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''House of Mortal Sin'' (also known as ''The Confessional'' and ''The Confessional Murders'') is a 1976 British horror
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 and produced by Pete Walker. It was scripted by David McGillivray from a story by Walker. Its plot concerns a deranged priest who takes it upon himself to punish his parishioners for their moral transgressions.


Plot

Hearing that her friend Bernard has become a
Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
, Jenny attends church to seek him out but finds that the man taking confession is not Bernard, but the elderly Father Meldrum. She quickly leaves, but not before telling Meldrum that her on-off boyfriend Terry recently pressured her into having an
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
. Outwardly a kind-hearted counsellor of troubled youth, Meldrum is in fact a fervent believer in " divine justice" who freely resorts to emotional abuse in his obsessive efforts to redeem those he views as sinners. That night, while Jenny is out, Meldrum gains entry to her flat and assaults her friend Robert, believing him to be Terry. The unconscious Robert is taken to hospital. The next day, Meldrum invites Jenny over to his presbytery, which he shares with his frail, bed-bound mother and his housekeeper, Miss Brabazon. During the meeting, Jenny is shocked to discover that Meldrum taped her confession to blackmail her. When she tells Terry of Meldrum's actions, Terry tracks Meldrum down and threatens him, but Meldrum bludgeons Terry to death with an incense burner and buries him in a freshly dug grave in the churchyard. Later, he quietly murders Robert in hospital. At first refusing to believe Jenny's claims about Meldrum, Jenny's sister Vanessa learns the truth when she answers a threatening phone call from the priest on Jenny's behalf. She goes to the presbytery and encounters Mrs Meldrum, who knows that her son is mad and begs Vanessa to help. Meldrum arrives, strangles Vanessa, and at Brabazon's urging, murders his mother on the pretext of a
mercy killing Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eutha ...
. Brabazon consoles Meldrum and says that she has always loved him, even though his mother forced him to call off their wedding and embrace a life of celibacy by entering the church. The pair make a suicide pact so that they can be together for ever, but after Brabazon fatally stabs herself, Meldrum hesitates. Bernard discovers the bodies of Terry and Vanessa and confronts Meldrum, who claims that Brabazon committed the murders out of love for him. He persuades Bernard to help him cover up the crimes for the good of the church. After Bernard leaves, Meldrum silent-calls Jenny to check that she is at home, then puts on a cloak and steps out into the night.


Cast

* Anthony Sharp as Father Xavier Meldrum *
Susan Penhaligon Susan Penhaligon (born 3 July 1949) is a British actress and writer known for her role in the drama series ''Bouquet of Barbed Wire'' (1976), and for playing Helen Barker in the sitcom '' A Fine Romance'' (1981–1984). She appeared in the so ...
as Jenny Welch *
Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English television, film, radio and theatre actress. Although she has a wide number of credits to her name, Beacham is best known for for playing Sable Colby in the ABC soap operas ''The Colbys' ...
as Vanessa Welch *
Norman Eshley Norman Eshley (born 30 May 1945) is an English actor best known for his television roles. Biography Eshley attended Bristol Grammar School and worked in a bank, before training as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He played many ...
as Father Bernard Cutler *
Sheila Keith Sheila Keith (9 June 1920 – 14 October 2004) was a British character actress, active in theatre, films and TV. She was born to Scottish parents in London while they were visiting the city and brought up in Aberdeen, Scotland. Longing to act, ...
as Miss Brabazon *
Mervyn Johns Mervyn Johns (born David Mervyn John; 18 February 18996 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television character actor who became a star of British films during the Second World War. Johns was known for his "mostly mild-mannered, lugubri ...
as Father Duggan *
Hilda Barry Hilda is one of several female given names derived from the name ''Hild'', formed from Old Norse , meaning 'battle'. Hild, a Nordic-German Bellona, was a Valkyrie who conveyed fallen warriors to Valhalla. Warfare was often called Hild's Game. T ...
as Mrs Meldrum * Stewart Bevan as Terry Wyatt (as Stuart Bevan) *
Julia McCarthy Julia McCarthy (1964-2021) was a Canadian poet.
as Mrs Davey * Jon Yule as Robert *
Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian, and vaudevillian. Born in South Africa, he started his career as a child actor in Australia, before emigrating to Britain after the Second Wor ...
as Mr Davey *
Victor Winding Victor Winding (30 January 1929 – 9 October 2014) was a British actor born in Lambeth, London. He appeared in "The Faceless Ones", a '' Doctor Who'' serial broadcast from April to May 1967 starring Patrick Troughton in which he played the ...
as Dr Gaudio * Jack Allen as GP * Kim Butcher as Valerie Davey *
Ivor Salter Ivor Charlie Salter (22 August 1925 – 21 June 1991) was an English actor who appeared in character roles in numerous United Kingdom television productions and films from the early 1950s until the 1980s often appearing as a police constable. H ...
as Gravedigger *
Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor and writer. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Sp ...
as Man in Church * Jane Hayward as Nurse


