I don't really like the title of this movie seeing as its not really accurate and sounds kinda daft. The house is the centre point of the movie as its where everything happens, hence the dripping blood part. But the movie is relatively tame with little to no blood, hardly dripping. To top that one of the stories doesn't even take place within the house. I prefer the original title of 'Death and the Maiden'.The premise here is very simple (and much the same as all other anthology movies). The main plot bookends four individual little tales which all fit into or make up the main plot. In this case police Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) is on a case to investigate the disappearance of a famous movie star. The Inspector is pointed in the direction of an old house where the movie star was last seen. Upon meeting with the local estate agent the Inspector is told all about the previous tenants leading up to the movie star.The first story is about a horror writer (Denholm Elliot) moving into the house with his wife, mainly to help his creative writing. The writer soon finds himself haunted by the very character he created within his current book, or does he? Its this first story that introduces us to the creepy old house and bottom line, its perfect. Both the exterior and interior are exactly what you might think of when it comes to an old creaking British spook house. There are gargoyles on the buildings exterior, old fashioned stained glass windows, and much of the interior is solid wood paneling with all the gothic/Victorian style trimmings you might expect to see in a period house. Its these visuals which help this initial story greatly because to be frank its pretty weak. Sure it offers a nice twist on twist at the end but the makeup on the murderous villain is laughable which really doesn't help.Up next we see Peter Cushing as a retired stock broker moving into the old house merely to spend his days relaxing and enjoying life. One day he wanders off down to the high street (of an unknown location) and stumbles across a horror waxworks. Curious he ventures inside and eventually comes across a mysterious female figure that seems to bewitch him. Later an old friend (Joss Ackland) visits who also ends up going to the waxworks and also becomes bewitched.This little tale is also pretty weak in my opinion as it offers no real explanation for anything. We don't find out anything about Cushing's character of his friend (Ackland) other than they are old friends who seemingly fell for the same woman and both lost her. The wax figure reminds both of them of said woman whilst at the same time seemingly hypnotising them. Of course the wax figure turns out to actually be the woman they both loved, the owner of the waxworks killed and mummified her in wax cos he fancied her too (its a small world). Naturally all this is a bit silly because of course you'd never be able to conceal a body like that for obvious decomposition issues. And the fact the waxwork owner then displays the heads of both men (yup he kills them both) in his display kinda seems like shooting yourself in the foot really doesn't it (I think people would notice). I think we are led to believe this guy does this a lot to various people...because they fall in love with the wax mummified dead body of this woman? If you say so.The third story is easily the best and surrounds a little girl called Jane (Chloe Franks), her father (Christopher Lee), and the hired nanny (Nyree Dawn Porter). Hired help Ann is concerned with the cold attitude John Reid has towards his daughter. He's not physically abusive, just cold and heartless, he doesn't seem to love her; he also speaks badly of his late wife. Of course little Jane is not your average little girl, she's a witch, as was her mother. This segment is not exactly original or particularly hard to fathom but its certainly the most eerie and more cinematic of the stories. You could easily have seen this being made into a full length movie as the whole demonic child angle is a popular one. Little Chloe is highly adorable throughout which makes it even more chilling because you struggle to think how she could ever be evil. Lee is doing his usual stoic faced thing and comes across very well as a stern father, whilst Porter is very good as the confused nanny. This story works on many levels but mainly because it made me wanna know more about what happened before with the mother and what happened going forward with Jane.The last segment surrounds a flamboyant and arrogant actor (Jon Pertwee) who moves into the old house whilst filming his latest horror movie. Not happy with the current state of the movie and his costume he goes to an old mysterious antique shop which sells various creepy artifacts and knick-knacks. There he picks up a black cloak for his latest vampiric role. Everything is fine and normal until he realises the cloak actually gives him real vampiric powers when he puts it on.This by far the most goofy and more comedic of the four short stories. You can see how this could well have influenced many silly 80's horror comedies with its ideas and visuals. The highlight is easily Pertwee who really enjoys himself hamming it up with all manner of rubbery facial expressions and over the top vampire hijinks. Lets not forget about the owner of the old spooky shop played by Geoffrey Bayldon who fights Pertwee all the way with his own over the top goofiness. This doesn't really offer anything you haven't seen before. By today's standards its a pretty stereotypical vampire offering on all fronts, but its that good old fashioned quirky charm that grabs you.On the whole this is most definitely one of the most iconic anthology films I've seen. Its well known, the title is outrageously and hilariously overblown, and of course the cast is stellar. I wouldn't say its one of the best anthologies though, its split down the middle for me. The first story is acceptable, the second is kinda weak, the third is the best, and the fourth is fun in a daft way. On the whole everything looks good with (as said) the house being a great setting for all the tales. The costumes are gorgeous, the acting is solid, and the makeup and effects...well they vary a bit as expected.But for me this movie really seemed to highlight the actors and what they were best known for. Here Cushing looks exactly as you remember him, as you'll always picture him. Extremely debonair and dapper with the classic red smoking jacket with elegant neck scarf whilst sitting in an old classical hardback chair. On the other hand you then have Christopher Lee marching his lean 6ft plus frame around with widows peak combed and perfectly presented. He constantly looks like he's about to lose it and smack someone, of simply bite their neck. As for Pertwee, well here he just comes across as Dr Who in a cape, but that's just fine.So overall I'd say thoroughly recommended if you're into these old horror films. Obviously they won't be everyone's cup of tea with the limited visuals (of the time) and dare I say (admittedly) corny stories. But with things like this its all about the charm of it all really, the quaintness and enchantment if I can use that term. Not the best but definitely enjoyable for a cozy night in when its cold outside.7/10

