Curtis Harrington's WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO? is a film that seem to become more popular with each passing year. The film was a surprise hit for AIP when it was released and I think it's fair to say that it gave Winters' career a boost that it was certainly needing and I'm sure the popularity of this film help land her a role in THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, which of course would get her an Oscar nomination. The film isn't the greatest movie ever made but it's certainly an effective one and one that is very much worth watching. Please, Don't Leave Me: Aunt Roo screams and begs Katy and Christopher not to leave her alone as they flee the burning house. The opening credits sequence comes complete with over the top music by Kenneth V. Jones, adding to the fairy tale feel of the material. And since it takes place during the Christmas holidays, some viewers may want to make it part of their Yuletide viewing tradition. Lester and adorable Chloe Franks are good as the brother and sister targeted by our unbalanced protagonist, with Gothard, Richardson, lovely Judy Cornwell, Lionel Jeffries, Hugh Griffith, and Rosalie Crutchley providing excellent support.

Christopher and Katy are caught by Roo’s weirdly nasty butler, Albie (Michael Gothard), who threatens them with a knife (Roo: “That’s not a knife…” no, this didn’t actually happen – I’m just expanding on the hilarious kangaroo /Australia jokes. Don’t worry, this is unlikely to be the last one) before bringing them into the party, where Roo takes pity on them and invites them to stay (“Can we stay?” / “Of course you kanga.”) It’s grief that pulls at the heart in this one. Perhaps in my own role as initiator of life, I’ve developed a way to empathize even in the adverse pathology of mania. Overall, the movie is a fun, if not exemplary, effort for Curtis Harrington, who'd also collaborated with Winters on "What's the Matter with Helen?". They make a good team, in this tale (concocted by David D. Osborn, and scripted by Robert Blees and Hammer scribe Jimmy Sangster) intended as a twisted modern version of "Hansel and Gretel". It establishes a tone right away with its pre-credits sequence, where Mrs. Forrest sings a lullaby to a corpse. I've been, I've seen a million Hallmark Christmas movies that don't understand what this movie comprehends at a bone-deep genetic level. Every action is more compelling and more moving when it's anchored in fully realized and developed characters. John Hughes wrote a beautiful movie. One that has moments that make me laugh incredibly hard while also reducing me to tears every time I watch it. Each component is astonishing on its own, but combined, they create something transcendent.”

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Banister Slide: Katharine died falling off a banister. When Katy slides down the same banister, Aunt Roo screams in horror, but Katy reaches the bottom safely. From the opening scene, it is obvious that Rosie Forrest (aka Auntie Roo) is completely insane. She lives alone in a magnificent mansion in 1920s England and will never get over the death of her young daughter. In an attempt to fill this void, Auntie Roo has an annual Christmas party for a few of the best behaved children from the local orphanage. This year, a misbehaving brother and sister stowaway in the trunk of the car and join the party. Auntie Roo starts to believe the girl is her daughter, while the boy is convinced Auntie Roo is a witch. Mayhem ensues. Harrington called it "just a rather thin little fable. I found Shelley Winter’s mad behavior vastly amusing... I do feel that I had achieved the pathos of the situation at the end... I still think that whatever flaws it had. it turned out astonishingly well, considering that it was a terrible uphill struggle for me all the way." [1] Once at the Forrest house the kids are greeted by Mrs Forrest, who insists they call her “Auntie Roo” (because she’s good at boxing? Because she self-medicates on cheap lager? Because she carries her young in a makeshift pouch? Sadly we’ll never know). Harrington is an un-showy but evocative stylist and weaves quite an atmosphere out of the creepy fairytale setting and claustrophobic interiors. It’s well acted by Winters and a cast of cherished British character actors but compared to Night of the Hunter (1955) and Hansel and Gretel (2007) offers a shallow subversion of childhood terrors.

Could she be responsible for her daughter’s death? Is that a real ghost? Why does she prefer to be called “Roo”? Just because it rhymes with “slew”? Or simply because she kan(ga)? Some of these questions will be answered over the next 90 minutes.Whole-Plot Reference: To " Hansel and Gretel." Christopher notices the similarities, which causes him to incorrectly assume Aunt Roo is a cannibal. Who Slew Auntie Roo?". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. His inner monologue recites the Brothers Grimm tale of Hansel and Gretel, which he apparently took as a true story that cautioned him to be wary of any Woman in an apron willing to cook him a hot meal. There are a lot of things to like about the picture including the atmosphere that director Harrington builds. I really thought the setting was perfect and the director really used it to build up a creepy atmosphere. There's almost a dream-like quality to it and this really helps the film. It's almost as if you're watching a kid's dream turn into a nightmare and this is the film's strongest point. The cinematography is another great thing about the picture as is the nice music score, which fits the film perfectly.

Every year, Rosie Forrest, known as "Auntie Roo", throws a lavish overnight Christmas party for ten of the best-mannered children at the local orphanage. Despite her warm demeanour, Rosie is in fact demented and mentally ill and keeps the mummified remains of her daughter Katharine in a nursery room in the attic.In England, in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the American millionaire Mrs. Forrest (Shelley Winters) welcomes ten orphans from the local orphanage to spend the Christmas night with her. Mrs. Forrest misses her daughter Katherine, who died in a silly accident, and is exploited by the charlatan Mr. Benton (Ralph Richardson), her butler and her housekeeper in fake séances. When the sibling orphans Christopher Coombs (Mark Lester) and Katy Coombs (Chloe Franks) are not selected to go to the party, they sneak out to Mrs. Forrest's home and she welcomes them. She feels a great attraction for Katy, who resembles Katherine, but Christopher suspects that the widow is a witch.