Malpertuis (1971)

A young sailor (Mathieu Carriere) makes the journey to visit his childhood home, only to find it is no longer there. After being knocked unconscious in a bar fight, he wakes up in a gothic mansion named Malpertuis which is presided over by his dying uncle (Orson Welles). The mansion is filled with relatives waiting for him to die. Based on the 1943 novel by Jean Ray and directed by Harry Kumel (DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS). To call this gothic horror movie bizarre is an understatement. Most of the film is surreal and bewildering but if you hang in there, it all comes together (sort of) in the end though we're still left in the dark and to our own devices to figure it out. The film was originally released at one hour and 40 minutes but I watched the director's cut which has been restored to two hours and five minutes. Ultimately it may be unsatisfying but I suspect it's something that will stay with you. With Susan Hampshire (playing four parts), Jean Pierre Cassel, Sylvie Vartan, Michel Bouquet, Walter Rilla and Daniel Pilon.