house of the long shadows

In the early days of Universal, the studio made a killing combining their catalog of monsters: Dracula, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster. They were all tossed in the ring like a cinematic cage match, satisfactorily vanquished and then resurrected again for another round. By 1983, most of the classic movie monsters had faded away. But the men who played them were still available.

Which explains the all-star cast of House of the Long Shadows, director Pete Walker’s final film, which gathers Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and John Carradine for an old-fashioned thriller set in a comfortably spooky old house where everyone has gathered for a family reunion. Only the guest list includes one family member who is out for bloody revenge!

After betting his publisher he can knock out a book in 24 hours, writer Kenneth Magee (Desi Arnaz Jr.) sets up shop in an isolated country estate. But his plans are interrupted by a series of unexpected guests - the elderly members of the Grisbane family - who have returned to release one of their own from a 40 year sentence of home imprisonment. But Roderick Grisbane has already escaped and now seems determined to make his family – and any uninvited guests – pay for their cruelty.

It’s not as if House of the Long Shadows was the first time horror icons of this caliber shared the screen. Hammer vets Cushing and Lee were paired up about a dozen times over the years. And even Vincent Price popped up frequently in their films during his lengthy stint in Britain with AIP. But Walker’s film actually gives them the sort of tribute they deserve, with each actor making an ominously impressive entrance and playing off each other’s reputations with great enthusiasm (“Don’t interrupt while I’m soliloquizing,” Price quips at one point).

The plot itself, which winds up resolving with one too many twists, isn’t exactly worthy their talents. But the affection underneath it all earns screenwriter Michael Armstrong a lot of leeway. Essentially a take-off on The Old Dark House (for which Walker tried – and failed – to obtain the rights), it takes a long time to set the stage, but once the murders gain momentum, the film is great fun. The only real fly in the ointment is Desi Arnaz Jr., whose limited acting skills only look worse when placed beside some of the best in the business.

House of the Long Shadows is a curious throwback in the career of Pete Walker, who’d been part of England’s new wave of horror in the ‘70s. But he’s on hand to describe his “hack for hire” role here as part of the Blu-ray extras, which include a sit down interview and audio commentary. While another commentary – with film historian David Del Valle – adds on some more behind-the-scenes facts about the film and producers Golan-Globus (who would soon form Cannon Films). Most importantly, the transfer for the feature itself is nothing short of miraculous! Newly remastered in HD, classic horror fans finally have a home video presentation that’s worthy of their respect.