Hollywood Horror House

1970

Action / Horror / Thriller

2
IMDb Rating 5.5/10 10 667 667

Plot summary

An enigmatic young man manipulates his way into working at the decaying mansion of a once prolific, but now reclusive and alcoholic, movie star named Katharine Packard. While the rest of the house staff become suspicious of Vic's intentions, the aging movie queen is smitten. But as Vic begins behaving in more and more erratic ways, it becomes clear that he's far more sinister than his demeanor implies.

Director

Donald Wolfe Photo
Donald Wolfe

Top cast

Riza Royce Photo
Riza Royce as Mrs. Jaffee
Lester Matthews Photo
Lester Matthews as Ira Jaffee
Leoda Richards Photo
Leoda Richards as Dinner Party Guest
Florence Lake Photo
Florence Lake as Mildred
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
837.23 MB
1280*682
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds ...
1.52 GB
1920*1024
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds 3

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by planktonrules 6 / 10

Wow...just wow!!

"Savage Intruder" (also called "Hollywood Horror House") is a real product of its time. It seems that in the 1960s and into the 70s, all sorts of faded female stars of Hollywood's golden era were appearing in movies which were pretty embarrassing for their fans to watch. The best of these was probably "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", as it jumpstarted the careers of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. But many other stars made even more outrageous films which did nothing to help them and only left them embarrassed. Lana Turner made "The Big Cube" (about LSD), Jennifer Jones made "Angel, Angel Down Below" (about a hippie singer and his cult) and Miriam Hopkins made "Savage Intruder" (also called "Hollywood Horror House")....and it's about her and a guy who likes to dismember women! The film never jumpstarted the careers of any of these three ex-stars...and in Hopkins' case, it might have been less because the film was awful and more because the film sat on the shelf for a couple years before a limited release.Katharine (Hopkins) is a faded movie star who hasn't made a film in many years. Now, she mostly sits around getting drunk in her lovely mansion. But this is disrupted when she's so drunk she falls and severely injures herself...necessitating the hiring of a male assistant to push her wheelchair and carry her as needed. Unfortunately, the guy they hire, Vic, has a nasty little hobby...hacking women to pieces for kicks. He also has some serious Mommy Issues. And, over the course of the film, he gets rid of Katharine's staff and ultimately keeps the poor woman prisoner...or does he?! Is there any chance for the lady or will she end up like a human jigsaw puzzle like so many other women in Vic's life?In addition to Hopkins, the film also features Gale Sondergaard as her chief assistant. While not nearly as famous as Hopkins back in the day, she nonetheless was an established name to add to the film.While some might have been a bit embarrassed to be in such a sleazy slasher movie, both Sondergaard and Hopkins lobbied hard to get the film released and felt it would give their careers a new lease. I severely doubt if it could have done that...but must admit that although it's a bad film in many ways, it is entertaining...like watching a slow-motion train wreck! Plus you really have to admire them for trying so hard.In many ways, this movie is like "Cast a Dark Shadow" (with Dirk Bogarde) and "Kind Lady" with Maurice Evans. In both films, lonely old ladies have a seemingly nice guy come to their homes and the 'nice guys' end up taking over and tormenting the poor ladies. In addition, toss in a heaping helping of "Psycho". So, in this sense, "Savage Intruder" is hardly original...though it combining this plot with a lot of gore is pretty original...and a bit weird.The film was directed and written by Donald Wolfe, a guy who made very few films. It's a shame, as in some ways it's a bad film but it also is never dull and manages to entertain. Well worth seeing, especially if you have a high tolerance for the weird!
Reviewed by johnquaid 7 / 10

Unfairly Obscure

You have to thank the good people at Vinegar Syndrome for bringing Hollywood Horror House out of obscurity and into the light again. While it's far from perfect and came at the end of the "Baby Jane"/crazy old dame phase, it's one of the wilder entries into that subgenre with a surprising amount of effective gore.It all plays out a bit like Sunset Boulevard if the Joe Gillis character was a serial killer who kills older women because they remind him of his mother. He latches on to a faded film star played by Miriam Hopkins and becomes her assistant, confidant, and perhaps her lover. As various people in Hopkins' life start to suspect this homicidal grifter of ill will, he kills them.Hollywood Horror House appears to have a had a somewhat sizable budget given the sets, quality of actors, lighting, and special effects. After all, how many of these low budget films features a Christmas parade sequence with seemingly hundreds of extras? The film does lose steam towards the end and the ending isn't the most satisfying, but the journey to get there is wonderfully wild.
Reviewed by Stevieboy666 7 / 10

End of the Golden Age of Hollywood meets proto-slasher

An ageing, alcoholic movie star employs a young man to assist with the staff at her Hollywood mansion but he turns out to be a drug addicted, scheming, woman murdering maniac. Miriam Hopkins play the faded star perfectly, and this was to be her final role; David Garfield convincingly plays the handsome psychopath. As others have said this is "Sunset Boulevard"/'Baby Jane" but with plenty of bloodshed plus some psychedelic drug sequences. It is something of a curiosity, trashy but fun. I can find very little written about this in my various movie books, sad because it is a film that deserves to be better known. I have the original British VHS, released by Vipco and they weren't shy in pushing this as a gory slasher movie. I guess for 1970 it was quite explicit. Available on DVD as Hollywood House of Horror.
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