Review of House of the Long Shadows

An American writer accepts a bet from his London publisher to write a book in 24 hours whilst staying at a secluded Welsh manor house all by himself. Only he isn't alone, there is an old man and his daughter (John Carradine and Sheila Keith) who claim to be housekeepers, then a succession of people turn up. For lovers of classic horror this has a dream cast - genre legends Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and John Carradine in the same movie together. Yet for me it was Pete Walker regular Sheila Keith who gives the standout performance. I also found it a bit silly that Carradine plays (spoiler alert) the father of Cushing and Price, both of whom were only a few years younger than John. The house is impressive and the constant Welsh rain adds atmosphere, the movie does throw in a few gruesome moments too. This is billed as a horror comedy, it does get quite creepy at times but I found the comedy weak, maybe the makers were trying to jump on the American Werewolf bandwagon but that movie is far superior. One of my favourite lines is "..he is only one man, even if he hasn't cut his fingernails for forty years!" Sheila Keith and her hot punch was the for me delightful. There is a big twist at the end, a similar one was used by April Fools Day (1986), but it is disappointing. As a Pete Walker movie it pales in comparison to some of his other titles. In my defence I watched this on VHS, it would obviously look much better on disc.