this film nonetheless makes the viewer feel as if something very dark has been learned about mankind.
Walker and McGillivray have a way with turning out a tight, creepy script. There's not a boring moment. It builds to a satisfying, and as in FRIGHTMARE, terribly cynical denouement. If FRIGHTMARE dealt with familial cruelties and WHIPCORD with sexual permissiveness, SIN deals with the discarding of free will for the rigidity of a fundamentalist belief that Walker tells us will surely destroy anyone who by nature is unable to sublimate his humanness to the point where his own earthly needs and desires for individual ideas are dsetroyed. SIN takes its place as part of a trilogy which deals, as with FRIGHTMARE and WHIPCORD, with unreasonable expectations, loss of control and ensuing madness leading to the victimization of and violence against others, especially against those who are felt to challenge or threaten the fixed ideas of the perpetrators. The least successful of the three is WHIPCORD, overlong and a bit unbelievable that the victims can't fight back against their dotty, frail captors.
The cast is excellent. Though Peter Cushing was offered the role of Father Cutler, I'm glad it was taken by a less familiar face and an actor not known for so many horror roles. More sinister than Cushing, Norman Eshley underplayed if anything, making the character's lunacy believable. The two sisters (staples of the other two films in the trilogy though used in different relationships) were well-cast. The heroine was a symbol of her day, a symbol for spunkiness, free expression and the questioning of authority. I thought it wise not to have her capitulate to the priest's sociopathic behavior "because he was a priest". In her mind he was a sick then evil man. Her sister was more given to doubts. Though in the end it didn't matter - not when they came up against a tortured mind, a disturbed psychosis, singular in its goal. Cast well to the last of the secondary characters, the sad Mrs. Davey stands out as the distraught mother of a daughter driven to suicide by the priest's hypocrisy and/or blackmail. She presents a pathetic picture in her sorrow that has nowhere to morph into except excitement at believing she is a match for the monster and can lay a trap for him.
The actual murders of the real and imagined heroine's lovers were horrific. The hospital scene where innocence collides with savagery left no doubt that the beast had won out - as he did through to the end. The death of the 'mistaken libertine' in his hospital bed had a sense of future doom.
The imposing actress Sheila Keith (happily) commands the screen whenever she is in the frame. In a role quite different from the petulant but vengeful cannibal of FRIGHTMARE, she is oddly affecting as the would-be bride of the killer priest who has waited chastely by his side all these years - though of course her affect (and that great eye patch) add sinister touches. The death throes of those who inhabit this house of mortal sin would live up to any horror or giallo fan's dreams.
If there is anything to quibble about it would be the younger priest's believing Father Cutler's every word and hurriedly renouncing the thought of not continuing in Cutler's shoes. But better than having him run to the police accusing Cutler. There is now the implication that evil will grow in his own church garden.
The shock ending shot of the priest pulling on his glove to kill the only "normal" human being left in the film illustrates his psychotic obsession left to flourish, because he has carte-blanche to carry out his murders hidden by the sanctity of the church. Great, unexpected last shot. The themes of Walker's trilogy seems to be there are unknown houses of horrors set amongst the everyday world of those trying to go about their own lives, who don't know they are viewed as sinners by unknown psychotics and don't even realize they are standing in some psychotic's path, viewed as an adversary to be dealt with. It makes you think - there are houses like that in every city - you could pass one unknowingly. Walker is a director not given anything like his full due. Just the quiet shot of the parishioners in SIN sitting joylessly and gullibly on the pews in the dank church are as disturbing as the shots of bloodshed. The film seemed real and menacing and I loved it.
Good premise, some okay scenes, but altogether (too) silly.
punishmentpark29 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
'House of mortal sin' has an eerie premise, and some scenes on their own work okay, but there is too much silliness going on. Our leading pretty lady all too easily takes back her lover who had left her just the day before, only for the purpose of having our baddie kill the wrong guy. Then on to our baddie, who turns out to be a very silly mama's boy who never knew about the woman who really loved him all along. Or maybe he did and never cared; when she finally offs herself he is none to bothered. There are plenty of other questions popping up from time to time; why does the mother of the first 'murdered' woman not go to the police when she sees a body being buried (or at least write down that information in case she doesn't make it)? How can the disabled mother of Xavier write on a piece of paper, hide it from the ones who take care of her and know who to trust with it? Et cetera, and so on.
