While this film is by no means a thriller on par with anything Mario Bava directed or anything Edmond O'Brien starred in, it still is a pretty decent watch. The acting is overdone, the comic relief (if one can call it that) is so pitiful that I was seriously hoping the Constable (the "funny" character) was the next beheaded.
THe story surrounds a New England family of status and money. Their abusive and controlling father dies, leaving an inheritance for each member of the family provided they fulfill the stipulations of the will. Upon the first reading of the will, we learn that everyone has already violated the terms, wow. Way to cut out a lot of story. The murders are pretty predictable and leave little tension. The killings each pertain to said victims' fear (drowning, fire, etc) and are admittedly pretty graphic for 1963/1964. The beheading, the drowning scene, etc are very violent and there is no sparing the gore. That isn't to say that it looks completely realistic, but nonetheless at the time it must've caused quite a stir.
The murderer is allegedly the dead father returned from the grave to revenge his disobedient family. I won't spill the beans but you can probably guess the twist about a half and hour into the film.
Roy Scheider makes his screen debut and chews the scenery with vigor.
At the end of the film the explanations don't really justify the "how" and if you've scene the film, and know the character I'm talking about, his "disability" wouldn't have allowed him to do what he did.
Through and through there are points of interest, it's not complete fodder but I wish the police men had been cut from the film. They made the viewing less pleasurable for me. It's not complete fodder and OK for a double feature (as it's released with Horror of Party Beach) when you just want a bit of "fun" and non-introspective entertainment,
THe story surrounds a New England family of status and money. Their abusive and controlling father dies, leaving an inheritance for each member of the family provided they fulfill the stipulations of the will. Upon the first reading of the will, we learn that everyone has already violated the terms, wow. Way to cut out a lot of story. The murders are pretty predictable and leave little tension. The killings each pertain to said victims' fear (drowning, fire, etc) and are admittedly pretty graphic for 1963/1964. The beheading, the drowning scene, etc are very violent and there is no sparing the gore. That isn't to say that it looks completely realistic, but nonetheless at the time it must've caused quite a stir.
The murderer is allegedly the dead father returned from the grave to revenge his disobedient family. I won't spill the beans but you can probably guess the twist about a half and hour into the film.
Roy Scheider makes his screen debut and chews the scenery with vigor.
At the end of the film the explanations don't really justify the "how" and if you've scene the film, and know the character I'm talking about, his "disability" wouldn't have allowed him to do what he did.
Through and through there are points of interest, it's not complete fodder but I wish the police men had been cut from the film. They made the viewing less pleasurable for me. It's not complete fodder and OK for a double feature (as it's released with Horror of Party Beach) when you just want a bit of "fun" and non-introspective entertainment,