Something Creeping in the Dark (1971) User Reviews

Strange and creepy

[rundbauchdodo · 6/10 · 16 January 2001]

This rather obscure film is one of those giallo-like chillers with supernatural attitudes. This time, the threatened people are gathered in a house that seems to be haunted by a ghost.

It's a strange and fairly low-budget film that manages to keep one interested and thrilled thanks to some haunting atmosphere and creepy moments, yet it doesn't quite leave one gasping for breath. The only disappointing thing is that its finish comes too abruptly. Nevertheless surely worth to watch.

Reasonably atmospheric Italian occult horror

[Red-Barracuda · 5/10 · 23 July 2016]

Extreme weather forces a group of disparate people to gather in a house once owned by a dabbler in the occult. Needless to say, something evil begins to influence events after some of these uneasy guests conduct a misguided séance.

I hadn't even heard of Something Creeping in the Dark prior to a very kind fellow IMDb user sending me a copy. It's a pretty obscure Italian horror film from the period when the giallo was the number one sub-genre from that country. Surprisingly, this isn't really a giallo at all, despite often having the feel of one. Instead it is resolutely an example of a supernatural occult chiller. It builds up its setup quite well with a tense credit sequence with dramatic music and odd freeze-frames that announce the various cast and crew. Events soon end up at the aforementioned mansion but truthfully not a great deal is made of the premise and there is overall quite a limited supply of action or thrills on offer. It has some dreamlike sequences though and it overall has a decent enough atmosphere but you can't help but feel it could have been executed with a bit more vigour and it does pale a bit when compared to most other Italian horrors and thrillers from the early 70's. Nevertheless, it's not exactly a dud either and could maybe best be described as a fairly workmanlike chiller.

Holds Promise but fails to deliver

[mauchline2008 · 4/10 · 22 May 2006]

I recently watched this film and was really excited as i like films in an isolated place with ghosts etc. The film concerns f different groups of people (an upeerclass bickering couple, Two policemen and a captured felon, A doctor and his nurse and the house caretaker and his girlfriend)they all find themselves trapped in the gloomy mansion when the road they are travelling on is washed away during a bad rainstorm.They all have different agenda's and there stories intertwine but this film is just too talky with very little action it does have a few killings and a rather disappointing ending. All in all an OK film just do not expect too much.

A boring and poorly made Italian oddity

[The_Void · 3/10 · 14 June 2007]

Well, I'm a massive fan of Italian horror; particularly Giallo and Gothic horror, so I was looking forward to this given that it's meant to be a sort of cross-over between the two. However, my hopes were dashed as Something is Creeping in the Dark is one boring and poorly made film! I spent an hour and a half watching this film, and yet I really have very little to say about it. The plot is wafer thin and simply focuses on the idea of a bunch of strangers being holed up in a spooky old house for the night. However, they're not the only ones there are some ghostly presence is there too! That's it really. The attempts to build up the characters and their relationships all fall flat, and all that is left to admire is the atmosphere; which isn't exactly anything to write home about as it's a carbon copy of the atmosphere in any number of similar films and director Mario Colucci fails to bring anything new to the table. The film was obviously made on a low budget and there certainly is worse films out there - but I seriously can see no reason to bother tracking this oddity down as there's many, many better films out there too!

SOMETHING CREEPING IN THE DARK (Mario Colucci, 1971) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 19 February 2010]

