Fairly lively horror whodunit which follows a familiar refrain: a talented artist is victimized by his shady business partner who sets their waxwork museum on fire. The artist miraculously survives albeit horribly scarred and then plots his murderous revenge in the shadows of society. “Phantom of the Opera” used a similar story line but had a musical composer who covertly got even with his enemies. Vincent Price is fine as the unfortunate sculptor who opens a new waxworks emporium that now concentrates on sensationalism and horror to draw in the crowds. To get the enterprise up and running in a [More]
We sadly mark the passing of exploitation giant, Roger Corman: a tireless, budget minded producer/director who was creatively involved in some very memorable science fiction, horror, western and action genre pictures. Many of these movies have become classics and provide a blueprint of how to manufacture films quickly and cheaply without sacrificing all quality. I will reference “A Bucket of Blood” (1959) as being one such example of a low budgeted, though engaging story of a homicidal “artist” who finally runs out of luck. A very engaging movie. It was in the 1960’s that Corman turned his attention to adapting [More]
This is a trifle of a segment but I noticed recently while binge watching some Vincent Price scarefests that a lot of his films conclude with a purging fire breaking out and ridding the story of some of the evil situations and characters thus far encountered. Maybe it was a favored conclusion for director Roger Corman who concluded “The Fall of the House of User” (1960) and “The Haunted Palace” (1963) in such a fashion. It certainly is a flamboyant way to conclude a movie with the set catching fire and falling down into flaming pieces! Price or another actor [More]
I started watching this western and began thinking that it was playing out as another dated take on The Old West that we have seen in countless TV shows and repetitive movies. There was a soundtrack featuring a harmonica, a jailbreak out of a Federal prison, gunplay galore and even some Gatling Gun action. It struck me as being old fashioned in an age where the Western had been electrified and shaken up by a work like Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch”. How could filmmakers fall back on all the old, reliable cliches of The Western genre and expect the audience [More]
A documentary detailing the history of the vampire character Dracula, assembled using various movie clips and the narration of horror icon, Vincent Price. You’ll see clips from the silent “Nosferatu” and other cinematic appearances featuring the ancient blood sucker such as Lugosi in “Mark of the Vampire”, and the 1950’s alternative vampire film, “The Vampire” . “VPD” is a good flick to curl up by the fire to watch as we come upon the Autumn season and move closer to Halloween. Heavy on the garlic fries. Hehe.
Creepy interpretation by Roger Corman of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum. Richard Matheson scripted this adaptation. Vincent Price adds his diabolical presence. Love the creaking of the pendulum as it winds its way down toward the intended victim. Part of Corman’s Poe cycle of film adaptations. Nice 60’s horror atmosphere.