Die, Monster, Die!
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''Die, Monster, Die!'' (UK title: ''Monster of Terror'', also known as ''The House at the End of the World'') is a 1965
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...
directed by Daniel Haller, and starring
Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...
, Nick Adams, Freda Jackson and Suzan Farmer. A loose adaptation of
H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...
's story " The Colour Out of Space", its plot follows an American man who, while visiting his English fiancee's familial estate, uncovers a series of bizarre occurrences.


Plot

Stephen Reinhart, an American scientist, travels to Arkham, England to visit his fiancée, Susan Witley, whom he met while she was studying abroad in the United States. He arrives at the Witley estate, where he is met coolly by Susan's father, Nahum. Susan's bedridden mother, Letitia, however, is welcoming of him. She invites Stephen to speak with her, but remains partly hidden by her bed canopy, which obscures her features. She offers Stephen a box containing a gold earring that she says belonged to her maid, Helga, who recently fell mysteriously ill and disappeared. Over dinner, Stephen asks Susan and Nahum about a blackened patch of land near the estate that appears decimated. They state it was caused by a fire, though Susan adds that no one has been able to fully explain what occurred there. Moments later, the butler, Mervyn, collapses. Later, while Susan brings her mother dinner, she is startled by a cloaked figure that appears in the window. Late that night, Stephen and Susan hear mysterious noises emanating from the basement. When they go to investigate, they are met by Nahum, who nervously informs them that Mervyn has died. Later that night, Stephen witnesses Nahum burying Mervyn's body in the woods. When he follows him outside, he observes a strange light glowing from the greenhouse. At dawn, Stephen leaves the estate and is followed by a cloaked figure who attacks him in the woods, but the individual quickly flees. Back in the village, Stephen meets with Henderson, the town doctor, who is reluctant to speak to him due to his association with the Witleys. Henderson's secretary informs Stephen that Susan's grandfather, Corbin Witley, died in Henderson's arms, but the circumstances of his death remain a mystery. Stephen confronts Susan about the goings-on, and the two go to investigate the greenhouse; inside, they discover plants and flowers grown to an abnormally large size. In a potting shed, they discover a machine emitting radiation, along with several large, caged creatures. Stephen finds pieces of
meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...
stone that he suspects are also emitting radiation. Susan remarks that both her mother and Helga frequently worked in the greenhouse. While Stephen goes to investigate in the basement, Susan confronts her father about the discovery they made in the greenhouse, realizing that he has been experimenting with
radioactivity Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...
to mutate plant and animal life, resulting in dire consequences, such as Letitia and Helga's disfigurements and illnesses. Nahum confronts Stephen in the basement, where he has located a large chamber containing a radioactive meteorite. Upstairs, Stephen, Susan, and Nahum find Letitia's room empty and in disarray. Shortly after, Susan and Stephen are attacked by a grossly disfigured Letitia, whose face has decayed significantly. When burying Letitia in the family cemetery the next day, Nahum explains how he obtained the meteorite: It fell from the sky, landing in the heath near the estate, and triggered a lush growth of plants around it within one day. Nahum intended to use the meteorite to create a foliage-rich landscape. That night, when Nahum attempts to destroy the meteor in the basement, he is attacked by a cloaked, axe-wielding Helga. She attempts to kill him, but accidentally falls to her death in the chamber, landing on the meteorite. Nahum, now highly exposed to the meteorite, suffers radiation burns that grossly disfigure him. He chases Stephen and Susan through the house before bursting into flames, setting the Witley mansion ablaze, with Stephen and Susan narrowly escaping to safety.


Cast


Production

The film was shot in February and March 1965 at
Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...
under the working title ''The House at the End of the World''. Location shooting for the town/village of Arkham was done at Shere,
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, while the Witley mansion was
Oakley Court Oakley Court is a Gothic Revival architecture, Victorian Gothic country house set in overlooking the River Thames at Water Oakley in the civil parish of Bray, Berkshire, Bray in the England, English county of Berkshire. It was built in 1859 and ...
, Water Oakley,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
.


Release

In the United States, American International Pictures released the film on 27 October 1965 as the first feature on a double bill with
Mario Bava Mario Bava (; 31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter. His low-budget genre films, known for their distinctive visual flair and stylish ...
's '' Planet of the Vampires'' (1965). In the UK, the film was shown to the film trade on 4 February 1966 and released on the 20th the same month, supported by
Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...
's film '' The Haunted Palace'' (1963), which is also based on a Lovecraft story.


Critical response

''
The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...
'' wrote: "With echoes of Corman's '' The Haunted Palace'' (1963) (a village called Arkham, a script adapted from an H. P. Lovecraft story, an updated version of the warlock theme), ''Monster of Terror'' begins on a note which promises rather better things than the latest Corman offering. Stephen approaches the mysterious Witley house, and passes through a landscape which gets more and more tantalisingly weird the nearer he gets to the house. Ground fogs swirl round scarred trees, a black-robed figure flits across the background, twigs crumble into dust at the merest touch. ...But once he gets inside the house, the director, Corman's art director Daniel Haller, has appeared to fill his sets with décor transplanted lock, stock and barrel from the Corman studios. Here are the familiar ornately furnished rooms, gloomy passages and underground stone chambers housing the unearthly secret of the mansion. There are moments, particularly in the greenhouse with its voraciously luxuriant plants and hideously throbbing mutations, when Haller's direction matches the best of Corman. But the leading actors seem a little diminished by their surroundings ... though the indefatigable Boris Karloff is as good as ever, and Terence de Marney is an effectively inscrutable Merwyn. A curiously disappointing film on the whole, never seeming to fulfil the promise which is clearly there." G. Noel Gross, writing for the DVD review website ''
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
'', writes: "The plodding plot would be more painful if the flick were longer, but the intriguing meld of gothic horror and contemporary sci-fi is hard to pass up".


Comic book adaptation

*
Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...
Movie Classic: ''Die, Monster, Die!'' (March 1966)


See also

* List of American films of 1965


Notes


References


Sources

* *


External links

* * * * {{Daniel Haller 1965 films 1965 horror films 1960s monster movies 1960s science fiction horror films American monster movies American science fiction horror films British science fiction horror films British monster movies Cthulhu Mythos films 1960s English-language films Films adapted into comics Films based on short fiction Films based on works by H. P. Lovecraft Films directed by Daniel Haller American mad scientist films 1965 directorial debut films 1960s American films 1960s British films English-language science fiction horror films Works based on The Colour Out of Space