Delusion (Also known as The House Where Death Lives) is a 1980 American horror film directed and co-produced by Alan Beattie, and starring Patricia Pearcy (Squirm), Joseph Cotten (The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Baron Blood, Isle of the Fishmen), David Hayward and John Dukakis. It was released in March 1980 in the US, and again in May 1981, under the title The House Where Death Lives, by New American Films, New World Pictures, and The International Picture Show Company
A nurse (Patricia Pearcy) moves into a mansion to care for an elderly invalid Ivar Langrock (Joseph Cotten). Not long after, Langrock’s grandson Gabriel (John Dukakis) comes to stay after the accidental death of his parents. Soon, an unseen killer begins to murder the mansions’ staff with a table leg.
‘When you get down to it, what The House Where Death Lives really needs is an identity to call its own. It’s too busy aping the classics to do its own thing, and it just feels like a copy/paste job. The final act features the inevitable wander through the dark house, with Meredith anxiously peering around every corner. Yet, what is supposed to be the final nail in the coffin lid is just routine and uninspired, in the very literal sense.’ HorrorNews.net
“Delusion is a subdued slasher that relies more on the skills of a veteran cast, a deliberate pace, and a twist ending” and it is”worth seeking out for fans of slashers with a heavy dose of whodunit mystery.” Retro Slashers
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