I always start wanting to watch older classic movies at this point in the challenge. Last year I binges a bunch of silent horror movies like "Nosferatu," but this year I was excited to find a little black and white gem directed by James Whale ("Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein") that I've never seen before.
Some weary travelers get caught in a storm one night, and when they discover that the road is out ahead, they seek shelter in a creepy, dark mansion they pass on the road. The family inside the house are pretty eccentric and downright strange, but they allow the guests to stay, eat dinner, and stay the night. Soon more travelers show up to seek shelter, and it's a full house. The Female family, who own the house, are Horace, the reluctant host, Morgan,vice butler, who is mute, and Rebecca, the older lady who is hard of hearing and prone to strange outbursts about chastity and her family's tragic history. As the night goes on, Morgan begins to show a romantic interest in the lady guests, and Rebecca become more irritable and fed up with the guests. As the night goes on, events take a frightening turn. Will they all survive the night or will they succumb to the terrors of the old dark house?
Was it typical back in the day days to just go up to some stranger's house and knock on the door and ask to stay the night because it's storming outside? I can't imagine doing that now. The family is very odd and not terribly hospitable, but I might be cranky too if some strangers showed up on a stormy night and asked me to let them stay in my house for the night. And let them eat dinner too! Why did they make so much food for only three people? It's like they knew they would have company. The second set of travelers, a man and a woman, are about as strange as the family in the house. One is a chorus girl, and one is an industrial businessman. They're loud and goofy, dancing around and making weird conversation around the dinner table. Was it normal to get into big fights about politics around the dinner table with total strangers like this? Nowadays people just fight on Facebook and it seems much more efficient.
Morgan the butler is played by Boris Karloff, and he's said to be a drunk with a penchant for turning violent. Soon he's (literally) chasing after the female guests. Jerk. And there are lots more secrets to discover within the house too. It turns out there are two more family members that the reluctant hosts neglected to mention, one of whom appears to be very dangerous. In the midst of this, two of the guests spend some time together and announce that they're in love (dude, can you wait until a time when you're all not in grave danger? This really isn't the time). Soon there are fights breaking out, crazy people running around the house, and the threat of the whole sordid evening going up in flames. This is a strange little movie, but it was a fun watch. Remind me never to stop at creepy old houses if I get caught in a storm.
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