Saint Euphoria Pictures produces homages to the old style horror films of the 1950’s with “House of Ghosts” pays particular attention to William Castle. There was a decent bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, but it was done in fondness of the b-movie genre not as a form of ridicule. They shot in black and white with a classic style of special effects staying as true to the original format as possible. Over-acting, cheesy lines, and an abundance of swelling music sweeps the viewer along as the story unfolds.

I was not expecting to enjoy the movie as much as I did. I enjoy the old b-movies and have many chuckles as quips are thrown back at the screen, but I can’t really call myself a true fan. I can’t name off every actor, director, or producer of that genre. I am also unable to truly wax poetic about the many hundreds of films from that era. Yet this movie was engaging enough that even a mediocre fan could be enraptured.

The writing and acting in House of Ghosts was excellent, it could be quite dramatic at times but that was the style of that they sought to emulate. The suspense was built up gradually and slowly making the movie actually frightening. House of Ghosts will have a high replay value unlike many of the other films being produced that rely on the latest gadgets, big names, and media hype. I had fun watching it the first time and I had fun watching it the second time, I can’t say this of most other movies.

I was afraid I would laugh, I figured I would mock (in a friendly MST3K manner) an amateur attempt at a movie, and I believed I would find few redeeming qualities. I have been burned rather badly by other low budget independent movies. Yet I was amazed at the quality I found. There have been few independent movies that floored me, and this was one of them. The producer, writer, director of this piece could go on to bigger projects and perhaps he should. We need quality films like this again, not the tired tripe one normally finds in the theater.

Review by Sean “Nix” Mc Conkey

Tags | horror-movies