Revenge in the House of Usher (1983)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Jess Franco made a hell of a lot of movies in his career, and rather unsurprisingly that has lead to a lot of respect from the cult movie community, and it also means that he made a lot of bad films - and unfortunately, Revenge in the House of Usher is right down there with the likes of Succubus as one of his very worst efforts! Edgar Allen Poe's story was made into a brilliant film in 1960 by the great Roger Corman, but unfortunately Jess Franco wasn't able to do likewise - mainly because he hasn't based this on the Poe story at all, but rather the common idea that stemmed from the classic Eyes Without a Face, and which he made did himself some years earlier with The Awful Dr Orloff, that being basing the film on a doctor who is trying to help his daughter and sacrificing a lot of other people in the process. The main problem with this film, aside from the fact that it has nothing to do with the story that it's supposedly based on, is the fact that it's BORING. I seriously was completely numbed for most of this movie and it did often make me wonder quite how anyone involved could have thought it was a good idea. Franco regulars Howard Vernon and Lina Romay star but neither has a good day and not even the atmosphere is worth commenting on. Don't bother with this one!

Most of the user comments which I concur with are based on the French version produced by Eurocine. This is a Spanish film written, photographed and directed by Franco that was re-edited for its French and English versions by Eurocine which included adding the footage from THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF as well as the whole subplot with Usher's daughter and Morpho in the contemporary part of the film (Vernon and protagonist Antonio Mayans never share the screen with the two French actors). The Spanish version features Vernon recollecting or imagining murdering a number of women. I don't understand Spanish and there are no subtitles on the version I saw but its an atmospheric mood piece that is far easier to watch than the French/English version (though even that version plays better on DVD in French with English subtitles). I'm rating it a 5 because I don't know how well it will hold up with an English translation but it looks better made and conceived than the Eurocine cut. Even though it was made in 1983 (well after the other Franco's death) around the same time as some of his explicit Golden Films productions, there is no nudity and little on screen bloodshed but it shows that Lina Romay can definitely act when clothed.

Phew...I am a devoted fan of Jess Franco, but watching 3 incredibly awful movies of his in less than one week (this one, Oasis of the Zombies and The Castle of Fu Manchu) really isn't my admiration and respect for him doing much good! "Revenge in the House of Usher" is a very disappointing effort and it's a complete mystery to me what Franco intended to pull off by making it. Why filming another version of Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale when there are already other (and better) movies made revolving on the tale of the Ushers? Why did Franco feel it was necessary to link Poe's tale with his own 60's chiller "The Awful Dr. Orloff"? And, more importantly, why in God's name did I spent 10 Pounds buying this DVD?? This movie has nothing to do with Poe, it's unimaginably boring and it lacks every form of action or excitement. Howard Vernon (him again) stars as an insane "doctor" who keeps on trying to resurrect his late daughter with the blood of young girls. Living with him in the ramshackle castle are some insane employees and a couple of ghosts from the past. 'Revenge in the House of Usher' is horribly slow and it completely lacks all the elements that made Jess Franco (in)famous! Lina Romay stars in this film, yet she keeps her clothes on and the only bit of violence there was to see were actually flashbacks. I can imagine Franco is proud of his "Awful Dr. Orloff" but that doesn't give him the right to re-edit entire sequences of it in other movies! Like every other reviewer here already pointed out: stay far away from this movie!

I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately I BOUGHT it (cheaply) and you've done better than me because I've attempted to watch it twice with no luck. Where does the aka Zombie bit in the title come from? The reason I bought it was one of the cast from Blairwitch Project said in an interview that a House of Usher film was their favorite horror. On checking after my mistake, it was a different House of Usher film!