HorrorThriller

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?

- She's Taking a STAB at Motherhood!

A demented widow lures unsuspecting children into her mansion in a bizarre "Hansel and Gretel" twist.

Release Date : 1972-02-11

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : HemdaleAmerican International Pictures

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles : Who Slew Auntie Roo?

Cast

Character Name : Mrs. Forrest

Original Name : Shelley Winters

Gender : Female

Character Name : Christopher Coombs

Original Name : Mark Lester

Gender : Male

Character Name : Katy Coombs

Original Name : Chloe Franks

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mr. Benton

Original Name : Ralph Richardson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Police Insp. Willoughby

Original Name : Lionel Jeffries

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Harrison, The Pigman

Original Name : Hugh Griffith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Miss Henley

Original Name : Rosalie Crutchley

Gender : Female

Character Name : Dr. Mason

Original Name : Pat Heywood

Gender : Female

Character Name : Clarine

Original Name : Judy Cornwell

Gender : Female

Character Name : Albie

Original Name : Michael Gothard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Angela Barnes

Original Name : Jackie Cowper

Gender : Female

Character Name : Peter Brookshire

Original Name : Richard Beaumont

Gender : Male

Character Name : Miss Wilcox

Original Name : Marianne Stone

Gender : Female

Character Name : Reggie Pike (uncredited)

Original Name : Dorian Healy

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-05-28

Shelley Winters is super in this oddball horror. She ("Mrs. Forrest") invites ten young children into her mansion-cum-orphanage one Christmas - desperate to fill the void left by the death of her young daughter Katherine. Two children who did not get invited - "Katy" (Chloe Franks) and her brother "Christopher" (Mark Lester) decide that they are not going to be left out - but when the girl ends up locked in the attic, it falls to her brother to manage to convince everyone that his sister has been kidnapped, and that the old lady is not of particularly sound mind! A solid cast support the star here - Sir Ralph Richardson, Lionel Jeffries - in a straight (ash) role for a change, and the always engaging Hugh Griffith, but somehow once the film gets going I expected it to turn comedic. There just isn't any menace. Winters' performance is just scatty, never scary. Still, the ensemble delivers a reasonable script well enough and there are just about enough creepy goings on in the house to sustain it before an ending that i found rather sad.