Malpertuis

A young sailor named Jan is knocked unconscious during a brawl in a bar and wakes in Malpertuis, the decaying estate of his uncle Cassavius. The dying Cassavius has gathered his relatives and a collection of eccentric guests, among them a priest and a taxidermist, to hear his will read. The inheritance he offers is generous, but it comes with conditions attached, and the house itself proves difficult to leave. As Jan tries to understand what binds the residents to the place, he finds that Malpertuis is not simply an old mansion but something closer to a labyrinth, and that the mythic figures trapped inside it are tied to his uncle's design.

Harry Kümel directed the film, his second feature after Daughters of Darkness, from a screenplay by Jean Ferry. Orson Welles plays Cassavius, and Susan Hampshire appears in several roles, among them Nancy, Euryale, Alice, a nurse and Charlotte. Mathieu Carrière is Jan, with Michel Bouquet, Jean-Pierre Cassel and Daniel Pilon in the credited cast of twenty-two. The Belgian-French production runs 125 minutes and blends drama, fantasy and horror.

Released in June 1972, the film holds a 6.6 rating on IMDb from about 1,900 votes and a 6.4 on TMDB from a much smaller base of 47.