Malpertuis (1971)

Directed by

Harry Kümel

Genre

drama film, fantasy film, horror film

Country

Germany, France, Belgium

Runtime

2h 05m

Rated

18

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 45 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young sailor comes home to find himself trapped inside his family's strange and isolated mansion. He navigates a maze of odd relatives and hidden secrets while trying to understand what has happened to him.

surrealclaustrophobicdreamlikeunsettlingslow-burnmysteriousgothic

What happens

Malpertuis (released in the United States as The Legend of Doom House) is a 1972 fantasy horror film directed by Harry Kümel, and starring Orson Welles, Susan Hampshire, Michel Bouquet, Mathieu Carrière, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Daniel Pilon, and Sylvie Vartan. It follows a young sailor who, upon returning to land, awakens to find himself trapped in Malpertuis, his family's isolated labyrinthine estate. It is based on the 1943 novel of the same name by Jean Ray. Malpertuis was selected for the official selection and was presented "in competition" at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened in a truncated cut at the request of its distributor, United Artists. A Flemish "director's cut" version was released in 1973. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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