Bell from Hell

This fascinating and completely off-the-wall horror/art film is full of memorable imagery and surprising shocks. It's about a man who is released from a mental hospital into the care of his aunt and her daughters. They want to drive him mad again to inherit his vast estate, but he turns the tables on them in a series of surreal and sometimes disturbing "tricks". One of the best scenes takes place in a dungeon. The film is original and you never know where it's going. Worth seeking out.

For much of the time this is a most effective and perverse little horror but there are wayward moments and I am not convinced by the ending. However we have to remember that the poor director died after a fall from the infamous bell tower on the last day of shooting so probably didn't have too much input himself after that! As with much European shock/horror of this period the plot is a little lacking but this one has a most unusual look and feel constantly surprising us as we witness the past and present of a lad who may have been forced into madness by his mother's sister so she could keep the inheritance for herself and her three daughters. Well, all four of them are treated to some tasty revenge before the final denouement and if it doesn't all make complete sense it is a good ride with more than the odd reference to youth disaffection of the time and the lingering effects of Franco who was to live one more year.

I saw this movie when I was about 10 years old on an episode of Shock Theater that aired in Georgia. That would have been in the late 70's. I was at an all-girl slumber party, and the last one awake when it came on TV. Talk about a creepy mix of midnight horror at the age of pre-teen sexual awakening. This movie has stuck with me all these years, and has to be one of the more oddly erotic horror movies that I've encountered. I remember John's bedroom being painted red and having a very erotic, yet unhinged feel to it. And the parts with the girls tied up; I was mesmerized. Maybe it just touched the deranged part of myself. ;o)

Back before cable killed late night television horror on local broadcast channels (its all infomercials now), this movie ran a few times on a Southern-California station. It has been some time since I've seen it, but this is the kind of movie that sticks with you: it has incest, mystery, a bee swarm, twisted family revenge, good-looking actors and cool cinematography in an intriguing mix of religious imagery, repressed sexuality and seventies rock'n'roll glamour. The story revolves around a young man's vengeful return home, and a parallel plot following the arrival of a new bell for the town's church tower. The result is a surreal, gothic, darkly humorous horror film - made during Franco's reign, no less! (The first time I saw an Almodover film - "Dark Habits" - I thought of "A Bell From Hell".) This film is also vaguely reminiscent of "High Plains Drifter": lone figure rides into town - this time on a motorcycle - and mayhem ensues in the reckoning. Morricone's influence might be why, at times, the gothic style seems to break wide open into heat and sunlight; think too, of Jagger, Richards, Brian Jones in Morrocco... And there's a big debt to the Hammer Studios style of horror, in that most of the terror is psychological (there is some interesting violence, but I don't remember any full-throttle gore) and the plot relies on a creepy, pervasive atmosphere of threat and sexuality to build the suspense. It would be great to see this re-released on video!

This movie is NOT a bloody, gory film at all - it's quite the opposite! It's a Gothic psychological horror-thriller with a great ending! I was expecting it to be a trashy bloody and gory film but instead I found it to be a good movie.

A man is falsely accused of rape and being insane by his aunt and her 3 daughters. The aunt and the daughters want the mansion and all the money to themselves after the guy's mother died when he was younger. He was locked away and the aunt paid the doctor an insane amount of money monthly to keep him declared insane but his lawyer got him out on probation. Now that he's out he's going to find out why this happened and to get some revenge! It's not bloody nor gory revenge but a thrilling psychological film that will leave you wondering what's going to happen next and the ending is a surprise! :)

Recommended to those that like the slower starting films that build into a thrilling psychological horror.

8.5/10