A horror lite adaptation of the classic that is a good little chiller, Wuthering Heights: The House of the Damned may not scare you but it’s worth a watch during Spooky Season.
Wuthering Heights The House of the Damned Review
Ooh, let me have it, Let me grab your soul away
You know it’s me, Cathy
Heathcliff, it’s me, I’m Cathy
I’ve come home, I’m so cold
Let me in your window
Kate Bush wrote and sang those haunting words for her 1978 song, Wuthering Heights. The lyrics have an ethereal beauty, yet convey a terrifying undertone. Emily Brontë’s can be described in the same manner, as could every film and television adaptation to follow. 2026 brings yet another version, only this one is drenched in blood and terror. Wuthering Heights: The House of the Damned molds its source material into a horror movie.
The trend of taking various genres of literary classics and turning them into horror movies seems to have no end. Beloved children’s characters such as Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh, the works of Jane Austen, and even the 16th president of the United States are not immune. Once a property falls into the public domain, greedy filmmakers scoop it up and turn respected works into low budget creepers.
The source of such films could probably be traced back to 1966’s Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, a ridiculous (but strangely entertaining) mash-up of the legendary historical outlaw and Bram Stoker’s timeless vampire creation. For the modern era, this type of cinematic exercise began with 2012’s Abraham Licoln: Vampire Hunter. While not a success, it didn’t stop similar styled films from going into production. 2014’s I, Frankenstein transformed the monster into a cool action star complete with hip trenchcoat and hoodie while 2016 saw Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (a self-explanatory desecration of the Jane Austen novel) hit theaters. Not one of these films made a mark. Any cleverness was nowhere to be found.
As quickly as they came, the era of exploiting expired copyrights came and went. Until…
The current fashion, dubbed “The Twisted Childhood Universe”, is to turn classic children’s books and literary characters into violent slashers. This cinematic attack on our thinking caps produced such travesties as Bambi: The Reckoning, Pinocchio Unstrung, the Mickey Mouse monster flick Screamboat, and the surprisingly profitable Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.
Stuck somewhere in between the worlds of these safe-from-copyright-infringement vultures is the new film, Wuthering Heights: The House of the Damned. Adapting Brontë’s most beloved creation for the horror genre isn’t as strange as it seems. Lest one forget, there is a deeply disturbing element to the story. It is not too left of center to regard the writer’s work as a gothic horror piece, as its supernatural ghost tale and dark cruelty hold terrors (both emotional and otherworldly) found in the best chillers.
Wuthering Heights: House of the Damned is a British horror reworking that sees Brontë’s Catherine as a violently vengeful ghost. In this film, Cathy is terrifying and even more dangerous. Heathcliff is transformed into the brokenhearted man who will kill in the hope of bringing her back.
Directed by Rebecca J Matthews and written/adapted by Liana Failla, the film begins after Catherine’s (Elle O’Hara) death. More literal than in the novel, her spirit haunts the halls of the Wuthering Heights estate. Properly consumed by obsession, Heathcliff (Sky Cheema) resorts to bloodshed, as he is convinced that he can find a living body for his deceased love to inhabit.
Mr. Lockwood (a very good Ross Townsend-Green) arrives at Wuthering Heights, unaware that Catherine still walks among the dark corridors. The new owner of the property, Lockwood becomes a victim of the hauntings and a main target of Heathcliff’s obsessive and macabre plans. Falling deeper into paranoia and experiencing unimaginable terrors, Lockwood must gather his wits, to escape with his life.
This is a film that, in the right hands, could have found a place amongst today’s ever-popular horror wave. Director Matthews has an eye for the eerie. The estate is well photographed by cinematographer Raffaele Nocerino; the candlelit rooms and darkened corners bring a proper mood to the proceedings. When the film introduces Catherine’s ghost, there is a palpable feeling of unease. As with Peter Kosminsky’s undervalued 1992 adaptation (starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche), the presentation of her apparition is completely unsettling.
Unfortunately, everything that comes after such a promising first half never rises above a whisper. The performances are fine, save for Cheema’s Heathcliff, who cannot seem to keep a tight grip on the character. His line readings are stiff and the more twisted changes to Heathcliff’s methods seem to befuddle the actor.
Just as the tension begins to cook, Matthews seems to put the film on autopilot. As Lockwood begins to uncover the mystery that will endanger his very soul, the picture becomes stiff. Scene after scene begins to fall flat. The visuals are there and the cast is game, but the screenplay runs out of steam just as it gets going. It is a shame that the film never goes any further than its idea of making Brontë’s legendary tale into a horror movie. For all of the gothic dread and ghostly malaise that filled the novel, this is a film that could have been something special.
Verdict
As the novel’s supporting characters move in and out of the film, one realizes the missed opportunities that are just out of the screenwriter’s reach. The audience becomes the frustrated Heathcliff and the screenplay’s stronger possibilities are right outside the window, begging to get in. Wuthering Heights: The House of the Damned is a good idea with a fun title. For a time, it is a good little chiller. Unfortunately, right when horror fans will expect a scary thrill ride to kick in, the film will let them down.
Reviewer: Anthony Francis. He is the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Movie Revue. You can find his reviews, interviews, and other works at TheMovieRevue.com, as well as on Instagram and Facebook.
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