The Haunted Palace (1963)

Sixth of eight Roger Corman movies based on Edgar Allan Poe is not based on Poe at all. It took title from Poe's poem, but plot is based on novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft. If you are familiar with work of H.P.L. it will be very obvious during whole movie. But it can pass for Poe, to be completely honest. Recognizable Corman's directing, phenomenally creepy Vincent Price and deeply disturbing atmosphere typical for H.P.L. achieved almost without any special effects and explicit horror, combination that never gets old.7,5/10I hate "your review does not contain enough lines" warning. Why would I have to spoil perfectly nice review with additional nonsense just to reach senseless limit...

This has some good actors in it. But it is not a good movie. It does not have a good story line. The ending is awful. It is not very scary. I was very disappointed by this movie. It is the only movie with Vincent Price and Lon Chaney Jr. And it could have been so much better. Do not waste your money. And do not wast time. Do not see this movie. It is pooh pooh. 6.8 is overrating. It is not scary at all. Do not see this movie. It is a warlock movie. But there better movies that like this one. I can not believe the man who wrote The Masque of the red death wrote this. The Masque of the red death is so mush better. See The Masque the red death.

Mixing the themes of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, American International's horror unit added one of their better thrillers to their repertoire. Vincent Price is back yet again, delivering yet another melodramatic performance in a dual role as an evil warlock burnt at the stake, leaving a curse that is to be fulfilled more than a century later when his seemingly decent descendant shows up to claim his property. This delights fellow Warrick alone Chaney Jr. who has been taking care of the titled palace all that time in preparation for this day. Price's descendant takes on evil intentions as the evil spirit of his ancestor seeks control in seeking revenge against the families of those who killed him. Debra Paget and Frank Maxwell co-star in this gripping thriller where the upset townspeople rise up against the obvious curse, poised to come through thanks to the return of the stock's kinsman. Paget is Price's wife, desperate to get away from the rising evil, while Maxwell takes the role of the town doctor who is the only one to believe in Price's innocence, much to his regret.Colorfully filmed and hauntingly scored, thus is mesmerizing and totally fascinating. It also has an extremely surprising ending, a far cry from the others from this series. With a fascinating torture chamber set, this shows the evil that men do in not so subtle visuals that may chill you to the bone.

I think it's common knowledge that Vincent Price's mere presence elevates even the most mediocre movies nine times out of ten. This is one of those cases.I have not read the HP Lovecraft novel The Haunted Palace (1963) was based on, so I will not be making comparison. For what it is, the plot is your standard Jekyll-Hyde sort of thing. Over a century after his warlock ancestor Joseph Curwell was burned alive for kidnapping village girls and mating them with a demonic creature, Charles Dexter Ward and his wife Ann come to claim Curwell's old castle. The residents go crazy, believing Ward's arrival to fulfill a curse Curwell put upon the village right before lit him up: that he would return again and destroy the descendants of the men who had convicted him. Ward dismisses these superstitions at first, but once he moves into the palace the spirit of his ancestor begins to consume him entirely.Though the sets are creepy and the proper Gothic mood is achieved, this picture is made memorable solely by Price's compelling (and decidedly not hammy nor campy) performance. He makes both the innocent, gentle Ward and the cruel, lecherous Curwen fully defined and convincing personalities. Neither portrayal is the least bit hammy. In fact, the whole film lacks the camp one might associate with a Roger Corman movie.Also of note is the score written by Ronald Stein. Perfectly creepy and befitting the movie. The make-up work on the mutated villagers is well done too. The scene in which they corner the astonished Wards is genuinely chilling.The supporting players are good, if not as interesting as Price (then again few actors could be). Lon Chaney Jr. gets little to do as the palace's suspicious keeper and the beautiful Debra Paget does what she can playing a woman made uncomfortable by the hostile villagers, spooky new house, and strange behavior of her husband.In the end, not a perfect film, but Price fans will love it and I imagine most who enjoy the Gothic horror flicks of the 1960s will get a kick out of it as well.