The Mad Room (1969)

Director: Bernard Girard

Writers: Reginald Denham, Edward Percy, Garrett Fort, A.Z. Martin, Bernard Girard

Composer: Dave Grusin

Starring: Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters, Skip Ward, Carol Cole, Severn Darden, Beverly Garland, Michael Burns, Barbara Sammeth, Lloyd Haynes, Jennifer Bishop, Gloria Manon, Lou Kane

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Forgive Them. Forgive Them. Forgive Them.

Plot:  Ellen is a companion to wealthy, loony widow and she soon brings her brother and sister to live with them after they are released from an asylum for brutally murdering their parents years before. It's not long before folks start a-dyin' and who's to blame now?

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

The performances are good as is the score, cinematography and so on but it drags overall.  It's not boring but it gets pretty close and I didn't find it all that interesting. This could easily fit in the confines of a 50 minute TV horror anthology like THE TWILIGHT ZONE or something similar.  While I generally try to put myself in the mindset of a film goer from when a picture is released, it's not always easy so when you see a movie like this, a psychological thriller, that was made decades ago, it's hard not to remember all of the films you've seen over the years that have trained you to look for clues or see the end coming a mile away.  That's not to say you won't enjoy it.  It's not all that bad but it plods along with little to keep your interest and the ending isn't as shocking as it wants to be or could have been if they went for more of an outright horror picture.  Genre fans will get a kick out of seeing the always fun Severn Darden in a small but easily recognizable part.