Better Late Then Never

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Conniving wealthy heel Edward Price (a deliciously smarmy portrayal by Jack Ging) hires nurse Esther Harper (a solid and credible performance by the attractive Antoinette Bower) to take care of his sickly, but mean and snippy sister Amanda (adroitly played with spot-on snarky bitchiness by Edith Atwater). However, Edward really wants Esther to help him kill Amanda so he can inherit the family fortune all for himself. Although director Randall Hood does an adequate job of crafting a brooding gloom-doom Gothic mood and makes the most out of the opulent mansion setting, both the sluggish pacing and Tony Sawyer's overly talky and uneventful script ensure that this movie is quite a heavy and rather tedious slog to sit through. Fortunately, the sound acting by the sturdy cast keeps this picture watchable: The three leads all do commendable work, with fine support from Kent Smith as kindly and concerned family physician Dr. Thorne, Robert Emhardt as domineering patriarch James Lendon Price, Rita Conde as friendly housekeeper Mrs. Gonzalez, and Peg Shirley as sneaky missing sister Nell. Moreover, there's a few decent twists and turns in the narrative along the way, plus a truly spooky dream sequence and a perfectly macabre conclusion. Both Michael Lonzo's sharp cinematography and Hugo Friedhofer's spirited shuddery score are up to speed. An acceptable time-waster.

A troubled old woman is saved from suicide by her brother and the family doctor. Her brother's concern is purely for show though and he hires a nurse with a shady past to 'look after' his sister, i.e. to ensure she definitely dies next time she tries to kill herself. But once the nurse begins work things change.This psychological thriller has the definite feel of a TV movie. I can find no definitive evidence that it is but I would not be surprised in the least to discover it is one. It seems to have been promoted as a horror movie. The title is quite in-your-face and the poster art is somewhat misleading. It shows a nubile scantily dressed young woman running away from an ominous house while being terrorised by several brutish hands that reach out to grab her from crumbling walls. It combines imagery of Gothic horror with Roman Polanski's Repulsion. It's a great poster! But, it's hardly accurate in terms of describing the actual content. First and foremost, this is not a horror film. It's pretty solidly a thriller. It's about family secrets and greed within a Gothic setting. It has occasional spooky moments such as nightmarish dream sequences and secrets in the basement.Despite some of the negativity directed at it, I found Die Sister, Die! to be perfectly enjoyable. It's well acted, including a turn from Kent Smith who starred in the classic Cat People (1942). It's just probably not going to appeal to people who get their expectations up by checking out that cool poster in advance of watching it.

A registered nurse named Esther (Antoinette Bower) is summoned to an eerie Gothic mansion and feels a lurking menace in the place, as if it bears a terrible secret. When she meets Edward (Jack Ging), he tells her that he wants to hire her to care for his difficult, ailing sister Amanda (Edith Atwater). She does not realize his true intent.Produced and directed by Randall Hood, who has done little else in his career. Jack Ging gets top billing in this film, with his name prominently on the cover of the DVD. Who is Jack Ging? A television actor, who also appeared in a couple early 1970s Clint Eastwood films.The Treasure Box Collection features the film in full frame with decent video quality for the time period. No extra measure was given to spruce up the picture, and there are no features at all (not even subtitles), but for watching the film it works fine. (The film is also only 84 minutes, not the 88 that the box says.) As far as horror films go, this one is pretty light. More like a slightly tense thriller, as there is not much blood and an extremely low body count. Horror films can be successful on atmosphere rather than gore, certainly, but this one relies very heavily on an atmosphere I do not know if it can deliver.

I don't care that this movie is listed as a horror on IMDb or that the video cover art features hands coming from a wall to grab a woman or that the film is included on just about every budget horror set, Die Sister, Die! has little in the way of horror to offer. There are moments of horror to be sure, but it's really more of a drama/mystery. If you're a fan of Columbo/70s style mysteries, this movie might appeal to you.My problems with the movie have nothing to do with the way it has been incorrectly categorized over the years. Instead, I see weaknesses in the script and acting. Too much of the movie is just plain dull. Die Sister, Die! might have been much more enjoyable with a tighter script and a shorter run time. There's just too much in the way of padding for my taste. As for the acting, Antoinette Bower is dreadful in the pivotal role of the nurse. She plays the role as a woman who appears on the verge of going comatose at any minute.The plot is standard 70s made-for-TV stuff. An older woman wants to commit suicide because of some unknown guilt. Her brother, seeking to inherit the family's fortune, would like to see her succeed. He hires a nurse to look after his sister and to make sure the next suicide attempt is the last one. The family doctor plays detective and puts the pieces together. There are some fairly entertaining twists and turns along the way, all leading to a satisfactory, if not predictable, conclusion.Fans of 70s Movie of the Week fare should definitely check this one out.