Scarecrow-88
A sailor stops by his old town, realizes his family's home had been removed, attempts to find his sister, gets stuck in a bar fight over a dance hall girl, gets hit across the skull knocking him unconscious, awakening in the home of his bedridden uncle, Cassavius(Orson Welles). The sailor is Jan, portrayed by blonde headed, blue-eyed, scrawny Mathieu Carrière(Born for Hell), and he, at first, just wishes to leave but his demanding uncle has something of importance to tell him regarding a will which could prove profitable if he decides not to leave. Within the house are an eccentric group of oddballs, all attempting to appease their master, hoping to leave Malpertuis once Cassavius kicks the bucket. Even still, Jan has no desire to stay until a ravishing red head, Euryale(Susan Hampshire who plays multiple roles, presenting an astonishing range, making three specific characters completely unique and different, a multi-faceted performance that deserves praise), his cousin, arrives, throwing his life into torment. The proposition in Cassavius' will is for those inside Malpertuis to remain until one couple survives, gaining the inheritance. Relatives and hired help, the greedy vultures they are, remain, awaiting for the chance to gain the giant piggy-bank and property entitled if they can outlast their peers. Meanwhile, Jan decides to trek through the halls, mysterious rooms, and spiral staircases of Malpertuis, a massive ring containing an army of keys, hoping to unlock the secrets of the place, hoping to understand Cassavius. Along the way, Jan discovers that Malpertuis may be much, much more than just a mansion, and those people within it's walls could be more than they appear. The film incorporates dream logic which has you wondering what Jan might experience next. We are, in a sense, on the same surreal journey as Jan is, experiencing what he does, bombarded by unpredictable behavior, always yearning to learn more. Lots of symbolism, and director Harry Kümel(Daughters of Darkness)establishes the importance of faces..through the multiple characters portrayed by Hampshire(..as not only Euryale, the one Jan desires and seemingly can not touch, but also his beloved sister, Nancy, and a lusting Alice who openly engages him for sexual favors, longing to be "human", despite what she "really is"), we realize that what we are seeing isn't a real world as we know it. The mansion itself(..the astonishing spiral staircases and endless rooms/halls)is a veritable maze, about as maddening as the unusual characters which inhabits it's domain. We keep discovering, like Jan, new things regarding the characters that remain in Malpertuis, and what their true relation to him(..in a dream, faces of people that exist often derive from those you have contacted in real life). Harry Kümel's visual style is magnificent and his camera vividly captures the nuances of this remarkable habitat observing what Jan sees. Everything from the art direction(..every room produces a different kind of mood, and yields a startling color/atmosphere all it's own)to the editing(..the way Kümel is able to feature three Hampshires in one single room is awe-inspiring), everything's first-rate, developed with top-notch skill. Color me impressed because I hadn't ever heard of it's existence until just recently, and I'm thankful I had an opportunity to see it. I watched the director's cut, dubbed into French with English subtitles. Orson Welles, entirely in bed, commands the screen moving very little..it's simply amazing how much presence he had. Hampshire is positively divine, her beauty hypnotic at times. The twists at the end(..who these people are is revealed not once, but twice)really dazzle, but the pace slowly develops so many might grow impatient, but I couldn't wait to see what was gonna come next.
Paul Andrews
Malpertuis starts as a sailor named Jan (Mathieu Carriere) arrives at his home port only to discover his old house has collapsed, he ends up in a seedy bar where a fight breaks out & he is knocked unconscious. When he comes round Jan finds himself being tended to by his sister Nancy (Susan Hampshire) in his Uncle Quentin Cassavius' (Orson Welles) imposing old house called Malpertuis, they are also joined by various other family members & obscure relatives as Cassavius is not far from death & he has ordered a reading of his will. The will states that his immense fortune will be split equally but the inheritors can never leave the grounds of Malpertuis ever again which sounds a bit harsh to me but there you go, anyway it becomes apparent to Jan that all is not right at Malpertuis & that it's hiding some bizarre secrets that Jan finds himself in the center of...This French, Belgium & German co-production was directed by Harry Kumel & didn't do much for me but that could be down to other factors besides the film at hand, you see apparently there's a long 2 hour odd version of Malpertuis & shorter cut down version & since the one I watched yesterday ran for less than 90 minutes I think it's safe to assume I'm missing out on a lot so maybe you should bear that in mind although what the extra footage is & whether it would have improved my viewing experience I don't know. The slightly slow going script by Jean Ferry was based on a novel by Jean Ray & has a certain loose strange bizarre quality to it, while it's an odd film for sure I have to say I always knew what was going on & it's not abstract or weird in that sense but weird in the sense of what's happening on screen. Who was the supposed killer? Is this answered in the longer version? Were little stitched together people really running around in the attic? Again, is this made clear in the longer version? I don't know which is why I feel awkward about either praising or rubbishing the film because I'm not quite sure where the version I saw stands, going by the 90 minute cut alone I thought it was OK & nothing more although I must admit I quite liked the twist 'come out of absolute nowhere' ending which I deify anyone to see coming...Director Kumel does a good job & there are plenty of memorable scenes plus the film has a great atmosphere about it. The house itself is nice & imposing & there's some cool production design. I wouldn't call any of it particularly scary though, there's not much gore apart from a bit when an Eagle eats someone's guts & someone gets a nail through their head although it's off screen.Technically Malpertuis is good, impressive even with decent production values. Since the film was made in Dutch & dubbed into English it's hard to tell about the acting although maybe Welles spoke English during filming & he stands head & shoulders above everyone else in the cast & puts in a memorable performance for the brief screen time he gets.Malpertuis, also known as The Legend of Doom House, is an OK horror/mystery/thriller but I can't help but feel I wish I'd seen the long version because as it stands I think I'm missing out on a potentially better film. However the version I watched is the version I watched & that's all there is to it, as it stands it's a decent enough film but it didn't do much for me & I doubt I'll be in any hurry to see this 90 minute cut again anytime soon.
Bob Taylor
My hopes were high for this film. I'd seen Kumel's Le Rouge aux levres/Daughters of Darkness, the most stylish vampire/kinky sex movie ever made, and I love its sly wit and arresting visuals. Malpertuis is not as effective, alas, and I put that down to an overly-complicated story weighed down by too many classical references taken from the novel. Lampernisse, standing in for Prometheus, just doesn't work as a character. Why introduce the Erinyes, the three women who punished offenders against blood kin, when they don't advance the story? It's not an easy thing to watch a movie with a handbook of classical mythology by your side.Having said this, I will add that it is wonderful to watch film that shows a great visual sophistication (crowd shots that evoke an Ensor painting, or that wonderful twisting staircase in the house) and never needs F/X. We have lost a great deal by the subservience to CGI today.
svbell
Yes, Malpertuis is extremely impressive, in my opinion the best Euro-horror movie! I read the Jean Ray book - which is by far my favorite horror writer - and the adaptation by Harry Kumel, altough not extremely tight to the novel, is quite decent.Sadly, this movie is nearly impossible to find...
