THE CORPSE is one of Michael Gough's almost entirely unknown masterpieces. In fact the film is so unknown that one is only likely to come across it by accident on the IMDb like I did.
Unlike most horror films, where the villains are monsters, vampires or masked serial killers, this film focuses around a typical British upper middle-class family. The plot line seems straightforward a cruel and sadistic man is murdered by his wife and daughter, and the murder is made to look like suicide. But, all is not what it seems as is revealed later in the film. The body mysteriously keeps disappearing and reappearing in different places, and disconnected phone lines suddenly become reconnected. I won't give away the ending not because I believe it would spoil the film, but because I don't understand it.
As another reviewer has pointed out, the film creates a chilling atmosphere through the use of suspenseful music, dream sequences, flashbacks and psychological violence. In fact, it is the psychological torment that the father inflicts on both his wife and daughter that makes the film disturbing. Only one major scene of actual violence is shown in the film and that is the one where the father beats his daughter with a riding crop as a punishment for stealing money. And this scene isn't explicit. The scene cuts to and from the bedroom where the daughter is being beaten in a very-paced scene, which makes the scene more disturbing as the audience is left to ponder over what is happening. It is one of the best scenes I have seen in a horror film.
The acting is top notch. Michael Gough excels in what is perhaps his best performance as the ultra-conservative, cruel, sadistic patriarch Walter Eastwood. Yvonne Mitchell is also brilliant as his psychologically tormented wife, Edith. Even Sharon Gurney gives a great performance as Eastwood's daughter, Jane. Sadly, the excellent performances provided by these stars did not seem to open doors to other similar projects at the time. Michael Gough spent the rest of the decade making trashy films such as HORROR HOSPITAL. Yvonne Mitchell made only a couple of films before her untimely demise in 1979. And Sharon Gurney's future career was mostly restricted to television before seemingly disappearing completely from acting in 1973.
The audience gets a real feel for the characters, particularly Edith and Jane, through the use of dream sequences and flashbacks that delve into their thoughts. The introduction of the sequence showing Walter Eastwood at the exterior of the house in the garden before going inside almost acts as an invitation to the audience to see what is happening in this seemingly ordinary household. The film starts with a few references to suggest that Walter Eastwood is an over-protective father. But as each scene progresses, he starts to reveal his true colours, and the audience can clearly see that he is more than a little over-protective. The impact of his cruelty is unbelievable. The audience can almost feel the tears about to come out of Jane's eyes in a scene where she witnesses Eastwood reading one of her private letters at the family dinner table before proceeding to tear it up smugly without even showing it to her.
Those who only know Michael Gough as Alfred the Butler from the Batman films of the 1990s would certainly be in for a surprise if they saw this film.
The ending seems to be the one thing that lets the film down. It is perhaps the most confusing I have ever seen.
I give the film 8 out of 10 for an excellent effort by both the crew and the actors.
Unlike most horror films, where the villains are monsters, vampires or masked serial killers, this film focuses around a typical British upper middle-class family. The plot line seems straightforward a cruel and sadistic man is murdered by his wife and daughter, and the murder is made to look like suicide. But, all is not what it seems as is revealed later in the film. The body mysteriously keeps disappearing and reappearing in different places, and disconnected phone lines suddenly become reconnected. I won't give away the ending not because I believe it would spoil the film, but because I don't understand it.
As another reviewer has pointed out, the film creates a chilling atmosphere through the use of suspenseful music, dream sequences, flashbacks and psychological violence. In fact, it is the psychological torment that the father inflicts on both his wife and daughter that makes the film disturbing. Only one major scene of actual violence is shown in the film and that is the one where the father beats his daughter with a riding crop as a punishment for stealing money. And this scene isn't explicit. The scene cuts to and from the bedroom where the daughter is being beaten in a very-paced scene, which makes the scene more disturbing as the audience is left to ponder over what is happening. It is one of the best scenes I have seen in a horror film.
The acting is top notch. Michael Gough excels in what is perhaps his best performance as the ultra-conservative, cruel, sadistic patriarch Walter Eastwood. Yvonne Mitchell is also brilliant as his psychologically tormented wife, Edith. Even Sharon Gurney gives a great performance as Eastwood's daughter, Jane. Sadly, the excellent performances provided by these stars did not seem to open doors to other similar projects at the time. Michael Gough spent the rest of the decade making trashy films such as HORROR HOSPITAL. Yvonne Mitchell made only a couple of films before her untimely demise in 1979. And Sharon Gurney's future career was mostly restricted to television before seemingly disappearing completely from acting in 1973.
The audience gets a real feel for the characters, particularly Edith and Jane, through the use of dream sequences and flashbacks that delve into their thoughts. The introduction of the sequence showing Walter Eastwood at the exterior of the house in the garden before going inside almost acts as an invitation to the audience to see what is happening in this seemingly ordinary household. The film starts with a few references to suggest that Walter Eastwood is an over-protective father. But as each scene progresses, he starts to reveal his true colours, and the audience can clearly see that he is more than a little over-protective. The impact of his cruelty is unbelievable. The audience can almost feel the tears about to come out of Jane's eyes in a scene where she witnesses Eastwood reading one of her private letters at the family dinner table before proceeding to tear it up smugly without even showing it to her.
Those who only know Michael Gough as Alfred the Butler from the Batman films of the 1990s would certainly be in for a surprise if they saw this film.
The ending seems to be the one thing that lets the film down. It is perhaps the most confusing I have ever seen.
I give the film 8 out of 10 for an excellent effort by both the crew and the actors.