If this film was as good as its credit sequence, it would have been great. The film begins by introducing the three greatest horror icons of all time - namely, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. This is then followed by the names 'John Carradine' and 'Sheila Keith', and just when you think things can't possibly be any more promising, Pete Walker's name turns up and you've got to start thinking you're in for a masterpiece. However, you'd be wrong to do so; as while the film does have some positives, it's mostly very sluggish and doesn't do justice to its awesome array of talent. The plot is fairly routine and follows an American writer who travels to a manor house in Wales in order to write a novel. He has a bet of £20,000 that he can write a novel that is better than Wuthering Heights in just 24 hours. However, he thought that the house he was planning to write at would be empty, but upon arrival he happens across a caretaker and his daughter, and pretty soon a whole host of weird and wonderful characters invade his tranquillity...
When I think of Pete Walker, it is dark and foreboding films that spring to mind. Films like House of Whipcord are what sum him up; but this film is nothing like Walker's earlier efforts, and is actually more of a comedy than a real horror film. The action is mainly focused inside the central manor house, and this actually does provide a decent place for the film to take place as Walker provides House of Long Shadows with a classic styled horror atmosphere. The three big name stars are the support cast really, but they do get more screen time than I thought they would; which is one of the film's few positives. None of them particularly stand out for delivering great performances, but merely seeing them is good enough for me on the acting front. Most of the movie just sort of drones on, and there isn't much at all added to the plot until the end. The ending is, quite frankly, about as bad as it gets. The film itself isn't that exciting anyway, and then Walker makes a mockery out of his audience with a stupid, clichéd finale. Overall, this film is worth tracking down for fans of classic as aside from the REALLY bad 'Scream and Scream Again', this is the only film to feature all three horror heavyweights; but unfortunately, it's not all that good.
When I think of Pete Walker, it is dark and foreboding films that spring to mind. Films like House of Whipcord are what sum him up; but this film is nothing like Walker's earlier efforts, and is actually more of a comedy than a real horror film. The action is mainly focused inside the central manor house, and this actually does provide a decent place for the film to take place as Walker provides House of Long Shadows with a classic styled horror atmosphere. The three big name stars are the support cast really, but they do get more screen time than I thought they would; which is one of the film's few positives. None of them particularly stand out for delivering great performances, but merely seeing them is good enough for me on the acting front. Most of the movie just sort of drones on, and there isn't much at all added to the plot until the end. The ending is, quite frankly, about as bad as it gets. The film itself isn't that exciting anyway, and then Walker makes a mockery out of his audience with a stupid, clichéd finale. Overall, this film is worth tracking down for fans of classic as aside from the REALLY bad 'Scream and Scream Again', this is the only film to feature all three horror heavyweights; but unfortunately, it's not all that good.