Crucible of Terror (1971)

Director:

Ted Hooker

Writers:

Ted Hooker (writer)
Tom Parkinson (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

The art of murder.

Plot:

An obsessed sculptor kills a young women to make a perfect bronze sculpture of her. Years later at his secluded home a number of people become trapped in a web of revenge, murder and horror. |

Plot Keywords:

Artist | Murder | Acid | Model | Beautiful Woman

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Mike Raven	...	Victor Clare
Mary Maude	...	Millie
James Bolam	...	John 'Jack' Davies
Ronald Lacey	...	Michael Clare
Betty Alberge	...	Dorothy Clare
John Arnatt	...	Bill
Beth Morris	...	Jane Clare
Judy Matheson	...	Marcia
Melissa Stribling	...	Joanna Brent
Kenneth Keeling	...	George Brent
Me Me Lai	...	Chi-San (as Me Me Lay)

Also Known As:

Unholy Terror (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | Australia:R | Iceland:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Blue Hills, St Agnes, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

Glendale

Shame and scandal in the family...

"Crucible of Terror" is potentially interesting but nevertheless poor 70's horror of which the weak storyline constantly bounces back and forth between two popular horror themes; namely the house-of-wax theme and the satanic-cult theme. Especially this last theme was used frequently during the early 70's, with other (and better) titles such as "The Blood on Satan's Claw" and "To The Devil a Daughter". The story of this fun turkey revolves on an art-gallery owner and his gorgeous girlfriend encountering a hugely eccentric sculptor and his messed up family. I'm not sure I understood all the bizarre family relations but I think the artist lives together with his demented wife as well as with his mistress. Meanwhile, he also successfully woos the wife of his alcoholic son... Then there's also this elderly guy living in the same house but I have absolutely no idea what his position is towards the rest of the family. Anyway, one of all these annoying people is a vicious murderer and, even though you absolutely can't see it coming, the revelation of his/her identity is utterly ludicrous! "Crucible of Blood" contains some enjoyable sequences, more particularly the gross murders, but overall it's boring and unoriginal low-budget trash. The female actresses are painfully untalented but look very ravishing and Mike Raven is completely miscast as the womanizing artist. He looks somewhat like a crossover between Christopher Lee and David Carradine but totally lacks the charisma of both. In fact, this "Crucible of Blood" would work a lot better as a British government film to promote the tourist opportunities of Cornwall, because the filming locations are really beautiful and well-illustrated by cinematographer Peter Newbrook. As a shocking horror film, however, it's not the least bit impressive.