The animation is good in some places, and I had I noticed earlier, I would have reshot the walking around the manor scene. It is too slow now that I watch it, and it was the first thing I shot. (The background is from Midnight Ride) I know my best animation is with the Goliath, where he slaughters the kitty. I made him so he would move fluently, and I really enjoyed him enough to keep the bricks, still blood splattered, in my collection (should he arise again). The rest of the animation is to the tune of the music. Slow and creepy wins the race, and I listened to it while I was animating, which slowed me down a little :P You can see some of the line ups in music and animation when the chain enters the air; the tumble through the window; faster music when HE runs from Goliath, the beating heart. These are all pretty good hints that the movie is on lifeline with the music. Without the music, this movie would certainly flop (not for lack of sound, but for lack of macabre).
If you want some special effects help: I am not your man. I did a couple fades with the dying friend and the killer demon, some eyes on the wall portrait, and blood on the table in the end. Fades are pretty simple. I took a picture with the demon there, and then one without. Slowly meld them into an .avi and you have a very simple effect. The knife throw (I enjoyed this one) is frame by frame advancing of a cut out knife (from the original panel) up and smaller as it goes away. The blood spurts when the knife hits home are also special effects, but again you question, did the tree spring out of the corpse, or the blood? Weirdness all over again.
What's even weirder? The picture I use to display Macabre Manor on my website. With the main character looking into the flames as the skeleton advances (it's a skeleton-look close or pause toward the end-you'll see him) the flames look good. It's a special effect called light. I have this Christmas town I set up in December, and it has these nice little streetlights to line the streets (duh). I ripped two of them open and built the fireplace around them. To make the flames "flicker" I moved the lights up and down within the fireplace. When HE is first warming his hands, you can see the wires going into the fireplace. I refer to these as cobwebs.
Here I am slowly pointing out my own mistakes to you, Like I am an IMDB.com freak. I'll give you only one more, then I will quit. The cross in the unholy church is lit entirely the same way, and you can see the wire in the end altar shot. I got used to this camera in the movie, and it sees more than it shows me. In my viewfinder I saw the edge of the lego floor. On screen, you see another centimeter of bookshelf space. DAMNIT!