The House Where Death Lives – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1981
Director: Alan Beattie
Writers: Alan Beattie, Jack Viertel
Cast: Patricia Pearcy, David Hayward, John Dukakis, Leon Charles, Alice Nunn, Patrick Pankhurst, Joseph Cotten, Louis Basile, Abraham Alvarez, Simone Griffeth, James Purcell, Shelby Leverington

Release Date: April 23rd, 2024
Approximate running time: 90 Minutes 53 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $44.98

"Meredith Stone, a home care nurse, has been assigned the duty of looking after a wealthy invalid named Ivar Langrock. Cooped up in Langrock's stately country mansion, Meredith quickly suspects that someone sinister is lurking in the manor's dark halls only to discover that Ivar's demented and violent son has been locked away in a hidden room. Shortly thereafter, Ivar's grandson Gabriel also moves into the house and with his arrival a mysterious killer soon begins murdering members of the Langrock family along with their live-in staff." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned and restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

The House Where Death Lives comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray. 

Disc Size: 33.1 GB

Feature: 24.8 GB

The source looks excellent. Colors look correct, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced. Range-wise, this audio track does a great job with ambient sounds, and the score is well-represented.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an interview with actor John Dukakis titled Dear John (18 minutes 42 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor David Hayward titled Stuck in That House (15 minutes 33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with author Stephen Thrower titled Mad House (25 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with The Hysteria Continues!, reversible cover art, and a spot gloss and embossed slipcover limited to 5,000 units.

Summary:

The House Where Death Lives is yet another in a long line of films that rely heavily on a twist. What starts off as a story about a woman who accepts a job as a nurse becomes a film where most characters are not trustworthy. And though this provides The House Where Death Lives with several red herrings, it is not hard to see where things are going.

The performances range from adequate to very good, with most falling into the latter category. The standout performance is Joseph Cotton (The Third Man) in the role of Ivar Langrock, the wealthy patriarch of a dysfunctional family. The weakest link is Patricia Pearcy’s (Squirm) portrayal of Meredith Stone.

Content-wise, The House Where Death is a psychological thriller with some Gothic horror elements. And though the narrative is slow-burning, there are enough twists and turns to hold your attention. Though there is a high body count, most of the kills happen in the last 30 minutes. That said, the most gruesome moment is the discovery of a dead dog. Visually, The House Where Death does a great job heightening the mood by building tension. Ultimately, The House Where Death Lives is a very effective thriller that has a solid payoff.

The House Where Death Lives gets an excellent release from Vinegar Syndrome that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras, recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer