Something Creeping in the Dark

This rather obscure film is one of those giallo-like chillers with supernatural attitudes. This time, the threatened people are gathered in a house that seems to be haunted by a ghost.

It's a strange and fairly low-budget film that manages to keep one interested and thrilled thanks to some haunting atmosphere and creepy moments, yet it doesn't quite leave one gasping for breath. The only disappointing thing is that its finish comes too abruptly. Nevertheless surely worth to watch.

Well, I'm a massive fan of Italian horror; particularly Giallo and Gothic horror, so I was looking forward to this given that it's meant to be a sort of cross-over between the two. However, my hopes were dashed as Something is Creeping in the Dark is one boring and poorly made film! I spent an hour and a half watching this film, and yet I really have very little to say about it. The plot is wafer thin and simply focuses on the idea of a bunch of strangers being holed up in a spooky old house for the night. However, they're not the only ones there are some ghostly presence is there too! That's it really. The attempts to build up the characters and their relationships all fall flat, and all that is left to admire is the atmosphere; which isn't exactly anything to write home about as it's a carbon copy of the atmosphere in any number of similar films and director Mario Colucci fails to bring anything new to the table. The film was obviously made on a low budget and there certainly is worse films out there - but I seriously can see no reason to bother tracking this oddity down as there's many, many better films out there too!

Yeah, that also would have been a great title! Slightly too long, perhaps...

As customary for Italian horror movies from the era late-60s and early 70s, this one struggles with an identity crisis. There simply were too many profitable concepts back then, and writer/director Mario Colucci either can't decide what he wants OR hopes to cash in on all of them at once. As a result, his film is partially Gothic horror, but simultaneously has Giallo aspirations, and blends in occult & supernatural elements. Usually, these horror sub-genre stews end up being a complete mess, but in case of "Something is Creeping in the Dark" it all works out surprisingly well!

I loved this movie straight from the cool opening sequences, with various cars on a forsaken road that pass or cross each other and the screen that atmospherically freezes to display the names of cast and crew. Eventually there are eight eccentric characters who find themselves isolated in a storm and cut off from civilization because either the bridge collapsed, or the roads are flooded. It's rather weird, though, because there isn't a drop of rain or a whistle of wind noticeable. They seek refuge in a spooky old house with an even spookier caretaker, and only there they realize what an odd bunch of characters they are. There's a married couple that hate each other, a duo of policemen that just captured a fugitive murderer, a mysterious professor, and a surgeon with his geeky assistant. Oh yeah, the caretaker also hides a naked girl in his bedroom. The wife of the unhappy couple suggests an orgy - that's what you do when you're stranded with strangers, right - but they prefer to hold a séance to call out to the spirit of the deceased female house owner instead.

You won't ever hear me say the script of "Something is Creeping in the Dark" makes much sense, or that it's a compellingly realistic fright tale, but Mario Colluci does manage to keep it interesting, entertaining, and occasionally even suspenseful. The séance, for instance, is effectively sinister and our director also makes excellent use of the creepy mansion and its scenery. The walls of the room where most of the action takes place are full of clocks. When they are all ticking together, and the crowd is silent, it has a rather scary effect. When all the clocks collectively stop ticking for no apparent reason, it has an even scarier effect. The build-up towards the finale is also very well-handled, and even though the ending itself is ridiculously basic, it worked for me! Not a great or highly recommendable piece of Italian horror, but fun to watch.

Strom rages and there is flooding.A group of strangers is stranded in a creepy looking house in the middle of nowhere.Among them are homicidal maniac Spike played by Farley Granger,beautiful and heavily drinking wife Sylvia(stunning Lucia Bose)and her husband Donald,two police inspectors plus professor,doctor and his nerdy assistant.The house is owned by mysterious butler Joe.During the séance the spirit of former owner Sheila Marlowe is summoned and people begin to die possessed in the dark...Mario Colucci's "Something Creeping in the Dark" is an obscure Italian horror flick with several truly weird and eerie sequences.I loved all the clocks running in the house.The score by Francesco Lavagnino is superbly moody and there is plenty of violence but almost no nudity.The plot is disjointed and hard to follow,but if you are in the mood for some rare Italian chiller give Mario Colucci's slow-burner a look.7 séances out of 10.

Extreme weather forces a group of disparate people to gather in a house once owned by a dabbler in the occult. Needless to say, something evil begins to influence events after some of these uneasy guests conduct a misguided séance.

I hadn't even heard of Something Creeping in the Dark prior to a very kind fellow IMDb user sending me a copy. It's a pretty obscure Italian horror film from the period when the giallo was the number one sub-genre from that country. Surprisingly, this isn't really a giallo at all, despite often having the feel of one. Instead it is resolutely an example of a supernatural occult chiller. It builds up its setup quite well with a tense credit sequence with dramatic music and odd freeze-frames that announce the various cast and crew. Events soon end up at the aforementioned mansion but truthfully not a great deal is made of the premise and there is overall quite a limited supply of action or thrills on offer. It has some dreamlike sequences though and it overall has a decent enough atmosphere but you can't help but feel it could have been executed with a bit more vigour and it does pale a bit when compared to most other Italian horrors and thrillers from the early 70's. Nevertheless, it's not exactly a dud either and could maybe best be described as a fairly workmanlike chiller.