I first became aware of this (and its equally obscure director) via the *** star rating on the "Giallo" section of the "Cult Filmz" website; incidentally, I also did not know that Farley Granger had worked so extensively in Italy – in that Luchino Visconti's SENSO (1954) was no fluke (I recently watched him in a hybrid poliziottesco/giallo, and another good one it was, Massimo Dallamano's WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? [1974])! Having mentioned the latter, this too is as much a horror piece as a giallo since it involves a manifestation brought about by a séance conducted at dead-of-night. The cast is quite interesting – not only mixing familiar/international names (including, apart from the afore-mentioned American actor, Italians Lucia Bose' and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) with unknown faces, but there are even a couple of behind-the-camera personnel (producer Dino Fazio and renowned composer Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, who also supplies a fine moody score) in the significant roles of Police Inspector and Professor/Occultist respectively! The plot is the typical 'old dark house' routine throwing myriad characters together, stranded by bad weather in a remote and forbidding environment (adding plenty of atmosphere to the already dour brew); harking back to Agatha Christie's much-filmed "And Then There Were None" prototype rather than the traditional stalk'n'slash formula, it is something of a quintessential offering (thus undeservedly overlooked) in this regard. By the way, the notion of having the spirit at large possessing members of the household in turn to commit mayhem would be adopted by Hollywood much later for the not-too-bad IDENTITY (2003)! The still attractive (and former Miss Italy) Bose' was on something of a latter-day roll during this period – since, among others, she made two similarly notable (and likewise strange) efforts i.e. Romolo Guerrieri's THE DOUBLE (1971) and Giulio Questi's extremely-rare ARCANA (1972); unfortunately, her character is made to expire halfway through, but the actress nonetheless makes a lasting impression. Ditto Granger, uncharacteristically cast here as a hardened criminal, pretty much retains the youthful looks that had served the Hollywood veteran so well in his heyday; the film's marvelous – if somewhat abrupt – finale has him as the ghost's latest 'fall guy', to adopt a noir phrase (a genre which tended to elicit the best from the actor).

Ominous and Portentious

[spetersen-79-962044 · 5/10 · 28 July 2016]

I originally bought this movie thinking it would be a giallo, which it is not, though clearly it is informed by such. It is actually an old- fashioned Old Dark House type of film. A motley band of characters are forced to assemble in an old creepy mansion on a dark and stormy night.

Farley Granger is fabulous as a murderer, held captive by the police (the Police Inspector is great, too).

A seance evokes what is evidently a ghost, and then spooky happenings ensue. It's the kind of a movie where everything seems creepy, but then not much actually happens. There are some acts of violence, even killings, but it's no gore fest.

Go into it expecting heaps of atmosphere and not much else.

There is something undefinable in the air.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 7/10 · 6 September 2012]

Strom rages and there is flooding.A group of strangers is stranded in a creepy looking house in the middle of nowhere.Among them are homicidal maniac Spike played by Farley Granger,beautiful and heavily drinking wife Sylvia(stunning Lucia Bose)and her husband Donald,two police inspectors plus professor,doctor and his nerdy assistant.The house is owned by mysterious butler Joe.During the séance the spirit of former owner Sheila Marlowe is summoned and people begin to die possessed in the dark...Mario Colucci's "Something Creeping in the Dark" is an obscure Italian horror flick with several truly weird and eerie sequences.I loved all the clocks running in the house.The score by Francesco Lavagnino is superbly moody and there is plenty of violence but almost no nudity.The plot is disjointed and hard to follow,but if you are in the mood for some rare Italian chiller give Mario Colucci's slow-burner a look.7 séances out of 10.

Tired and workmanlike

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 25 October 2019]

SOMETHING CREEPING IN THE DARK is a somewhat tired and workmanlike re-staging of the classic 'old dark house' formula, one of my favourites in cinema. This one mixes the style of both the new-fangled giallo and the classic gothic horror, but the end result feels cheap and dreary more than anything. A bunch of unlikeable characters hole up at an old country house following some incidents on the road beforehand; among their number are Italian film regular Giacomo Rossi-Stuart and Hollywood old-timer Farley Granger (of ROPE fame). A series of brutal murders ensue, but the mystery plot never really develops and the ending feels rushed more than anything else. If you're hoping for suspense and atmosphere, you've come to the wrong place.

Solid enough if somewhat flawed supernatural effort

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 12 November 2017]

Arriving at a countryside mansion, several strangers and police detectives holding a criminal are forced to stay with the eccentric hosts of the house and find themselves playing deadly games with each other than expected and makes for a far more dangerous stay as the guests turn up dead.

