Arriving on Blu-Ray for the first time in the UK from 101 Films Mansion Of The Doomed or its original theatrical/home video releases here The Terror of Dr Chaney & Massacre Mansion it’s a 1976 American B picture producing debut of Charles Band who would later create Full Moon Pictures & the work of the late Stuart Gordon of Reanimator fame.
The film was directed by actor Michael Pataki with nearly 200 Film & TV credits with the standouts being mostly in the horror genre and the montage-heavy Rocky IV it’s an American take on Georges Franju’s French scare flick Eyes Without A Face (aka Les Yeux Sans Visage) written by Actor Frank Ray Perilli.
Dr Leonard Chaney (Richard Basehart) is a man obsessed with curing his only daughter Nancy (Trish Stewart) of her blindness caused by a car accident so with the help of his assistant Katherine (Gloria Grahame) he begins taking the eyes from healthy people firstly a young upstart doctor played by Lance Henricksen in an early role and various other people that he comes into contact with that he holds up in a basement case when the operations are less than successful.
The script isn’t particularly inventive with the narrative; it’s pretty much rinse and repeat with the film ending with its inevitable conclusion of the doctor getting his comeuppance… but there is a nice touch when it comes to how much more time you spend with the victims of the doctor.
The direction is not particularly memorable with it feeling at times like 70s television only with added eye trauma that happens to be created by the legendary Terminator FX Man Stan Winston & photographed by Andy Davis who would later direct Tommy Lee Jones to an Oscar win for The Fugitive.
When it comes to the acting it’s effective Richard Basehart with his grave voice and his screen presence he’s believable as the obsessive doctor looking out for his daughter & he has chemistry with Gloria Grahame who sadly passed away five years later from stomach cancer.
This release from 101 Films Black Label Limited Edition comes with exclusive packaging alongside a booklet with essays from Chris Alexander & Andy Marshall Robert who discuss various aspects of the film.
As well as the film the disc contains a 32-minute documentary about the earlier career of Mansion Of The Doomed’s producer Charles Band with interviews with him and former Fangoria Editor/Full Moon Fan Chris Alexander.
The final extra is a 16-minute interview with the film editor Harry Kersmidas who talks about his work on the movie, how he got into the industry and his career that includes an impressive list of movies such as the Back To The Future Trilogy & Stallone’s Judge Dredd.
Mansion Of The Doomed was a stepping stone movie for those involved with its production which led to better things & during the video nasty era of the early 80s, the film was on the section 3 list of movies that couldn’t be charged on grounds of obscenity but could be seized or confiscated by the police which is more mind-boggling than anything on screen in this mild horror B movie.
As someone who has been fascinated by what happened during this time of British state censorship and the movies that happened to be unfortunately caught up in this madness, I’m glad that I can now tick off Mansion Of The Doomed from my nasty viewing list but I can’t see myself watching it again anytime soon.
Mansion Of The Doomed is Available On Blu Ray From May 6th 2024 From 101 Films
The Film Collective Scotland 
Leave a comment