HOUSE OF TERRORS (1965)
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 80 Minutes
Audio: Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: B&W 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Hajime Satô
Cast: Kô Nishimura, Yûko Kusunoki, Shinjirô Ebara, Masumi Harukawa, Yoko Hayama, Kazuo Katô, Takeshi Katô, Kazuo Kitamura, Yukiko Kuwahara, Mitsue Suzuki, Keiko Yumi
House of Terror (1965) is a Japanese Gothic haunter directed by Hajime Satô (Terror Beneath the Sea), a monochrome chiller wherein a recently widowed woman Yoshie (Yûko Kusunoki) discovers that her late husband had recently purchased a remote Gothic mansion in the countryside. She and a group of family and friends travel to the villa where they are greeted by not only a unsettling demonic statue in the center of the foyer but also the creepy hunchbacked caretaker (Kô Nishimura, Unholy Desire) who spins wild tales about the mansion's sordid past.
Soon after their arrival the guests begin to hear strange noises and feel a presence haunting the mansion. Another surprise is the arrival of Yoshie's late husband's mistress who looking to collect on a sum of money promised to her by her late lover. As the gathering continue to bare witness to the uncanny happening around the creepy dark house things begin to spiral out of control as an evil spirit begins to take possession during a wild séance scene that feels ahead of it's time.
This is a very striking and atmospheric tale that sets itself apart from other Japanese ghost stories of this era by tapping into the Gothic trappings of more Europeans and U.S. films like Mario Bava's Black Sunday (1960), Antonio Margheriti's Castle of Blood (1964), Robert Wise's The Haunting (1963), and the Roger Corman produced Poe tales. The cast is uniformly terrific and the moody cinematography really captures the melancholy and terror of it all, with some great fog-drenched atmosphere with plenty of cobwebs and candelabras, and potent and pretty sadistic violence for the period, including an impactful fiery supernatural finale that leaves an impression. This spooky tale comes highly recommended to fans of old dark house haunters in the Gothic tradition, even more so as it's long been unavailable in it's original form and is only now getting a proper release courtesy of Mondo Macabro.
Audio/Video: House of Terrors (1965) makes it's U.S. premier and worldwide Blu-ray debut from Mondo Macabro in 1080p HD framed in 2.35:1 widescreen, advertised as being sourced from a new 2K restoration from the original negative. The source is in great shape, with only some white speckling marring it. Contrast and grayscale looks solid, and the black levels are decent throughout, though the whites seem slightly muted, but the grain levels look natural with some nice detail in the close-ups and faces and clothing textures. Audio comes by way of original Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono with newly translated optional English subtitles. Dialogue is well-balanced and the moody score from Shunsuke Kikuchi (Sister Street Fighter) sounds quite nice, it's range is a bit limited but I expected that from a film of this vintage.
We get a handful of extras featuring Patrick Macais author of Tokyoscope, these include a pair of featurettes; the 4-min Silent Waves and the 4-min Hunchback Pit or House, plus an Audio Commentary. The director talks about the American and Italian Gothic influences of the film, how hard it was to see this film in it's original state for many years aside from a poorly dubbed bootleg, and noting the architecture associated with Gothic films. We also get the 4-min Italian Theatrical Trailer, 1-min of the Italian Opening Credits, plus a wild 13-min Mondo Macabro Trailer Reel. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a sleeve of artwork featuring a new illustration by artist Justin Coffee.
Special Features:
- Brand new 2k restoration from the original negative
- NEW! Silent Waves - Patrick Macais on Toei Horror, author of Tokyoscope (4 min)
- NEW! Hunchback Pit or House - Patrick Macais on House of Terrors (4 min)
- NEW! Audio Commentary by film scholar Tom Mes
- Italian Theatrical Trailer (4 min)
- Italian Opening Credits (1 min)
- Mondo Macabro Trailer Reel (13 min)
Screenshots from the Mondo Macabro Blu-ray:
Extras:
