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Perhaps the only, at least to my knowledge, haunted-house movie that also qualifies as a pure-blooded Blaxploitation effort, "The House on Skull Mountain" is an overall worthwhile film but unfortunately not the undiscovered gem I hoped it would be. I was mainly attracted by the luscious title and the accompanied DVD-cover illustration; but luckily enough the film is also reasonably well-scripted – albeit derivative of "The House on Haunted Hill" obviously - and entertaining. It's a tale of voodoo, greed and things that go bump in the night. On her deathbed at the house on Skull Mountain (there actually is a skull-shaped rock in the mountain, which is totally awesome!) an elderly black lady, who looks like a guy and talks like a child, orders to send out four letters to four distant relatives. They all travel up to the house, expecting to inherit a fortune, but in fact get a whole lot more than they bargained for. They each become subjected to eerie voodoo rites and spells inflicted by the bald servant of the dead lady. "The House on Skull Mountain" is stylish and professionally made. It's slow-paced and the low number of death sequences are not very bloody or spectacular, but director Ron Honthaner provides a fair share of frissons and unsettling atmosphere. The filming locations are sublime and the titular house is fantastic. The house and the astonishing lead actress Janee Michelle are definitely the main trumps of the film. The climax sequences are rather dull and clichéd, with a voodoo ceremony that seems to go on forever. Youthful gorehounds beware, but fans of 70's horror and peculiar Blaxploitation will definitely enjoy "The House on Skull Mountain"

This movie seems to be in a time warp. At times, the plot seems to copy the gathering-of-the-relatives/read-the-will plot which was old even by the 1930s. At other times, it tries to blend in voodoo and blaxploitation themes and even hints at an inter-racial romance. None of these elements really works out and the film comes off as being a hodgepodge. Mike Evans (Lionel on the Jeffersons) only has a small part and a not very good one at that. The film also has a made-for-TV look about it due to the fact that there are really only about 10 or so people in the cast and not much in the way of special effects. The title itself is inappropriate. It sounds like a Hardy Boys Mystery. The servant dabbling in voodoo was kind of creepy though.

I enjoyed this maybe BECAUSE it is so lame. Victor French as Dr. Andrew Cunnigham and Janee Michelle as Lorena Christophe were actually pretty good in their roles. They seem like they are good at their craft, in spite of the silliness of the movie and it's implausible premise. The other folks in the movie had a lot to overcome with the trite lines they were given. At the beginning of the film there is a scene where two of the "heirs" are on a winding mountain road in separate cars on their way to the house (you know---the one on SKULL HILL!). The info about the movie says the house is located in mountains on the outskirts of Atlanta, GA. Right. It was obviously filmed on the Pacific Coast, which is even more "un-voodoo-like" than Atlanta. The terrain, trees and vegetation made the Atlanta location totally unbelievable. And the music! Over-dramatic and hysterical. It's a good movie to watch on a night when your boyfriend is out of town. You can watch it alone and still turn out the lights without being creeped out. I get tired of all the gore in movies today, so this movie at least seems kind of like less of an assault to the senses and kind of harmless. But it still leaves me wondering... How can a movie be so BAD and yet still kind of charming in its own way?

In my reassessment process of my first movies watched at my tender age, the large majority had an upgrade of the ratings, in other hand just a few have a downgrading, The House of Skull Mountain is one of them, officially it never come out in Brazil, thus just leaves me call on the last expectancy the Youtube's files, I've found a fine print in English language without subtitles and I went ahead anyway.

The story is about an elderly black woman Pauline Christoph (Mary J. Todd Mackenzie) about to die from Haiti when her descendent was the first King Henry Christoph of Haiti after spelled the French there, a sort of hero who defeated the slavery on French colony, due it Pauline demands to the Priest (Don Devendorf) four letters to their Americans Christoph's bloodline, they appeared too late when Pauline already died, actually no one of them never heard about their progeny coming from Haitian Pauline Christoph, the first one the young gorgeous Lorena Christoph (Janee Michelle), the comes a young male Phillip Willete (Mike Evans) a sort of philandering playboy often spoken in black jargon.

The third mature women Harriet Johnson (Xernoma Clayton) a humble housekeeper and the last one is an Anthropology Professor Dr. Andrew Cunnigham (Victor French) oddly enough a white man even having Christoph's ancestry, gathered all them in a gloomy mansion at high mountain looks like a skull each one has been killed without any reason by Voodoo's cult on the mansion's underground, Phillip fallen down at elevator pit and Harriet is bitten by a poisoned snake at Pauline's room, just remains Lorena and Dr. Andrew alive, in house has a couple of old servants which lie all suspicious about those unusual murders, the bleak Thomas (Jean Durant) and his jealous wife Louette (Ella Woods) although Thomas intents keep with the eye-candy Lorena for yourself.

A kind of Blaxploitation blending with Horror strongly based on Voodoo's cult from African roots, where numerous Haitians used to do at there, bringing to America's south-east and south as well during the slavery time, the movie takes place at nearby Atlanta, Giorgia.

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First watch: 1981 / How many: 2 / Source: TV-Youtube / Rating: 5.

This is curiously obscure for a film distributed by 20th Century Fox. That obscurity is in no way a reflection on its quality, however; if anything, the worst I can say is that there are times when the title betrays production values more closely recalling genre flicks of the 60s. More hard-nosed viewers may find facets like the effects, the painted background showing Skull Mountain, or regular visualization of a skull motif to be outdated and kitschy; I, for one, am delighted by the throwback, reminding of like-minded fare from Roger Corman or AIP. More concretely, while much of the dialogue and scene writing is playful or even ham-handed in keeping with the overall tone of the picture, there are some instances that are weirdly clunky and contrived. Yet while 'The house on Skull Mountain' is filled with some odd touches, by and large it's well made and entertaining. It's hardly any peak of horror, but for those who appreciate all the different flavors that the genre has to offer, this is a good time on its own merits. For my part, I rather like it!

The less than entirely serious tone of the movie is borne out in most regards, from Ron Honthaner's direction and Monroe Askins' cinematography, to some instances of Jerrold Immel's score and definitely the acting. This is hardly to say, however, that this isn't marked by discernible skill and intelligence all around. The cast are enjoying themselves, but plainly just embracing the spirit of the affair; some of Immel's themes very ably lend some real atmosphere to the proceedings. Askins' work is just as solid as that of any of his contemporaries, and if there's any criticism to be made of Honthaner I think it's only that the feature struggles at times with fluctuating tone. I suppose the latter point also extends to Mildred Pares' script, not least with that ill-fitting scene a bit over halfway through when Lorena and Andrew take a daytrip - yet much more than not the writing presents classic, worthwhile material as relatives gather following a death in the family and strange goings-on amass. Add voodoo for flavor, and we have all the ingredients for an eerie lark.

The small cast of characters on hand reinforces the notion, troubling the back of our minds while watching, that plot development is a smidgen forced, and that the story as a whole may be lighter and more abbreviated than it could or should have been. Still, the scene writing is pretty fun as the tale advances, and it certainly comes across that all involved were having a blast making this. Even at their most chintzy I can't say that the characters and dialogue aren't a minor joy. The filming locations are beautiful, and the sets and art direction at large are genuinely terrific, as are props, practical effects, and stunts. Yes, this is the type of horror that's built for amusement over actual evocation of strong feelings, yet it still carries enough of a sinister edge to it - in the greater spectacle of the last act above all - to provide a measure of the earnest genre vibes for which we seek out such films in the first place. The end result may not be perfect, nor perfectly satisfying, but when all is said and done 'The house on Skull Mountain' bears much more strength than not.

I had mixed to low expectations when I sat to watch, and I recognize that this is not exactly held in the highest of esteem. As far as that goes, I can understand how this won't meet with equal favor for all comers, because it does have some faults and weak points, and it's not the most robust and invigorating among its kin. Not every movie needs to be a revelation, however, and this one just wanted to have a good time with the more nefarious side of cinema. I repeat that as far as I'm concerned 'The house on Skull Mountain' is entertaining, with a sufficiently solid foundation to at least partly sate our cravings for horror. It's nothing one needs to go out of their way to see, but if you do have the opportunity to watch and are looking for something comparatively light, I'm pleased to give this my recommendation.

