Written by Robert Blees And James Sangster And Gavin Lambert And David D. Osborn
Directed by Curtis Harrington
Christopher: "Hansel and Gretel knew that the wicked witch couldn't hurt anyone anymore, and they also knew with the wicked witch's treasure, they would never be hungry again."
It's exactly three months until Christmas Day and I'm doing something that I'd scold others for doing. I watched a Christmas movie way too early but it's a horror one that I'd never seen before. I'm giving myself a free pass here.
Anyways, fitting into the hagsploitation subgenre of horror, this movie might not be seen with the same fondness as others in the genre but it's got a certain undeniable charm about it. That's largely down to a very intriguing performance from Shelley Winters.
In this film, Winters played the titular Auntie Roo aka Rosie Forrest. She's a woman who lost her young daughter, Katharine several years and hasn't gotten over the loss. From keeping the daughter's skeletal corpse into a cot to hosting séances where she's deceived into believing she's talking to her dead daughter, it's hard not to sympathise with Auntie Roo.
Then there's Christmas itself. It's a triggering time of year for Auntie Roo and she tried to make the best of it by hosting a sleepover with orphaned kids and the rather strict Miss Henley (Rosalie Crutchley). Add into the mix two very troublesome children that would impact Roo's life for the worst.
The kids in question being brother and sister duo, Christopher (Mark Lester) and Katy Coombs (Chloe Franks). Quite frankly, they're a pair of evil brats who spent most of the movie letting their imagination run wild while also convinced that the grief stricken Auntie Roo was a witch.
While Roo did herself no favours by keeping them in the house, there was no indication that she intended to harm the children. However that didn't stop them from stealing her jewels and burning her to death by the end of the movie. If you wanted a version of Hansel And Gretel where the kids were more villainous, this movie certainly did that. No way were those kids were anything other than badly behaved.
- There's some good supporting roles for Ralph Richardson, Lionel Jeffries and Judy Cornwall.
- This was the second time both Shelley Winters and Curtis Harrington worked on a film in this subgenre. Before this one, there was What's The Matter With Helen?
- Standout music: Shelley Winters Let No Man Steal Your Thyme.
- Chronology: Both Christmas and New Year's were incorporated into this English set movie.
I'm not gonna pretend that Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? was some secret classic but it's one of those movies that while average at best, you could sit back and mostly enjoy it. I had a reasonable amount of fun with it.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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