As horror anthologies go, I thought this was a pretty good one, with it's fair share of horror luminaries appearing in the stories offered. Although most of them had predictable endings, they were presented in an entertaining manner. The first one, 'Method for Murder' was probably the one with the most unique twist because the Dominick/Richard character (Tom Adams) turned on his lover Alice (Joanna Dunham) after doing away with husband Charles (Denholm Elliott). That's one you probably wouldn't have seen coming.What could have made the second chapter "Waxworks" better in my estimation would have been to have Philip Grayson (Peter Cushing) wind up as the House of Horrors caretaker, with the original proprietor (Wolfe Morris) in the closing scene with his head on a platter. True, the guy wasn't a guest at the "The House That Dripped Blood", so that would have strayed from the overall theme a bit, but it would have been a more ironic twist.The third segment, "Sweets to the Sweet" placed Christopher Lee in the uncharacteristic role of a victim to his young daughter Jane (Chloe Franks) via the old voodoo ritual route. When she threw the wax doll in the fireplace, it would have been cool if one got a glimpse of Lee's face melting in unison. That was a pretty diabolical kid.The fourth entry, "The Cloak", has a Dracula flavor with concessions to vampire lore like unreflective mirrors and blood sucking fangs, and I got the biggest kick when Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) states that his favorite Dracula actor was Bela Lugosi and not 'the new fella', an obvious dig at Christopher Lee's role in the Hammer series of the era.Framing each of these stories is the idea of a malevolent house that reflects the personalities of the people living in it, thereby resulting in murder and mayhem. Unfortunately, for viewers who were left waiting, the house that dripped blood didn't, which in itself was ironic, having been rented by a real estate agent named Stoker.

The Title is Metaphorical. There are Four Stories in this Amicus Anthology, a Horror Sub-Genre that was Popular in its Era.A Very Good Cast including Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Denholm Elliott, Jon Pertwee, and Ingrid Pitt are Interspersed Throughout the Stories. The not really Creepy House is the Lynchpin that Connects the Tenants in the Tales.Everyone has Their Favorites, but Truth be Told all are Equally Mediocre but Worth a Watch for the Twists, the Cast, and some Colorful Style.Overall, Horror Fans should get a Kick out of it, while Others may Find the whole Thing quite Unremarkable. Professionally Done and somewhat Interesting but Never Intriguing. The kind of Stuff that Writer Robert Bloch probably Dashed Off in a Week or so.Note...Although a different medium it should be noted that the Pre-Code E.C. Comics were the best at this sort of thing.

Tracking down a missing film star, an inspector finds that the last reported sighting was in a large mansion in the countryside. During the course of looking through the house, he is told four different stories about past residents of the house.The Good Story(s): Method for Murder-Moving into the mysterious manor to get some peace and quiet while he pens his latest masterwork, a horror novelist and his wife are thrilled with the story, which centers around a serial strangler. After a series of strange accidents and experiences in the house, he begins to believe that the creation may have come to life and is haunting him and his wife. Probably one of the better entries in the film, it's easily the creepiest. The atmosphere here is what sets it apart. The scenes with the fictional character are genuinely creepy, the mystery surrounding him is really effective and there's always a classic creep-out moment. The classic moment is the kill in the psychiatrist's office, which is an all-time high for creepiness. The build-up to it, with the creaking sounds, quick flashes of a mysterious being, and the thunder and lightning in the back ground work well for this one's favor and really makes this one quite worthwhile all on its own.Sweets for the Sweet-Moving into a new house, a widower hires a former school teacher for his young daughter while he's away on business. As she gradually begins to unravel a dark secret from her past, he becomes more vehement in his denials, and when she learns the true nature of what has happened, it's far more shocking that what she could've thought possible. With the creepiest outright plot and the biggest twist of the stories, this is a quite pleasant entry. The mystery of the family is wonderfully played out, with small amounts of clues piled up here and there, and the final revelation is downright nerve-wracking. That part alone is the main reason why this one works, and Lee doesn't harm it either. Taking a little too long to get to the twist might be an issue, but this isn't all that damaging.The Bad Story(s): Waxwork-Tortured by memories of his lost love, two friends both become infatuated with a statue of a woman in a Wax Museum. As the statue takes over their lives, they discover a shocking secret about the museum that haunts the both of them. There's a clever premise here, and it does provide an excuse to spend time in a wax museum, which are always creepy. This is no exception, and it looks eerie, which is helped by the florescent lighting on display on the sculptures. A dream sequence provides a great moment of suspense, but what ultimately kills this one is the slow pace. It takes a long time for events to unfold out, and most of the time is spent on exposition. It also builds up to a shock ending that can be seen coming from a mile away. Those really lower this one a bit. Had the twist been changed, it would've scored higher, the rest is acceptable.The Cloak-A veteran horror film actor becomes upset at the lack of realism on the set of his new film, causing him to go off and buys a new vampire cloak from a specialty store. The cloak soon turns him into a vampire, going crazy with co-stars on set and other vampiric acts at home. Unconvinced the cloak is the cause, he does everything he can to prove it's just in his imagination. This has a pretty decent premise, and there is plenty of opportunity for some decent scares, but what sinks it is several factors. First, it's just too goofy for its own good. The plot twist at the end is a perfect example, which is so overdone that it's not really a shock at all, and just comes across as just plain silly. There's so few scenes of scares or attempted scares that it's just a bore to sit through. It's easily the weakest one in the film.Today's Rating/PG-13: Violence.