A surprisingly creepy made for TV movie. It's bloodless, of course, but chock full of atmosphere. A young upwardly mobile couple (True Grit's Darby, and TV's Ellery Queen, Hutton) move into a creepy old house that has been left to them by Darby's late aunt.

In a sealed off room they find a bricked up fireplace. Handyman Demerest (Uncle Charlie from My Three Sons) advises that it remain that way. Darby, however, opens the ash door and unknowingly releases a flock of tiny little creatures that have been trapped inside for nearly twenty years. Said creatures proceed to roam secretly around the house terrorizing Darby.

The film works best when we don't see a whole lot of the little demons. A few times Director Newland makes the mistake of showing too much. The best shots of them are tight closeups, showing their rotten apple faces in shadowy detail.

Hutton's character is a self-absorbed jerk. His career takes priority over everything, and his wife's troubles are little more than an annoyance to him. There is a parallel drawn between Hutton's love for Darby and the desire of the creatures to claim her. In the end, everybody suffers because Hutton's love is not strong enough. The last few moments of the film are truly haunting.