''Delusion'' (also known as ''The House Where Death Lives'') is a 1980 American

psychological horror Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subge ...

and

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...

directed by Alan Beattie, and starring

Patricia Pearcy Patricia Sue Pearcy is an American film, stage, and television actress. She began her career in theatre, appearing on Broadway and in local theatre companies in Connecticut and Kentucky before making her film debut in Monte Hellman's '' Cockfig ...

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and '' Sab ...

, David Hayward, and

John Dukakis John Dukakis (né Chaffetz; born June 9, 1958) is an American entertainer, music executive, and political aide. Early life Dukakis was born John Chaffetz Jr. in San Jose, California on June 9, 1958, but reared in the Boston area. He is the son of ...

. The film's poster art is based on

Charles Allan Gilbert Charles Allan Gilbert (September 3, 1873 – April 20, 1929), better known as C. Allan Gilbert, was a prominent American illustrator. He is especially remembered for a widely published drawing (a memento mori or vanitas) titled ''All Is Vanity' ...

's 1892 illustration ''All Is Vanity''.

Plot

Nurse Meredith Stone recounts, in a letter to her father, her mother's recent death, and details a job she has taken at a Fairlawn estate caring for the wealthy, elderly Ivar Langrock. There, she is greeted by his butler, Phillip, and Jeffrey Fraser, Ivar's attorney. She finds herself almost immediately drawn to a locked room on the second floor of the house. She discovers that Wilfred, Ivar's mentally-challenged son, lives in the room. Meredith develops a friendship with Ivar, even confessing to him that her mother had been institutionalized and that her father had raped her mother. Shortly after Meredith begins working at Fairlawn, Langrock's adult grandson Gabriel, who spent his life on a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in Arizona, comes to stay after the accidental death of his parents. After his arrival, a series of deaths begin to occur; Meredith and Ivar discover his dog hanging from a tree in the garden. Wilfred also dies in what appears to be a suicide when he is found having jumped out the window of his room. Gabriel makes sexual advances toward Meredith, who finds herself increasingly uncomfortable around him. Phillip is murdered in the

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system ...

, having been crushed under a fallen wine rack and clobbered with a table leg; the police, however, conclude his death an accident, though Jeffrey accuses Gabriel of his murder. Later in the evening, the house gardener, Alex, is confronted at the Fairlawn estate by the detective in a garage, who tells him the coroner has deemed Philip's death a murder. After he leaves, Alex hears a commotion behind him, and upon returning, he finds the detective dead,. The unseen killer also attacks Alex, beating him to death. Meredith, while searching the house, discovers a bloodied table leg, and calls Jeffrey, panicked. He tells her he is on his way to the house. Just as Jeffrey arrives, she discovers Gabriel's body stuffed in a closet. Jeffrey confronts her, and tells her that he has just returned from the hospital where Meredith claimed her mother was kept, and reveals that her mother died during Meredith's birth; he also accuses her of the murders, telling her she had been institutionalized for murdering her father, who had molested her. She then attacks Jeffrey with the table leg, and storms downstairs to kill Ivar. However, Ivar manages to knock her unconscious with a cane. The film close as Meredith narrates her letter to her father, saying that maybe she will be able to return to Fairlawn one day to take care of Ivar.

Cast

as Meredith Stone * David Hayward as Jeffrey Fraser *

as Gabriel Langrock * Leon Charles as Phillip *

Alice Nunn Alice Elizabeth Nunn (October 10, 1927 – July 1, 1988) was an American film and theatre actress. She was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and died at her apartment in West Hollywood, California. Although she played many roles across her 31-year ...

as Duffy * Patrick Pankhurst as Wilfred Langrock *

as Ivar Langrock * Louis Basile as Taxi Driver * Abraham Alvarez as Alex *

Simone Griffeth Simone Griffeth (born April 4, 1950), sometimes credited under her married name Simone Griffeth-McDonald, is an American actress. She was a Theater Arts major at the University of South Carolina for three years. While attending college Simone ...

as Pamela Barton * James Purcell as Detective * Shelby Leverington as Additional Dialogue (voice) *

George P. Wilbur George Peter Wilbur (March 6, 1941 – February 1, 2023) was an American actor and professional stuntman, best known for playing Michael Myers (Halloween), Michael Myers in both ''Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' and ''Halloween 6: The ...

as Stunts

Release

The film was released in March 1980 in the US, and again in May 1981, under the title ''The House Where Death Lives'', by New American Films,

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

, and The International Picture Show Company It was also released on VHS by both Embassy Pictures and Sultan Video.

Reception

Retro Slashers.net reviewer Thomas Ellsion gave the film a positive review, stating that "''Delusion is a subdued slasher that relies more on the skills of a veteran cast, a deliberate pace, and a twist ending''" and it is ''"worth seeking out for fans of slashers with a heavy dose of whodunit mystery."'' AllMovie, however, gave the film a negative review, stating that "slow-moving and low-key."

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, m/delusion_1981/ , Delusion 1980 films 1980s slasher films 1980 horror films American psychological horror films American thriller films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films