Production


Filming

The film was shot on location in Berkshire and
London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
.


Music

The music was composed and conducted by
Stanley Myers Stanley Myers (6 October 19309 November 1993) was an English composer and conductor, who scored over sixty films and television series, working closely with filmmakers Nicolas Roeg, Jerzy Skolimowski and Volker Schlöndorff. He is best known fo ...
.


Release


Critical response

*"McGillivray’s script is full of inventive ideas which were obviously meant to shock and stir up controversy. Having the villainous murderer a repressed and crazed Catholic priest in modern times brought a new and different kind of monster to the catalog of British horror, and he’s marvelously played by Anthony Sharp. A lapsed Catholic in real life, Walker uses the film as a comment on organized religion, as extreme and satirical as it may be…” ~ George R. Reis, ''DVD Drive-In'' * "Much criticism has been leveled against this film for its unabashed attacks on Catholicism, but it's really Walker's trademark amoral approach to filmmaking that elicits a strong urge to take a hot bath after viewing." ~ Cavett Binion, '' Allmovie'' *"a disappointment, although it has its moments...The script relies too much on mild sacrilege for its effects, instead of concentrating on more interesting aspects of religious repression." ~ '' Time Out'' *"I ended up being quite impressed with this one; it's one of those horror movies that tries to be about something more than just scaring people." ~ Dave Sindelar, ''Fantastic Movie Musings & Ramblings'' *"the way the creepier, suffocating aspects of religion are brought out is bold and effective. As a whole, it's a callous, low budget and grey-toned work, but stays with the viewer longer than slicker horrors then or since." ~ Graeme Clark, ''The Spinning Image'' *"well-executed and maintains a dark interest throughout, supported by interesting performances (especially
Sheila Keith Sheila Keith (9 June 1920 – 14 October 2004) was a British character actress, active in theatre, films and TV. She was born to Scottish parents in London while they were visiting the city and brought up in Aberdeen, Scotland. Longing to act, ...
as Meldrum's devoted love)." ~ ''The Terror Trap'' *"Walker fails to bring any sensibility, other than the merely exploitative, to the grotesque material, this must be considered pretty irredeemable stuff, even for a horror film." ~ ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...
'' *"there are more pros than con with "''House of Mortal Sin''," but Walker feels constipated with this effort, unsure if he wants to court controversy or make a cracking chiller." ~ Brian Orndorf, ''Blu-Ray.com'' *"A hugely underrated shocker from cult director Pete Walker, who alone saved the British cinema of the 1970s from complete terror blandness with a series of Home County horrors that included ''
House of Whipcord ''House of Whipcord'' is a 1974 British exploitation horror film directed and produced by Pete Walker and starring Barbara Markham, Patrick Barr, Ray Brooks, Ann Michelle, Sheila Keith, Dorothy Gordon, Robert Tayman and Penny Irving. Plo ...
'' and '' Frightmare''. Anthony Sharp gives an extraordinary performance...A serious look at the theme of a respectable public person using their position to pass judgement on those they see as corrupt, done with elegance, wit and purposely indignant bad taste." ~ Alan Jones, '' Radio Times''


Home media


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Mortal Sin, The 1976 films 1976 horror films 1976 independent films British horror films British independent films Films about abuse Films about Catholic priests Films about murderers Films directed by Pete Walker Films scored by Stanley Myers Matricide in fiction 1970s English-language films 1970s British films British slasher films 1970s slasher films