220) Funeral Home (1980)

"Good riddance to bad rubbish."

Director
William Fruet

Cast
Lesleh Donaldson - Heather
Kay Hawtrey - Maude Chalmers
Dean Garbett - Rick Yates
Barry Morse - Mr. Davis
Stephen E. Miller - Billy Hibbs
Alf Humphreys - Joe Yates
Robert Warner - The Sheriff
Jack Van Evera - James Chalmers

Obscure cult/ B-horror movies are the kind of movies that belong on this blog. I made this platform for those kinds of flicks. I think I've strayed a little bit from posting about horror and thriller movies that are off the radar. So, I'm getting back into form...for now. 

The 1980 Canadian slasher flick, "Funeral Home" which is also known as "Cries in the Night." definitely fits on this blog. I mean, who even knew this movie existed? Who would watch it? 

I would, of course. I love sitting out on the patio in the early to mid-evening with a portable DVD player, a Mayflower cigar and a cocktail or even just a soft drink and watching these obscure movies. I have a lot of them in my private film reserve. How's that for prestigiousness? 

I found "Funeral Home" hidden within a collection of 50 horror/thriller movies collectively called "Chilling Classics." It's a box set of low budget B films put out by a company I've mentioned previously on this platform called Mill Creek. 

I have a few of these box sets and have reviewed a handful of movies I pulled from them. I really need to throw a lot more of them on here. 

These movies are otherwise generally difficult to find and putting them in these box sets is probably their only hope of anyone ever watching them again.

The worst thing about the movies included in these sets is the picture quality. The movies aren't digitally enhanced or improved. The picture is often dark, and the sound quality can often be just as poor as the picture. Basically, the movies are distributed just as they are. It's as though they're recorded right from the original print. 

But these Mill Creek sets can have a gem hidden amongst movies that are otherwise best left forgotten. 

"Funeral Home" begins as a young girl named Heather (Lesleh Donaldson) arriving in a small town to stay with her grandma, Maude Chalmers (Kay Hawtrey). 

Lesleh Donaldson as 'Heather.'

Maude uses her home as an inn though it used to be a funeral home. 

Heather's grandfather, James, worked as the local undertaker. However, he's been missing for years. And Maude has certainly been suffering inside at his absence. She hasn't operated the inn as much as she would like. So, she has been trying to earn a steady living by selling floral arrangements as the inn business isn't as lucrative as she would like. 

Maude hopes to open the house to travelers as soon as she can. The only person she has working for her is a mentally disabled maintenance guy named Billy Hibbs (Stephen E. Miller). 

Maude's neighbor, Sam (Les Rubie), comes over to complain about a car that was abandoned on his property. 

Authorities trace the car to a real estate developer who went missing not too long before. He had been sent there to survey the area before he vanished. 

As Heather arrives at her grandma's inn, some other guests arrive at the same time - Harry Browning (Harvey Atkin) and his illicit lover Florie (Peggy Mahon). Maude won't allow them to stay since they're not married. However, they don't want to leave. 

They down some drinks together and then drive off to a nearby quarry to spend some alone time together. Heather was the one who recommended they drive over there. 

While they're at the quarry, Maude's car shows up, smashes into the back of their car, and then pushes them over a cliff into the water below. 

Later, Heather goes on a date with local pretty boy, Rick (Dean Garbett). When she returns home, she hears her grandma speaking to an unknown man down in the basement. Curious, Heather asks Maude about whom she was speaking with, but her grandmother denies speaking to anybody. 

The following day, Rick stops by while Maude is out. He tells Heather about her grandfather being an alcoholic. He also remembers her grandpa being rather mean as he recounts a time when, during his youth, her grandfather locked him and his buddy in the basement of the funeral home as punishment for sneaking into the basement. They had managed to escape but not without bringing on the wrath of Heather's grandpa. 

So, spurred by curiosity, she and Rick start snooping around the property to find anything that can give them more insight into her late grandpa. 

Lesleh Donaldson and Kay Hawtrey.

They do find a few curiosities along with some dark and painful history about James and Maude.  

