The Devil in Priest's clothing!
1976-02-03
N/A
104 min
Also known as 'The Confessional', another of Pete Walkers's critiques of institutional hypocrisy, in which a troubled young girl goes to confession at the local church. Unfortunately, the sexually frustrated priest she confesses to becomes obsessed with her. At first, the priest stalks the girl, but later it is revealed that he will stop at nothing, including blackmail and murder, just to get close to her.
What happens if the respected minister turns out to be… a psycho?
In the greater London area, a young woman (Susan Penhaligon) is disturbed by the unethical practices of a Catholic priest (Anthony Sharp). Stephanie Beacham plays her older sister and Norman Eshley a mutual friend, a young minister.
“House of Mortal Sin” (1976) is a drama/crime thriller with some horror that mixes bits from "Psycho," “Rachel, Rachel,” "Rosemary's Baby" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," just with a British milieu. As good as those films are, this one’s pretty much on par in its own unique way, which is surprising for such an obscure flick.
Susan is a delight as the winsome protagonist while Stephanie is still attractive at 29 during shooting. Elsewhere on the feminine front, Sheila Keith de-shines as a creepy woman at the rectory.
The message is interesting: Authority figures, and especially respected ones, can more easily get away with audacious crimes simply because of their honored position wherein people naturally assume the best of 'em. It's similar to Nurse Ratched in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
The movie runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot southwest of London in Wayneflete Tower, Esher, and The Green, Richmond, with exterior shots of the church further southwest in Pangbourne Hill, Pangbourne.
GRADE: B+/A-
