Come into my parlor, said the spider to the...
1967-12-24
$0.1M
81 min
In a dilapidated rural mansion, the last generation of the degenerate, inbred Merrye family lives with the inherited curse of a disease that causes them to mentally regress from the age of 10 or so on as they physically develop. The family chauffeur looks out for them and covers up their indiscretions. Trouble comes when greedy distant relatives and their lawyer arrive to dispossess the family of its home.
A fun romp. This movie feels like it is wedged between old school horror, and more recent exploitation films. Stylistically, it feels 50s, yet subject matter is more 70s exploitation. I liked it, but I will watch a lot of garbage. Give it a try. Young Sid Haig as a bonus.
Picture a ramshackle house (like the one the "Waltons" lived in) and then imagine it populated by two sisters and a brother who progress ok until their early teens, then they start to regress - with varying degrees of maniacal behaviour. Is this dangerous? Well we need only ask poor old Mantan Moreland who never faced such dangers with "Charlie Chan" as he does in the opening scenes trying to deliver a letter to the house and... well... it's the last delivery he will ever make! Their only controlling influence is their chauffeur "Bruno" (Lon Chaney Jr.) but even he has his hands full when some grasping cousins - and their lawyer - decide to come visit and claim their inheritance. Given the state of the place, I'd have run a mile but they cling on and are soon beginning to regret their perseverance! It's fun, this. It makes no effort to assess or explain the mental illness that prevails amongst the offspring - aside from suggesting that it could be quite plausible for their mother, father and dog to all have been the same being! The acting itself is pretty average, the writing delivers little by way of subtlety or mystery and we are left with a series of slightly repetitive spoof-horror scenarios that wear thin after a while. It's not with humour - intended or otherwise - and it moves along quite well for 80 minutes but sadly not a film I think I'd ever bother to watch again.
