House *** (1985, William Katt, Kay Lenz, George Wendt, Richard Moll) – Classic Movie Review 8141

Perry Mason’s William Katt and George Cheers’s Wendt join forces for director Steve Miner’s daft yet popular 1985 haunted mansion horror-thriller House, with a high tally of foolish laughs and fairground ride-style scares.

Katt plays Vietnam vet Roger Cobb, a divorced horror novelist writer who moves into the creepy mansion where his elderly aunt was hanged and his son Jimmy mysteriously disappeared. Comedy funhouse shocks instead of blood-letting turn this old story into a fairly desirable property. The fun tone is OK as far as it goes, but an eventual gear change into an underlying seriousness of purpose would have added a useful layer.

Also in the cast are Richard Moll, Kay Lenz, Mary Stavin and Michael Ensign.

This House first story is written by Fred Dekker, with the screenplay by Ethan Wiley.

House II: The Second Story (1987) followed straightaway, followed by House III (see The Horror Show) and House 4.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8141

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