The Mansion of Madness

The Mansion of Madness
Promotional artwork
Directed byJuan López Moctezuma
Written by
  • Carlos Illescas
  • Juan López Moctezuma
  • Gabriel Weisz
Based on"The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether"
by Edgar Allan Poe
Produced byRoberto Viskin
Starring
CinematographyRafael Corkidi
Edited byFederico Landeros
Music byNacho Méndez
Production
company
Producciones Prisma
Release date
  • 10 August 1973 (1973-08-10)
Running time
  • 99 minutes
  • 88 minutes (USA)
LanguageEnglish

The Mansion of Madness (Spanish: La mansión de la locura) is a 1973 Mexican horror film directed by Juan López Moctezuma, in his directorial debut, and starring Claudio Brook, Arthur Hansel, Ellen Sherman, and Martin LaSalle. Set in 19th-century France, the film follows a journalist visiting a rural insane asylum in which he uncovers that the inmates have overtaken the doctors and staff, and implemented a series of gruesome treatments. It is loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether".

The film was released under the alternative titles House of Madness in the United Kingdom, and in the United States as Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon.

Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington supervised sets and costumes. The film's producer, Roberto Viskin, had previously produced Alejandro Jodorowsky's surrealist film El Topo (1970).

The film was a Mexican production and was shot in Mexico, using a mostly Mexican cast and crew. It was filmed in English and then dubbed into Spanish for Mexican cinemas.