"The House That Would Not Die" follows an older woman (played by Barbara Stanwyck) who inherits a Colonial home that she moves into with her troubled niece, Sara. The two women soon find themselves plagued by the supernatural, particularly Sara, who becomes possessed.
Though this dramatically-titled offering from director John Llewellyn Moxey (no stranger to '70s TV-horror) is negligibly impactful, it does succeed at serving up a heaping dose of "movie of the week" chills that are somewhat effective and, at best, nostalgic. The story here is not particularly original, though the possession angle that is worked in does provide a few odd and disturbing moments, and does seem slightly edgy for a network television film made at this time.
As is the case with many of these TV horror films, "The House that Would Not Die" was filmed on a studio sets, giving it an artificial quality that so many of its peers also have (see "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" or Moxey's "A Taste of Evil"). While the sets have this lack of authenticity, there is something about it that is charming and off-kilter, leaving them very clearly a product of their time(s).
Screen legend Barbara Stanwyck gives the material here all she can, as does a pre-"The Exorcist" Kitty Wynn as Stanwyck's mild-mannered niece. The film fumbles a bit in its final act as poltergeist activity and seances galore take hold of the plot, before we get the (rather predictable) reveal about the source of the ghosts. Though it certainly isn't one of Moxey's best works (I think that title goes to his quasi-slasher "Home for the Holidays"), "The House That Would Not Die" is a minor effective time capsule of '70s supernatural fiction that offers a handful of creepy moments, as well as a retro atmosphere that showcases this time period in TV filmmaking. 7/10.
Though this dramatically-titled offering from director John Llewellyn Moxey (no stranger to '70s TV-horror) is negligibly impactful, it does succeed at serving up a heaping dose of "movie of the week" chills that are somewhat effective and, at best, nostalgic. The story here is not particularly original, though the possession angle that is worked in does provide a few odd and disturbing moments, and does seem slightly edgy for a network television film made at this time.
As is the case with many of these TV horror films, "The House that Would Not Die" was filmed on a studio sets, giving it an artificial quality that so many of its peers also have (see "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" or Moxey's "A Taste of Evil"). While the sets have this lack of authenticity, there is something about it that is charming and off-kilter, leaving them very clearly a product of their time(s).
Screen legend Barbara Stanwyck gives the material here all she can, as does a pre-"The Exorcist" Kitty Wynn as Stanwyck's mild-mannered niece. The film fumbles a bit in its final act as poltergeist activity and seances galore take hold of the plot, before we get the (rather predictable) reveal about the source of the ghosts. Though it certainly isn't one of Moxey's best works (I think that title goes to his quasi-slasher "Home for the Holidays"), "The House That Would Not Die" is a minor effective time capsule of '70s supernatural fiction that offers a handful of creepy moments, as well as a retro atmosphere that showcases this time period in TV filmmaking. 7/10.