It cóuld have worked, but it didn't. Sure, some scenes are atmospheric, some parts are utterly creepy, the kills are quite gruesome and the soundtrack is mostly just fine for a b-horror movie, but it never becomes more than that. Especially with the tagline on the poster in mind: 'The Omen', 'The exorcist', 'The Confessional' (the latter being the alternative title to this one), the unholy trinity is now complete. That's pretty pretentious...
A small 6 out of 10.
It cóuld have worked, but it didn't. Sure, some scenes are atmospheric, some parts are utterly creepy, the kills are quite gruesome and the soundtrack is mostly just fine for a b-horror movie, but it never becomes more than that. Especially with the tagline on the poster in mind: 'The Omen', 'The exorcist', 'The Confessional' (the latter being the alternative title to this one), the unholy trinity is now complete. That's pretty pretentious...
A small 6 out of 10.
Spoilers follow ...
parry_na12 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
The word 'exploitation' has been linked with Pete Walker films, but he has questioned its meaning. After all, as he reasons, just about every film made now is exploitation-al in that nudity, sex and violence – often far stronger than in Walker's films – feature as a matter of course and without much comment.
Pete Walker retired from directing films after 1979's under-age sex drama 'Home Before Midnight', but was tempted back to direct his last, 'House of Long Shadows' in 1983. His films were frequently lambasted by critics; indeed, he sought to provoke controversy ('rubbing them up the wrong way,' as he called it) by deliberately featuring salacious themes throughout. And yet, as with many things, there is a new appreciation for his work now. He was independently releasing British horror films at a time when Hammer, Tigon and Amicus had long since given up on the genre and for that alone, deserves a great deal of merit.
We join this film with Jenny Welsh (Susan Penhaligon) enduring severely testing times. Regularly jilted by her live-in boyfriend, she has no-one to talk to of her woes and enters into a confessional at her local Church. The vicar Father Xavier Meldrum (a tremendous Anthony Sharp, who made a career playing vicars and librarians for many years) turns out to be somewhat perverse, so she flees, only to find she left her keys in the confessional booth. Breaking into the shop where she works with her friend Robert, she leaves him alone momentarily to buy some cigarettes, and when she comes back, she finds he has been attacked by a 'mysterious' stranger.
When it is revealed that Father Meldrum is a schizophrenic murderer caring for a disabled, housebound mother and intimidated by a bullying one-eyed housekeeper Mrs Brabazon (the incomparable Sheila Keith), it's no great surprise. We are in familiar Pete Walker 'Frightmare' territory, revisiting themes of respectable establishment figures berating the young for their lapse morals, whilst turning out to be perverts and psychopaths themselves.
This is cited as Pete Walker's favourite directorial experience, with professional actresses like Penhaligon and Stephanie Beacham needing less time-consuming guidance than some of his female protégés. 'House of Mortal Sin' is a typically enjoyable experience, although in common with his other projects, it is highly unlikely that his villains would get away with their burgeoning crimes for such a long time. It tends to drag in places, another of my problems with his earlier projects. Cutting 10 to 15 minutes might well have improved matters.
Calling for God's forgiveness before strangling Beacham with rosary beads, methodically reading the last rites to his senile old mother before poisoning her (whilst Mrs Brabazon looks on with a sneer) and ending the film with the lunatic vicar still very much at large – all this may well have been deliberate provocation on behalf of Pete Walker to attract controversy. Judging by his comments in interviews ever since, that controversy never really happened, much to his disappointment.
Pete Walker retired from directing films after 1979's under-age sex drama 'Home Before Midnight', but was tempted back to direct his last, 'House of Long Shadows' in 1983. His films were frequently lambasted by critics; indeed, he sought to provoke controversy ('rubbing them up the wrong way,' as he called it) by deliberately featuring salacious themes throughout. And yet, as with many things, there is a new appreciation for his work now. He was independently releasing British horror films at a time when Hammer, Tigon and Amicus had long since given up on the genre and for that alone, deserves a great deal of merit.
We join this film with Jenny Welsh (Susan Penhaligon) enduring severely testing times. Regularly jilted by her live-in boyfriend, she has no-one to talk to of her woes and enters into a confessional at her local Church. The vicar Father Xavier Meldrum (a tremendous Anthony Sharp, who made a career playing vicars and librarians for many years) turns out to be somewhat perverse, so she flees, only to find she left her keys in the confessional booth. Breaking into the shop where she works with her friend Robert, she leaves him alone momentarily to buy some cigarettes, and when she comes back, she finds he has been attacked by a 'mysterious' stranger.
