The House in Marsh Road

 

This is a 1960 British supernatural thriller, directed by Montgomery Tully. The stars includes Tony Wright, Patricia Dainton and Sandra Dorne. 

A woman named Jean Linton finds an unexpected gift from her deceased aunt, which is a house and some inheritance money. She's more than happy to live there but her lazy greedy husband has other ideas. The house itself is large and mostly run down and the lift doesn't work. It's haunted by a ghost of a certain former owner named Patrick, who makes spooky noises. While Jean is eager to remain, her life may be in danger. 

I found this a very enjoyable and entertaining film. The story was satisfying and also it didn't need too many characters as it felt amazing. Some films don't always need too many people. This film is based on the 1899 novel of the same name by Lawrence Maynell. I rate this a good atmospheric 7/10.

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Dragonwyck (1946)

"Dragonwyck" is a gothic thriller film made in 1946. It was directed by Joseph L Mankiewicz and the cast includes Vincent Price, Gene Tierney and Glenn Langan. 

Miranda Wells is a Connecticut girl raised on a farm who agrees to work in Dragonwyck with a distant relative. Dragonwyck is a stately house cut off by a river, and at first she's enjoying the dream life, living in luxury as a well paid governess to the daughter of Nicholas Van Ryn, the patroon lord of the manor. Things get dark when the wife of Nicholas dies suddenly and Miranda is led astray. 

This is based on the novel of the same name by Anya Seton. This is a very gothic themed film with spooky elements, while not described as a supernatural horror, there is a ghostly presence in Dragonwyck. Thunder makes it all the more spooky, within that big shady house. A certain scene was cut from the original, which they probably found was too creepy. It includes Miranda reading a book while sitting in a graveyard. The title is alternatively called "Weisser Oleander" in Germany but not to be confused with the 2002 film "White Oleander". 

I rate this gem 8/10 for atmosphere.

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The Revenge of Frankenstein

 

This is a colour 1958 horror film, directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews and Eunice Gayson.

After the execution of Baron Frankenstein, he fools everyone into thinking he was dead while working somewhere else under a different name. Things get complicated for his new life in the infirmary and quiet life in his laboratory. His assistant becomes the next subject after agreeing to have a brain transplant but things take a sinister turn. He is also keeping a monster similar to the one he made before.       

Some of the sets used in here was also appearing in the film "Horror of Dracula." The brain in the film is a real brain, which comes from a sheep although it resulted in a nasty smell. The film is classy and portrays Frankenstein as an anti-hero, but can't help feeling sorry for poor Karl. I rate this a modest 6/10

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The Two Faces of Dr.Jekyll

 

This is a 1960 horror film made by Hammer and was directed by Terence Fisher. The stars includes Christopher Lee, Paul Massie, Dawn Addams and a youthful Oliver Reed in a small role. 

A quiet introverted scientist named Dr Henry Jekyll ignores his wife and stays in solitude with his research. He made animals go berserk after giving them a new experimental drug that he created in his lab. He wanted to find the secret to the dark side of human nature but tested on himself. His alternative character Mr Hyde appeared, with a different personality than his own. Mr Hyde appears to be charming but he's up to no good. 

The brief scrap between Christopher Lee's character and Oliver Reed is my favourite. The film is loosely based on an 1886 story "A Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Lewis Stevenson. Dr Jekyll is middle aged and bearded, while Mr Hyde is younger, more handsome and clean shaven, a partygoer and womaniser. However, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are both played by the same actor, Paul Massie but he softened his voice when playing Mr Hyde to sound youthful. This film was chopped around because of the strict stuffy BBFC who hated nudity and horror. 

I give this charming madness a 8/10.

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