The imposing actress Sheila Keith (happily) commands the screen whenever she is in the frame. In a role quite different from the petulant but vengeful cannibal of FRIGHTMARE, she is oddly affecting as the would-be bride of the killer priest who has waited chastely by his side all these years - though of course her affect (and that great eye patch) add sinister touches. The death throes of those who inhabit this house of mortal sin would live up to any horror or giallo fan's dreams. House of Mortal Sin includes some really suspenseful and tense moments. Viewing the picture, you learn early on just what the Priest is capable of. He's a holier-than-thou, above reproach figure who relishes his perversions and is quite at ease with viciously disposing of those who he feels stand in his way. It's really creepy watching the way he twists religion to meet his depraved desires. And to see the twinkle in his eye as he's trying to get the young girl to discuss her sex life is quite disturbing. Divorce—The grave sin of divorce condemns those who divorce and remarry (Matthew 5:32) and those who divorce in the civil sense (except by grave dispensation). Hence divorce between two baptized Christians is a mortal sin (CCC 2384). Homosexual acts—Although it remains to be determined if homosexuality is a genetic, social or personal stigma, homosexual acts are condemned by God and can NEVER be approved by the Church (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Genesis 19:1-29, Romans 1:24-27 and CCC 2357). If homosexuals are born with the condition, then they are called to live a life of Christian purity and chastity for the greater love of Christ. Such people can experience a life of trial, which all others must treat with compassion and sensitivity. Receiving Holy Communion with any of the above sins on your heart. The Catechism of Pope St. Pius X says: “He who goes to Communion in mortal sin receives Jesus Christ but not His grace; moreover, he commits a sacrilege and renders himself deserving of sentence of damnation.” Furthermore, the Council of Trent (an infallible Council) says: “For no crime is there heavier punishment to be feared from God than for the unholy or irreligious use of the Eucharist.” (Trent, De Euch v.i.) Please, if you have committed any of the above sins, go to confession before receiving the most holy Body and Blood of the Lord.

Lukewarmness—Lukewarmness is negligence in response to God’s charity. It can also mean the refusal to give oneself to the prompting of charity (CCC 2094). What does “grave matter” mean? It means that the sin is serious. But how do we evaluate the seriousness of a sin? The Catechism is explicit about the grave nature of particular sins, including sacrilege (2120), blasphemy (2148), perjury (2152), deliberately avoiding Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation (2181), murder (2268), hatred of neighbor “when one deliberately desires him grave harm” (2303), prostitution (2355), sexual relations outside marriage (2390), and adulation that “makes one an accomplice in another’s vices or grave sins” (2480). St. Paul likewise gives lists in Galatians 5:19-21 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 of sins whose practitioners will not “inherit the kingdom of God.” But none of these lists is exhaustive.

See also

well-executed and maintains a dark interest throughout, supported by interesting performances (especially Sheila Keith as Meldrum's devoted love)." ~ The Terror Trap [8] I’m still going to recommend purchasing it if you don’t already have it on DVD as the film itself is well worth watching and picture quality is no worse than many other titles that are still shown on television. Extras

With its depraved priest and setpiece killings, complete with prowling point-of-view shots, House of Mortal Sin feels very much like a precursor to the slasher films that would become increasingly popular following the release of John Carpenter’s Halloween in 1978; though perhaps House of Mortal Sin was as much influenced by gialli all’italiana (Italian-style thrillers) featuring murderous priests, such as Aldo Lado’s Chi l’ha a vista morire?/Who Saw Her Die? (1972), as it was by The Exorcist. Getting Drunk or High. I will be coming out with a podcast or blog post on drugs in the future, so let’s briefly focus on why getting drunk on alcohol is a mortal sin. Getting drunk is not a mortal sin only because it leads to doing other mortal sins (like most people say today), but also in and of it itself, drunkenness overturns the greatest natural gift given to us, our reason. The threshold to balance between buzzed and drunk for St. Alphonsus Liguori is not as difficult to meet as some might have thought: “ It is certain among all authorities that for it to be the case that drunkenness to be a mortal sin it is required that it would be perfect drunkenness, namely that it would altogether deprive one of the use of reason, just as St. Thomas teaches (II IIæ q. 150, a. 2), and with all the doctors. The malice of drunkenness consists in this, that a man, wishing and knowing, deprives himself of the use of reason. St. Antoninus teaches the same thing in p. 2 tit. 6, c. 3 § 1. This is why one would not sin mortally that did not altogether lose the use of reason from drinking wine, even if the mind were disturbed, but not so much that he were not able to discern between good and evil, as the authors commonly say…{It is] the common opinion to teach that drunkenness is not a mortal sin if it would deprive one from reason for only a brief period.”—St. Alphonsus Liguori Theologia Moralis, book II (in the Gaude edition it is a different number, but I forget which) On Sin, chapter 3, on the Capital Sins, Article II, what is Drunkenness? no. 75, Adulation—Adulation is verbal speech or an attitude that encourages or confirms another in malicious acts and perverse conduct. It is a grave sin if it makes one an accomplice in another’s vices or grave sins (CCC 2480). Incest—”Incest is intimate relations between relatives or in-laws within a degree that prohibits marriage between them” (CCC 2388). St. Paul condemns incest in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5:1,4-5).Extortion—Extortion is to obtain something from another by coercion or intimidation. It is an act of violence and theft, and is condemned by 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. The film is already showing its typically grim 1970s attitude to everything with these few scenes. Jenny's boyfriend is a selfish womaniser, Jenny herself is a pathetic doormat, even the idealist young Bernard at one point says to Vanessa: "There are things wrong with the church, but every job has its problems…" We've also seen a Brit horror cliché turned on its head - in what other film is a crucifix shining out of the darkness a symbol of terror? Is this merely a concerned priest or is he maybe struggling with his own demons as he seems somewhat taken with Jenny. If all three are met, it’s mortally sinful. Otherwise, “one commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent” (CCC 1862). That’s still a problem, since venial sin “weakens charity” and “impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good,” and “deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin,” but venial sin does not (of itself) “deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness” (CCC 1863).

