Year: 1988
Runtime: 87 mins
Language: English
Director: Jean-Paul Ouellette
Some mysteries on Earth defy explanation. When a group of Miskatonic University students decide to spend a night in the Winthrop house—a manor rumored to be haunted for three centuries—they confront the horror that began when Joshua Winthrop was brutally slain and mutilated by a monstrous creature born of his own wife. The legend proves true.
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In the late 18th century, inside the shadowy corridors of the Winthrop house, a tormented presence rattles the walls and screams from its sealed confines. The owner, Joshua Winthrop Delbert Spain, hurries through the dim passages, unlocks a heavily guarded door, and tries to soothe the creature within. Yet his attempt ends in blood, as the demon-like daughter within turns the moment of contact into a fatal encounter.
Randolph Carter [Mark Kinsey Stephenson] sits in a graveyard that circles the haunted residence and regales two university friends with tales of it. His stories center on the Winthrop family and the terrifying figure Alyda Winthrop [Katrin Alexandre], a demon daughter bound to the house. His companions are Howard Damon [Charles Klausmeyer] and Joel Manton [Mark Parra], and as Joel listens, a dare is born: stay the night and test the legend. Randolph and Howard return to campus, leaving Joel alone to face whatever might awaken inside the old walls.
Soon after, a quartet of students joins the uneasy night: Bruce Weeks [Eben Ham] and John Babcock [Blane Wheatley], two football teammates with their own ambitions, and Wendy Barnes [Laura Albert], with Tanya Heller [Alexandra Durrell] in tow—the latter seemingly less enamored with the night’s bravado than with the attention of Howard, who becomes the object of affection for both. The group arranges themselves in a room to swap ghost stories, the air thick with anticipation, bravado, and a creeping dread that something unseen is watching.
As the night deepens, Howard chases after Randolph to report that Joel never returned from the house, a chilling reminder that the legend may be real. In response, Randolph declares his plan with a quiet, urgent certainty: > I’ll get the flashlights. The exchange slips into action as the pair scramble to understand what has happened and what might still unfold.
The creature Alyda Winthrop [Katrin Alexandre] begins to stalk the four, weaving through shadows with predatory patience, determined to repeat the violence that claimed her father. Joel Manton’s gruesome fate is soon revealed: his head is found decapitated and suspended, a grisly emblem that spills blood onto a plate, a stark, unsettling sight that targets the group’s nerves and courage. Randolph and Howard converge on the nightmare, and the house seems to answer with a locked door that seals itself, a sign, to them, of magic—or something far older and darker at work.
Desperation pushes Randolph to consult The Necronomicon, a forbidden text that whispers of unlocking the house from within. He discovers a spell that might undo the seal, and, with the help of the book, he ventures outside into the grounds, slipping into a tunnel-like path beneath a tree—a path connected to Joshua Winthrop’s tomb. The ancient tree, aided by Randolph’s ritual and the book’s power, reaches from the earth and seizes Alyda from the house, dragging the demon away as the climax builds toward a fragile, ominous ending.
Howard [Charles Klausmeyer] and Tanya [Alexandra Durrell] make a narrow escape with Wendy [Laura Albert] nearby, the two surviving girls and the remaining boy in a terrified, precarious fragile peace. The night’s terror lingers as they pull away to safety, yet the danger remains just beneath the surface of the ground. In a final, shocking turn, a hand emerges from the soil, dragging Howard downward as if to claim him as another victim. It becomes clear that Randolph has come up from the catacombs beneath the house, having fought off skeletal guardians, and he stands, blood-washed and resolute, ready to confront whatever else might lie in wait.
Thus, the Winthrop house remains a place where the past bleeds into the present, where legends breathe anew, and where a careful balance between occult power and human fear keeps the night at bay—at least for now.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:34
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Stories of decaying estates haunted by ancient, malevolent forces.If you liked The Unnamable, explore more horror movies where curious characters investigate a haunted gothic mansion with a demonic secret. These films share a dark tone, steady pacing, and heavy emotional weight, delivering suspenseful stories about surviving ancient evils in isolated, eerie settings.
These narratives typically follow a group, often investigators or students, who venture into a secluded manor rumored to be cursed. Their exploration reveals a tragic past, often involving occult rituals or a family curse, which summons a physical, monstrous entity. The story unfolds as a fight for survival against a powerful supernatural foe, with the house itself serving as a trap.
Movies are grouped here based on their shared setting of a gothic mansion, the theme of uncovering a demonic or occult secret, and the resulting survival horror scenario. They create a cohesive experience through a dark tone, high intensity, and a focus on supernatural investigation leading to direct, violent confrontation.
Horror stories where survival comes at a cost and the threat remains.Fans of The Unnamable's unsettling conclusion will find similar stories here. These movies feature ambiguous endings after a high-intensity supernatural conflict, where survival is bleak and the evil may not be truly vanquished. They deliver a heavy emotional weight and a dark, dreadful tone.
The narrative pattern involves a direct, high-stakes confrontation with a powerful supernatural antagonist. While the immediate threat might be stalled, the ending deliberately subverts a clean resolution. Survivors are often traumatized or physically scarred, and a final scene hints that the entity persists, creating a feeling of inevitable future horror and a fundamentally bleak outcome.
These films are grouped by their shared narrative structure that leads to an ambiguous, downbeat ending. The cohesion comes from a dark tone, high intensity, and the specific emotional payoff of a hollow victory that emphasizes the enduring nature of the evil, leaving a lasting impression of dread.
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