House of Seven Belles

Andy Milligan's House of Seven Belles has some good qualities. It's shot on 35mm film, well lit, outstanding period costumes, good locations. What it lacks is a plot. It's a talky series of scenes, some good, some very slow. The lack of pacing could be attributed to it still being a rough cut, although compared to Milligan's earlier works, it ain't so rough. The problem with the film is marketing. What would Andy have done with it? It's not horrific enough to be a horror film. Barely anything happens in 92 minutes. There are a few gore effects, but not enough to sustain interest. It's hard to even picture it as the third feature on a triple bill at the drive-in.

I suspect it's mainly down to the appalling acting skills of many of the cast, who seem to think that shouting (and in one case, screeching) nearly every line of dialogue is a good substitute for emotion?

However, there are quieter moments when some semblance of nuance shines through, and the sets and lighting can be quite good at times, and there's a relatively interesting story lurking under it all.

It's hard to critique something that was never finished but, given much of the footage here, one suspects that a late injection of cash would have been used just to complete the story, rather than returning to start again on some of the worst bits.

Not recommended, really.

Who paid for these films of his? That's what you should ask yourself. Milkin was a horrible filmmaker by any standards but is trucked out by a group that wants him to be a dieity.

He sucks.

This movie in particular is a head scratcher. Who would want to go to a movie theatre to see it? And who was dumb enough to pay for this garbage? And who is even dumber to rescue the print and try to market it?

Milkin had no busines making movies. The movie is horrible. Poorly directed and written with acting that is middle school level.

Plus the subject matter is not sellable. Why we should care that it was never finished is beyond me. We should wonder how it ever got made.