It's about time I reached one of these titles. One that steps a bit away from the usual monster creation and takes us into the walls of an unsettling building. An old home that holds many secrets and oddities. This at one point became quite a thriving genre, with the haunted house concept. Or the location for a little murder-mystery narrative that has a group of people placed into a secluded home during a stormy night and stuck there as tensions begin to arise. People begin to die. And suspicions push people to their limits. I've been craving something like this lately. Something that isn't really the same as the main Universal monster films, which after a while start to feel a little too similar to one-another. Feeling a little bit of that fatigue, I still wanted to continue watching these titles if I had the time, as we approach the middle of that October Halloween month.
Fortunately there is some similarity to those previous films still: it holds a runtime of just around 100 minutes. Meaning it's not something that's going to overstep its welcome. It's a film that goes straight to the point and never really stops being in motion. This is something I've been really enjoying with these titles as of late. And it really works with such films where the atmosphere is already established quite early on. Where it's clear what the general narrative is and there's no need for extensive exposition. The Old Dark House ended up being quite a fun experience due to this. And as always, impressive in many ways for its structure and technical aspects coming out of the early 1930s. For additional context: yesterday I wrote about a silent era film, which came about just four years prior to this. Where sound had not yet made its way into the film industry.
The Old Dark House
To no surprise The Old Dark House starts with a small group of people driving through the Welsh mountains in the night, during a heavy downpour. They're agitated and certainly regretting their decisions. This is where a bit of that dialogue instantly serves as some context as to where they are and when. This brings their discussion towards where they're heading, and some suspicions over the destination. There's some humour added within this moment with two of the three characters just absolutely hating their situation, while the third casually smokes from his pipe and jokes around without a care in the world. A mudslide traps their road back, caused by the heavy rains, as a house comes into view. What a coincidence, right? Cracks of thunder as the refuge appears. It's a pretty solid start to the film, the usual entrance that accompanies these types of films, and I'm sure this was probably one of the first to do so.
Of course, leading to an unknown home, they aren't sure what to expect. But it's the least of their worries as they're otherwise stuck in the heavy rain in a car that's quickly flooding with the rainfall. This unsuspecting home isn't quite sure how to react to their sudden presence, but it's clear that something is a bit strange about them; perhaps an outcome of the Welsh culture? Or is there something more odd at foot? This huge home doesn't really welcome the strangers that appear, and their discovery to the mudslide that blocked the road only results in fear. I really liked this introduction, the family don't appear sinister themselves, but more dismissive of anyone coming knowing that there's something that could go wrong here. Which is more spoken of by the woman which brings in more questions as a result of a reference to fearing death. That the house is supposedly safe, though death will come.
The sound design is incredible here. The sounds of the storm outside are haunting. Such strong howling winds and the endless downpour of rainfall which acts more like a harsh wall that pushes those outside closer to the ground with its weight. It really produces this threatening feeling. Those peaking sounds of thunder that crack between the dialogue, as the storm increases in its intensity. Some additional context as to the potential threat comes in the form of a shared drink. A warning of Morgan, the slightly 'dumb' one of the family which supposedly can become quite a dangerous brute on nights like these. Something to take note of: the actor of Morgan is also the same actor that played Frankenstein's Monster just a year before. Though not particularly noticeable with different makeup and appearance.
The film moves forward with references to those who were Godless. How they lost their souls and never found their peace with religion. How this would then go on to fill the home with sin. It's here that the film's creativity shines. The cinematography and directing utilising the surroundings to portray the oddity of the discussion. Broken glass to morph the appearance of the old woman as she speaks. The dead candles in the foreground which provided depth within the scene. The Godless references continue with the discussion of sin, and how youth is often accompanied with great sin. Where traditions have been lost and the young only pursue sinful and shallow matters. From here it almost give the appearance of a film that speaks on age and the natural decay of youth itself. The fears of being trapped within time and having no way to escape it. Of course, the old woman being wise to this and seeing how people towards old age finally fear death as it approaches, whereas those who understand it from a young age are not so Godless.
With the arrival of other characters, it becomes clear what the film is saying. The troubles of life. The secrets people hold. The attempts to be someone that believes in God and tries to lead a good life while suffering at the hands of a cruel society. I think it's quite an interesting film in this sense, where usually these films tend to have something to say, but rarely is it similar to these themes. As it displays the changes of society going into the 1930s.
I enjoyed the film far more than I thought I would, though I do tend to enjoy films like these. It was interesting going back and seeing one of the earlier entries within the genre, which has definitely influenced the genre throughout the decades. This is a great watch going into Halloween. Especially if you do watch it on a dark, cold and rainy night.