This one wasn't all that bad of an effort. One of the more engaging aspects of this one is the rather enjoyable atmosphere created throughout this one which gives this quite a lot to like. Employing the Gothic standouts in the atmospheric location and setup of the house, from the elaborate decorations, furnishings and general old-school air featured with the layout of the house structured up on a remote hilltop filled with the flair featured here. From the cloth drapings, candlelit rooms and raging thunderstorm in the background, they give this the same type of atmosphere and suspenseful air that continually appears in the older Gothic horror fare just before this one was released and eases the film into the eccentric behavior from the hosts rather well. As the first initial meeting between everyone is to offer up an orgy between them all signals, their rather bizarre behavior and straightforwardness showcasing all manner of sexual shenanigans give this a generally depraved ambiance that matches the Gothic trappings rather nicely. This also ties in nicely with the idea of the paranoia and sexual frustration that plays out here with the general air of sleaziness usually featured that manages quite a lot to like with how all the jealousies lead to pent-up rage and murder. Even as the events in the night continue, from the constant enforcement of the supernatural presences in the house which causes everyone to go crazy or the various murder guises that occur which merely add to the paranoid already featured throughout here and readily enhances this one significantly that gives it enough to hold itself out over it's few minor issues. The main problem here is the film's somewhat staid and glacial pacing that really does lower this one quite a bit. Barely anything happens at all for large portions of time as this one tends to remain wallowing in Gothic tropes for the vast majority of the time and doesn't really bring anything out of the incredibly fun atmosphere presented. This one is generally much too interested in its paranoia amongst the cast to really lift itself out of the doldrums as it moves along at a somewhat steady pace that might be considered way too slow for some to really enjoy all that much. As well, the other problem here is the rushed and nonsensical finale that brings everything to a head in a much too rushed manner as a result of the pacing setting up atmosphere over it's pacing so the film just ambles along throughout the main storyline then blazes through the final five minutes to pay it all off which leads to a truly bland effect. These are all that hold it back, though.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Full Nudity and Language.

An average horror excursion.

[parry_na · 5/10 · 30 March 2019]

A high-class, squabbling couple, driving one night in the midst of a storm, are forced to spend the night in a creepy mansion (a bridge has collapsed). There, they find other people they don't particularly like, and who are equally dismissive of them. They become acquiescent enough to agree to a séance in which they attempt to contact the spirit that seems to haunt the building, a woman called Sheila Marlowe. We only see Marlowe as the subject of a painting, based on the likeness of model Loredana Nusciak). The interrupted séance, of course, only appears to succeed in releasing the spirit.

The fairly thinly sketched bunch include the posh couple, two policemen and their captured felon (Farley Granger), who spends most of his time tied to a chair), a doctor and nurse, and the caretaker and his girlfriend. Little separates them as characters, but the acting ensures they are rarely just cyphers. There is a great atmosphere of isolation here, with glimpses of the flooding that surrounds the building. Inside, as the 'guests' are encouraged to tell each other their stories, becomes a kind of world within a world, which is a backdrop that always appeals to me. It may be something of a cliché for horror stories, but it has only become that way because it works so well.

The excellent minimalist soundtrack, by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, and the direction/story by Mario Colucci succeed in keeping things reasonably interesting for 90 minutes, and the competent, often glamorous cast (spiced up with very occasional nudity) do their best to further this. The exterior of the mansion is represented by a fairly decent miniature model, which would have benefitted from some surrounding foliage, to give it some sense of scale and depth.

Whilst here are plenty of effective set-pieces, there's no sense of progression with the scares, or working out what is going on. Equally, I'm not sure the end reveal answers all the questions. This is a mixed bag as a whole, but an enjoyable one.

The old dark house with on its walls many clocks that creepily start and stop ticking!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 27 January 2024]

Yeah, that also would have been a great title! Slightly too long, perhaps...

As customary for Italian horror movies from the era late-60s and early 70s, this one struggles with an identity crisis. There simply were too many profitable concepts back then, and writer/director Mario Colucci either can't decide what he wants OR hopes to cash in on all of them at once. As a result, his film is partially Gothic horror, but simultaneously has Giallo aspirations, and blends in occult & supernatural elements. Usually, these horror sub-genre stews end up being a complete mess, but in case of "Something is Creeping in the Dark" it all works out surprisingly well!

I loved this movie straight from the cool opening sequences, with various cars on a forsaken road that pass or cross each other and the screen that atmospherically freezes to display the names of cast and crew. Eventually there are eight eccentric characters who find themselves isolated in a storm and cut off from civilization because either the bridge collapsed, or the roads are flooded. It's rather weird, though, because there isn't a drop of rain or a whistle of wind noticeable. They seek refuge in a spooky old house with an even spookier caretaker, and only there they realize what an odd bunch of characters they are. There's a married couple that hate each other, a duo of policemen that just captured a fugitive murderer, a mysterious professor, and a surgeon with his geeky assistant. Oh yeah, the caretaker also hides a naked girl in his bedroom. The wife of the unhappy couple suggests an orgy - that's what you do when you're stranded with strangers, right - but they prefer to hold a séance to call out to the spirit of the deceased female house owner instead.

