The Library’s movie streaming service Kanopy offers a nice uncut online version of the 1971 horror anthology film The House That Dripped Blood. If you’re looking for chills this Halloween, House is for you!
Here’s the trailer:
Investigating the disappearance of movie star Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee, AKA “The Third Doctor”), Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) locates the rented house the actor had rented while making his current film. The local real estate broker A. J. Stoker (John Bryans) thinks Henderson’s disappearance is linked to the weird and bizarre history surrounding the house. In flashbacks, Stoker tells us about what happened to the three previous owners of the house before telling Holloway what really happened to Henderson.
The stories that follow, adapted by screenwriter Robert Bloch (with an “assist” by co-producer Milton Subotsky & director Peter Duffell), are based on his own works. They include a mystery author (Denholm Elliot) haunted by the fictional serial killer he created, a retired businessman (Peter Cushing) strangely enthralled by a lurid wax museum exhibition, and another businessman (Christopher Lee), whose young daughter isn’t quite what she appears to be. Then we find out about Henderson, who while doing research for a horror film about vampires with co-star Carla Lind (Ingrid Pitt), came upon a strange cloak that had a peculiar life of its own. After hearing what really happened to Henderson, Holloway decides to take matters into his own hands, with devastating results…
Fun from start to finish, The House That Dripped Blood offers some nice, edge-of-your-seat thrills, sometimes (especially in the Henderson storyline) throwing in some unexpected humorous lines (“Bela Lugosi, not the other one“, is a highlight). The segments are good, with the Christopher Lee one being the film’s best. Definitely recommended.
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