[HorrorScience] House of the Long Shadows (1983)

House of the Long Shadows (known in Spanish as The house of shadows of the past either The house of long shadows)  is a mystery and horror film with some overtones of comedy, whose greatest attraction lies in seeing together great horror film actors such as Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, John Carradine and Vincent Price.

The film begins when Kenneth Magee, a writer whose latest book has not been as successful as his other works, meets with his editor to talk about how to improve the situation. In the editor's opinion, stories like Wuthering Heights must be rewritten, where the human characters were portrayed differently from the works of the time.  Our protagonist responds that he can write something like that in 24 hours, that it has no merit, and the editor does not believe his words, so they end up making a bet about it. If the writer is able to write a novel like that in 24 hours, he will earn $20,000.If you don't, you will pay them to your editor.

The only requirement on the part of the writer is that they have to leave him alone in an isolated place for a day, so that he can be calm and inspired in order to write the book. Coincidentally, the editor knows an old house in Wales where no one has lived in for decades and it doesn't even have electric lights, a description that seems to convince our protagonist.

A storm greets Kenneth Magee as he drives to the mansion, so he has to stop in the nearby town to take shelter and orient himself, and as it could not be otherwise, all the townspeople seem to behave in a strange and elusive way towards visitors. Despite this, Magee gets directions to the mansion, but not before being warned that it is cursed.

Once there, we can admire the mansion in all its splendor, huge rooms with sinister decorations and furniture from another era covered with sheets; very long dark corridors full of paintings on the walls and a complete silence that is only broken by the steps of the protagonist, who, after settling in one of the rooms, begins to write his novel, but then stops when he hears a noise, so he decides to investigate the house in more detail.

This is how he will meet the two guards of the house, Victoria and her father Elias Quimby, a great surprise for him, since they had assured him that the house was abandoned. While talking to them, another mysterious person appears in the mansion, who turns out to be a girl named Catherine who tries to convince Magee to leave the mansion, without much success, as he discovers her talking on the phone with her editor, who wants to prevent her from winning the bet, which she herself confirms.

In that call they also discover that the house does not have a guard, which increases the mystery about the true intentions of Elias and Victoria, but before they can clarify anything, the house receives a new visitor, this time a certain Sebastian.

While Magee tries to clarify once and for all what they are all doing in that mansion when he supposedly had the only copy of the key, another guest will arrive, who claims to be called Lionel Grisbane and to be a descendant of the family that lived in that house decades ago, before a curse fell on his family, forcing them to abandon their lands.

After reviewing the alibis of each of the visitors, Magee deduces that they all actually know each other and have obviously lied to him about the reason for their visit. However, he decides to abandon the investigation and leave the elderly at their ease, so that he can dedicate what remains of the night to his novel.

After a few hours, Magee decides to take a break for dinner, at which time, while touring the house discovers some paintings in which the visitors of that night appear portrayed, proving that in reality they are all family, but the most disturbing thing is that a painting is missing, a situation that will no longer be important when the last visitor arrives who, for a change, is not who he says he is either.

And here I stop commenting on the film, so I leave you without knowing what the real reason is why those people are meeting at the mansion and if in the end Magee will win the bet with his editor.

House of the Long Shadows It is an entertaining film with a very successful sinister atmosphere. It is clear that the director enjoyed filming most of the shots of the mansion and especially the entrances of the characters, especially that of Vincent Price, with his shadow projected on the wall passing over the protagonist. The music fits perfectly with the film and helps increase the mystery surrounding the house and its visitors.

However, it must be taken into account that This movie has a lot of comedic touches., some of them justifiable due to Magee's personality, who is more interested in winning his bet than in solving mysteries, as demonstrated by one of his phrases in the film "I don't care if they have an orgy or a black mass, as long as they let me write in peace."

The mix of comedy and horror means that the film can be well received by a wider audience, but it may disappoint those looking for a 100% horror film.

Regarding the performances, the protagonist is quite likable thanks to his cynicism but his performance is overshadowed by the horror veterans, who enjoy and have fun while performing their scenes.

House of the Long Shadows trivia:

• This movie is based on the novel Seven Keys to Baldpate by Earl Derr Biggers, which has been made into a film on numerous occasions.
• The role of Victoria Crisbane was to be played by Elsa Lanchester (who had played Frankenstein's bride in the 1935 film).
• This is the last film in which Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing appear together, putting an end to their extensive filmography together.