When it is revealed that Father Meldrum is a schizophrenic murderer caring for a disabled, housebound mother and intimidated by a bullying one-eyed housekeeper Mrs Brabazon (the incomparable Sheila Keith), it's no great surprise. We are in familiar Pete Walker 'Frightmare' territory, revisiting themes of respectable establishment figures berating the young for their lapse morals, whilst turning out to be perverts and psychopaths themselves.
This is cited as Pete Walker's favourite directorial experience, with professional actresses like Penhaligon and Stephanie Beacham needing less time-consuming guidance than some of his female protégés. 'House of Mortal Sin' is a typically enjoyable experience, although in common with his other projects, it is highly unlikely that his villains would get away with their burgeoning crimes for such a long time. It tends to drag in places, another of my problems with his earlier projects. Cutting 10 to 15 minutes might well have improved matters.
Calling for God's forgiveness before strangling Beacham with rosary beads, methodically reading the last rites to his senile old mother before poisoning her (whilst Mrs Brabazon looks on with a sneer) and ending the film with the lunatic vicar still very much at large – all this may well have been deliberate provocation on behalf of Pete Walker to attract controversy. Judging by his comments in interviews ever since, that controversy never really happened, much to his disappointment.
Solid thriller/drama
NickKnack6829 September 2021
Featuring arguably one of the most demented priests of 70s cinema, Walker's "priestploitation" drama offers some great scenery and perhaps a little twist toward the dark finale. Interesting choice of murder weapons, too.
Another good Pete Walker, bless him
hwg1957-102-26570429 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Pete Walker set his films in pleasant English settings but in those settings something horrible is always going on, His masterpiece 'Frightmare' superbly mixes the domestic with the cannibalistic. Here it is the local priest who takes services and hears confessions in a dowdy looking suburban Catholic church but he is also obsessive about sexual behaviour and commits a few murders too. This mixture of the ordinary with the transgressive is the director's forte and he makes Hammer films look a bit tame. The murder of Mrs Davey at the altar rail is a fine example of this.
The priest is played by veteran actor Anthony Sharp who has a unique voice and he is excellent. Yes he may be mad and homicidal but he is also pitiful. As his mother another veteran Hilda Barry has no lines of dialogue but conveys her fear adeptly with her eyes and hands. The great Sheila Keith with one eye (the character that is not the actress) as Miss Brabazon is not in it enough but she commands the screen as usual when she is on. Towards the end she gives a smile that gave me goosebumps. The other cast members are adequate.
It is perhaps a little longer than the material can bear but it keeps one's attention and Stanley Myers provides another excellent score.
The priest is played by veteran actor Anthony Sharp who has a unique voice and he is excellent. Yes he may be mad and homicidal but he is also pitiful. As his mother another veteran Hilda Barry has no lines of dialogue but conveys her fear adeptly with her eyes and hands. The great Sheila Keith with one eye (the character that is not the actress) as Miss Brabazon is not in it enough but she commands the screen as usual when she is on. Towards the end she gives a smile that gave me goosebumps. The other cast members are adequate.
It is perhaps a little longer than the material can bear but it keeps one's attention and Stanley Myers provides another excellent score.
Judas' priest.
ulicknormanowen15 October 2021
An original thriller ,still relevant at a time the Catholic church runs into serious difficulties; the young priest hints at celibacy -whereas protestant ministers can marry- and his final attitude makes sense.
But the central character ,father Xavier Meldrum , under his compassionate smile , hides a dark soul and an unspeakable perversity : recording his penitents' confessions to blackmail them , making them feel guilty till some commit suicide ; on the other hand , one could have done without the housekeeper who uses the priest 's mother as a punch(ing) bag :enough is enough .
But all that concerns the priest is effective and scary :the best scene is perhaps the one in the hospital : the bedridden terrified patient sees his fiend near his bed when the girl is dragged out of the room by the nurses who think she's having a nervous breakdown.
But the central character ,father Xavier Meldrum , under his compassionate smile , hides a dark soul and an unspeakable perversity : recording his penitents' confessions to blackmail them , making them feel guilty till some commit suicide ; on the other hand , one could have done without the housekeeper who uses the priest 's mother as a punch(ing) bag :enough is enough .
But all that concerns the priest is effective and scary :the best scene is perhaps the one in the hospital : the bedridden terrified patient sees his fiend near his bed when the girl is dragged out of the room by the nurses who think she's having a nervous breakdown.
boring
sirabister29 January 2019
If you can't trust your local priest....who can you trust?!
