Ernie's Uncle Gabriel has just died but to claim his inheritance he must spend the night in the ancestral family home with the rest of his rather eccentric relatives. Ernie's imagination has been affected by his constant immersion in cheap horror novels, but his wildest fears turn out to be justified when the guests begin to drop dead.
Reviews
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
Good concept, poorly executed.
Excellent adaptation.
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Timid proofreader Ernie (Kenneth Connor) travels with his best pal Syd (Sid James) to Blackshaw Towers on the Yorkshire Moors for the reading of his Uncle Gabriel's will; also present at the reading are Ernie's eccentric relatives (played by Dennis Price, Michael Gwynn, Valerie Taylor, George Woodbridge, and Esma Cannon), plus Gabriel's sexy nurse Linda (Shirley Eaton), creepy butler Fisk (Michael Gough) and sinister solicitor Everett Sloane (Donald Pleasance).As a thunderstorm rages outside, trapping the beneficiaries in the creepy house for the night, someone begins to bump off the visitors in variety of gruesome ways. Will Ernie and Syd make it through the night?As a big fan of both the Carry On series and the 'Old Dark House' horror sub-genre, I was very keen to see What A Carve Up!, which is apparently based on the classic 1933 chiller The Ghoul and features Carry On regulars James and Connor, as well as occasional Carry On players Eaton and Cannon. Sadly, although the film exploits every creepy cliché in the book in an effort to reap the laughs, the film as a whole doesn't deliver, the gags being as creaky as the huge wooden door of Blackshaw Towers. Connor's familiar nervous wimp routine and Sid James's trademark cackle are no substitute for decent jokes, and the whole affair soon becomes rather tiresome.Still, I guess it's no worse than the official Carry On attempt at mixing comedy with horror, Carry On Screaming, which also failed to impress despite the combined talents of Jim Dale, Joan Sims, Kenneth Williams, Fenella Fielding, Harry. H. Corbett, Charles Hawtry, Peter Butterworth, Jon Pertwee, Bernard Bresslaw and Angela Douglas (but no sign of Sid James or Kenneth Connor—a case of 'once bitten, twice shy', perhaps?).
Well being a Sid James fanatic, I'm bound to say this film is good. What I can add to that however, is that it's the best film of over 140 he made. Sid is at his very best in this enchanting comedy/horror. Kenneth Connor also gives his finest performance in my opinion, and the two play off each other superbly. Add a great plot and fine work by the rest of the cast which includes Denis Price and Shirley Eaton and I can guarantee you'll thoroughly enjoy it. I've watched it hundreds of times over the years, and strangely each of my girlfriends over the years also thought it was brilliant - my current girlfriend and I watch it whenever we feel down to cheer ourselves up! Sids biographer said it was probably the best kept secret in his comedy career, adding the film as a whole is an under-valued masterpiece. I couldn't agree more. I won't go into the plot - all I'll say is if you haven't seen it, buy it, watch it, and I know you'll agree with me.
Anyone who has seen this poor movie may be interested to know that a fantastic novel came out of it. Written by Jonathon Coe, "What A Carve Up" is a strong satire on 1980's Thatcherite Britain, following the exploits, fair and foul of the Winshaw family. Using the movie to link together several plot strands, most importantly the schlock horror climax, the novel follows each familial member in their definitively antisocial exploits in the fields of arms dealing, the politics of the NHS, tabloid journalism, the art world, and intensive farming, ensuring each gets their comeuppance in imaginative style. The novel would have made a far better, though unlikely, movie, and is absolutely worth reading for anyone with an interest in the original movie, politics at their most raw, or great English Literature.
When I first saw this film one evening, I only watched it because I had nothing to do. By the time it had finished, I was left raging with myself for not videoing it. Although it's not really a horror movie, the atmosphere is tremendous. Right from the first scene, the viewer is drawn in, and simply cannot stop watching. Although the ending is somewhat predictable, the movie does not really suffer from this, but rather the viewer can look out for all the clues that he/she may have missed the first time.All in all, a film to be watched over and over again.
Top Streaming Movies
