You know, despite my general low ratings of them, there's something strangely addictive about early 80's slasher flicks. You know... people potter around aimlessly for ages, before the soundtrack stops and you just KNOW they're about to be incapacitated with a knife/hook/chair leg (Delete where applicable). Even here, where it seems to take FOREVER till the first death (And that's a dog), most of the victims are taken care of by a simple WHACK to the temple (Not very scary, that) and there's an implausible TWIST at the end (Which gets more stupid the more you think about it) it's all rather endearing.It was made with love and affection, by a director who shoots far too many scenes in the dark and doesn't have a clue about building suspense, and a writer who, apart from the pretty leading lady, writes dull characters and sets out the most boring set-pieces for murder imaginable, before that incomprehensible conclusion. If this movie was a child, I would give him a pat on the back for effort, then stick a D cap on his head before sending him to the back of the class. AND make him stay for extra homework... 3/10

To be fair, I have to admit to something up front: just before e I saw "Delusion/The House Where Death Lives", I happened to see the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" for the first time at a midnight movie showing. TCM knocked my socks off, and I was hungry for more rousing, scary movies that I had never heard of. In my naiveté, I assumed that "TCM" was only the tip of the iceberg, and that there many more, dozens more, as good or better, if only I were able to track them down. So when a friend and I saw this was playing at a local movie house (since gone under), we decided to take a chance, even though we'd heard nothing about it and had no idea where it came from. My reasoning was: I'd never heard of "Chainsaw" before I saw it, and it was great. I'd never heard a single thing about "Delusion" either. Therefore, it might be great, or at least interesting. The fact that absolutely no one else bought tickets for our showing should have clued us that there might be a problem, but alas, it did not. 40 minutes into the movie, both of us were sitting slumped in our seats, unable to move, brought almost to the edge of death by the boredom and sluggish pacing and dead-weight performances of this movie. I am not kidding. We both later agreed that the sensation was not unlike being drained of blood while floating in a quagmire of cooked farina. While the movie was playing, no hope or joy or animation was possible. summoning the energy to talk back to the screen or hoot in derision or make wisecracks was inconceivable. The movie went on and on and on, and nothing happened, and nothing happened, and then there was a moment where a guy was stuck in a storeroom and was scared and yelling and it was almost exciting, but then he got killed and the movie went back to being an exercise in excruciating boredom. Because we were young and vital (20-year-olds), we managed to hang on until the credits rolled. And once the movie stopped sitting on our heads and trying to kill us, we were able to summon enough energy to leave the theater and, eventually, to get on with our lives. I know I am not being fair to this movie. I went in hoping for the visceral thrills of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and got something entirely different, and HWDL suffered greatly in comparison to my 20 year old tastes. (Perhaps if it had appeared as "Delusion" instead of the alternate title, my expectations might have been different.) And I certainly wasn't used to dubbed movies or moody Gothic pieces.So if I were to watch it again (say, catching it on cable), I might have far more tolerance for the movie than I did in 1980. But I will always remember the way "The House Where Death Lives" seemed to suck the life right out of my body.

It's very difficult to put into words just how poor & tedious this film is to watch. It was a chore to sit through such a dire, tiresome and insultingly substandard cinematic effort - I want to claim back the time it took to watch this, and the small amount of cash I bought it for. (Even though I think i picked it up for £1:99)

A young nurse named Meredith accepts a job looking after an ageing millionaire in his secluded country home. Almost as soon as she arrives strange events begin occuring. It then becomes apparent that someone is murdering all the occupants of the house and making their deaths look like bizarre accidents. It's left up to Meredith to try and reveal the killer's identity before she ends up next on his list. Firstly don't be disillusioned by the back of the video blurb that would lead you to believe that DELUSION is 'a chiller in the mould of THE OMEN or REPULSION.' This is pure whodunit? owing more of a knowing nod towards Christie than Carpenter. Although saying that, slasher fans will find the odd thrill here, including one or two decent edge of your seat jolts and a couple of brutal slayings. It looks pretty well budgeted, cleverly shot and the cast do their jobs efficiently. The flicks main problem lies in the fact that it seems to drag far too much in between murders and it began to get a little too tedious towards the end. It's nicely directed and genuinely well acted but lacks the cheese that made most of it's hack and slash counterparts from that era so loveable. Smart in places, but hardly memorable enough to ever be watched more than once. HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW is a much better effort, rent that instead.