The_Void22 May 2006
Even though the majority of his movies haven't gone on to win vast acclaim or classic status, any fan of cinema would have to admit that British horror maestro Pete Walker is one of the most fascinating directors of the seventies. House of Mortal Sin follows the common Pete Walker theme of hypocrisy in an institution; and this time it's the church that gets lampooned. The film does feel like an all too obvious attempt to drum up some controversy, but it's all so well done that it's easy to ignore this fact and just enjoy the twisted imagination of Pete Walker and scriptwriter David McGillivray. Catholic priests are always above suspicion due their high moral ground in society, and so the idea that one of them could go off the rails and abuse his privileges is as intriguing as it is frightening. The story follows Father Xavier Meldrum; a priest who tapes the confessions of his parishioners and then uses them for blackmailing purposes! And he isn't content to stop there, as if the blackmail doesn't go to plan - he isn't morally above murder!
The film is a little overlong and slightly overindulgent at times; but Pete Walker paces the plot well, and although at least ten minutes could have been shaved from the movie; it never gets boring. Walker is great at creating atmosphere, and through ugly cinematography and downbeat locations, the director ensures that there is nothing pleasant about the movie. The murder scenes are graphic in a typically seventies fashion, although the talented director never lets the blood overtake the plot, and the murder scenes are an event within the movie; rather than the plot being tied around the gore. The film takes influence from a range of sources, including the slasher sub-genre (most notably Psycho), as well as the Italian Giallo (the black gloves towards the end being a particular highlight) and even Walker's own previous efforts. As usual, Walker pulls great performances out of his older actors. Anthony Sharp is suitably sinister in the lead role, and also manages to retain his edge of authority. Hilda Barry gives the film the right amount of horror as the mother, while Walker regular Sheila Keith rounds off the cast in a convincingly macabre role. On the whole; this may not be as great as House of Whipcord, but House of Mortal Sin is further proof that Pete Walker really knows how to make his audience think and comes recommended.
The film is a little overlong and slightly overindulgent at times; but Pete Walker paces the plot well, and although at least ten minutes could have been shaved from the movie; it never gets boring. Walker is great at creating atmosphere, and through ugly cinematography and downbeat locations, the director ensures that there is nothing pleasant about the movie. The murder scenes are graphic in a typically seventies fashion, although the talented director never lets the blood overtake the plot, and the murder scenes are an event within the movie; rather than the plot being tied around the gore. The film takes influence from a range of sources, including the slasher sub-genre (most notably Psycho), as well as the Italian Giallo (the black gloves towards the end being a particular highlight) and even Walker's own previous efforts. As usual, Walker pulls great performances out of his older actors. Anthony Sharp is suitably sinister in the lead role, and also manages to retain his edge of authority. Hilda Barry gives the film the right amount of horror as the mother, while Walker regular Sheila Keith rounds off the cast in a convincingly macabre role. On the whole; this may not be as great as House of Whipcord, but House of Mortal Sin is further proof that Pete Walker really knows how to make his audience think and comes recommended.
Another Walker winner
Leofwine_draca15 February 2022
HOUSE OF MORTAL SIN (1976) is another feather in the cap for director Pete Walker, who makes a focused psychological horror/thriller about homicidal madness and the ways in which Catholic guilt can twist even the most upstanding of minds. Yes, it's another of his "evil old folk" tales and yes, Sheila Keith is back at her most sinister (albeit in support this time), but nonetheless it feels fresh and involving and very different to the rest of his work. In addition it looks fantastic in high def, it has generally convincing performances from most of the cast (including '70s scream queen Stephanie Beacham), the usual sadistic murders and a genuinely surprisingly climax. Little to dislike about this one, then.
Neither horror nor giallo but....
christopher-underwood21 March 2005
A very fine Walker effort. Not really a horror film nor a giallo but very British. Must have upset as many as it pleased upon release with it's uncompromising attack upon the Church in general and the Catholic Church in particular. Excellent central performances and it is these performances that helps the film over the odd script shortcomings. Not for the easily offended but for everyone else quite a treat and who is to say accusations of wrong doings by priests and cover ups by other self righteous members of society is so far fetched? Begins well and although gets a bit lost halfway through, there is a full powered body strewn build up to a surprising ending.
