Before I get started, there are some on the net saying this is a ripoff of H.P. Lovecraft's short story. It is quite different and the ending is galaxies away from the Lovecraft short story. Now on to my review...
One of the better simple scary movies on TV in the mid 1960's starred a then, young and beautiful (which case she still is this day)
Carol Lynley whom I have always considered to be a very talented actress. Perhaps one of her larger roles and important ones was in the 1966 motion picture "The Shuttered Room," which also starred a youthful yet matured
Gig Young as a new husband in a then, slick new Ford Thunderbird. The story is about Carol's character, a child who grew up in a home that was a large three story mill on an East Coast island near the new england area. Taking a ferry across, they drive along a road whereby they are almost acosted by wreckless local men. From there, the story builds and and the m,ystery deepens, meanwhile the men with too much time on their hands, decide they need to harrass the couple, one of the characters played by the very talented
Oliver Reed insatiably looking to rape Carol's character while the wild bunch decides to take on Gig's character. Unfortunately for the wild bunch they quickly discover that Gig knows martial arts and that takes care of that group. The plot for the story is pretty straightforward with two subplots that support and merge with the main story plot, all for a controversial ending which I will not spoil. The antics of life on the small island and a peek at what 1966 looked like back then for me was quite memorable, since I lived through that era. As for the story, it has its moments and is a good hour and a half escape from today's world. Not the scariest or best movie in the world, but it works and works very well for what it was and remains. If you like suspense and mystery this should bode well. The flick gets a PG-13 rating because of content, but for October 2008, going back to the past ain't bad.
On a scale of 1 to 5 I'll give this a generous 3.75 Thumbs up. The shuttered room is packaged with another flick called "IT" which starred Roddye McDowel. Good for killing an hour or two, though "IT" is similar to the trash that the Tinselturds like to produce, only without the glitzy FX of 2008. Ironically it is one of only a few flicks that have acknowledged the biblical Jewish monster called a Golem. Considering its straightforward and almost nojn existant plot I give this a neutral 1.5 thumbs up...
The DVD as mentioned is a combo DVD and can only be currently purchased at Best Buy. If you get it, do it for The Shuttered Room, the view of 1966 was nice.
American Author, Poet, Songwriter and Filmwriter
"Mark Paul" Sebar
The Power To Write The Best!
