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Sunday, October 1, 2017

The House On Skull Mountain (1974)

Set in Georgia, an elderly black woman (Mary J. Todd McKenzie) of Haitian descent is dying. But before she dies, she request her four remaining relatives be sent for. Directed by Ron Honthaner, this horror potboiler with a predominantly black cast is more entertaining than it has any right to be considering it's mostly terrible. The acting is mostly amateurish to the point that it looks like the actors are reading their lines off cue cards. But it's precisely that amateurishness that gives the film a certain a fascination. Honthaner manages to give off a nice atmosphere and if you're a fan of old mansions on a stormy night movies, it should be easy to overlook the film's transgressions. For example, during a voodoo ceremony where there will be a human sacrifice, Victor French (the only white actor with a major role) sneaks into the ceremony and doesn't bother to hide and nobody notices him! Mike Evans as the jive talking hipster relative is so annoying that one hopes he's the first to get offed! It's not remotely scary but there's pleasure to be had in its amateurish silliness. With Janee Michelle, Jean Durand, Ella Woods and Xernona Clayton. 

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