The first condition, that a mortal sin is of grave matter, means that certain premeditated offenses against God are more severe than others. We know that some sins are graver than others (e.g. it is a graver sin to murder someone than to lie to someone). St. John tells us, “If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.” (1 John 5:16-17). Thus St. John distinguishes between mortal and venial sin. Jesus also warns us that “Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned” (John 15:6). All through the film there are some lovely touches - Sheila Keith is awesome as Meldrum's one-eyed housekeeper, threatening his infirm mother ("He's gone out again, I'm afraid… you're all alone again… with me") and simply raising one eyebrow on surveying the scene following the rosary bead strangulation. All sin is an offense against God and a rejection of his perfect love and justice. Yet, Jesus makes a distinction between two types of sins. We call the most serious and grave sins, mortal sins. Mortal sins destroy the grace of God in the heart of the sinner. By their very grave nature, a mortal sin cuts our relationship off from God and turns man away from his creator. St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews tell us that “if we sin willfully after having the knowledge of the truth, there is now left no sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26). The second type of sin, venial sin, that of less grave matter, does not cut us off from Christ. However, venial sin does weaken grace in the soul and damages our relationship with God. A person who frequently indulges in venial sin is very likely to collapse into mortal sin if they persist in their evil ways. Envy —Envy, another capital sin, is sadness at the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself. Envy can lead to grave consequences and can harm neighbors. If envy leads to grave harm to a neighbor, it is surely a grave sin.Idolatry—Idolatry is the worship, veneration or belief in false gods. Because it is a direct rejection of God, it is a grave sin (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Idolatry includes worship of images (This does not mean that we cannot venerate religious images. Veneration of images such as a crucifix is veneration of the person depicted, and not the actual image in and of itself.) Sheila Keith, a veteran of Pete Walker's movies, gives another superb chilling performance. This time she plays the priest's housekeeper and takes care of his elderly mother. She is given one of the best lines in the movie and it can be found in the memorable quotes section. Atheism—Because atheistic humanism falsely seeks man and human glory and rejects God, atheism is a grave sin (CCC 2125). It is a sin against the virtue of religion. St. Paul tells us, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unholiness and injustice of those men that detain the truth of God in injustice” (Romans 1:18). In 1971, Walker made Die Screaming, Marianne, a fairly straightforward thriller featuring Susan George as a young woman who is on the lam from her crooked father, a corrupt former judge played by Leo Genn. From here, Walker began making what he called ‘terror’ films, beginning with The Flesh and Blood Show, briefly stepping away from the genre with the production of Tiffany Jones in 1973, and Home Before Midnight in 1979. Having established his own production company, through which all but one of his films were produced, Walker retained a sense of authorial control over his films, though this was mitigated in several instances by censor-imposed cuts. This is a credit to Walker who stamped his savage vision on a witch's brew of a film that is one quarter horror, one quarter suspense, one quarter giallo (the Father Cutler, Miss Brabizon, Mrs. Meldrum revelations - some dark secrets from the past are responsible for the twisted actions of the present) - and one quarter brutal social commentary.

This means that mortal sins cannot be done “accidentally.” A person who commits a mortal sin is one who knows that their sin is wrong, but still deliberately commits the sin anyway. This means that mortal sins are “premeditated” by the sinner and thus are truly a rejection of God’s law and love.

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Frightmare was criticised by those who felt Walker’s film was validating the idea that those responsible for extreme criminal acts, like Dorothy in the film, cannot be rehabilitated and that in most cases, recidivism is inevitable. (One might remember Margaret Thatcher’s 1961 defence of birching, quoted above in discussion of House of Whipcord). ‘The liberal press just took it [the film] apart’, Walker has said[8]. On the other hand, House of Mortal Sin is not the strongest among Pete Walker’s films – that distinction belongs to House of Whipcord. Some of the subplots seem contrived – such as where junior priest Norman Eshley abruptly decides to move into the flat with the two sisters and is barely there before he is conducting a romance with Stephanie Beacham.