Maude continues to talk to an unknown man in the basement, and the weird activity Heather was witnessing quickly turns dark and intense. 

I quickly picked up on similarities between this movie and Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" especially at the end. "Funeral Home" surely takes inspiration from the 1960 classic. 

For an obscure horror movie, I found "Funeral Home" a decent horror thriller. It takes its time building up to something worthwhile. But the dark atmosphere pulled me in right at the beginning. Once it hits the second act, it really catches a second wind and takes off from there.  

The performances, especially that of Kay Hawtrey, aren't that bad! Hawtrey has an apparent enthusiastic energy that carries the movie to the end. She has a sweet grandmotherly charm that covers a foreboding unhinged frightening old lady who's only put at bay by her sweet grandmotherly persona. 

Hawtrey manages to depict a truly split character amazingly well. It's an entertaining horror performance!

"Funeral Home" has all the characteristics of being a "psycho biddy" horror flick thanks especially to Kay Hawtrey's performance. I've mentioned the horror subgenre psycho biddy (also known as hagsploitation) in my reviews of "Whoever Slew Auntio Roo?" and "Mountaintop Motel Massacre." 

The term refers psychological thrillers that center on older women who have gone insane to some degree or another. The 1990 movie "Misery," based on Stephen King's novel of the same name about the crazy and unstable Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) as she holds author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) captive is a perfect example of psycho biddy horror. "Funeral Home" is definitely a psycho biddy horror flick. It's a genre I'm curious enough to continue exploring. 

"Funeral Home" has a captivating enough story. And I found it unsettling enough to be an entertaining horror movie experience. 

Despite the inspiration it takes from "Psycho," all the rest has a decent amount of effort and deliverance with a high enough creep factor to be a memorable horror movie. Hawtrey, and the creepy unsettling storyline makes this movie solid and carries the story through to the end. I expect I'll come back to it again for another horror night. 

219) Tomb of Ligeia (1964)

"I tried to kill a stray cat with a cabbage, and all but made love to the Lady Rowena."

Director

Roger Corman

Cast

Vincent Price - Verden Fell
Elizabeth Shepherd - Rowena Trevanion/ Ligeia
John Westbrook - Christopher Gough
Derek Francis - Lord Trevanion
Oliver Johnston - Kenrick
Richard Vernon - Dr. Vivian
Frank Thornton - Peperel the butler

Ronald Adam - the Minister

I'm finishing up Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe series with this eighth movie in the series. Some consider "The Oblong Box" (1969) to be the final movie. It stars Vincent Price who stars in the previous Poe movies, and it also stars Christopher Lee. It's also based on a story by Poe. Plus it's produced through American International Pictures (AIP), which produced Corman's Poe movies except for "Premature Burial." AIP did eventually purchase the distribution rights for "Premature Burial." Anyways, Corman isn't involved in the production of "The Oblong Box" so it's not a part of his series. Still, I may review it at some point but I'm not including it in this thread. 

"The Tomb of Ligeia" deals with death, reincarnation, and love. Common themes in these Poe movies. Plus, there's also a big house, a coffin, and flames. The formula continues!

The story starts with a funeral at none other than Castle Acre Priory. I guess you can't start a horror movie without something centered on death. 

The funeral is for Ligeia (Elizabeth Shepherd) who's the wife of Verden Fell (Vincent Price). Being as young and beautiful as she was. Ligeia's casket comes with a window so her face can be seen even after she's dead. During the funeral, a black cat comes out of nowhere and jumps on her coffin. It looks as though this random cat is taking her soul. 

As expected, her death looms over Verden. He's especially troubled at the possibility of her soul being someplace that's hot and filled with all sorts of creative forms of torture. 

Ligeia made some blasphemous comments about God, and she was also an atheist. That would definitely land a soul in Hell. 
"Man need not kneel before the angels, not lie in death forever, save through the weakness of his feeble will," are Ligeia's words which Verden reads at the funeral.
"Blasphemy!" the minister says. 
So, she didn't believe in God's existence yet was still mad at God. So much so, she felt it necessary to hurl a few insults at God whom, again, she didn't believe existed. But now she's dead. She definitely believes there's a God now! 

