The Murder Mansion (La mansion de la niebla) is a 1972 Italian-Spanish co-production directed by a Spaniard, Francisco Lara Polop.
It begins with a guy in a muscle car racing a guy on a motorcycle on the country road. They both spot a pretty female hitchhiker, both pull up at the same time but the girl chooses to accept a lift from muscle car guy. As soon as they drive off he starts fondling her thighs.
Shortly afterwards the motorcyclist (his name is Fred) stops at a roadside diner and there’s the girl hitchhiker again (her name is Laura). They start to fall for each other right away. They decide to press on to the next town even though it’s getting late. They have a choice between the highway and the old road. The old road is shorter, but fog can be a hazard at this time of year. They pick the old road anyway, which could turn out to be a big mistake.
Sure enough they get lost in the fog. By an old cemetery they encounter a woman whose E-Type Jag has broken down. This is Elsa, a successful business woman. Elsa claims that after her car broke down she was chased by a big hulking guy in a chauffeur’s uniform. The chauffeur was accompanied by an old lady. It was the horrible breathing noises that really scared Elsa.
The trio take refuge in an old house. It’s not an abandoned house. The owner, Martha Clinton, is there. Along with a bunch of other people all of whom managed to get lost in the fog. There’s muscle car guy, whose name turns out to be Porter. He greets them at the door with a gun but we soon conclude that he’s jumpy rather than hostile. There’s also Elsa’s lawyer and his wife. Martha Clinton is happy to put them all up for the night. By morning the fog will have cleared and they can all be on their way.
Martha Clinton tells her unexpected house guests that there used to be a town here but it was abandoned years ago because of the vampire. There were rumours of witchcraft as well. She also tells them about her aunt who used to live in the house. The aunt had a big hulking chauffeur but he was killed in an accident thirty years earlier. The aunt is long dead as well.
What with being lost in the fog and the tales of vampires and the creepy atmosphere of the house everybody is a bit on edge. Elsa is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, something that has happened to her frequently since her father’s death in rather unsavoury circumstances. Elsa starts having flashbacks to her past.
Those sinister breathing noises are heard again. The chauffeur is seen again. Fred and Laura find some strange things in the basement. And then the first corpse is discovered. Everybody is frightened and Elsa is becoming very disturbed and unstable. She’s not the only one.
It’s a classic setup with a small group of people effectively cut off. The fog is so thick that there is no way of leaving the house. Whatever kind of monster they’re dealing with can pick them off one by one.
There’s a touch of the Old Dark House genre here.
This was Francisco Lara Polop’s first feature, and it was a promising debut. He went on to make quite a few movies and was still active as late as 1990 but I suspect that his other movies might be quite difficult to track down.
The creepy scary atmosphere is created very effectively and the fog makes things really unsettling. Guglielmo Mancori’s cinematography is extremely good.
The acting is fine, with Ida Galli (credited as Evelyn Stewart) being particularly impressive as Martha Clinton. I also liked Franco Fantasia as Porter. Analía Gadé has some great moments as Elsa.
The big question is, what kind of movie is this? It certainly seems more like gothic horror than giallo but to answer that question you’ll have to watch the movie.
Vinegar Syndrome’s Blu-Ray (from their Forgotten Gialli Volume 3 boxed set) provides an excellent 16:9 enhanced transfer. The only extra is an interview with Ida Galli who is rather proud of the film. Spanish, English and Italian audio options are included. Miss Galli remembers the movie as having been originally shot in English.
No matter what genre you decide it belongs to The Murder Mansion is crazy oddball and fun and looks good. Highly recommended.
