The House of Seven Corpses
The House of Seven Corpses is a 1974 American horror film directed by Paul Harrison and starring John Ireland, Faith Domergue and John Carradine.
| The House of Seven Corpses | |
|---|---|
 1974 theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Paul Harrison |
| Produced by |
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| Written by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Bob Emenegger |
| Cinematography | Don Jones |
| Edited by | Peter Parasheles |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | International Amusement Corp |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
A director courts disaster by filming his horror movie in a real haunted house.
In the midst of the film a zombie (in the credits referenced to as "The Ghoul") is awoken by a magical chant from The Book of the Dead. Actress Faith Domergue, who plays an actress playing a Satan worshipper, reads from a copy of the Tibetan Book of the Dead and chants: “Exsurgent mortui et ad me veniunt” (which in Latin translates to “may the dead rise and come to me” (CQ)). The creature starts thus by killing everyone in and around the house (Starting with Price, who ventured upon the graveyard after hearing something suspicious). At the same time Eric the Director and his assistant David head for the graveyard, to shoot some shots. On arrival they discover the body of Price, and to his horror Eric discovers an (previously unnamed) eight grave that bears David's name. After a struggle with the latter, David emerges from this grave as a zombie. The entire crew, including Eric, who has fled from "David", are killed by the zombie. The film ends with zombie "David" who finds his drowned girlfriend Anne floating in a nearby pond. While the credits start to roll David is seen taking Anne with him to his grave.
Cast
- John Ireland as Eric Hartman
- Faith Domergue as Gayle Dorian
- John Carradine as Edgar Price
- Carole Wells as Anne
- Charles Macaulay as Christopher Millan
- Jerry Strickler as David
- Ron Foreman as Ron
- Dennis Record as Tommy [credited as Larry Record]
- Charles Bail as Jonathon Anthony Beal/Theodore Beal
- Lucy Doheny as Suzanne Beal
- Jo Anne Mower as Allison Beal
- Ron Garcia as Charles Beal
- Jeff Alexander as Russell Beal
- Wells Bond as The Ghoul
Production
It was filmed at the Utah Governor's Mansion in Salt Lake City.[2]
Release
Severin Films released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in 2013.[3]
Reception
Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle called the film "routine but capably handled".[2] Writing in Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide, Glenn Kay called the concept better suited to an anthology film.[4] Bloody Disgusting rated it 1.5/5 stars and wrote that though it is "only frightening in the first few minutes".[5] Stuart Galbraith of DVD Talk rated it 2/5 stars and called it "cheap and derivative but hard to entirely dislike".[6] Daryl Loomis of DVD Verdict wrote, "While there are things to enjoy about The House of Seven Corpses, it is completely forgettable, mostly because it's patently unscary."[7]
See also
References
- "The House of Seven Corpses (1973)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
- Dendle, Peter (2001). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. McFarland & Company. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-0-7864-9288-6.
- Turek, Ryan (2013-03-29). "Severin Releases House on Straw Hill, House of Seven Corpses DVD & Blu-ray Plans". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
- Kay, Glenn (2008). Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide. Chicago Review Press. pp. 79–80. ISBN 978-1-55652-770-8.
- "House of Seven Corpses". Bloody Disgusting. 2005-06-25. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
- Galbraith, Stuart (2013-08-13). "The House Of Seven Corpses (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2015-02-03.
- Loomis, Daryl (2013-08-19). "The House of Seven Corpses (Blu-ray)". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2015-02-03.