Cthulhu Mansion

Director - Juan Piquer Simon (Slugs, Satan's Blood)

Starring - Frank Finlay (Lifeforce, Tales of the Unexpected), Marcia Layton (Screen One, The Upper Hand), and Luis Fernando Alves (Dangerous Curves, The Greek Labyrinth)

Release Date - 1992

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "The final resting place"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     Vinegar Syndrome's January releases had several titles that really caught my eye.  I was more interested in Cthulhu Manson and House of Usher but I had to wait to watch those because I had placed my Jan. pre-order with Fun City's Jeremy pre-order which didn't release until this month.  Vin Syn did hook me up with review copies of Satan's Blood and Dark Tower which only fueled my excitement for Cthulhu Manson and House of Usher.  I finally received my January package a few days back and I couldn't wait to dig into this release.  

     The film follows a group of thugs who kill a drug dealer in order to steal his coke.  They then kidnap a stage musician, his daughter, and his mute assistant before forcing them to take them back to their home to lay low while the police search for the them.  What they don't know is that the musician has dabbled in the occult and his home is now overpowered with a supernatural presence.

      I went into this one not knowing much about it.  I had saw that several of my horror friends had watched the Vin Syn release after receiving it but aside from that I had not heard anyone talking about it.  I assumed it was because most genre fans didn't care for it and didn't spend their time nor energy talking about it.  This only excited me even more.  After finally watching it I can say that it's not the best movie I've seen but I actually enjoyed it and I welcome the "paid review" comments after this.  The acting in this one is absolutely atrocious.  I like the characters but the cast makes absolutely no attempt at delivering the best performance they can.  Even the talented Frank Finlay is extremely underwhelming here.  I was so unimpressed with the cast that I turned to the internet to look them up only to learn that most critics panned the acting in this one.  The story for this one is not as in depth with the Cthulhu mythos as I would have liked but for a haunted house flick it's pretty solid.  The movie doesn't take the viewer deep into the madness of Lovecraft aside from the name Cthulhu.  It does explore insanity and the occult a little but the movie is more focused on the crime aspect which compromises the horror aspect.  The movie could be one hell of a haunted house flick but the crew behind this one had other plans.  Finally, the film has some blood and some uneven make-up effects but the lack of gore was a bit disappointing.  There is a few instances of make-up effects where the first is actually pretty impressive.  The character is in bed and his face is oozing.  I loved the look of it. However, the second make-up effects sequence that gains screen time looks like a turd.  Really, watch the movie and see for yourself.  The kills are quick and uneventful which is a huge let down.  Overall, Cthulhu Manson could be a difficult watch for some but I found it fun for the most part.  There is some missed opportunities and some of the worst acting I've seen but I enjoyed it.  The blu looks great as well.  Vin Syn never lets me down with their releases but sometimes their films are not as good.