The Old Dark House
Come on! Don't undress in front of pokey woman!
How sad that I miss the cheesy bad horror flicks I have been subjecting myself to! Well, I thought The Old Dark House would be just like the good old times when I laugh at the awful monster outfits and cringe at the over-the-top acting. Boy, I was in for a surprise. This particular movie exceed my expectations and I am so thrilled with it that I am considering getting it for my horror movie collection. I wish more psychological horror flicks were like this one.
The Old Dark House is not your usual 'monster in the attic that wolfs down people' sort of tale. Rather, it falls into the creepy house filled with creepier people category. You know, the type of story where a place looks scarier by the minute as you find out more about it. When you think about it, the concept of being stranded in a strange house that harbors dangerous secrets is not a new concept. It is just a delight when you find the subject handled so well. Think of it this way; this is what the 1999 version of The Haunting wanted to be.
Ooh, can I friend you on Facebook then? Please?
Here's how the story goes. There is a fancy little house located far from useful spots like a police station, nosy neighbors and whatnot. A couple, Margaret and Phillip, and their wisecracking friend, Roger, get caught in a terrible storm. And the road is flooded. What do you know, there is that aforementioned house. They end up over there, seeking shelter from the rain.
It turns out they are not that welcome there. The butler doesn't speak much. In fact, he leers a bit and everyone at that house is scared of him. Horace, the owner of the house, is a jittery bug who seems a bit too eager to hide unnecessary information about the house. Then there is his nearly-deaf sister, Rebecca, an annoying old woman who goes around poking and groping people. Add a few more strangers to this group and you've got the correct setting for a horror story. As it happens, another couple pops over and they hit it off immediately with Roger and co. In case everything comes across as a cozy little party, don't relax just yet.
Psst, that woman, she is Rose, from that Titanic movie
All's not well in that house and you start to realize it soon enough. The father of the owner and his sister (the one with no concept of personal space) is holed up somewhere on the top floor. The butler gets drunk and disorderly, making horrid grunting noises in one of the backrooms. There is a mysterious locked door upstairs, one of that the residents are quite frightened off. Oooh, what's going to happen next?
If you love slow movies that build up to a revelation, you will enjoy this one. I must say, the pace is quite slow (especially by modern standards) and so it will require a bit of patience. Incidentally, what I loved about this was the pace and the way the story unfolded. You learn just a little bit more about the house and people as time goes on. At the same time, the writer reveals more about each character, giving you a sense of what to expect.
While we are on the topic, the characters were noteworthy too. That creepy-poke-poke woman was unnerving. In fact, she scared me more than the leery butler. The good guys were rather well done too. So you have the practical Roger with his corny sense of humor, his friends the jittery couple and the kind hearted businessman and his bubbly girlfriend. Alright, so they weren't exactly the most well-rounded characters but at least everyone had their own distinct traits. Thus, their interactions were funny and helped drive the story forward.
I think the bit I loved the most was the way they handled supernatural phenomenon. You know how movies like The Haunting throw in a religious link as a way of explaining or dealing with paranormal activity? This can be rather limiting for the story line and soon enough, all endings will be pretty much the same. Not to mention that such takes end up sounding rather preachy. They don't try any such tactic in this movie and that was a relief.
