Hollywood Horror House(DVD) — Hollywood Horror House(DVD)
This release comes from Full Moon Pictures, and it really is a fairly bare bones, un-remastered reissue of the film. The quality of the print is very low-grade- I guess on par with the reissues from companies like Mill Creek(when they put out their 20 plus horror movie box sets)- so it really looks like a bad VHS copy. Extra wise you only get one, and that’s a few minute intro from film historian David Del Valle, discussing mainly the films main female lead Miriam Hopkins- an aging Hollywood star, who back in the 1936 was the first women to receive an academy award for best supporting actor.
The film was released in 1971, and was directed/written by Donald Wolfe; whose only other big credit was working as dialogue editor of 1978’s Big Wednesday- one of the more known/ respected surfer films. The films plot tells of Katharine Packard(Miriam Hopkins) a aging actress who was big in the 1930’s. She is an alcoholic & lives in rundown mansion in Hollywood, with her sectary( played by fellow aging starlet Gale Sondergaard), and servants. She falls & breaks her leg, then advertisers for a personal assistant to help her- a strange drifter takes the job, and he turns out to be a whole host of trouble.
The film opens up in a most moodily effective manner with close-up footage of the decaying, rusting & rotting Hollywood sign been battered by the wind & elements. After the credit titles have run, we hear a news report about a killer preying on older women in the Hollywood area, and a quick flash shot of a pare of severed human hands, and a severed head of a elderly women- it’s a great opening few minutes, which really suck you into the film, and while the rest of the film doesn’t quite stand up to the start, there are some effective moments along the way. For example you get some great interactions between Hopkins & Sondergaard, the look of the house is effective. You also get a nice feeling of decline in both the two women, their surroundings, and a few shots of Hollywood Boulevard in the 70’s. You also there's some quite bloody( though not very often) killings which take in hackings, stabbings, sawings- these have a very Herschell Gordon Lewis feel to them. Lastly we have the occasional killer flash-back, which takes us into deranged psychedelic territory featuring weird chequer patterned corridors, eye popping colours, & close up /distorted faces.
The film does feel a touch overlong at 100 minutes, with a few scenes feeling a little unneeded. But as a early 70’s curio, it’s effective enough, with the fairly small cast & great setting working to the films advantage. The film was Wolfe's only director’s credit, and for the most part he captured the setting & mood of what we have here fairly well. It’s also his one & only writing credit too, and as scripts go it’s ok, though fair from original- but hell this is early 70’s horror exploration.
I’ve always had a sort-spot for Old Hag Horror films like What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, and Hollywood Horror House will certainly be enjoyed by those who enjoyed this & similar films. But of course added to this you get the added twist of the gore & psychedelic elements too, which adds another edge to proceeds. So all in all it’s worth picking up this 70’s horror oddity, just don’t expect many extras or a great re-mastering, and you won’t be disappointed.