Crucible of Terror – 1971 | 91 mins | Horror | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Offbeat low-budget chiller that is a variation on the old House of Wax theme. Directed by Ted Hooker, it was shot on a budget of £100,000at Shepperton Studios and on location in Perranporth. The film is poorly paced,suffers from stilted direction and contains ridiculously trite dialogue courtesyof producer Tom Parkinson and director Hooker. The chief protagonist of the film is played by the uniquely wooden former Radio One disc jockey Mike Raven.  The supporting actors are thankfully better value,notably post-Likely Lads James Bolam and a wildly brilliant Ronald Lacey.

Struggling art dealer John Davies (James Bolam) needs to make money quickly to clear a business loan that he his backers have provided.His alcoholic partner Michael Clare (Ronald Lacey) shows him some stolen bronze sculptures produced by his reclusive father Victor (Mike Raven), which both men agree are good enough to revive their flagging fortunes.  John is suitably impressed by the saleability of the bronze sculptures and persuades Michael to set up a meeting at his father’s remote Cornish coastal house of Jericho so that they can negotiate a purchase.

Coming along for the trip are Michael’s unhappy wife Jane (Beth Morris) and John’s anxious girlfriend Millie (Mary Maude). The house is located near an abandoned tin mine, closed since a fatal accident and rumoured to be haunted. Much to the chagrin of his live-in-lover Marcia, Victor becomes besotted with Millie and plans to use her as a model in his next piece of work. Jane subsequently disappears overnight and is suspected of having returned to London, and then Michael is believed to have rushed off, but both have in fact been murdered. Evidence would suggest Victor is the one responsible, perhaps planning to restart his weird old hobby of casting dead bodies in bronze.