Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Michael O'Keefe Mystery, gore and humor mix as a young writer Kenneth Magee (Desi Arnez Jr.), takes a bet from his publisher Sam Allyson (Richard Todd) that he can write a novel in twenty-fours. To make this assignment difficult, Magee has to stay in a spooky mansion believed to be empty. The property is not vacant; four odd inhabitants (played by horror icons Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine) will be joined with others to distract the gullible author.What all will have to be endured for the writer to succeed in winning his bet? Will the payoff be worth it? Don't expect award-winning acting. Atmospheric and a hoot for horror fans.Other players: Sheila Keith, Richard Hunter, Louise Englsh and Julie Peasgood.

Scott LeBrun Desi Arnaz Jr. plays Kenneth Magee, an American writer who makes a best with his publisher, Sam Allyson (Richard Todd). His ego is great enough that he thinks that he can write something on the level of "Wuthering Heights" (which he doesn't hold in high regard) in 24 hours. At stake is $20,000 of his money. So Sam procures for him a Welsh manor named Baldpate where Kenneth can supposedly write in seclusion. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and Kenneth is interrupted all night long by a family looking to exorcise their old demons and a man looking to purchase the manor.This effort by the cult filmmaker Pete Walker ("Frightmare", "House of Whipcord") is notable mostly for uniting four legendary horror actors: John Carradine, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee. "House of the Long Shadows" is a must see for their work, if nothing else. Walker and this fine cast does seem to have fun with the material, which was meant to be played with a sense of humour. Certainly some of the tropes of the genre are present and accounted for: the dark, stormy night, the locked room, the old family secret, etc. What this viewer appreciated most about the film was the old school atmosphere of a classic "Old Dark House" type of story, and for the fact that Walker and screenwriter Michael Armstrong so completely manipulate their audience.While this viewer didn't dislike Arnaz Jr. as much as most people who've seen this, the less that is said about his performance is still probably better. But don't see it for him. See it for Price (who rattles off the exposition in style), Lee, Carradine, Cushing (whose comic performance is simply wonderful), and Walker regular Sheila Keith (who plays Carradines' daughter).Good fun for fans of the genre.Seven out of 10.

rottenapple1974 This is a great movie. OK, it's not Shakespeare, I know, but I remember seeing this on cable when I was a kid and I loved it!! Were those people real or were they simply the writer's imagination? I still don't know for sure. It would be great to see this as an adult. I loved Murder By Death as a child and even more so as an adult (when I understood the humor better) and this is one of those movies from my memories that I think I'd enjoy just as much. There were so many acting greats in this flick, it was like a horror who's who. I would be so thrilled to watch this again. This movie was such good fun. I hope someone finally gets to putting this on DVD. I don't understand why we can get trashy slasher flicks on DVD but not this one. So sad for us all!

BA_Harrison An 'old dark house'-style horror/thriller, House Of The Long Shadows takes place in a seemingly deserted Welsh manor where American novelist Kenneth Magee (Desi Arnaz Jr.) attempts to write a Gothic novel in just twenty four hours after making a bet with his publisher Sam (Richard Todd). Shortly after settling in, a series of strange visitors arrive at the house to disturb his work...Many Pete Walker fans seem to consider this, his final film, to be a something of a disappointment, one that sees the director toning down his usual level of gruesome violence and wanton sleaze whilst failing to capitalize on the combined talent of four of the horror genre's greatest actors: Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and John Carradine.I may be a little biased (this was one of the first horrors that I ever saw at the cinema) but I think the film deserves a bit more respect: the basic plot might be well-worn—yet another retelling of The Seven Keys of Baldpate—but it is a lot of fun, with Walker achieving a suitably creepy ambiance, some effective scares and one or two delightfully grisly moments. And as far as the old-timers' performances are concerned, they are perfectly nuanced for such a tongue-in-cheek chiller, with Cushing in particular being vewy funny!I can even easily forgive the film's more preposterous moments, since most of them occur as part of Midnight Mansion, the Gothic novel hurriedly penned by novelist Magee over the course of the night. If I had to write an entire book in such a short space of time it would probably stretch plausibility a bit as well.