The house on skull mountain certainly is weird..... It's definitely without a doubt a very poorly made movie. The acting is terrible, it's not scary AT ALL, and the script is crap. The plot is muddled and jumbled, doesn't make much sense. This movie also suffers from being just flat out boring, it just won't hold an audiences attention at all, the construction is just too low quality and poor to entertain any member of any audience. The effects are very dated and cheesy as well. The acting is literally like straight out of a porn film, I mean they don't even try here. The director must have just been looking for a quick buck, because he couldn't have cared much about this lazy flop, it would've shown If he did. This movie just isn't worth anything in the cinematic realm..... I mean not a thing. 1/10.

Called away to a remote house, a woman and her ancestors gathered together for a will reading find that a powerful voodoo spell has been enacted which begins to kill them off and forces the remaining family members to put a stop to its ancestor's plans.

This here was quite the enjoyable Blaxploitation offering. One of the more enjoyable elements featured here is the fact that the Blaxploitation angle makes for an incredibly fun and enjoyable introduction to the voodoo at play. That's a big part of this one, coming off almost immediately with the opening shots of the tribal ceremony featuring all the dancers in the middle of their ritual while they prepare all the different trinkets and artifacts that start this one off on a great note. The later scenes throughout the house where we get the flashes of the ghostly ancestor raised and warding off the remaining parts of the family offer up some really thrilling moments here as the frequency and unexpectedness of them work and given the inserts showing the the practitioner engaging the ceremonial practices in his room where he has the paraphernalia laid out as he sets about his rituals which offer some fun, cheesy thrills here. It manages to really explore the idea of voodooism quite nicely in really letting the supernatural take-over here, from the need for keeping the objects of power and control around to the matter of the controlled bodies engaging in dangerous activities through the voodoo spell and it really gives this one the kind of building blocks to get a lot of great atmosphere during here which carries over nicely into the finale which features some fantastic voodoo-based action here. Going from the discovery of the ceremonial chamber beneath the house where the dancers are in the middle of their rituals with the entire room lit up using black candles before the fine brawl and leading up into the atmospheric confrontation in the finale, it's got so much to like here. There wasn't much of anything wrong with this one. The main issue here is the fact that the main backstory is given a really large portion of the film which is a little weird to have. The fact that it consists of a long portion of the film is what really hurts it, since it would've been far easier had this done the simple thing and just clumped them all together in one segment without having to jump around with having so many parts in different places as it wasn't that hard to figure out anyway and didn't need the trickery into thinking it was harder to figure out than it really was. The last part here is the scene near the end where they go out on the town. Since it's so close to the end, everything has been figured out and the horror should begin to grow in intensity, as it's after the voodoo ceremony scene, yet this one doesn't do that and it's really hard to understand why it's even there in the first place, serving no purpose for the story and coming across as filler. Beyond these two problems, it's not that bad.

Today's Rating/PG-13: Violence and Language.

This is a movie that I had never heard of until Duncan selected this for Movie Club Challenge over on the Podcast Under the Stairs. All I knew coming in was that it had a pretty interesting title, was blaxploitation and had to do with voodoo. The synopsis here is murders occur at the southern estate of a voodoo priestess when four relatives gather to hear her will.

We start this movie off Pauline Christophe (Mary J. Todd McKenzie). The priest (Don Devendorf) is giving her last rites. She asks Thomas Pettione (Jean Durand) to bring her letter box and wants the priest to mail off the letters inside. We also see that she is into voodoo once he leaves.

This brings together a group of cousins to this house that is located on a mountain with a skull face on the side. Lorena Christophe (Janee Michelle) has to deal with her jerk of a cousin, Phillippe Wilette (Mike Evans) as he almost runs her off the road. It is high up on a cliff and he is spooked by a skull that he sees that causes him to pull off. They both arrive as the funeral for Pauline is coming to an end. We get an odd scene where a raven drops what we will learn later is a voodoo item on the casket. It starts a fire causing Louette (Ella Woods) to panic and want the casket covered by dirt immediately.

Thomas greets the two cousins, where we get an odd scene where Phillippe is hitting on Lorena. They're shown to their rooms and informed they have to wait for the others before the will can be read.

