"Revenge in the House of Usher" is a highly disappointing effort.
**SPOILERS**
Receiving word that his ex-professor and mentor needs to see him, Dr. Alan Harker, (Antonio Mayans) is mysteriously summoned to the castle of Dr. Eric Usher, (Howard Vernon) and find he has gone completely mad. Upon his arrival, the old man confesses his years of misdeeds, admitting to kidnapping young women with the hope of curing his daughter Melissa, (Francoise Blanchard) of her catatonic condition by giving her their blood. His blind assistant Morpho, (Oliver Mato) aids in his twisted quest, involving embryonic stem cells in his techniques. He begins to suffer a series of strange delusions of sorts, including several of the women he has seduced and killed. Convinced that his comatose daughter has been targeted by the apparitions, he hurriedly rushes to get them under control with all the help he can get before they stop him and take over the family.
The Good News: This isn't all that terrible. The most striking fact is this looks incredible, with the access to a real castle being a major plus, and full use is made of it, shooting numerous scenes up on the battlements for no good reason other than they look good. Much of the film's photography is quite attractive, giving it a wonderful look that evokes a great Gothic vibe and atmosphere. At times, it does seem to belong to some other movie. There are times that it is a throwback to the expressionist style, and it almost works on that level. The dense hues, such as the blinding yellows, deep reds and disturbing oranges, seem to be what the most interesting feature of the film. This has a pretty decent pace to it, with lots of creepy visions of the hallucinations troubling the man. They're quite creepy and actually have a nice quality to them. It's hard not to say them without spoiling how great they were, so they can't be revealed but each one was quite impressive to see transpired. Other than that, there wasn't much else in it.
The Bad News: This is a sadly disappointing film for several reasons. The fact that most of the plot is so familiar is because the film owes much more to the Orloff verse than to Poe. The ill daughter Melissa, as well as the blind assistant Morpho and the use of inserts are fixtures that hark back to the earlier films. The inserts themselves are the biggest problem, since it pads out the running time with obviously inserted footage just so that the film time could be padded out. It's a series of weird inclusions that don't go well. Yet there are inclusions here that don't quite fit well either, such as the introduction of characters from the Dracula story, including Harker and Dr. Seward. The result is rather on the incoherent side, lacking in logic or driving story, and successfully evoking a disturbing fever dream. Those expecting gore and sex in a Franco title will be sorely disappointed, as the usual inserts of blood and breasts are absent here. With only one moment of anything more than implied blood, and with that being cut back to a mere shot of a bloody knife, is almost unbelievable and really hurts this film. It's almost a shame to say that the film needed to be sleazier. There are a number of scenes here that look quite terrible and not at all good, most notable in the climactic fall, which is accomplishes by jiggling the camera, throwing a handful of dust, and using a squishing sound. The scene is less than successful. This ultimately is a disappointing film.
The Final Verdict: This was a strangely disappointing Franco entry that just seems so rushed and haphazardly put together that it robs it of most of the virtues going for it. It's mostly interesting as a Franco exercise, but most of those interested will be put off by what's wrong, so only the most loyal, apologetic Franco fans should get this.
Rated R: Violence and some Language
**SPOILERS**
Receiving word that his ex-professor and mentor needs to see him, Dr. Alan Harker, (Antonio Mayans) is mysteriously summoned to the castle of Dr. Eric Usher, (Howard Vernon) and find he has gone completely mad. Upon his arrival, the old man confesses his years of misdeeds, admitting to kidnapping young women with the hope of curing his daughter Melissa, (Francoise Blanchard) of her catatonic condition by giving her their blood. His blind assistant Morpho, (Oliver Mato) aids in his twisted quest, involving embryonic stem cells in his techniques. He begins to suffer a series of strange delusions of sorts, including several of the women he has seduced and killed. Convinced that his comatose daughter has been targeted by the apparitions, he hurriedly rushes to get them under control with all the help he can get before they stop him and take over the family.
The Good News: This isn't all that terrible. The most striking fact is this looks incredible, with the access to a real castle being a major plus, and full use is made of it, shooting numerous scenes up on the battlements for no good reason other than they look good. Much of the film's photography is quite attractive, giving it a wonderful look that evokes a great Gothic vibe and atmosphere. At times, it does seem to belong to some other movie. There are times that it is a throwback to the expressionist style, and it almost works on that level. The dense hues, such as the blinding yellows, deep reds and disturbing oranges, seem to be what the most interesting feature of the film. This has a pretty decent pace to it, with lots of creepy visions of the hallucinations troubling the man. They're quite creepy and actually have a nice quality to them. It's hard not to say them without spoiling how great they were, so they can't be revealed but each one was quite impressive to see transpired. Other than that, there wasn't much else in it.
The Bad News: This is a sadly disappointing film for several reasons. The fact that most of the plot is so familiar is because the film owes much more to the Orloff verse than to Poe. The ill daughter Melissa, as well as the blind assistant Morpho and the use of inserts are fixtures that hark back to the earlier films. The inserts themselves are the biggest problem, since it pads out the running time with obviously inserted footage just so that the film time could be padded out. It's a series of weird inclusions that don't go well. Yet there are inclusions here that don't quite fit well either, such as the introduction of characters from the Dracula story, including Harker and Dr. Seward. The result is rather on the incoherent side, lacking in logic or driving story, and successfully evoking a disturbing fever dream. Those expecting gore and sex in a Franco title will be sorely disappointed, as the usual inserts of blood and breasts are absent here. With only one moment of anything more than implied blood, and with that being cut back to a mere shot of a bloody knife, is almost unbelievable and really hurts this film. It's almost a shame to say that the film needed to be sleazier. There are a number of scenes here that look quite terrible and not at all good, most notable in the climactic fall, which is accomplishes by jiggling the camera, throwing a handful of dust, and using a squishing sound. The scene is less than successful. This ultimately is a disappointing film.
The Final Verdict: This was a strangely disappointing Franco entry that just seems so rushed and haphazardly put together that it robs it of most of the virtues going for it. It's mostly interesting as a Franco exercise, but most of those interested will be put off by what's wrong, so only the most loyal, apologetic Franco fans should get this.
Rated R: Violence and some Language