''Bloodbath at the House of Death'' is a 1984 British comedy horror film directed by Ray Cameron and starring the comedian

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...

and featuring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

. It is an over-the-top spoof loosely inspired by ''

The Amityville Horror ''The Amityville Horror'' is a book by American author Jay Anson, published in September 1977. It is also the basis of a series of films released from 1979 onward. The book is based on the claims of paranormal experiences by the Lutz family, b ...

'' and other horror films from the same period.

Plot

The film opens in 1975 at a place called Headstone Manor, which is being used as a "businessman's weekend retreat and girls' summer camp". A few minutes into the film, a group of satanic

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s enter the house and kill 18 of its occupants. In 1983, Doctor Lukas Mandeville (

) and Doctor Barbara Coyle (

Pamela Stephenson Pamela Helen Stephenson, Lady Connolly (born 4 December 1949) is a New Zealand-born psychologist, writer, and performer who is now a resident in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She is best known for her work as an actress and co ...

) are sent to investigate

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

readings in the area that have been traced to Headstone Manor, now known by locals as the House of Death. Along with several other scientists, Mandeville and Coyle set up their equipment in the house, while the Sinister Man (

), a 700-year-old Satanic priest, prepares a rite in the nearby woods to purge the house of its unwanted guests. During this time, Mandeville reveals that he was once a successful

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

surgeon named Ludwig Manheim, who was reduced to "smart-arse

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

research crap" after a humiliation in the past. Coyle also encounters a poltergeist, and the two engage in sexual intercourse. Several satanic clones of Mandeville, Coyle and the other scientists enter the house, and begin killing off the originals and taking their place. When Coyle is about to be killed, she is abducted by the poltergeist but also cloned. The satanic monks then take off in a spaceship, revealing that these monks are aliens using the house for their activities on Earth. The film ends with the spaceship soaring into the skies.

Cast

as Dr. Lukas Mandeville *

as Dr. Barbara Coyle *

as Sinister Man *

Gareth Hunt Alan Leonard Hunt (7 February 1942 – 14 March 2007), known as Gareth Hunt, was a British actor best remembered for playing footman Frederick Norton in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and Mike Gambit in '' The New Avengers''. Early life Alan Leon ...

as Elliot Broome *

Don Warrington Don Warrington MBE (born Donald Williams, 23 May 1951) is a Trinidadian-born British actor. He is best known for playing Philip Smith in the ITV sitcom ''Rising Damp'' (1974–78), and Commissioner Selwyn Patterson in the BBC detective serie ...

as Stephen Wilson *

John Fortune John Fortune (born John C. Wood; 30 June 1939 – 31 December 2013) was an English satirist, comedian, writer, and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune''. Early life Fortu ...

as John Harrison *

Sheila Steafel Sheila Frances Steafel (26 May 1935 – 23 August 2019) was a British actress, who was born in Johannesburg, but lived all her adult life in the United Kingdom. Life and career Steafel, who was born in Johannesburg, trained at the Webber Dougla ...

as Sheila Finch *

John Stephen Hill John Stephen Hill (born 16 January 1953), who worked as Stephen Hill, is a Canadian actor and playwright. He returned to the theatre after three decades, as a playwright under the name, Steve Hill. Actor Born in Montreal, the third of five ...

as Henry Noland *

Cleo Rocos Cleo Rocos (born 24 July 1962, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a UK-based comedy actress, producer, presenter and businesswoman who starred alongside Kenny Everett on '' The Kenny Everett Television Show''. Early life Rocos was born in Brazil. Her ...

as Deborah Kedding *

Graham Stark Graham William Stark (20 January 1922 – 29 October 2013) was an English comedian, actor, writer and director. Early life The son of a purser on transatlantic liners,

as The Blind Man *

Pat Ashton Pat Ashton (28 February 1931 – 23 June 2013) was an English actress. Her engaging cockney, blonde persona is best remembered for appearances in English TV-sitcom film spin-offs ''On the Buses'' (1971) and ''Mutiny on the Buses'' (1972). She wa ...

as Barmaid * David Lodge as Inspector Goule * Debbie Linden as Attractive Girl * Tim Barrett as Doctor *

Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory ...

as Police Inspector *

Anna Dawson Anna Dawson (born 27 July 1937) is an English actress and singer. Born in Bolton, Lancashire, Dawson spent part of her childhood in Tanganyika, where her father worked. She attended the Elmhurst Ballet School and after training at the Central ...

as Nurse *

Gordon Rollings Gordon Charles Rollings (17 April 1926 – 7 June 1985) was an English actor who mainly appeared on television, but also appeared on-stage and in feature films. He was born in Batley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England in 1926 and start ...

as Man at bar

Production

''Bloodbath at the House of Death'' was written by Ray Cameron and Barry Cryer, who had previously co-written the 1978 to 1981 Thames Television comedy series ''

The Kenny Everett Video Show ''The Kenny Everett Video Show'' (later renamed ''The Kenny Everett Video Cassette'') is a British television comedy and music programme that was made by Thames Television for ITV from 3 July 1978 to 21 May 1981. Overview Philip Jones, Tham ...

''. Laurence Myers agreed to produce the film when the makers almost lost their financing. The film was shot entirely on location at the town of

Potters Bar Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. In 2022 the population was ...

in Hertfordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Michael McIntyre Michael Hazen James McIntyre (born 21 February 1976) is an English comedian, writer and television presenter. In 2012, he was the highest-grossing stand-up comedian in the world. He currently presents his own Saturday night series, ''Michael Mc ...

(the son of director Ray Cameron) reveals in his autobiography that he was the voice of E.T. Myers recalls that the film did not make sense; he screened the film for censor James Ferman, who enjoyed the film, but believed that the reels were played in the wrong order.

Release

The film was released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Thorn EMI Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comi ...

. It was produced in the aftermath of Kenny Everett's outburst at the Young Conservatives conference in which he called for the bombing of Russia; as a result, the media frequently referenced the film in negative context in relation to the outburst during the production, and film critics reviewed the film harshly. Film critic Martyn Auty wrote: "Presumably intended as high camp; looks like low-grade ''Carry On''." It was given an 18 certificate in the United Kingdom. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

in the United Kingdom in July 2008, with a re-rating to a British Board of Film Classification, 15 certificate.Bloodbath at the House of Death (1983) – Britmovie – British Film Forum
A novelization of the film was also published, which named Marcel Wave (one of Kenny Everett's TV characters) as the resident who underwent spontaneous combustion.

References

External links

Bloodbath at the House of Death
at the British Film Institute * * *
The films that were buried alive
''The Guardian'', August 22, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloodbath At The House Of Death 1983 films 1984 horror films 1980s comedy horror films British haunted house films British parody films British comedy horror films Films set in 1975 Films set in 1983 Films set in country houses Films shot in Hertfordshire 1983 comedy films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films