Malpertuis

Year: 1971

Runtime: 125 mins

Language: Dutch

Director: Harry Kümel

HorrorFantasyDrama

Trapped inside his enigmatic uncle’s sprawling, labyrinthine mansion, a young sailor discovers he is surrounded by a cast of eccentric, mysterious relatives, each concealing a dark secret tied to occult forces. As the house’s twisted corridors close in, escaping alive becomes a desperate, nightmarish quest.

Direct adaptation

Read the Malpertuis book behind the movie

A Sailor Enters a Labyrinthine House where an Occultist's Heirs Must Live Together, Guarding Identities Older and More Dangerous than the Family Will · by Jean Ray, Iain White

Why this book?

Harry Kümel retains sailor Jean-Jacques, the dying occultist Cassave, the heirs forced to remain in Malpertuis, Euryale, the labyrinthine mansion, and the revelation that ancient gods have been trapped in mortal bodies. Orson Welles's presence, elaborate composite locations, visual surrealism, and the international cut reshape emphasis and chronology, while the film turns documentary layers into dreamlike experience. Jean Ray's novel provides the nested manuscripts and uncertain testimony that explain why no single visual account can finally master the house.

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