The tyranist's thoughts
As cool a title as this one has, it is sort of difficult going in to know what to expect. Christopher Lee is in it, which is a big plus in my book, but so is Joan Collins. I've never, ever liked her and what's more have never found her even the least bit attractive. So it's pretty much necessary that the story carry this one, right?
Well, when an old and insane, but weathy, man passes away, he leaves his fortune to Edward Foster. Of course, he doesn't bother to tell Edward where the fortune is hidden in the house, just that it's there. But everyone knows it's there from the town doctor (Christopher Lee) and his slut sister (Joan Collins) to the executor of the estate. And they all want some of it. Preferably all of it. So the race is on for Edward to find the money before someone else can get inside and find it and before he goes insane from the subtle influence of the dead old man.
What surprised me about this movie is how scary it turned out to be. By no means is it the scariest thing I've ever seen, but it had some really creepy scenes and it never relented. As Edward descends into madness, the haunting of the house only gets worse. They did a wonderful job of maintaining the right atmosphere and leading us down the path to ultimate discovery.
I hated Joan Collins in this as I expected to, but to be fair, she isn't in it as much as I thought she would be (judging by the cover, of course). Christopher Lee appears even less, but really it didn't matter. They made a fine ghost story that while not great and timeless, still holds some horror and fascination.