Anyways, Verden's mourning and fear drives him to becomes reclusive in his mansion, which used to be a medieval monastery.
While wandering the cemetery on the grounds, he meets a woman named Rowena (also Elizabeth Shepherd) who's just passing through riding on horseback. The scene thus proves cemeteries really are a prime place to pick up girls.

Vincent Price as Verden Fell in "Tomb of Ligeia."

She happens to be engaged to Verden's friend, Christopher Gough (John Westbrook). However, that doesn't stop her from marrying Verden. 

This makes Ligeia's spirit pretty upset. Since she's dead, there's really little she can do accept haunt the place. So, she haunts the place. Ligeia manifests here and appears over there. And that black cat from the funeral starts showing up and freaking everyone out...as if the apparitions of Ligeia weren't freaky enough. 

In fact, Rowena thinks this cat is trying to kill her. It probably is! 

Well, Rowena is just not having any of it. Verden takes it upon himself to destroy this cat! 

Spoiler - the cat is actually Rowena in cat form. 

The duel between Verden and the cat culminates to Verden fighting the soul of Ligeia.

Like the rest of Corman's Poe movies (except for "Masque of the Red Death," their fight leads to the tomb burning down with Verden and Ligeia inside. It's not a Poe film by Corman unless something burns down. 

At least, he manages to strangle that damn cat! 

Now that he's dead, Rowena and Christopher hook back up and... the end. 

After coming off the previous "Masque of the Red Death, unfortunately "Tomb of Ligeia" comes across a little too weak and more of the same with tropes seen in Corman's previous Poe movies. 

The effort to make a gripping Gothic horror flick is ever present, but the story is too predictable. On the flip side, Corman has great care and respect for Poe. He clearly doesn't try to make a cheap spectacle. "Tomb of Ligeia" has a solemn tone that's respectable, and something I appreciate. 

In Ed Naha's book, "The Films of Roger Corman," Corman is quoted as saying, "I tried to make this last film as different from its predecessors as possible." 

It manages to feel like the rest. Despite the formula being on repeat for the eighth time, I find this entertaining enough.  

The creepy set designs, the unsettling camera angles, and Vincent Price's unsettling performance fit for Gothic horror make for truly classic horror.

Price still has that sinister vibe. His appearance reminds me of his role as Roderick Usher in the first of Corman's Poe movies, "House of Usher." 

Like Usher, his character is sensitive to light. However, in this movie he wears sunglasses throughout the story. It adds an otherworldly quality to Price as they make it difficult for the audience to read his face. Plus, it gives him a badass look! Maybe Price wanted to go full circle here by playing a similar role to his first movie in the series? 

As much as I love Vincent Price, especially in his Gothic horror roles, I enjoyed watching him more in the earlier Poe movies. It's business as usual for Price in this movie. In other words, he's played this kind of role again and again.

"Tomb of Ligeia" builds up suspense satisfyingly well. It's that Corman know-how at work!

I mentioned the possibility of reviewing the unofficial ninth movie "The Terror" but I've seen it before, found it boring, comically plotless, and I honestly don't feel like sitting through it again. At least, not right now. I have other movies I'm anxious to get to. Maybe that short mention just now will have to be my review of "The Terror."  

As for Roger Corman's Poe movies, they all have a real nightmarish quality to them. All of them. Even this last one. I love the Gothic style. The camera work. Vincent Price's performances. 

While some of the movies are better than others, and some certainly capture Poe's spirit better than the other adaptations, I found each one to be entertaining. I looked forward to each movie, and I mean that sincerely. The grand set designs in each one of these movies is fantastic and truly, truly the stuff of classic horror! 

I think these movies may have been even more entertaining and memorable had more of them been anthology movies like "Tales of Terror." Still, collectively, Roger Corman's Poe series really hit the spot for me as far as vintage horror goes. Each movie carries with it a remarkable cast. Some legendary faces in the horror genre show up along the way. It's fantastic. I think my favorite scenes throughout the entire series involved Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff going at it in "The Raven." Legendary! 

