Psychological thriller/haunted house movie Dark Places has got quite the horror pedigree: it stars Robert Hardy (Demons of the Mind, Psychomania), Hammer icon Christopher Lee, Joan Collins (Tales from the Crypt, Tales That Witness Madness), Herbert Lom (The Phantom of the Opera, Asylum) and Jane Birkin (Seven Deaths in the Cats Eyes) and was directed by Don Sharp (Rasputin: The Mad Monk, The Kiss of the Vampire). The plot might not do anything revolutionary, but with talent like that, a good time is virtually guaranteed.
Hardy plays Edward Foster, who inherits Marr's Grove, the run-down, purportedly haunted home of Andrew Marr, who spent his last years at St. Columba's Mental Institution. According to Marr's dying words, there is a fortune hidden behind one of the walls, and Foster intends to find it. However, he is not the only one hoping to get his hands on the cash: Marr's physician Dr. Ian Mandeville (Lee) and his sister Sarah (Collins) also know about the money, as does Marr's attorney Prescott (Lom). Foster also has to contend with the issue of ghosts, the spirits of Marr's murdered wife, children and mistress Alta (Birkin) haunting the decrepit property.
The standard haunted house shenanigans ensue - lights go on and off by themselves, objects smash, spooky voices echo through the corridors - and Foster slowly find himself possessed by Marr's spirit, causing him to experience visions from long ago. This enables Sharp to deftly weave together the present and the past, ultimately revealing the secret behind the mysterious deaths of Marr's nearest and dearest, and the location of the missing money. After lots of subtle spookiness, the film goes all out with the horror in the final act, Foster throttling Sarah and pick-axing Ian in the chest; he also has a flashback to Marr killing his crazy children (with a sabre), the pair having done away with Alta by stabbing her with a big knife.
The final revelation of what lies behind the wall probably won't come a big surprise (especially for those who enjoy a bit of E. A. Poe), but it wraps up the film neatly, with Prescott looking quite dismayed as the missing loot is retrieved and taken away by the police.
Hardy plays Edward Foster, who inherits Marr's Grove, the run-down, purportedly haunted home of Andrew Marr, who spent his last years at St. Columba's Mental Institution. According to Marr's dying words, there is a fortune hidden behind one of the walls, and Foster intends to find it. However, he is not the only one hoping to get his hands on the cash: Marr's physician Dr. Ian Mandeville (Lee) and his sister Sarah (Collins) also know about the money, as does Marr's attorney Prescott (Lom). Foster also has to contend with the issue of ghosts, the spirits of Marr's murdered wife, children and mistress Alta (Birkin) haunting the decrepit property.
The standard haunted house shenanigans ensue - lights go on and off by themselves, objects smash, spooky voices echo through the corridors - and Foster slowly find himself possessed by Marr's spirit, causing him to experience visions from long ago. This enables Sharp to deftly weave together the present and the past, ultimately revealing the secret behind the mysterious deaths of Marr's nearest and dearest, and the location of the missing money. After lots of subtle spookiness, the film goes all out with the horror in the final act, Foster throttling Sarah and pick-axing Ian in the chest; he also has a flashback to Marr killing his crazy children (with a sabre), the pair having done away with Alta by stabbing her with a big knife.
The final revelation of what lies behind the wall probably won't come a big surprise (especially for those who enjoy a bit of E. A. Poe), but it wraps up the film neatly, with Prescott looking quite dismayed as the missing loot is retrieved and taken away by the police.