Crucible of Terror (1971)

The Killer Kimono, 29 June 2006

There's as much wasted potential in Crucible of Terror as I remember seeing recently. Part of the film's problem is the muddled plot. Things get off to a decent start with an artist who uses a woman as the base for his bronze sculpture. Think of it as House of Wax without the wax. 99% of the movie follows this plot thread as those around the artist are murdered by a crazed killer. One of the characters says something about some sort of Satanic type stuff, but it's only mentioned in passing. It's a "blink and you'll miss it" type moment. So the ending comes out of nowhere and abandons most everything that's happened by reintroducing the crazy religious stuff in the final five minutes. Huh? Where did that come from? It's got to be one of the worst twist endings I've seen.

The shift in gears at the end of Crucible of Terror might have been more palatable had I actually cared about any of the characters by the time it rolled around. For a film that features so many characters being killed, it's terribly dull. Other than watching a lecherous Mike Raven put the moves on anything in a skirt, there's not much going on. Sure, people die, but why should I have cared. None of the characters seemed to notice their friends were going missing.

Beyond the plot and the unlikable characters, most of the rest of the movie is just as bad. The editing is sloppy. Characters are killed in rooms that seem to be next to one another, yet no on seems to notice even though the victims scream and make other appropriate noises. The acting is weak. The lisping Mike Raven cannot carry the film. He's a very poor imitation of Christopher Lee. You know you're in trouble when Raven is the best "actor" in the cast. The set design and special effects are bad. I think I could build a more realistic looking forge in my basement. Finally, could Crucible of Terror have included anymore horror clichés? I've seen nutty characters, cars that won't start, and almost everything else in this movie a million times.

2/10