When it comes to the eeriest of these movies, I'd have to go with "The Haunted Palace." It's the most unsettling of the Poe movies. And it has Lon Chaney, Jr. - another horror legend! 

Vincent Price's performance in "Masque of the Red Death" is his most evil and intimidating one out of all these movies. It's the best of his performances in these Poe films. 

All in all, these movies have a well-deserved spot in horror. Roger Corman knew how to do a lot with a few gems! They're brilliant to watch, and deserve a lot of praise.

218) The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

"Thus passes the glory of the world." 

Director

Roger Corman 

Cast
Vincent Price - Prince Prospero 

Hazel Court - Juliana
Jane Asher - Francesca
David Weston - Gino
Nigel Green - Ludovico
John Westbrook - Physical Red Death 
Patrick Magee - Alfredo
Paul Whitsun-Jones - Scarlatti

Director Roger Corman's 1964 movie, "The Masque of the Red Death" is the seventh film in his Edgar Allan Poe series, and the second to last of them. It's followed by "The Tomb of Ligeia" which was released the same year. 

I actually watched "The Tomb of Ligeia" before watching this but we got to keep these things in chronological order, right? 

Aside from the fourth movie in the series, "Tales of Terror" from 1962, "The Masque of the Red Death" pulls away from the usual formula of all these other Poe movies. And it's the darkest one yet. 

The movie begins as the disease referred to as "red death" spreads across medieval Italy. An old peasant woman wandering through the country comes face to face with the red death in the form of a hooded figure dawning red cloak. 

He presents this woman a white rose which turns blood red just before he hands it to her. He then tells her to take the rose back to her village and tell everyone there that, "the day of their deliverance is at hand." I guess fictional medieval plagues are notorious for being vague and nonsensical. 

That village is ruled by a pretty sadistic and evil prince named Prospero (Vincent Price). He pays that same village a visit with his entourage and is met with two poor villagers, Gino (David Weston) and Ludovico (Nigel Green). 

Meanwhile, that old lady from the beginning is found dead from... the red death! Her face is covered in blood oozing from her pores. Hence, the name "red death." 

So, Prospero orders his people to burn the entire village down. In the midst of the turmoil and cries of the villagers, he invites them to a feast at his palace in his usual condescending tone. This is where the audience is supposed to yell, "Don't do it! Don't go!" at the T.V.  

Gino doesn't take the mockery kindly, nor should he, and criticizes Prospero remarking he'll probably treat everyone like dogs and feed them nothing but table scraps. He then says that someday, Prospero's reign of terror will come to an end. 

This threat doesn't sit well with Prospero. Gino's father-in-law, Ludovico, backs him up as Prospero forces both men to their knees for his own amusement. 

Then he forces both of them, along with Gino's lover, Francesca (Jane Asher), to go with him back to his castle for his own amusement. 

Back at his castle, Prospero holds a bunch of parties with a ton of wealthy self-absorbed guests who are just as debauched as he is. 

He takes pleasure in humiliating his guests such as making them imitate as animals in front of everyone else.

Francesca is shocked to find out that Prospero is a Satanist. He certainly fits the part with his love of watching people humiliate themselves. For instance, he tricks a companion of his, Alfredo (Patrick Magee) to dress as a gorilla during a masquerade party. He then has his dwarf-jester, Hop-Toad (Skip Martin) to set Alfredo on fire, which he does for a laugh. 

But the red death comes uninvited to one of Prospero's parties. "The uninvited - there is much to fear." as Prospero observes earlier in the movie. 

He thinks the red-hooded figure is the devil. Well, it's not the devil but it's going to take Prospero to him. It doesn't take much time before Prospero realizes his time on Earth is at an end, and his fate is nothing but death. 
The story ends on a dark note as other plagues and diseases (tuberculosis dressed in a white hood, yellow fever in a yellow hood, scurvy in an orange hood, cholera in a blue hood, influenza in a purple hood, and the bubonic plague in a black hood) gather around the red death to discuss how many lives they've each given to death during that night. 