You won't ever hear me say the script of "Something is Creeping in the Dark" makes much sense, or that it's a compellingly realistic fright tale, but Mario Colluci does manage to keep it interesting, entertaining, and occasionally even suspenseful. The séance, for instance, is effectively sinister and our director also makes excellent use of the creepy mansion and its scenery. The walls of the room where most of the action takes place are full of clocks. When they are all ticking together, and the crowd is silent, it has a rather scary effect. When all the clocks collectively stop ticking for no apparent reason, it has an even scarier effect. The build-up towards the finale is also very well-handled, and even though the ending itself is ridiculously basic, it worked for me! Not a great or highly recommendable piece of Italian horror, but fun to watch.

"This Type Of Morbid Exaltation Can Be Harmful To The Nerves!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 25 August 2021]

In SOMETHING CREEPING IN THE DARK, a group of strangers is stranded at an old mansion due to a flood. Among them is a doctor, a cop, and a notorious criminal named Spike (Farley Granger).

Things get interesting when it's disclosed that the huge house once belonged to a witch named Sheila Marlowe. Of course, a seance is held that conjures up the deceased sorceress. Madness ensues.

Sort of.

This is a very slow-building story of occult weirdness. It's more about the macabre atmosphere. For example: There's a collection of clocks ticking continuously, growing louder as the film progresses. They all suddenly stop. Then, all start again. It's a cool effect!

All while the disembodied witch floats through the house, possessing the unsuspecting.

As supernatural thrillers go, this one is pretty tame. It's not very exciting either. By the time the bodies start piling up it's almost too late. Still, those clocks are awesome...

Exorcism and the occult?

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 5 September 2021]

Qualcosa Striscia nel Buio may mean Something Crawls in the Dark, but the inexact translation of the original title is what this played in the U. S. as.

A series of travels are headed out into a foreboding evening - it was a cold, dark night - when they realize that a washed out bridge means that they're all finding shelter in the same house that was once as the home of a lady occultist. The cars contain all manner of individuals with their own reasons for being out in the storm, like the two detectives transporting a restrained Farley Grainger, a fighting husband and wife, and a surgeon and his assistant.

Of course, one of these folks will decide to conduct a seance and that's the point where everything falls to pieces. The result of this occult ritual is that everyone becomes possessed and starts acting like Ecstasy-loving maniacs. And with the phone lines not working, the bridge out and a storm outside - and now inside an emotional weather outburst happening - the movie transitions from giallo to outright gothic horror.

There's also a butler named Joe who just happens to keep a pantsless woman who he occasionally makes love to, as well as a POV camera view that keeps happening, making this film stand out from the giallo pack somewhat as the ghost takes over each person, making them give in to their desires and even stopping clocks dead.

"Exorcism...the Occult...A Horror-Filled Night In A House Of Terror!" Writer and director Mario Colucci only directed one other movie, Revenge for Revenge, that he also wrote, directed and acted in. There are some interesting actors other than Granger here, such as Italian Neorealist actress Lucia Bosè (she's also in Arcana), Giacomo Rossi Stuart (Kill, Baby, Kill; The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave), Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (who is in Fulci's Beatrice Cenci as well as Orson Welles' Othello and Chimes at Midnight) and Loredana Nusciak (Maria, the lover of Django) appearing as the photo of the lady of the house, who we are to believe is the ghost.

Lots of potential, but the writing/story is the downfall. Good music, and some decent acting and scenes.

[Bababooe · 5/10 · 28 June 2017]

Lots of potential, but the writing/story is the downfall. Good music, and some decent acting and scenes.

What we have here is a bunch of characters stuck in a house. Some decent acting, some not so great. The main problem is the writing. These characters do not all come together in the story. Some of the characters interact and its great. Like when the killer plays the piano and there is a dream sequence. Great music and great scene. The rest of the story just does not add up. There's a couple of cops, that add up to zero. The professor, doctor, the caretaker and his girlfriend all did very little and their acting was poor. The married couple were decent actors and had decent screen time. The killer was interesting. But all these characters needed to add up to something. It didn't.

