SOMETHING CREEPING IN THE DARK (1971)
aka QUALCOSA STRISCIA NEL BUIO, SOMETHING IS CRAWLING IN THE DARK
Article 2195 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 3-20-2007
Posting Date: 8-16-2007
Directed by Mario Colucci
Featuring Stelvio Rosi, Mia Genberg, Farley Granger

Various people become stranded in a spooky old house during a storm, and they decide to hold a seance. They end up calling forth the spirit of a woman who takes possession of their souls.

Any movie that opens with a man commenting about seeing someone’s new nose is doing something interesting, and for anyone who likes their horrors on the offbeat side, this one will work. The above plot description makes it sound more ordinary than it is, and indeed, it is built on some very ordinary elements; it starts out like a standard “old dark house” variant, but what happens in the aftermath is hardly routine. It’s filled with quirky touches, bizarre scenes, and offbeat moments. The blurb on the back describes the movie as “impenetrable”, and to some extent, it is, but it’s impenetrable in a rather attractive and fun way; I really found myself wondering just what the ghost was trying to do. At times, the movie reminded me a little of CASTLE OF BLOOD, not so much due to plot similarities, but because I often found myself having the same slightly disoriented viewing experience as I did with that one, though it isn’t quite as good as that one. Nevertheless, I was charmed and fascinated by this one, and it is really unlike most of the Italian horror movies I’ve seen so far.