alexanderdavies-99382 I can't enjoy this one, no matter how many times I see it.Made in 1946, "House of Horrors" came at the tail end of the horror film genre.There is hardly any entertainment value and so boring.Everyone is just going through the motions without making much effort.Rondo Hatton is in one of his last films appearances before his sudden death in 1947.

GL84 After saving the man's life from drowning, a vengeful sculptor uses a psychotic killer in a ploy to take down the spiteful art critics plaguing his work and forces a journalist to get the police on the trail of the killing spree.Overall this one was a pretty decent if not entirely spectacular entry. One of the biggest marks against this one is the fact that the film continually finds itself traveling back-and-forth to the artists' laboratory despite continually being made aware of the killer's existence which really seems foolish and destined for danger. Not only is it completely at odds with the fact that she's obviously headstrong and determined not to do this repeatedly, the fact that her ignorance against the killer's identity despite plenty of evidence to the contrary in her earlier discovery of the sketch along with the note from the editing room asking for the purpose of printing the article all without protection or even advising the authorities on the matter makes her seem destined for death one way or another. Likewise, the fact that this one tries to play off the fact of his apartment encounter is really retribution for those actions which results in the mistaken identity issue has no reason to exist due to these early scenes giving him not only the look but also the general feel of this one so he shouldn't have had any problems carrying this out. Still, there's a few rather enjoyable parts here with the fact that the early stalking scenes are set-up to be quite chilling and typically enjoyable romps through the darkened alleyways famous in these kinds of efforts, the ability to pull off a kill against a suspect in police protection from the other room away is quite inventive and this manages to get a lot of mileage out of the unique and distinct appearance of the main killer. The grotesque, misshapen features and imposing appearance certainly get some great use throughout the sculpting scenes which have an uneasy air to them based on their relationship, and certainly helps in the finale with a lot of fine action that comes into play due to the killer's appearance, but otherwise this one didn't have much else for it.Today's Rating-PG: Violence.

tomgillespie2002 One of many 60-minute B-movie horrors that Universal churned out in the 1940's, House of Horrors remains one of the most fondly remembered due to the hulking presence of Rondo Hatton. Originally a journalist and apparently a handsome man, he developed acromegaly which began to disfigure him in adulthood. He started getting extra work and bit-parts as faceless thugs until he appeared as 'The Creeper' in the Sherlock Holmes film The Pearl of Death (1944). Universal planned a series of films starring Hatton as The Creeper, but after this and it's sequel The Brute Man (1946), he sadly died of a heart attack brought on by his disease. He was far from a good actor - he does little but grunt and talk in child-like speech - but his presence is undeniable, and probably saves House of Horrors from obscurity.Living alone in his rotting studio, sculptor Marcel De Lange (Martin Kosleck) is on the verge of selling his best work to a high-rolling collector. Unfortunately, the potential purchaser brings along notorious art critic F. Holmes Harmon (Alan Napier), who dismisses Marcel's work as a travesty, causing the sale to fall through. Penniless and on the verge of suicide, he spots a body wash ashore one night. The body is that of the Creeper, a known serial killer with the face of "the perfect Neanderthal," (as Marcel dubs him), so Marcel brings him home and nurses him back to health. Fascinating with his appearance, Marcel begins to sculpt the Creeper and exploit his blood-lust by setting him up to murder his enemies.At just 65 minutes, House of Horrors, also known as Murder Mansion and Joan Medford is Missing, doesn't demand much at all. This is a formulaic genre picture that manages to squeeze an extraordinary amount into it's slender running time, and remains suitably entertaining throughout. Kosleck, for all his ham-fisting, manages to inject a tragic quality into his character, at first humble and optimistic, and later hateful and blood-thirsty. But it's Hando that steals the film - his Creeper snaps a woman's spine just for screaming in a scene that more than hints at rape (a big no-no in the 40's). Though there's no background or personality given to the character, that lurch-like appearance more than compensates. A forgettable genre film that is certainly worth an hour of your time.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

AaronCapenBanner Rondo Hatten plays the Creeper, who in this film is a notorious serial killer of women, breaking their backs with his huge hands and body. He is found nearly drowned in the river by frustrated artist/sculptor Marcel De Lange(played by Martin Kosleck) who takes him home, and they become friends(of a sort). Marcel tells the creeper about how much he hates the art critics who have trashed his work in their columns, so he takes this as a hint to murder them, as well as the occasional poor woman walking down the street... Exploitive of Rondo Hatton's unfortunate condition, film is also quite shallow, since no background or reasons for the murderous behavior is offered at all. Some good acting here(even Hatton isn't bad) but too one-dimensional.(though at least Marcel is nice to his cat!)