CRUCIBLE OF TERROR British horror – opinions and free on YouTube

‘A thoughts so evil it might lock its horrible secret inside a gorgeous physique’
Crucible of Terror is a 1971 British horror movie about an obsessed sculptor who kills a younger girl to create a bronze sculpture of her. Years later at his secluded residence, various individuals develop into trapped in an online of revenge, homicide and horror.

Directed by Ted Hooker from a screenplay co-written with producer Tom Parkinson. Peter Newbrook (director of The Asphyx) was govt producer and cinematographer.

The Glendale Movie Productions film stars Mike Raven, Mary Maude, James Bolam and Ronald Lacey (Raiders of the Misplaced Ark).

Plot:
Jack Davies (James Bolam), an artwork seller from London, does a cope with a buddy of his Michael Clare (Ronald Lacey), the son of a gifted artist Victor Clare (Mike Raven). Michael smuggles out a few of his father’s works and Davies sells them for a big sum at his gallery, splitting the revenue between them. Davies and Michael Clare are each in want of more cash and realising that Victor Clare’s works are price a fortune they determine to accumulate some extra.

Sadly, Victor Clare is a recluse, who lives in isolation in Jericho Valley which is above an deserted tin mine in Cornwall. As it will be unimaginable to smuggle out any extra of the work with out being observed, Davies decides to supply the artist a deal for arduous money.

They journey to Cornwall with their wives, and so they discover it an odd and disconcerting expertise. Victor Clare’s spouse has regressed right into a second childhood, whereas he spends his time having affairs along with his fashions. The one sense of normality is outwardly supplied by Invoice, Victor’s solely buddy, who cooks dinner for them…

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Opinions:
” …pleasantly eccentric variation on the house-of-wax theme […] For its climax, the image shifts right into a dreamlike ambiance, with the mad artist mixing multicoloured concoctions in his cave studio suffused with the glow of the menacing furnace.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Movie Encyclopedia: Horror

“That is not at all a traditional – it’s a sort of humourless model of Corman’s A Bucket of Blood  –  the dialogue is weak, and the hurried, muddled ending will in all probability go away you a bit disillusioned, however that is nonetheless good enjoyable, and value waiting for Raven’s efficiency – and to listen to his splendidly ‘fruity’ voice…” B&S About Motion pictures

“As soon as once more (as with so many of those movies) whether or not you get pleasure from Crucible of Terror is determined by your way of thinking while watching it. Entertaining garbage is likely to be one of the best ways of describing it. And it’s a must to give full marks to Raven, actually. He’s too candy to be a baddie, however he saved on making an attempt…” British Horror Movies

“Contemplating that is Ted Hooker’s one and solely movie, it’s spectacular how competent the manufacturing is. The places are gorgeous and illustrate the isolation of the realm, projecting a real feeling of unease; it actually doesn’t damage that the concept of “going to the seaside” in England equates to stumbling round on some perilously sharp rocks on the backside of a cliff whereas the ocean threatens to comb you away to a watery grave at any given second.” The Church of Splatter-Day Saints

“There’s a little bit of a twist ending, however it’s executed poorly – the twist scene is brief, then in what appears lower than one minute, the premise of the twist is defined shortly within the method of a standard thriller, full with “revealed identification” pictures of the murders, then bang, it’s over. Once more, Crucible of Terror isn’t a nasty film, but it surely’s not something too particular both.” Basic Horror

“Sunny outside scenes dominate the early scenes. Folks wandering alongside cliffs and seashores. However a palpable claustrophobia more and more stifles us because the story progresses. The latter scenes happen at evening or underground within the mine, paralleling the more and more disagreeable home state of affairs and Victor’s intensifying flirtations towards Millie.” Communist Vampires

“Regardless of the comparisons typically made to Home of Wax, I nonetheless suppose this could simply be appeared upon as a giallo by means of the UK if there’s such a factor. Crucible of Terror could also be crude on the outset, however for individuals who suppose British horror is merely the frequent Hammer monsters and Amicus omnibuses, suppose outdoors the field and provides this a glance.” DVD Drive-In

“Maybe as a result of the dialogue typically telegraphs occasions, the stress degree doesn’t appear to construct, at the same time as the assorted company start to vanish. Any person is stabbing them to demise, battering them with stones and tossing acid of their faces. When the thriller is lastly revealed, it seems to be an advanced mixture of sadism, religious possession and a revenge motif.” DVD Speak

“The Cornish places are simple on the attention and a few of the supporting actors are superb worth, notably James Bolam, and fourteen years after her wonderful efficiency in Dracula, Melissa Stribling.  However the movie is poorly paced, visibly under-budgeted at £100,000 and, worse nonetheless, its insane protagonist is performed by the uniquely picket Mike Raven.” Jonathan Rigby, English Gothic

