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The House Where Evil Dwells

  • 1982
  • 13
  • 1h 28m
IMDb RATING
4.5/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
A young American family moves to a House in Kyoto, Japan. It turns out to be haunted by the ghosts of a woman and her lover, who were killed by the woman's husband, as well as the ghost of the husband, who killed himself afterward.
Play trailer1:02
2 Videos
28 Photos
Horror

A young American family moves to a House in Kyoto, Japan. It turns out to be haunted by the ghosts of a woman and her lover, who were killed by the woman's husband, as well as the ghost of t... Read allA young American family moves to a House in Kyoto, Japan. It turns out to be haunted by the ghosts of a woman and her lover, who were killed by the woman's husband, as well as the ghost of the husband, who killed himself afterward.A young American family moves to a House in Kyoto, Japan. It turns out to be haunted by the ghosts of a woman and her lover, who were killed by the woman's husband, as well as the ghost of the husband, who killed himself afterward.

  • Director
    • Kevin Connor
  • Writers
    • Robert Suhosky
    • James Hardiman
  • Stars
    • Edward Albert
    • Susan George
    • Doug McClure
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.5/10
    1.4K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Kevin Connor
    • Writers
      • Robert Suhosky
      • James Hardiman
    • Stars
      • Edward Albert
      • Susan George
      • Doug McClure
    • 46User reviews
    • 51Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 nominations

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:02
    Watch Official Trailer
    The House Where Evil Dwells: What Kind Of Soup Is It?
    Clip 1:43
    Watch The House Where Evil Dwells: What Kind Of Soup Is It?

    Photos28

    Toshiya Maruyama and Shunji Sasaki in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Mako Hattori, Toshiya Maruyama, and Shunji Sasaki in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Mako Hattori, Toshiya Maruyama, and Shunji Sasaki in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Edward Albert, Mako Hattori, Toshiya Maruyama, and Shunji Sasaki in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Mako Hattori, Toshiya Maruyama, and Shunji Sasaki in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Susan George and Edward Albert in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Susan George, Edward Albert, Amy Barrett, and Mako Hattori in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Edward Albert and Doug McClure in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Mako Hattori, Toshiya Maruyama, and Shunji Sasaki in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Susan George, Edward Albert, Amy Barrett, and Doug McClure in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Edward Albert, Mako Hattori, Toshiya Maruyama, and Shunji Sasaki in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
    Susan George and Edward Albert in The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Edward Albert
    Edward Albert
    • Ted Fletcher
    Susan George
    Susan George
    • Laura Fletcher
    Doug McClure
    Doug McClure
    • Alex Curtis
    Amy Barrett
    Amy Barrett
    • Amy Fletcher
    Mako Hattori
    • Otami
    Shunji Sasaki
    Shunji Sasaki
    • Shugoro
    • (as Toshiyuki Sasaki)
    Toshiya Maruyama
    Toshiya Maruyama
    • Masanori
    Tsuyako Okajima
    • Majyo Witch
    Henry Mitowa
    • Zen Monk
    Mayumi Umeda
    • Noriko, the babysitter
    Hiroko Takano
    • Wakako
    Shuren Sakurai
    • Noh Mask Maker
    Shôji Ohara
    • Assistant Mask Maker
    • (as Shoji Ohara)
    Jirô Shirai
    • Tadashi
    • (as Jiro Shirai)
    Kazuo Yoshida
    • Editor
    Kunihiko Shinjo
    • Assistant Editor
    Gentarô Mori
    • Yoshio
    Tomoko Shimizu
    • Aiko
    • Director
      • Kevin Connor
    • Writers
      • Robert Suhosky
      • James Hardiman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The visual effects sequences featuring the Japanese ghosts were filmed utilizing an old German camera technique known as "Shauftausen". In a 2011 interview with John Kenneth Muir, director Kevin Connor said of this: "...basically you shoot the scene with one camera through a right-angled mirror. The ghost actors are on a black velvet background so you can control the density of their image as you shoot, ie you fade them in and fade them out and line them up easily with the 'live' actors. It worked very well, and of course you could see the composite dailies next day. Eventually we got this technique down to a fine art. It was important to show the ghosts in this fashion because basically it was an economical and effective process".
    • Quotes

      Amy Fletcher: [as she is watching a blue, ghostly face making faces at her] There's an awful face in my soup!

    • Alternate versions
      The 1986 UK Warner video version was cut by 34 secs by the BBFC to edit the decapitation scenes and shots of a severed arm.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Cinema Snob: Visiting Hours (2023)

    User reviews46

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    2/10
    Silly, boring ghost story
    Film starts in 1840 Japan in which a man slashes his wife and her lover to death and the commits suicide. It's a very gory, bloody sequence. Then it jumps to present day...well 1982 to be precise. Ted (Edward Albert), wife Laura (Susan George) and their annoying little kid move to Japan for hubby's work. They rent a house and--surprise! surprise--it just happens to be the house where the murders took place! The three dead people are around as ghosts (the makeup is hysterically bad) and make life hell for the family.

    Sounds OK--but it's really hopeless. There's a bloody opening and ending and NOTHING happens in between. There is an attack by giant crabs which is just uproarious! They look so fake--I swear I saw the strings pulling one along--and they're muttering!!!!! There's a pointless sex sequence in the first 20 minutes (probably just to show off George's body), another one about 40 minutes later (but that was necessary to the plot) and a really silly exorcism towards the end. The fight scene between Albert and Doug McClure must be seen to be believed.

    As for acting--Albert was OK as the husband and McClure was pretty good as a family friend. But George--as always--is terrific in a lousy film. She gives this film a much needed lift--but can't save it. I'm giving this a 2 just for her and the gory opening and closing. That aside, this is a very boring film.
    helpful•8
    5
    • preppy-3
    • Jan 9, 2004

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    FAQ16

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 31, 1989 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • Japan
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Fantômes à louer
    • Filming locations
      • Tokyo, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Cohen
      • Commercial Credit Holdings
      • Toei Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $667,863
    • Gross worldwide
      • $667,863
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 28 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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