CRUCIBLE OF TERROR (1971)

An English made giallo-style movie.   When the movie starts out you think it's going to be a rip-off of Roger Corman's BUCKET OF BLOOD but then it goes in a different direction.  The main story is about a strange artist who doesn't treat his models so nice and is part of an equally strange family that consists of a fat annoying alcoholic son, a slightly off-kilter weapons collector guy and a mom who wears pigtails, dresses like a 5 year old Shirley Temple, carries baby-dolls around and is probably the creepiest of all.  People get turned into statues and get murdered in various ways while we try to figure out what's really going on.  Most of the reviews I see of this thing online are completely negative but I didn't think this was that bad at all and would recommend it to fans of 70's British films or Italian giallos in general.  Modern-day horror fans aren't going to get it, of course, but what makes for an entertaining film to them I have no clue except I think it has something to do with cartoony special F/X that make everything look like a Playstation game, so fuck them right in the eyes.  A straight razor shows up, you get the gloved killer plus a twist ending that comes out of left field.  Everything except the J & B whiskey really.  Me Me Lay who went on to appear in Italian cannibal movies shows up briefly.