THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD (1978)

I know, I know. You're all thinking I'm referring to that Uwe Boll thing that everyone loathed when it first came out. To make it clear, I actually liked the flick for what it was. And the flick we're discussing here is not that movie. I mean, come on! Look at the date!
This flick has had some different titles;
ALIEN ZONE
LAST STOP ON 13TH ST.
ZONE OF THE DEAD
I would have picked the last one. Kind of works for what we have here. What we have here is an anthology film. Stop your damned groaning out there! This is filmed entirely in Oklahoma. How many horror flicks have been made in Oklahoma? Well, I don't know either.
Let's proceed with the summary.
Talmudge (John ericson) is having an affair with Marie. Who Marie is isn't important since the scene is pitch black and we never really see the woman. Anyway, he gets his and is off in a cab back to hotel where he's attending a convention.
The cab lets him out in the wrong place and he soon finds himself in the company of an unnamed gentleman who we will refer to as The Mortician (Ivor Francis.)
The Mortician wants to show Talmudge his work and it seems that every coffin comes with a story. We have our framing device folks!



The first one has a woman who is a teacher and hates children. Soon, bizarre things happen at her house while she attempts to go about her nightly routine. What could it be? Do we care? No, not really. This one seems lackluster and has no real reason to do what it does. Not enough information is given.
Next up is a man with a penchant for taking pictures. Movies, actually of him strangling and killing women. This one is shorter and less logical than the first one. No real beginning or end, just a snippet.



The third one of the four is probably the best of the bunch with two rival criminologists competed for best one in the world. I kind of saw how this one was going, but it's the longest and has the most satisfying feel of the bunch.
The last one shows us what happens if you treat people like crap. Again, not enough, but I got it.



I also got where this was going to end when The Mortician tells Talmudge that he has been waiting for him. No, he's not dead like another famous anthology, but the evil always gets its comeuppance in flicks like this.
This was an alright flick. It clocked in at 76 minutes and apparently there is another version that is 100 minutes long! I imagine that this one would be much better than this and probably not get hacked to ribbons. If anyone knows where I could get this please contact me via this blog.
Also, this is another entry in my 999 challenge for the year. Two down and 79 to go. Sheesh! What have I done?



Finally, I figured out how to snap pictures for this with a program called VLC. This is something that I am very happy about.
What will be next in the 999 Challenge? Beats me. You'll know when I do.
Seeya!