As I mentioned, this movie doesn't follow the same formulas and tropes that the previous Poe movies do. The story follows Prospero's complete surrender to evil and how that not only completely corrupts him, but it also corrupts those around him. Instead of ending with a huge estate burning down in flames which is common in these Poe movies, Instead, it all ends with Prospero begging to be spared from death which he brought upon himself, and shouting "no, no!" 

There's a contrast between the darkness of the subject matter and the colors which cover Prospero's evil world covered in the façade of vibrancy and care-free false security. 

The glamour of evil is precisely that. A façade. How else will the devil entice souls? With it's more serious and darker tone, I bet it takes inspiration from Ingmar Bergman's 1957 Swedish film, "The Seventh Seal." 

In one scene, one of Prospero's guests, Juliana (Hazel Court) wants to be in this cult of his. She gives herself over to the devil in a manner reminiscent of Lady MacBeth calling upon evil spirits to "unsex" her in Shakespeare's tragedy, "MacBeth." 

Vincent Price as 'Prospero' in 'The Masque of the Red Death.'

In fact, Corman claims he had some reluctance in actually releasing "The Masque of the Red Death" because of similarities to "The Seventh Seal." In an interview with Lawrence French, published in the introduction to "The Masque of the Red Death" novelization, Corman says, "I kept moving 'The Masque of the Red Death' back, because of the similarities, but it was really an artificial reason in my mind."

In his book, "Top 100 Horror Movies" writer Gary Gerani also quotes Corman from a 1970s interview.

"I had seen Igmar Bergman's 'The Seventh Seal' and thought there might be a horror movie application for it." (142) 

He definitely nailed it, especially as death appears in a red hood. And the final scene has six other hooded figures dawning a different color to symbolize their deathly touches. 

There's some depth to this picture that's sharply felt more than Corman's other movies. He takes on a different approach and it works well for a Gothic horror movie. 

It's worth mentioning that Jane Asher was dating former Beatle Paul McCartney at the time. I heard in various commentaries about this movie that McCartney visited the movie set. 

Anyways, I've considered myself a fan of Vincent Price, which is part of the reason why I wanted to watch all of Corman's Poe movies, all of which (except "Premature Burial" star Price. I think his performance here really solidified my fandom for Vincent Price. This performance of his is the most intimidating and frightening I've seen yet.
Gerani also points out that the set for "The Masque of the Red Death" is borrowed from the 1964 historical picture, "Becket" which is about the tumultuous friendship between St. Thomas Becket and King Henry II that ultimately led to Becket's martyrdom.

Corman definitely out does himself with this movie. It carries a timely moral.   
Evil is certainly not glorified in this movie. The villain is truly Prospero. The darkest of Roger Corman's Poe movies yet, with a real intimidating Vincent Price performance! One more to go after this one.
It's no revelation that pacts and dedication to the devil, whom Prospero always accurately refers to as the "Lord of the flies," end with screams and despair. As the movie claims, "thus passes the glory of the world." Prospero turned his back on God. So, God accommodated him. 

 

217) Spirit Halloween: The Movie (2022)

Director
David Poag

Cast
Donovan Colan - Jake
Dylan Frankel - Carson
Jaiden J. Smith - Bo 
Christopher Lloyd - Alec Windsor
Marla Gibbs - Grandmother
Marissa Reyes - Kate

I admit I was curious more than I should have been when I heard a movie based completely on the Wal-Mart of seasonal stores, Spirit Halloween, was dropping back in 2022. 

I feel like I'm on track reviewing "Spirit Halloween: The Movie" as I wanted to use this blog as a platform for the campiest, or underrated, or off-the-radar type of oddball horror movies out there - new or old. 

I didn't go out of my way to see what kind of movie centered on a chain of retail store the so-called "writers" could come up with. I anticipated a movie that would be nothing more than an hour and a half long commercial that, by the way, stars Christopher Lloyd! It's the only logical conclusion one can make. To assume otherwise would be nothing short of high expectations. 

