[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Deadly Manor (1990)

The first time i saw this was on a dvd and it looked shocking. The image was washed out, the sound wasn't great either, and the film itself, well seemed piss poor to be honest. All in all a terrible experience.

When Arrow released it on Blu-ray it piqued my interest as i may have found the audio visual experience impaired my judgment on the film itself.

Sadly not. Whilst the Arrow Blu-ray looked and sounded great, the film was remained piss poor. It's basically a slasher film about a group of young people who take refuge in an abandoned mansion one cold night and get picked off by a killer.

What really goes against it, aside from f*ck all happening other than inane chatter for the first hour of this ninety minute film, is the kills. The majority of them are either off screen or bloodless.

When it comes to slasher films it's the blood letting that's the selling point surely, especially in these low budget affairs, either that or the chilling atmosphere, i dunno there really isn't any great atmosphere either other than the elusive one that only Frankie T experiences after his sixth glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

And yet the most disappointing thing is that this is clearly the worst thing that director José Ramón Larraz has put his name to. He proved he could make a fun slasher with Edge of the Axe from just two years earlier and yet this is so below average at best.