The next is Harriet Johnson (Xernona Clayton). She's on a plane and gets a fright when she sees a hooded figure a few rows up look at her. She screams and draws the attention of everyone. She comes to the house on the mountain. We learn throughout these introductions that despite being cousins, they've never met. Through Thomas they learn that Pauline was a descendant of King Henry of Haiti. He led the revolution against the French. He was also involved with voodoo, much like Pauline.

This trio briefly meets Mr. Ledoux (Leroy Johnson), the attorney that will read the will. He tells them that he cannot until Dr. Andrew Cunningham arrives. This annoys Phillippe who is a jerk, where the other two want to get back to their lives, but understand. Andrew does show up that night, but to their shock, he is white. Andrew (Victor French) greets his cousins and gives a bit of his back-story. He's a doctor of anthropology and teaches in college. Phillippe doesn't trust him for the color of his skin.

Things take a turn though when we see that someone is doing voodoo rituals. There are skulls throughout the house. There was a warning from the letter read to them that they do have enemies who are now aware of them. The first victim is Phillippe, but none of them are safe. Who is behind this and can they stop it before it is too late?

This movie explores some interesting things for me. The first is that it is combining the older 'Old Dark House' film with voodoo. That works for me since this is a blaxploitation take. Voodoo is culturally a Caribbean thing so if you're going to make this sub-genre into something that is your own, then combing these two is a way to do it. It is something that worked for me.

What I also enjoy here is that this is another more serious take from blaxploitation. I don't recall what Lorena's job was, but she seems pretty successful. Phillippe is in the same vein, but I'll delve more into him shortly. Pauline is descended from royalty and is the most powerful voodoo priestess in the area. She has a butler and maid with Thomas and Louette. The more we learn about Thomas he falls into this. Then finally we have Mr. Ledoux who is an attorney. There is also a black doctor as well.

Something that shocked me was to have the fourth cousin here be Andrew. He is a doctor and the movie is saying that he is a descendant. It feels like they went with the actor French as he had a career already so it could be a name draw. It would make more sense to me to have a black actor who was a bit more lighter skinned for this role in my opinion. I still like French in this movie, but it is a bit of a misstep for me.

Regardless though, I do like the voodoo aspects to this movie. The house is a great setting and even more that there are secret rooms. I think this helps to build the tension. It also works that Andrew is a doctor of anthropology. He was drawn to learning about voodoo for some reason, which we learn is heritage and probably in his DNA. It is even more fitting who the reveal is to be behind things and the reason they are being done.

Since I've already went into this a bit, I'll go into the acting. I've already said my piece with French. I don't necessarily think he fit for what they needed, but his performance was good. I liked Michelle as the damsel in distress that is one of our leads. Durand was good. Evans is interesting as he's a jerk. I like that he embodies that 'jive' type of person, but he's not a good person. I don't necessarily think he deserves what he got. Clayton, Woods, McKenzie and the rest of the cast were fine for what was needed.

Taking this next to the effects of the movie, which we don't get a lot and what we get are cheesy. I'll take it though. It is the 1970s so there is a bit of charm there. The house is either a miniature or it is a matte painting. My problem is that they don't do a great job of showing it where it is dark and gloomy, but the characters are seeing it is bathed in sunlight. This is also taking place in Georgia so it is sunnier and warmer. This doesn't ruin anything, but I noticed. Aside from that, I like what they do with the voodoo. We keep seeing this creepy hooded figure; there are snakes and other things that are associated with voodoo. The house is a great setting on top of this as well.

The last thing I'll delve into was the soundtrack. For the most part it didn't really stand out, but I like the drums for the voodoo rituals. At first I was confused about this and where they were coming from. By the end the movie does explain this so I'm on board there. I do think that the voodoo bit we get at the climax runs a bit long and starts to feel like filler, but not enough to ruin it.

