Two disturbed teenagers, just out of the mental ward several years after killing their parents, come to stay with their older sister...soon, "bad things begin happening", as they say. Updated variation of Reginald Denham and Edward Percy's play "Ladies in Retirement"--first filmed in 1941 with Ida Lupino and Evelyn Keyes--given a hammy treatment by director Bernard Girard. Laying on the lunatic melodrama with a touch of cartoony blood, Girard shows no responsibility towards the audience, he's just out for cheap shocks. Stella Stevens and Shelley Winters are the stars this time, and it is fun watching these two square off against each other even if the movie is pure sleaze. Ridiculous and off-putting in the extreme, with a somewhat pretentious finale that defies explanation. *1/2 from ****

I've finally seen this movie again after years of just having a faint memory of it, so I've now got to decide if it lived up to my memory...well it pretty much does. The story concerns Stella Stevens as Ellen, a young woman who's impending marriage is interrupted by news that her younger brother and sister are being released from an asylum where they were committed after the murder of both their parents. Now considered sane, they are handed over into Ellen's custody, despite her misgivings, and the three of them move into the home of Ellen's fiancée's mother in law, played by Shelley Winters, which in turn gives HER major misgivings. And this being a horror film, it isn't long before there's a new murder...So what still works is the general sense of unease, mostly generated by great performances by the two younger children, played by Michael Burns and Barbara Sammeth. They portray just the right amount of inscrutability, and keep you guessing as to their actual mental stability! Stella Stevens plays Ellen with lots of wide eyed exasperation which suits the role well, and Shelley Winters does her usual job of playing an alcoholic floozy as the landlady/mother-in-law. The overall tone of the story is well handled, and the climax still works. Gore is low but a couple of bloody scenes still stand out, and the best part is still what happens when a dopey dog sniffs out a dead body - great fun. All in all it's a great compact little thriller with some very good performances...check out the ladies charity party when one of the visitors gets a little too drunk - great cameo here by Beverley Garland - which ends in unexpected tragedy that none of the main characters saw coming! I'd love to see this get an official DVD release, but it seems unlikely, and it's hardly ever shown on TV any more either...what a waste, as this film could be entertaining dozens of new fans or just nostalgia buffs who fancy a bit of twitchy suburban horror from 1969

This engrossing film has a wonderful premise ... and terrific acting. Shelley Winters as a cranky, self-indulgent whiny control freak is so memorable that I am shocked her fans ave not picketed to have The Mad Room made available on DVD. Stella Stevens turns in a truly remarkable performance becoming more and more unhinged as hidden secrets begin to emerge from the proverbial closet. This movie, like Return from the Ashes, has so many twists and turns you will never be bored.Possible SPOILER (?):Thre is so much wry humor mixed in with the thrills, you will really appreciate. In Othello, plot spoilers say "Watch the handkerchief." In this movie you should "Watch the dog", who surely should have received an award for lending a paw to the proceedings.When and if you see this movie (which seems to, like Return from the Ashes and Four Flies on Grey Velvet, have disappeared from the face of the earth), your admiration of both Winters and Stevens is bound to increase. After viewing, you may require your own Mad Room.

Without trying to spoil too much of the whackiness here, in this ditty, you got a dog making off with someone's severed hand, you got your menacing foot bridge swaying in the breeze and you got your Stella Stevens and your Shelley Winters squaring off in the ham acting department, a few years before they both turned upside down in the Poseidon Adventure. One of them loopy movies following Joan and Bette from ... Baby Jane, where 2 sort of has been actresses vie for screen time by screeching at each other. Stella has a rather spacey look in her eye and Shelley, well, she always was a drama queen. Fun for a few laughs.