William Castle perhaps wasn't the greatest horror director in history, but he remains - and deservedly so - a favorite of many fans who don't take themselves, nor the genre, too serious. Castle is most legendary for his gimmick-featuring semi-classics, like "The Tingler" and "House on Haunted Hill", but he also made a variety of lesser-known films, like the child-friendly, but certainly not too childish, "Let's Kill Uncle".
When a millionaire (cameo by Castle himself) dies in a vicious car crash, his only son is escorted by a police officer to go and live on the island mansion of his uncle Kevin Harrison; - his only living relative and a former war-hero. The arrogant kid, Barnaby, and the police officer arrive on the island first, and make friends with a woman and her niece. When uncle Kevin finally arrives, he makes it abundantly clear to Barnaby straight away that he intends to kill him, because he's broke and needs to inherit the complete fortune of his brother. Since the adults don't believe him, Barnaby teams up with the little niece and decide it's best to kill the uncle before he kills them.
The goofy but effective premise only kicks in gear when Nigel Green (as uncle) arrives on the island in his plan, and for some strange reason this takes more than half an hour. The start is thus slow, but Green compensates for this tremendously with a fantastically over-the-top performance. The death traps are also very ingenious with a shark in the hotel pool, tarantulas, and a walk towards the edge of cliff while hypnotized. The ending is a bit of a downer, but by then the film already earned a place in your heart.
When a millionaire (cameo by Castle himself) dies in a vicious car crash, his only son is escorted by a police officer to go and live on the island mansion of his uncle Kevin Harrison; - his only living relative and a former war-hero. The arrogant kid, Barnaby, and the police officer arrive on the island first, and make friends with a woman and her niece. When uncle Kevin finally arrives, he makes it abundantly clear to Barnaby straight away that he intends to kill him, because he's broke and needs to inherit the complete fortune of his brother. Since the adults don't believe him, Barnaby teams up with the little niece and decide it's best to kill the uncle before he kills them.
The goofy but effective premise only kicks in gear when Nigel Green (as uncle) arrives on the island in his plan, and for some strange reason this takes more than half an hour. The start is thus slow, but Green compensates for this tremendously with a fantastically over-the-top performance. The death traps are also very ingenious with a shark in the hotel pool, tarantulas, and a walk towards the edge of cliff while hypnotized. The ending is a bit of a downer, but by then the film already earned a place in your heart.