Susan Penhaligon's perfect bottom.
nb228 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
A rip-roaring Pete Walker special and definitely not to be missed. A scary yarn of a mad priest's reign of terror amongst his parishioners in a 1970s London suburb, this is tightly plotted, economically written and well acted by an ensemble of veteran English actors.Stephanie Beacham, Mervyn Johns (Welsh!), Ivor Salter, Hilda Barry, Sheila Keith (of course)among others. Top honours go to Anthony Sharp for his demented and tormented loony cleric and also to the gorgeous Susan Penhaligon as the object of his desires. There is a scene when she clambers out of bed during the night at the sound of a disturbance. You might want to use the freeze-frame before she puts on her dressing gown. Stunningly beautiful!! Well worth your time and a great addition to Pete's portfolio.
Pete Walker's "House" trilogy:part 1.
morrison-dylan-fan30 September 2013
Warning: Spoilers
After having been told by a friend about Pete Walker's warped Women In Prison film House of Whipcord,I decided that I should first pay a visit to Walker's "religious Giallo" at the House of Mortal Sin.
The plot:
Walking back home to the shop that she runs with her sister Vanessa,Jenny Welch bumps into an old friend who she has not seen in years called Bernard Cuttler,who Jenny is shocked to discover,has come to her village due to recently having become in priest for the local church.Finding it surprisingly easy to be completely open to Bernard about the recent messy end to the relationship with her long time boyfriend,Jenny is told by Cuttler that she should go and visit the church tomorrow,so that they can continue their discussion there.
The next day:
Finding that the church is currently taking confessions,Jennny decides to go into the confession box,in the hope of continuing her conversation with Cutler.To Jenny's disappointment,she discovers that instead of Cutler,the head vicar Father Xavier Meldrum is taking confessions.Deciding to stay for confession,Jenny begins to tell Meldrum about the feelings that she still has for her ex-boyfriend.
Expecting Xavier to talk to her in an understanding manner,Welch is instead horrified to find Meldrum pushing her into giving more info about her "bedroom" activates.Getting out of the confession box,and running away from the church,Jenny soon discovers that Meldrum is prepared to do everything necessary to make sure that none of his "sheep" escape from the flock.
View on the film:
For the screenplay of the film,writer David McGillivray gives an extremely clever,reverse twist to the Giallo outline,by making it that the audience sees the (sometimes) black glove wearing killer priest in plain sight,but the character's in the movie are unable to,due to be blinded by a fog-like faith that "their" saint:Father Xavier Meldrum would ever do something that would hurt his flock.
Along with the sinister Meldrum, (who has more than a little Norman Bates about him) McGillivray also fills the Meldrum's church with a number of shadowy character's who are more than happy to get hold of a razor blade,the moment that they risk being exposed,with Shelia Keith's tremendous,stern performance as Meldrum's aide Miss Brabazon being a particular highlight,as Keith shows Brabazon a deranged,almost totalitarian military general,who is willing to do anything to protect her captain.
Being drawn to the story partly due to being a lapsed Catholic,director Pete Walker attacks the institution of the church with a relish that the Italian Giallo directors surprisingly stayed mostly away from, (perhaps over fears about facing troubles with the Vatican?) with Walker smartly using the religious setting as a way to give the brilliantly stylised murder scenes a strong,gritty feel,that goes from strangling someone with Rosemary beads,to openly killing one of the townsfolk at Sunday Mass!
Along with the stylish killings,Walker also gives the movie a good Film Noir touch,as Jenny Welch (played by a terrific Susan Penhaligon) continues to walk round in her long raincoat,pulling those around her into the trouble that she finds her self in,that leads to Walker giving the movie an amazingly harsh,brutal and nihilistic ending that shows the saints and sinners of the village all ending up in the same bleak place.
The plot:
Walking back home to the shop that she runs with her sister Vanessa,Jenny Welch bumps into an old friend who she has not seen in years called Bernard Cuttler,who Jenny is shocked to discover,has come to her village due to recently having become in priest for the local church.Finding it surprisingly easy to be completely open to Bernard about the recent messy end to the relationship with her long time boyfriend,Jenny is told by Cuttler that she should go and visit the church tomorrow,so that they can continue their discussion there.
The next day:
Finding that the church is currently taking confessions,Jennny decides to go into the confession box,in the hope of continuing her conversation with Cutler.To Jenny's disappointment,she discovers that instead of Cutler,the head vicar Father Xavier Meldrum is taking confessions.Deciding to stay for confession,Jenny begins to tell Meldrum about the feelings that she still has for her ex-boyfriend.
Expecting Xavier to talk to her in an understanding manner,Welch is instead horrified to find Meldrum pushing her into giving more info about her "bedroom" activates.Getting out of the confession box,and running away from the church,Jenny soon discovers that Meldrum is prepared to do everything necessary to make sure that none of his "sheep" escape from the flock.
