Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?

3/15/19721h 31m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ She's Taking a STAB at Motherhood! ~

Overview:

A demented widow lures unsuspecting children into her mansion in a bizarre "Hansel and Gretel" twist.

Director:

Curtis Harrington

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

new year's eve
kidnapping
brother
christmas tree
sister
orphan
house fire
teddy bear
séance
child kidnapping
fake psychic
older brother younger sister
christmas
orphan siblings
magician
death of a child
hagsploitation

Cast

Shelley Winters

~ as ~

Mrs. Forrest

Mark Lester

~ as ~

Christopher Coombs

Chloe Franks

~ as ~

Katy Coombs

Ralph Richardson

~ as ~

Mr. Benton

Lionel Jeffries

~ as ~

Police Insp. Willoughby

Hugh Griffith

~ as ~

Mr. Harrison, The Pigman

Rosalie Crutchley

~ as ~

Miss Henley

Pat Heywood

~ as ~

Dr. Mason

Judy Cornwell

~ as ~

Clarine

Michael Gothard

~ as ~

Albie

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 2 year(s) ago
6
Shelley Winters is super in this oddball horror. She ("Mrs. Forrest") invites ten young children into her mansion-cum-orphanage one Christmas - desperate to fill the void left by the death of her young daughter Katherine. Two children who did not get invited - "Katy" (Chloe Franks) and her brother "Christopher" (Mark Lester) decide that they are not going to be left out - but when the girl ends up locked in the attic, it falls to her brother to manage to convince everyone that his sister has been kidnapped, and that the old lady is not of particularly sound mind! A solid cast support the star here - Sir Ralph Richardson, Lionel Jeffries - in a straight (ash) role for a change, and the always engaging Hugh Griffith, but somehow once the film gets going I expected it to turn comedic. There just isn't any menace. Winters' performance is just scatty, never scary. Still, the ensemble delivers a reasonable script well enough and there are just about enough creepy goings on in the house to sustain it before an ending that i found rather sad.