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I watched this one one dark Saturday night, having read all the reviews saying that it was slow, boring, nonsensical etc. But, since I was alone in the house and I had spent the last week or so indulging in lots of mindless slasher films, I decided that it would be a good idea. Plus, the Radio Times film guide gives it an OK review and I always thought the people that write for it know their stuff. So, with the house pitch dark, I sat down to watch, and unexpectedly had a fine time. As others have said, the action is concentrated in the opening and the finale, but for me the film never became exactly uneventful or boring. The opening is a real doozy, a montage of creepy violence in the old Beale house that perfectly sets the tone. Then the film follows a low budget film crew shooting a horror picture there and concentrates on the business of film making, and the interactions of the different characters, slowly raising the spookiness quotient until things get pretty tense and unnerving at the end. Although there is little horror going on for a good portion of this one, I found the film well acted and very interesting. I always like films about film making and the cast handle their roles well, particularly Faith Domergue as the aging, faded star and John Ireland as the amusingly selfish has been director. John Carradine does good creepy work as a caretaker too. The drama works and their are some nice chuckles too. The film loses out by not mixing the supernatural events with the film within the film more and it could have done with more of the intensity that appears in the finale. Also, more background would have been nice, or more action. Having said that, I still found this an enjoyable little item and I would definitely recommend it to fans of little known slow burn old house spook horror, especially those who don't like gore, as there is none. Also recommended are the similar Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things and Effects, which also follows a low budget film crew.
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