#1598 Halloween 2021: The House Where Evil Dwells aka Ghost in Kyoto (1982)

Award for the most interesting horror concept for this Halloween goes to The House Where Evil Dwells, taking a place in not just a haunted house, but a Japanese house haunted by Japanese samurai warriors who met the end of their day in a violent love triangle. The house and the Japanese landscapes have a great cinematic quality to them, and the whole premise of the family starting anew in an exotic location is interesting to say at least.

But, they made the wrong movie. Out of all the options I can think of, this story has the least amount of interest in it, and cheap looking superimposed ghosts aren’t really convincing at all. If they had to stick with ghosts option, it would’ve been a much more interesting option to see them try to communicate with the deceased, for example. Anything but with the movie ended up.

The House Where Evil Dwells is a missed opportunity that would have gained from going through a few more rounds of audience screenings, and rewrites.

80s-o-meter: 87%

Total: 42%