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“From time to time, the befuddling character interaction will get punctuated with a mildly gory homicide scene, and the story concludes with a lot of bizarre revenge/supernatural hooey contained in the deserted mine that’s situated close to Victor’s residence. Though Crucible of Terror is executed kind of competently on technical ranges, the storytelling is a catastrophe and the performances are bland.” Each ’70s Film

” …the twist ending isn’t that good, and for the remainder of the film – effectively, let’s simply say that with the uninspired appearing, limp course, poor enhancing and leaden tempo you’ll encounter with this one, you’re higher off watching mud choose the display of your TV set. Some oddball characters and Mike Raven’s sonorous voice attempt to enliven the proceedings, and it’s not close to sufficient.” Improbable Film Musings and Ramblings

“Raven won’t ever give Vincent Worth a run for his cash within the horror ham sweepstakes, however he provides it his all in a movie that hundreds on loads of oddball twists and weird crimson herrings together with sufficient mayhem to make this a good entry within the early ’70s British horror canon.” Mondo Digital

“Director Ted Hooker fills his image with putting visuals and compelling characters, pacing the factor so effectively that even when the logic breaks down a bit it stays a resoundingly entertaining movie. And a key to that’s Raven himself, the person delivering a efficiency that continues to be simply on the great facet of camp as he spends the physique of the movie stalking and leering on the younger girls whereas mistreating his spouse horribly.” Display Anarchy

“Mike Raven did his finest to ship a chill or two down the backbone, however there was little or no blood and the murders had been pretty tame. Provided that opening, one would count on there to be fairly a little bit of the crimson all through the film and when that didn’t materialize, it was just a bit little bit of a disappointment, although by the tip of all of it, it did considerably redeem itself just a bit.” The Telltale Thoughts

“It’s actually form of a British grindhouse flick. Including to the temper is the brooding menace that Raven brings to the function of Victor, a malevolence that’s complemented fairly effectively by the grand-guignol hysterics of Alberge as his spouse […] Whereas the homicide sequences are executed with zest, there’s far an excessive amount of exposition total and never sufficient motion.” The Terror Lure

” …has some well-used location footage of Cornwall and a few good scenes to make up for the trite script, clearly low price range and complete miscasting of Mike Raven because the psychotic sculptor.” David Pirie, Time Out Movie Information

” …a twist so wildly out of left subject (even making an allowance for the clues which might be sprinkled in all through the movie) that it enters the rarefied realm of the So Unhealthy It’s Magnificent. That ending saves a fairly pedestrian train in sub-sub-sub-Hammer horror/thriller and makes it really, unmissably demented.” Upcoming Discs

“Although it begins out with a sleazy bang, with Raven’s crazed artist plastering and smelting a unadorned Lai, Crucible of Terror is low on motion and violence even in its uncut kind. There are a number of murders right here and there, together with a head crushed by a rock and a lady burned with acid, however nothing terribly graphic.” Wtf-Movies

“The horror is handled as one thing that occurs between the melodramatics of the Clare household squabbles and the place there’s a killing, it’s over in seconds, with violence and gore saved to a minimal. Parkinson was a self-confessed admirer of the Val Lewton college of fantasy and maybe the movie needs to be recommended for making an attempt to do one thing greater than ‘stalk and slash’.” John Hamilton, X-Cert 2

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MOVIES and MANIA score:

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Forged and characters:
Mike Raven … Victor Clare – I, Monster, Lust for a Vampire, Disciple of Demise
Mary Maude … Millie – Terror; The Home That Screamed
James Bolam … John ‘Jack’ Davies – Straight On Until Morning
Ronald Lacey … Michael Clare – Disciple of Demise
Betty Alberge … Dorothy Clare – Disciple of Demise
John Arnatt … Invoice aka Billie
Beth Morris … Jane Clare
Judy Matheson … Marcia – Twins of Evil; Lust for a Vampire
Melissa Stribling … Joanna Brent – Dracula (1958)
Kenneth Keeling … George Brent
Me Me Lai … Chi-San – The Man from Deep River, Final Cannibal World, Eaten Alive!

Filming places:
Blue Hills, St Agnes, Cornwall, England
Jericho Valley, St Agnes, Cornwall, England
Perranporth, Cornwall
Shepperton Studios, Surrey, England

Technical specs:
1 hour 31 minutes
Audio: Mono
Facet ratio: 1.66: 1

Launch:
Within the UK, Crucible of Terror was launched on a double-bill by Scotia-Barber with Girl Frankenstein.

Alternate title:
Unholy Terror – US video title

Trailer [poor quality]:

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