What saves this movie is that it built some kind of atmosphere, or anticipation of suspense. It had some great cinematography and music.

Rating is a C, or 5 stars. Better story and acting this could have been a 7 or even 8.

Jeepers Creepers.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 6/10 · 14 October 2015]

Being in the mood to watch a Giallo film,I started to take a look at a mountain of gialli DVDs.Getting near the end of the pile,I spotted a Giallo which I had heard Kim Newman & Alan Jones mention on a DVD commentary,which led to me getting ready to find out what is creeping in the dark.

The plot:

Arresting homicidal manic Spike on a busy road,police officers Sam and Inspector Wright get set to take Spike back to the police station. Preparing to put Spike in the car,the police are stopped in their tracks,when a bad storm causes the road to become flooded.

Talking to all of the other drivers stranded on the road,Sam and Wright decide that they will take Spike and the guests to a near by mansion,where they can all stay for the night.Originally expecting the decaying mansion to be empty,the cops and drivers are shocked to find that it is inhabited by Joe.Attempting to make themselves comfortable in the mansion,the group are disappointed to find that the flood has destroyed the phone service in the area.Bored out of their minds,the residences of the mansion decide that the best way to pass the time is not to play pass the parcel,but to hold séance for the former owner of the mansion,who is rumoured to have had an interest in the occult.

View on the film:

Opening with a blunt stop/start credit sequence,writer/director Mario Colucci & cinematographer Giuseppe Aquari casts the film against a deep blue atmosphere,which along with subtly showing the mansion "drowning" in the flood,also creates a sharp,haunting atmosphere,as Colucci reveals something mysterious to be lurking in the corners of the mansion.Backed by a slithering score from Angelo Francesco Lavagnino,Colucci gradually scatters the hidden secrets of the mansion across the screen with ultra-stylised first person camera moves,which allow the viewer to feel the full sense of insanity gripping each of the unlucky guests.

Keeping the film locked either on the road or in the mansion,the screenplay by Colucci attempts to cross the murder mystery elements with the Giallo and Supernatural Horror genres. Whilst Colucci does very well at using the Supernatural Horror edge to give the title a final sting,he sadly struggles to build any sense of the central mystery progressing,with each of the thinly-drawn characters appearing to have hardly any interest in actually uncovering the secrets of the mansion,which along with including some ill-fitting Giallo murder scenes leads to this being a film that sadly creeps back into the dark.

The good old haunted house plot again...

[Bezenby · 6/10 · 21 October 2017]

Like many a horror film, this starts off with a varied bunch of people seeking shelter once they discover that a bridge they need to cross has collapsed, and they end up at a spooky mansion (looks like a cheap model!) run by a guy who kind of looks like that guy out of No Country For Old Men.

Our victims this time include uptight Giacomo Rossi-Stuart who hates his boozy, floozy wife (and she hates him back!), two cops who have just arrested murderer Spike, a doctor, his assistant and a local who provides the creepy exposition. Every single one of them smoke like troopers, including the doctor. The caretaker tells them it's probably not a good idea to stay the night but then doesn't seem to bothered as he has a naked chick in his room.

After her suggestion of an orgy is turned down, Giacomo's wife then finds out that the house was owned by a lady who was accused of killing her husband, and also accused of being a witch. The wife thinks this is a good time to do a séance and that's where the film starts getting interesting as all of a sudden Giacomo becomes possessed and starts talking in the dead ladies voice. Seems that the night isn't going to be as boring as they thought… In amongst all the Gialli and Spaghetti Westerns I'm watching it's nice to watch a straightforward horror film, even if it is a bit patchy and slow. There's a nice atmosphere to this one, and although it's not great all the way through, there are some sequences that stand out, like when Giacomo's wife has a strange hallucination that she's stabbing Farley Granger over and over again while he laughs in her face, or the constant ticking of clocks throughout the house which makes me wonder if Lucio Fulci had this film in mind when making The House of Clocks years later.

There also a guy getting attacked by a picture and some disembodied laughing, plus the end sequence is carried out quite well. You can add this one to pile of horror the Italian made set giant houses. Or do something worthwhile instead.