I didn't watch "Spirit Halloween: The Movie" until now, and that's because I happened to come across it on a streaming app. I can't recall which one. 

Again, I was curious to see what kind of story could be pounded out for a movie named for a Halloween costume store. I do have to say I enjoy Spirit Halloween whenever I come across one around in October. It's a fun experience. The animatronics are entertaining enough. And being the horror fan that I am, I appreciate the range of "stuff" for sale. 

The movie begins sometime in the 1940s or 1950s as a corrupt developer named Alec Windsor (Christopher Lloyd) harasses a landowner claiming he now owns her property. He has seemingly tried to obtain her land for some time. 

The woman happens to be a witch, and curses Windsor causing him to drop dead on the spot. His soul then floats away someplace. 

Things transition to the present time. Teenage buddies Carson (Dylan Frankel), Bo (Jaiden J. Smith), and Jake (Donovan Colan) walk through town discussing plans for Halloween.
Jake is still grieving the loss of his father as his relationship with his mother and stepfather is a bit strained. He wants to go trick-or-treating with his friends just as they've done before. It's tradition. 

Carson, however, thinks they've outgrown trick-or-treating and prefers to do something new. Bo thinks Carson has a point. They've outgrown trick-or-treating. 

The three of them visit their local Spirit Halloween superstore and decide to hide somewhere inside until it closes so they can spend Halloween night within. And it works. 

Once the store closes, the three buddies have fun messing with all the animatronics and other Halloween merch. The scenario makes the perfect sales pitch for the seasonal pop-up Spirit stores. 

While having fun inside like it's their own personal Pleasure Island, one of the animatronics comes to life. Little do the boys know that the store was built on the property from the beginning of the movie. And Windsor's cursed spirit is free to roam during this time of year looking for a living person to possess. 

So, his ghost takes possession of different animatronics, chasing the kids around until they discover a secret underneath the building. 

The whole movie reminds me of something I would have watched on Nickelodeon back in the late 1990s. 

I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a terrible movie. I would say, however, that it's forgettable and void of any real personality. It's as plain and level as it can be.

There is a thin and very general moral about courage, friendship, and strengthening family bonds. That's all fine and good. The mystery and lightheadedness are also fine and good for young viewers. There's no profanity and, basically, it's a clean-cut movie. 

Though it's aimed at kids, the movie is simply bland. It's not bad. It's not a great kids movie. It's just...bland. There's nothing memorable nor anything to take away. I get the feeling that had it any depth to it, "Spirit Halloween: The Movie" would be criticized for taking itself too seriously. Or it would just be "too deep" for a movie called "Spirit Halloween: The Movie." 

I do have to give a nod of approval for the scene in which "Night of the Living Dead" is playing on a TV. As far as I'm concerned, "Night of the Living Dead" is the "It's a Wonderful Life" of Halloween movies. 

Christopher Lloyd always makes an enjoyable villain. In fact, he's great at it. He plays a villainous role in the 1993 movie "Dennis the Menace" and even more notably, plays Judge Doom in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit." 

Lloyd strikes me as an actor who's in the field for the joy and love of being an actor. He doesn't strike me as someone who's in it for fame and all that entails. Rather, I wouldn't be surprised if he takes on any role that he deems enjoyable and expressive. 

Thankfully, "Spirit Halloween" has an hour and twenty-minute run time. So, it doesn't overstay its welcome. It gets to the point, hits a climax, and then ends.

I love how the title includes the phrase "the movie." It brings to mind the days of pop culture cinema from my own youth when intellectual properties and such got the movie treatment. Writers sold the novelty to audiences by calling their movies, "the movie." 

"Garbage Pail Kids: The Movie," "Superman: The Movie," "The Transformers: The Movie," "Twilight Zone: The Movie," "Jetsons: The Movie." Though that's still a practice with movies titles, it has a sense of nostalgia to it. 

