Independently made and subsequently picked up by a major Hollywood distributor, "The House Where Evil Dwells" has been mostly forgotten in the years since, and it doesn't take long to figure out why. True, it has some features that at first promise that it will stand out from other horror movies involving ghosts. It's shot and set in Japan, which gives it a unique backdrop, and the production values are first rate (the movie looks very nice on Blu-ray, by the way.) However, it doesn't take long for the movie to really slow down and make evident that there isn't a terrible amount of story here. And what story there is often has some confusing aspects to it. For example, why are the three ghosts working together when they were involved in a fatal and bloody love triangle before their deaths? And why do they want to recreate what happened to them over a hundred years ago? (It would make more sense if the woman and lover ghosts were fighting the jealous husband ghost's efforts to make a modern day bloody love triangle.) Possibly more explanation (and more plot) got edited out when the movie was taken out the director's hands and reedited by others. As it is, the movie feels kind of simplistic and without any twists. The movie is not boring, but it is utterly forgettable; it'll vanish like a ghost from your mind not long after you finish watching it.

This movie seems to still get no respect, so let me chip in and say give it a look. The movie has some real atmosphere which really matters in a ghost story. A big part of this is the sound which features constant bug noises whenever at the house and the other aspect of the effective sound is a very good score by Ken Thorne. It's a scary score, I'd say Thorne's best and the sound design of the film uses it well and also uses Japanese language screams and grunts effectively. The scares are here and if a few times the scare is followed by something that gets a bit silly, you have to say it gets you.The film is also part travelogue of Japan and it does this well too. The ghosts are fairly authentic to Japanese culture--including the face in the soup ghost that others have thought silly. What's interesting about the ghosts in this film, that is pretty unique, is that we the audience see the ghosts but for the most part the characters in the film don't. I can't think of another ghost story that has done this. The movie moves pretty quickly though in the middle it loses a bit of steam and it's also in the middle that the ghosts get a bit silly, but most of this can be forgiven with the uncompromising and memorable ending toping it all off. Also there is nudity and sexual elements and the female Japanese ghost is genuinely creepy as is the dialog free opening of the film.Must be said that the existing DVD of the film has a soft looking 16 by 9 image, if you watch the full frame version the image is sharper and you see more image top and bottom, so the widescreen is just a slightly sloppy blow up of the same video master. The trailer to the film also 16 by 9 looks much better than the movie! But it's still worth watching.Director Connor does one of his best jobs here, it's too bad that in the middle part of the film he has the ghosts run around in scooby Doo fashion, but it's a relatively short lapse in his effective film. George bugs her eyes out one too many times but otherwise gives a good performance as do the 2 male leads. The daughter character is fairly poorly written and acted but that's a smallish part of the film.It's a unique ghost story it's got exploitation elements to keep you going as well. Hey at least it makes sense, which is more than you can say for THE GRUDGE. Those 2 films pretty much stand alone, well along with THE MANSTER for genre films made by Westerners in Japan.

This can be one of the most enjoyable movies ever if you don't take it seriously. It is a bit dated and the effects are lame, but it is so enjoyable. There are giant crabs that attack a girl. oh, and the crabs sing Japanese. It is amazingly bad. And the ending, which has been telegraphed throughout the entire film is hideously awesome. Predictable, but seeing the final fight will leave you rolling in your seat. Don't even give this film a chance and you will love it. Susan George is fun to watch and yes, she does appear naked. Her daughter isn't quite worth putting up with, but she does get attacked by giant crabs. They are the size of large cats. This is a 2, but I love it. As a movie, my God, but for entertainment, I give it a 7. Did I mention there are giant crabs?

Just plain awful haunted house garbage has visiting American family dealing with possession in a Japanese teahouse.A disgruntled Samurai hacks up his adulterous wife and her lover with his sword after coming home to them in sexual embrace. Their bad karma keeps them in a ghostly form of limbo so they try to pit American husband Ted(Edward Albert), British wife Laura(Susan George)and their US American Ambassader pal Alex(Doug McClure)into an ugly re-staging of the events that has imprisoned them hoping to release the chains that bind them. The Japanese ghosts possess the three anytime they wish, often even causing mischief such as disrupting the water flow from the faucet, tossing a Noh mask from the wall, appearing in a bowl of soup, or becoming visible in the form of giant crabs! There's one hilarious scene where giant crabs chase Ted and Laura's daughter Amy(Amy Barrett)up a tree until she falls. Oh, and the scene where one of the ghosts causes Ted to splash a bowl of soup in Amy's face when she won't drink, is priceless. The final scene where possession causes Ted and Alex to duel in a sword fight and martial arts has to be seen to be believed. I especially giggled at the scene where Ted is chasing the female ghost around the room as she vanishes when he draws near..it's quite a cartoonish scene. Oh, and the female ghost somehow almost drowns Ted underwater! There's also a chuckle-inducing sequence where a monk comes to their home to exorcise the ghosts from it..the monk actually chases them from their abode!I don't know how the cast could keep a straight face in such mindless drivel. Embarrassing to ruin such exotic locations..the setting is indeed this film's only real benefit. George does shed her clothes..too bad that's the only positive thing she brings to this horrible exercise. The opening scene which yields the yuk-yuk premise is actually quite a stunning way to open a film..just too bad it opens this one.