"House of Shadows" is one of those 70s horror movies that has been standing on my must-see list since forever, but I forgot why exactly. Perhaps simply because it has a cool cover image. Or because I went through an Yvonne De Carlo adoration phase after seeing "The Munsters". Or maybe because I've always been a big admirer of obscure murder-mystery stories with a supernatural twist! For all three potential reasons, I was happy as a child when I coincidentally stumbled upon an old VHS-copy (a Greek release, moreover) of this film, because I don't think there are many other ways to see it. (*)
As long as you don't expect a mind-blowingly spectacular, visually perplexing, and intellectually scripted thriller, "House of Shadows" delivers neat entertainment. It has all the elements a good old-fashioned mystery thriller should have, including a grim 1930s setting, ancient and eerie mansions, a wide variety of suspicious characters, and lots of thunder-and-lighting spook effects. The plot is simple but effective as well. Orphan girl Audrey Christiansen is walking the dog of her employer Mrs. Howard during a stormy evening, when the irritating little poodle escapes and runs into a seemingly abandoned house. Once inside, Audrey witnesses the stone-cold murder of a beautiful woman that looks just like her. When the police are called to the scene, it turns out the murder that Audrey describes really did happen, ... only it happened 23 years ago already, and was never resolved. From then onwards, Audrey is spiritually linked to the murder victim, and she pursues to bring the truth to the surface. The murderer must also feel threatened, because pretty soon bodies are piling up again.
The film suffers from a slow and dragging middle-section, and too often I had difficulties keeping the various characters apart. The third act makes up for everything, though, with a couple of nasty murders and a vicious (albeit predictable) finale.
(*) "House of Shadows" can also be found on YouTube, but be warned that version is heavily cut. A gruesome ax-murder sequence as well as a sequence featuring a grisly car accident are entirely missing.
