When a novelist accepts a bet that he can write a best-selling gothic thriller in one day, he moves into an abandoned castle in Wales to do so. Before long, however, the family that owns the castle returns, and the group finds itself trapped with a murderer who is wiping them out one by one.
Subgenres: gothic, postmodern
Director: Pete Walker
Starring: Desi Arnaz Jr., Vincent Price
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You'd think that with an archetypally great setting (a dark, isolated castle in the Welsh countryside), a clever plot (writer finds himself trapped in a gothic story), and four horror greats (Carradine, Cushing, Lee, and Price), that this movie would be a horror fan's dream. It's not. The sum is definitely less than the parts, as all the actors go underused--and Desi Arnaz Jr. is really, really annoying. Still, the framing device is clever, and there are a couple of in-jokes (check out Vincent Price's entrance) that make this worth watching once. (Feb 17, 1999) | ||||||
Based on the play Seven Keys to Baldpate.
