Murder Mansion (1973)

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

While it lets you off the hook too easily, there's still some moments of genuine suspense that should keep you engaged for the duration of this Spanish-Italian co-production. A group of motorists become lost in a fog and seek shelter in an isolated mansion nearby a cemetery. The gracious host (Galli) explains that the mansion belongs to her family and is allegedly cursed by the deaths of her aunt and a chauffeur following a tragic accident many years before. Unable to make it to Milan, the group accepts the kind invitation to stay the night, but will they survive to see morning? Yes and no.Galli is a stunning woman and her appeal is palpable, but she has little to do except be a courteous host, while Gade in the central role, does a reasonable job with her emotionally traumatised character, haunted by events involving her father years before (even if the emphasis on these events and her character seem to be trivial in retrospect). Franco Fantasia might be a recognisable face to some, and he adds some colour as a tail-chasing cuckold, barely surviving his mid-life crisis clutching at a hip flask and clumsily attempting to bed the fellow female guests. Finally, Leonardi as the young hitch-hiker is also very easy on the eyes, and unlike Galli, has more meat to her character, playing a plucky and sexy heroine.The make-up effects aren't bad, there's some spooky atmosphere at times and disconcerting encounters with apparently un-dead fiends, but the climax really - in my opinion - doesn't do the narrative, or film, justice. While it's unexpected, it's equally unsatisfying and diminishes the overall experience. Not terrible, but disappointing.

The Murder Mansion is your basic Eurohorror film, a Spanish production in this case. Some seemingly random, then it turns out not so random group of guests wash up on a stormy night at a Gothic Mansion where a woman and her chauffeur were killed in a car crash years ago. But they seem to be a pair of lively ghosts going around causing all kinds of mayhem. Especially the chauffeur who in years gone by would have been played by Tor Johnson or in the previous generation Rondo Hatton.No need wasting your time with the names of the players none of whom will be familiar to American audiences. I'd pass this one right by folks, right by.

Unusual and likable Spanish/Italian co-production that plays something like a seventies Spanish, Old Dark House with giallo elements. Split more or less into three parts, the beginning takes place on the road, the middle introduces us to all the varied peoples holed up in the mansion in the fog and the final 25minutes are pretty wild action all the way. In truth there is nothing particularly violent or sexual but all the ladies are lovely, we really don't know what's going on any more than they do and we care enough to stick with it to find out. Worth it? Yes, I reckon so, it's just that little bit different and even the 'posh' English dubbing seems to help the strangeness that permeates the whole film.

You no doubt have run into this theme time and time again- some people get stranded on a VERY foggy night, and they're forced to seek refuge in this spooky ol' house. Of course, the house is in an isolated locale. Of course, it's located next to a cemetery. Of course, the owners are creepy people. Of course, the house is rumored to be haunted. And, of course, the guests' stay and slumber are disturbed by the strange and haunting goings-on that we've come to expect in stories like this. We've seen it all before, from Scooby Doo cartoons to the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. And so the cast goes through the motions while the audience goes through the motions of watching them and pretending not to know what will happen. The closing scene is ludicrous- how many pistols can fire 17 shots without being reloaded? However, it's not a total loss. The acting is marginally better than usual for a low-budget film like this. The production and sets are fairly good-looking, the background music is satisfactory, and there is some atmosphere of eerie calm which actually works. So I would recommend this film to people who really like haunted house movies.