'70s Trash: Mansion of the Doomed (1976)

At long last, I see if the Poster matches up to the Film.  This is Mansion of the Doomed, a 1976 Horror Film that feels similar to a French.  The biggest critique out of the way first: it is similar to Eyes Without a Face.  I'll grant you that.  I just don't think that it is a rip-off or knock-off per se.  The Plot involves a Doctor who's Daughter is made blind after a car accident.  Can he defy the known laws of Medicine to cure her?  She sure as hell is willing to try!  The Director- Michael Pataki- only has 3 Credits (this is his 2nd) and is much more known as an Actor.  He's in a slew of things- listed here- and is a great 'That Guy' in Films.  The Lead is Richard Basehart, most notable to me from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (the TV Show).  The Writer, meanwhile, has many crazy Credits, including Dracula's Dog (aka Zoltan, Hound of Dracula), Fairy Tales (which is Softcore Porn) and Laserblast!  While he has a mustache in this Film, he doesn't look like Edgar Allen Poe, despite what the promo art all entails (see below).  The only other credit really worth mentioning here now is that of Stanley Winston, a few years into his famous career.  Yeah, I'd go by Stan too.  This Movie wasn't *technically* a Video Nasty, but makes many Lists of them all the same.  To see why it is warranted, read on...

A young woman has lost her sight due to a tragic car accident.  Thankfully, her Dad is a Doctor who happens to specialize in Eyes.

What can he do though?

Well, he monologues ALOT, but eventually decides to try out a new, fresh pair of donor eyes.

For some reason, he picks her (ex?)Boyfriend...Lance Henriksen?!?

We soon find out that he has kept Lance locked up in the Basement in a Cage, since, he 'can't dispose of the body.'

Within weeks (since the transplants keep failing), there are a half-dozen people down there!

In a bit that reminds me more of The Brain that Wouldn't Die than Eyes Without a Face (got no human race), he has to keep finding people to bring home and then steal the eyes from.

Fun Fact: one of them is (I guess) famous Baseball Player Al Ferrera.  He was also on Batman.

The Film really makes you feel for the Daughter, who he apparently performs eye transplants on at least 6-7 times within 2 Months (tops!).  Ouch!

I do, however, feel less bad for when she goes swimming in a pool (full of chlorine!) two weeks after the first operation!

The act becomes too much to keep up with as he keeps performing operations and leaving eye-less victims in the basement.

One of them escapes, which leads the Police in his direction...but he's killed by the Prisoners- specifically Ferrera- before that actually happens.

Weird to set up that Plot Point then, no?  The End.

A dark and interesting Film.  True Horror Films make you ask questions.  In this case, is the Doctor right for doing whatever it takes to cure his Daughter?  After all, he does plan on using the same research to do full Eye Transplants for everyone.  Do the ends justify the means?  Medicine has sacrificed more than a few people to get new achievements- right or wrong.  To his credit, Basehart does a good job in selling you his ideals and slowly-increasing insanity.  He's definitely a bad guy here- no question.  Even so, part of you does want him to succeed.  At the very least, it means that he'll stop taking people's eyeballs out!  As things continue to fail, you can see his desperation grow and how he's willing to do stuff he wouldn't have days ago.  I'm still not clear why Lance was his first target though.  I could see him being a later one- perhaps he visits and says something to offend the Daughter- but not the first.  Credit for the realistic and freaky effects has to go to the late Mr. Winston.  He nails the horror of their missing eyes and it is a pretty seamless effect 99% of the time.  The Acting here can range from the good to the melodramatic.  Granted- if I was in the situation that the people in the Cage were, would I sound calm and rational?!?  I'm not going to say that this is a 'lost classic,' but it is definitely a shocking and scintillating Film quite often.  If you're into the darker Horror, check it out.  Just be careful with some of the alternate Titles and Box Arts.  For instance, this one features a shot of George Eastman from a completely different Movie...

Next time, I check out another forgotten 'classic.'  This one infamously has about 3 different Cuts, but I *think* I have the original to cover.  Stay tuned...