So now with that said, this movie explores some interesting things while also being a bit cheesy. I really like combining the 'Old Dark House' sub-genre, but making it blaxploitation with voodoo. I thought that the acting is good across the board. The effects we get are solid, but I do have some slight issues with things here and there. It is mostly seeing the house on the mountain from afar. There is also an issue with the casting for me, but not enough to ruin this. Aside from that, this is adding a bit of the whimsical of this sub-genre, while still giving us a movie that is solid. I would rate this as above average overall and worth a viewing if what I said ticks any of your boxes.

Although I thought that "The House on Skull Mountain" was overall a fairly neat movie, I wish that it had featured more action. And people need to realize that voodoo is more than just people sticking pins in dolls; voodoo is a religion. Of course, there can never be too many movies about haunted houses.

The plot is that an elderly African-American woman dies and a couple of people are invited to her house near Atlanta. Sure enough, there are bad things going on in this house. I thought that Phillippe was sort of a cliché (alcoholic wise guy), but he was the neatest character in the movie! Anyway, there's nothing special about this movie.

During the blaxploitation boom of the early '70s, there was brief revival of the voodoo fad that originated in the '30s and continued into the'40s (titles including White Zombie, Revolt of the Zombies, King of the Zombies, I Walked With a Zombie, and Voodoo Man). 70s voodoo themed flicks included Scream Blacula Scream, Sugar Hill, Live and Let Die and The House on Skull Mountain, the latter using the hoary old plot device of a family gathered for the reading of a will to deliver plenty of voodoo hokum. Damballah, gris-gris, macumba, wanga, Erzulie and bongo drums: it's all there, along with flares, sideburns, afros and jive talk. Unfortunately, the result isn't that much fun, the predictable script and unimaginative direction making much of the film as lifeless as a zombi.

Victor French plays Dr. Andrew Cunningham adopted son of Pauline Christophe (Mary J. Todd McKenzie), who summons her relatives to her home on Skull Mountain (so-called because of a rock formation that looks like a skull). Arriving shortly after Pauline croaks, the last decendants of the Christophe family wait for the reading of the will but begin to die one by one in mysterious ways. Finding strange amulets by each body, Dr. Cunningham, an expert in anthropology, suspects that voodoo is involved and investigates, ultimately doing battle with voodoo priest Thomas Pettione (Jean Durand), who summons Pauline from the dead to do his bidding.

With an unconvincing miniature model of the titular house and mountain (used in a really bad matte shot), two boring death scenes with no gore, a pointless montage (Andrew and Lorena on a day out in Atlanta), a voodoo ritual with lots of bongo drumming and gyrating of bodies that goes on for way too long, a duel with machetes (sounds good but isn't), and a finale that features the least formidable zombi imaginable -- a reanimated frail old woman -- The House On Skull Mountain is unremarkable horror mumbo-jumbo cashing in on a short-lived craze that will no doubt hold some appeal for fans of bad horror B-movies, but which most sane people would be advised to avoid.

I recently viewed The House on Skull Mountain (1974) on a random streaming service. The plot revolves around a southern voodoo lady's death, prompting her family to gather for the will, only to realize their lives may be in jeopardy.

Directed by Ron Honthaner in his sole directorial venture, the film features Victor French (Highway to Heaven), Mike Evans (The Jeffersons), Lloyd Nelson (The Dead Pool), and Denis LeHane (The Town that Dreaded Sundown).

While the film explores unique family dynamics and presents some suspenseful and unpredictable situations, it falls short overall. The made-for-television vibe is pervasive, and despite entertaining voodoo scenes, the absence of compelling kill scenes, gore, or blood splatter is noticeable. The background music is reminiscent of classic '70s horror and complements the atmospheric elements with storms, thunder, and rain. The surprising conclusion adds some value.

In summary, The House on Skull Mountain is an uneven and below-average entry to the horror genre. I would rate this a 4/10 and suggest skipping it.

The House on Skull Mountain? Sounds like some 60's Hardy-Boy adventure to me. I have to say I caught glimpses of this film a couple weeks ago and it was very strange. Your typical 70's horror flick. I mean it wasn't that bad and Victor French does a good job, but it seemed like it was lacking a few things. Maybe I will have to watch it again some time. All I know is films like the infamous "ALIEN" ('79) changed the view of horror movies for ever and that may or may not be a good thing. Too many imitations these days. Take a look at this movie some time.