View on the film:
For the screenplay of the film,writer David McGillivray gives an extremely clever,reverse twist to the Giallo outline,by making it that the audience sees the (sometimes) black glove wearing killer priest in plain sight,but the character's in the movie are unable to,due to be blinded by a fog-like faith that "their" saint:Father Xavier Meldrum would ever do something that would hurt his flock.
Along with the sinister Meldrum, (who has more than a little Norman Bates about him) McGillivray also fills the Meldrum's church with a number of shadowy character's who are more than happy to get hold of a razor blade,the moment that they risk being exposed,with Shelia Keith's tremendous,stern performance as Meldrum's aide Miss Brabazon being a particular highlight,as Keith shows Brabazon a deranged,almost totalitarian military general,who is willing to do anything to protect her captain.
Being drawn to the story partly due to being a lapsed Catholic,director Pete Walker attacks the institution of the church with a relish that the Italian Giallo directors surprisingly stayed mostly away from, (perhaps over fears about facing troubles with the Vatican?) with Walker smartly using the religious setting as a way to give the brilliantly stylised murder scenes a strong,gritty feel,that goes from strangling someone with Rosemary beads,to openly killing one of the townsfolk at Sunday Mass!
Along with the stylish killings,Walker also gives the movie a good Film Noir touch,as Jenny Welch (played by a terrific Susan Penhaligon) continues to walk round in her long raincoat,pulling those around her into the trouble that she finds her self in,that leads to Walker giving the movie an amazingly harsh,brutal and nihilistic ending that shows the saints and sinners of the village all ending up in the same bleak place.
Typically fine British horror winner from the always reliable Pete Walker
Woodyanders9 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Devout, but deranged and sexually repressed clergyman Father Xavier Meldrum (superbly played by Anthony Sharp) resorts to such foul things as blackmail and murder after hearing a shocking confessional from troubled young lass Jenny Welch (an appealing portrayal by the fetching Susan Penhaligon).
Director Peter Walker relates the absorbing premise at a steady pace, does his usual expert job of crafting a macabre atmosphere, grounds the deliciously twisted premise in a believable workaday reality, and stages the brutal murder set pieces with grisly aplomb. David McGillivray's bold script not only offers some spot-on scathing commentary on the abuse of power, religious hypocrisy, and deep-seated repression and thwarted desire, but also pulls off a genuinely startling doozy of a surprise grim ending. The excellent acting by the top-rate casts keeps this movie humming: Stephanie Beachum adds plenty of charm and spark as Jenny's perky and concerned sister Vanessa, Norman Ashley contributes a likable turn as the friendly Father Bernard Cutler, and Sheila Keith makes the most out of her juicy supporting part as sinister one-eyed housekeeper Miss Brabazon. Kudos are also in order for Peter Jessop's polished score and the spirited shuddery score by Stanley Myers. Recommended viewing for both British horror cinema aficionados in general and Pete Walker fans in particular.
Director Peter Walker relates the absorbing premise at a steady pace, does his usual expert job of crafting a macabre atmosphere, grounds the deliciously twisted premise in a believable workaday reality, and stages the brutal murder set pieces with grisly aplomb. David McGillivray's bold script not only offers some spot-on scathing commentary on the abuse of power, religious hypocrisy, and deep-seated repression and thwarted desire, but also pulls off a genuinely startling doozy of a surprise grim ending. The excellent acting by the top-rate casts keeps this movie humming: Stephanie Beachum adds plenty of charm and spark as Jenny's perky and concerned sister Vanessa, Norman Ashley contributes a likable turn as the friendly Father Bernard Cutler, and Sheila Keith makes the most out of her juicy supporting part as sinister one-eyed housekeeper Miss Brabazon. Kudos are also in order for Peter Jessop's polished score and the spirited shuddery score by Stanley Myers. Recommended viewing for both British horror cinema aficionados in general and Pete Walker fans in particular.
Good, compact melodrama
galensaysyes12 September 2003
Tense, horrible, and funny at the same time, made without frills, for both practical and aesthetic reasons, this is my favorite of Pete Walker's trilogy because it is the strongest-centered, in the characters of the priest and his main victim (the actors have a lot to do with this). It's a study in how to generate suspense with a minimum of resources. Rather than a would-be giallo, I'd identify it as an updating of 19th-century melodrama. The director plainly worked best on minuscule budgets, using them to maximum effect, but he couldn't entirely disguise their restrictions (e.g., where is everybody? don't these people ever go anywhere?).
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