Woodyanders Writer Ted Fletcher (a solid and likable performance by Edward Albert) and his wife Laura (a fine and appealing portrayal by the ever-scrumptious Susan George) move into a house in Kyoto, Japan that turns out to be haunted by the unrestful spirits of two lovers as well as the angry man who killed both of them before committing suicide himself.Director Kevin Connor, working from an incredibly asinine script by Robert Suhosky, treats the silly premise with jaw-dropping misguided seriousness: Starting out with a breathtaking bloodbath done in balletic Sam Peckinpah-style slow motion, highlighted by such gut-busting moments as a pasty face materializing in a bowl of soup and an absurd attack by vicious giant crabs grunting in Japanese (!), and capped off by a surprisingly grim'n'gory ending, this gloriously ridiculous rubbish rates as loads of campy fun to watch. The hokey (not so) special effects further add to the overall kitschy allure. Both Jacques Haitkin's sharp cinematography and Ken Thorne's spare spooky score are up to par. As a yummy extra treat, the delectable Mrs. George bares her tasty wares in a couple of sizzling love sex scenes. (Doug McClure as amiable diplomat Alex Curtis also shows some of his backside for the ladies.) A complete trashy hoot.

MARIO GAUCI This could have been interesting – a Japan-set haunted house story from the viewpoint of a newly-installed American family – but falls flat due to an over-simplified treatment and the unsuitability of both cast and director.The film suffers from the same problem I often encounter with the popular modern renaissance of such native fare, i.e. the fact that the spirits demonstrate themselves to be evil for no real reason other than that they're expected to! Besides, it doesn't deliver much in the scares department – a giant crab attack is merely silly – as, generally, the ghosts inhabit a specific character and cause him or her to act in a totally uncharacteristic way, such as Susan George seducing diplomat/friend-of-the-family Doug McClure and Edward Albert force-feeding his daughter a bowl of soup! At one point, an old monk turns up at the house to warn Albert of the danger if they remain there – eventually, he's called upon to exorcise the premises. However, history is bound to repeat itself and tragedy is the only outcome of the tense situation duly created – leading to a violent yet unintentionally funny climax in which Albert and McClure, possessed by the spirits of their Japanese predecessors, engage in an impromptu karate duel to the death! At the end of the day, this emerges an innocuous time-waster – tolerable at just 88 minutes but, in no way, essential viewing.

Backlash007 ~Spoiler~ The House Where Evil Dwells has an interesting premise, but a bad execution. In 1840 Kyoto, Japan, a samurai returns home to find his wife in bed with another lover. He slaughters them both and then commits harikiri. In present day 1983, Edward Albert and Susan George move into this same house and become the victims of a haunting where the ghosts are trying to recreate the events of 1840. Doug McClure is a family friend living in Japan who got them the house and he takes over the role of the lover. Oddly enough, the film's premise isn't entirely different from the wildly popular Ju-on series. So you have to give it some due, even though Ju-on improves upon the story tenfold. Perhaps Takashi Shimizu was influenced by this film? It has a good set-up and it's different that we actually see the ghosts "jump" into the living to take them over and set the affair in motion. But there comes a point in the middle of the film where I found the whole thing to be absolutely laughable. One of the ghosts manifests itself in the daughter's bowl of soup and makes ridiculous faces at her. She says "Unnnnn...There's an awful face in my soup!" I rewound and watched that scene five times, laughing like a b*stard every time. After this scene, the whole movie becomes campy and full of unintentional humor, mostly coming from the ghosts. For example, the ghosts are exorcised by a monk but come running back into the house when Albert opens the door. Were they just never allowed to open the door after that? That's kind of a cheap exorcism. And when Albert and McClure finally face off, the ghosts are watching them and cheering them on like they were at a wrestling match. It's hysterical. But the best moment, other than the bowl of soup, is when the ghosts possess McClure and Albert. Up until this point they have been brawling, but when the ghosts do their "Quantum Leap" in they start using the worst martial arts in screen history. Old white guys doing swing kicks and karate chops is not graceful when they don't know what they're doing. But it is quite funny. And who can forget those awful crabs! That scene speaks for itself. I can see how this flick could be a guilty pleasure, but watch Ju-on: The Grudge for a better take on a similar plot.

steveklein I saw this film at a pre-release screening at the Writers Guild theater in Beverly Hills. As I recall, the film's producers and director were in attendance, presumably to gage our reaction.Many scenes evoked gales of laughter from the audience, which would have been fine if it had been a comedy, but it was supposed to be a horror film.If the audience wasn't scared, it seems the filmmakers were. They delayed release for over a year. Out of curiosity I saw it again to see if they'd re-cut it; as far as I can tell, they hadn't. It was the same lousy movie, just a year older.It almost qualifies as "so bad, it's good," but it's slow-paced and boring.