meddlecore So THIS is where the evil twin trapped in the attic trope originated from.It all begins when Susannah Whately returns to her island home- with her new husband, Mike. After receiving word she has inherited her parent's old mill, following their tragic deaths.The island is filled with a bunch of rapey rednecks, who have nothing better to do, than to try and sexually assault young Susannah.Her aunt warns her to stay away from the old mill...as it harbours the family curse.All of her relatives have met violent ends.But the newlywed couple isn't so easily scared. They plan to clean the place up and make it their summer home.Ominous warnings aside, most of the tension comes from the potential rape of Susannah- at the hands of local thug Ethan (played by Oliver Reed).These scenes are genuinely disturbing, and are where most of the horror in this film is derived.You are kind of led to believe that the person hidden away in the attic is deformed...so it's a surprise when you see it is a female, once the twist rolls around.But, then you realize...hey, this is where The Simpson's got it from! Cool film, with lot's of rapey tension.5.5 out of 10.

Spikeopath The Shuttered Room is directed by David Greene and written by D.B. Ledrov and Nathaniel Tanchuck. Adapted from a story by August Derleth and H.P. Lovecraft, it stars Gig Young, Carol Lynley, Oliver Reed, Flora Robson and Judith Arthy. Music is by Basil Kirchin and cinematography by Kenneth Hodges.Returning to her childhood home, an old mill house on the island of Dunwich, Susannah (Lynley) and her older husband Mike (Young) are plagued by local rowdies led by Susana's cousin Ethan (Reed). Not only that but the local elders constantly keep telling them it would be unwise to take up residency in the old mill...It's funny that some film fans have expressed disappointment with the final revelation of The Shuttered Room, because the secret is revealed from the get go! Something which takes the mystery away and goes someway to explaining why director Greene then fills his film with 90% of narrative based around Oliver's Army being uncouth and seriously detrimental to the sexual well being of poor, confused, traumatised, Susannah.Here's the problem, even forgiving that it's about as Lovecraftian as a Rob Zombie remake, the film just doesn't have the requisite horror substance to make it viable as frightening. Don't get me wrong, had I watched this as a boy I'm sure I would have been spooked out by the spooky old mill that houses a secret, resplendent with holes in the woodwork where prying eyes watch goings on, and most likely be more terrified by Reed's bonkers over acting and Young's transformation into Bruce Lee than the iffy accents I wouldn't have recognised back then. But really, the shuttered room axis of the story is very much a secondary item, and not even the classy Flora Robson can wring out terror from such clumsy story construction.Still, on the plus side there's a unique unsettling musical score by Kirchin, a wonderful fusion of prog-jazz and medieval distortional beats, even if it's in the wrong movie! There's laughs to be had, though unintentional, especially with some of the dialogue being served on a dirty cheese board, and Lynley is good value as a troubled cipher. You have to wonder if Sam Peckinpah watched The Shuttered Room and thought he could do better and promptly sought out The Siege of Trencher's Farm novel to turn it into Straw Dogs, sensing that he knew he could make a similar themed film more frightening and controversial. But of course, The Shuttered Room wasn't meant to be a backwoods Gothic movie involving home invasion and the constant threat of rape. Was it? 5/10

mauro volvox People always comment and make fun of the evil twin... I always thought the idea to be funny and to belong to comedy skits or parodies. But surprisingly somebody has taken this concept seriously and transformed it in one of the most tedious and soul-less films I ever watched.Nothing much happens during the whole snore-fest, a few scenes of attempted rape (no exposed skin), a bunch of hillbillies behaving in a very stereotypical way (they are always evil dimwitted troglodytes. There are as always people doing dumb things and the movie hero knows some karate moves, and he demonstrates his prowess in a very funny scene. And the conclusion was painful to watch, it was as stupid as possible, because all the bad things that happened were caused by an evil mentally deranged twin...Ah!, by the way, this has nothing to do with H.P. Lovecraft.The main actress has a very cute face. But it does not pay to watch this film because of her. It is good for insomnia, though.

Wuchak THE SHUTTERED ROOM, also known as BLOOD ISLAND, was released in 1967.THE PLOT: A well-to-do man and his young wife (Gig Young and Carol Lynley) visit an island off the coast of New England, which was the childhood home of the wife. They are hassled by lunatic ruffians and learn that her now-dilapidated family estate is haunted or cursed. Although warned to leave by all the locals they decide to stick around. Havok ensues.I hadn't seen this one since I was a kid until I bought the DVD recently. Certain scenes were effectively burned into my memory for decades, like the wacko gang gravel-surfing and the surfer thrust into the barbed-wire fence, the old crone eerily rocking on her perch and the spooky POV shots of the unseen presence in the old mill spying on what's happening below.Oliver Reed is very effective as the head ruffian likely because he was a drunken brawler in real life. He has that captivating aura like Brando, but with a more sinister bent.Carol Lynley (from 1972's "The Poseidon Adventure") was in her mid-20's at the time and she's breath-taking. It's strange that she's married to Gig Young in the story since he was in his early 50s, but it happens.The film features a cool jazzy score.The story takes place on an island off the Coast of New England but it was shot at Hardingham, Norfolk, England. Although this is a fine location you can tell it's not a New England isle. Why didn't they simply have the story take place in England? Some complain about the revelation of the unseen presence at the end, but it worked for me. In fact, I found it surprising. I also found it realistic. Real life is creepier than fantasy. That's all I can say without spoiling it.BOTTOM LINE: Although it may be kind of boring to younger modern viewers, "The Shuttered Room" works well because it effectively creates an eerie mood, has striking characters played by great actors, and has a handful of memorable scenes that burn into the viewer's psyche. It's a horror film not in the sense that it's uber-scary, but rather creepy, weird and disturbing.RUNTIME: 99 minutes GRADE: Borderline B+ or A-