Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

There are those who say that the Rathbone/Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes films began to run out of steam as the years passed. Well, this is definitely NOT the case with THE HOUSE OF FEAR, an extremely atmospheric and entertaining variant on the old Agatha Christie story TEN LITTLE INDIANS. This is a dark thriller with plenty of deadly booby traps and moments with our heroes in peril. It also has surprisingly high macabre undertones, with talk of 'mutilated corpses' and 'torsos' with arms, legs, and heads missing. Saying that, it's still as light-hearted as ever, with the mystery and thriller aspects of the film nicely mixed together with the plentiful comic relief.There is plenty of good acting from an accomplished cast who fit their roles well, from the gruff bearded sailor to the amicable, demented old codger. Rathbone and Bruce are as strong a pairing as ever, and their double act is by now firmly cemented and all the stronger for it. Bruce once again stays in the background to Rathbone's Holmes, yet gives a perfectly judged turn. Rathbone himself is dashing, intelligent, and brooding, all that he should be. Thankfully, the great Dennis Hoey is also in tow for extra comic relief, bumbling around and getting the facts wrong as usual. A lot of the humour could be considered naïve - and perhaps childish - these days, such as a scene where Bruce mistakenly converses with an owl which keeps saying "who?", but it's still pretty funny.Like all good mysteries, this keeps you guessing as to the identity of the murderer right up to the end. As Rathbone comments, there are actually TOO many clues and suspects this time around, so it's difficult to work out who the killer is. By the time the ending comes (amid some spooky, clichéd wandering around a dark house with a storm outside) there's a twist in the tale which is good enough to rival the likes of THE SIXTH SENSE. THE HOUSE OF FEAR comes as highly recommended, and is in fact one of the best of the Rathbone/Holmes canon.

This is certainly one of the best in the series of SH films, with a wonderfully atmospheric feel to it right from the outset. Snippets of information about certain characters build up the tension nicely, and a solid supporting cast - particularly Sally Shepherd as the sinister Mrs. Monteith - really gets things going. Throw in a suitably creepy old stately home and it all adds up to an entertaining 69 minutes. Nicely paced direction from the ever-present director, Roy William Neill, directing one of his final films before his untimely death at just 59 the following year. Neill was to direct another four Sherlock Holmes films before his final film noir 'Black Angel' and this one is certainly amongst the pick of the crop. Rathbone excellent as usual. Bruce and Hoey (as Inspector Lestrade) bounce off each other in terms of humour. An excellent twist at the end guarantees satisfaction.

I've just watched the Rathbone/Bruce Hound of the Baskervilles, and I have to say I far prefer this story. It spares us the war propaganda story lines of other films in the series, and in spite of its contemporary setting, its old dark house atmosphere puts us right back in Victorian times. Nigel Bruce and Dennis Hoey play their standard roles, and Rathbone is his masterful self. This is one film in the series without the usual love interest or femme fatale, and does fine without them.I was thinking while watching this movie that I wish the production had been in the hands of the mid-era Charlie Chan crew. The lighting in those films was far superior. The old stone mansion seen here is a fine setting, but some atmospheric lighting would have done wonders for the story.

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce once again give sterling performances as legendary crime fighting duo Holmes and Watson, but the real star of this particular yarn is its marvellous location, the aptly named Drearcliff House, a sprawling Scottish cliff-top mansion. It is within the sturdy walls, shadowy corridors, magnificent oak panelled rooms and dingy secret passageways of this wonderfully atmospheric building that Holmes attempts to unravel the case of the 'The Good Comrades', the systematic murder of a group of friends who have each taken out a life insurance policy, naming the others as beneficiaries.Ceaslessly battered by the elements, windows lashed by heavy rain, the wind howling outside, lightning and thunder crashing above, Drearcliff is the archetypal 'old dark house', a labyrinthine structure offering countless hiding places and escape routes for any quick-witted felon. Its extensive grounds also offer ample opportunity for nefarious activity: a craggy cliff overlooking a lonely beach (perfect for pushing large boulders from), a system of caves, and an untended garden with a shed full of dynamite. With such a cool setting, so many suspects to choose from, umpteen 'murders' and red herrings aplenty, this is another fine adventure for the world's most distinguished sleuth.