Sometimes it is hard to escape the complexities of one’s own mind, and Delusion is a movie that finds a woman trapped behind a wall, her own living hallucination blinding her to the truth. That truth, as the audience will soon discover, is that she is a killer even though she knows it not.

Also known as The House Where Death Lives, one would think that, as a horror movie, it would have far more to say, not to mention have far more horror. The story, such as it is, involves a young woman named Meredith Stone who takes a job as a home nurse to Joseph Cotton’s Ivar Langrock. He is still able in many ways to do things, but his legs are not his to control any longer and as such, he requires more care than his family can give him. Played by the beautiful Patricia Pearcy, those looks factor into her everyday life as others within the house find themselves drawn to her. After grandson Gabriel comes home, it is not long before those among the living end up being in a far more permanent state of existence. It all seems so coincidental, but it is not Gabriel who is at fault, and it is only realized when nearly everyone has been killed.

Upon closer examination, this film has a lot going for it, especially when it comes to the cast, who all do a good job with the material, or at least as well as they can. The first two-thirds of the movie had little happening, and one does have to wonder why the choice was made to pace it in this manner. While Pearcy is talented and easy on the eyes, there is only so much she can do to keep people interested, and a choice should have been made to have the bodies start falling much earlier than they did. The build was long, far too long, and when something of note finally did happen, it seemed almost too little, too late. This was, by far, the film’s biggest mistake —the one thing that kept it from being a great horror movie. It was not as if the material was all that bad, either; it just never seemed to come to an end. A horror movie should have chills and kills or whatever in more than the last act. Once it got going, director Alan Beattie kept it going, and it kept viewers wondering just who would be the next to fall and how. There was sexual tension and a little nudity to spice it up a little, but not enough blood, which made it seem like a television production more than anything else.

The end of the film would see Cotton saving the day, and having the man in the picture probably saved it from being even more tedious than it was. While his part was not as significant as some of the others in the movie, the man lent a touch of class to the proceedings for the brief time he was on screen. To put it simply, the cast was not the problem in this production. The music was suitable, the direction steady, and the horror of it all, when it finally arrived, was both subdued and frantic. Delusion is a picture that falls straight down the line between good and evil, and even then, it’s still worth a watch if given the chance and with nothing better to do.

2.5 out of 5