Rent The House in Marsh Road / Monkey's Paw (1960)

Review of Monkey's Paw (spoiler). - The House in Marsh Road / Monkey's Paw review by Steve

From the silent era to the swinging sixties, Butcher's Film Service turned out the lowest budget releases in British cinema, with murky sound and vision, limited sets and short shooting schedules. Almost none of them have any ambition. The Monkey's Paw is a cheap fright film which partly works because of these limitations.

Low budget horror directors say it's the dark that frightens audiences most. Norman Lee fills his frame with shadows, but also the poor quality photography opens up patches of black all over the screen. And, crucially, he doesn't show his monster, but leaves it to our imagination, as it bangs on a jammed door in a thunderstorm.

It is the best version of the famous old parable. A mummified monkey's paw is cursed by an Indian mystic to deliver three wishes. But fate must always deal an ironic joker... Megs Jenkins is a bereaved mother who wants to bring her son back after he dies in a motor accident. But he is returned in his burned, decomposed state.

The cast is a mix of seasoned support actors and enthusiastic amateurs. It lasts only an hour, and there are no lulls, but plenty of gruesome melodrama. The horrifying climax as the corpse escapes its grave and comes home, packs a punch of powerful dread. It's a genuinely creepy experience. And surely Butcher's best film.