I predict "Spirit Halloween: The Movie" will pop up some twenty years from now as a cinematic oddity when people will recall "that Halloween store movie." Maybe then it will have some appeal for the novelty it is. And it is a novelty. Otherwise, it's just a bland experience. I got nothing out of it. It didn't even arouse a desire to head to my nearest Spirit Halloween. 

216) The Raven (1935)

"I will not be tortured! I tear torture out of myself by torturing you!"

Director

Lew Landers

Cast

Boris Karloff - Edmond Bateman
Béla Lugosi - Dr. Richard Vollin
Irene Ware - Jean Thatcher
Lester Matthews - Dr. Jerry Halden

Samuel S. Hinds - Judge Thatcher
Spencer Charters - Col. Bertram Grant
Inez Courtney - Mary Burns

Though I'm nearly done watching my way through Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe movies, beginning with "The House of Usher" and eventually finishing with "The Tomb of Ligeia," I wanted to shift my gaze for a moment to an earlier movie based on Poe's poem, "The Raven." Die-hard fans of my blog will recall my comments on Corman's movie, "The Raven" from 1963. Well, this is an earlier movie based on the same poem.

The movie begins as a young dancer named Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) is injured in a car accident. Her fiancé, Dr. Jerry Halden (Lester Matthews) desperately tries to convince Dr. Richard Vollin (Béla Lugosi) to operate on Jean's cranial nerve roots which were damaged in that accident. Vollin is a retired neurosurgeon who, frankly, has no concern or care when it comes to the suffering and needs of others. In fact, he's a blatant sadistic madman but he certainly keeps that tidbit of personal information to himself. On top of all that, he doesn't want to come out of retirement just to help Jean. 

Jean's father, Judge Thatcher (Samuel S. Hinds) appeals to Vollin's narcissism to convince him help his daughter, and Vollin agrees.

A month goes by. Jean is pretty much recovered by then. But Vollin has some major infatuation with her. 

While she's at his house, he advances on her, but she refuses and tells him she needs to get going.

Vollin is a fan of Edgar Allan Poe. So, as a personal thank you for his help, upon her stage return Jean performs some kind of performative solo dance routine as "The Raven" is recited.

Her dad thinks Jean is starting to fall in love with Vollin. He asks Vollin not to give off any false impressions that would give his daughter the idea he's interested. Little does he know that Vollin actually has it bad for Jean. 

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in "The Raven."

When Judge Thatcher catches wind of Vollin's feelings, he demands that he back off so his daughter can marry Jerry. 

While all this is going on, a bank robber named Edmond Bateman (Boris Karloff) pays Vollin a visit. He asks him to construct a new face for him as he's hiding from the law after murdering some prison guards while escaping San Quentin. 

As payment, Vollin asks Bateman to carry out a chore for him that involves murder!

Bateman is apprehensive about this as he doesn't want to be a violent criminal anymore. He blames his life of misdeeds on the constant ridicule he's endured all his life. 

Vollin agrees to work on his face. However, he actually disfigures his face even more forcing Bateman to bend to Vollin's will. Only Vollin can repair the intentional damage done.

Anyhow, Jerry convinces Jean to spend a weekend at Vollin's estate despite her dad's wishes to win some favor with the prestigious doctor. Some other guests are also supposed to spend the weekend there. 

Bateman acts as Vollin's valet, and freaks out all the guests with his hideous face. Little do they know of Vollin's sinister plans for them, and that Bateman is reluctantly in on it. Of course, the mistreatment they give him makes him more willing to help Vollin carry out his evil intentions of intentional cruelty for the mere pleasure of it. 

While the guests, which includes Jean's father, don't treat Bateman very well, Jean apologizes to him for being so disturbed by his hideous appearance. This act of kindness softens Bateman quite a bit. 

Judge Thatcher doesn't trust Vollin and wants to leave. He's only there to keep an eye on him while his daughter is around. But Jean and Jerry don't take his concerns seriously. 

During the late-night hours, Vollin takes Judge Thatcher against his will down to a dungeon where he keeps a secret collection of torture devices. 

He straps Thatcher to a table in order to reenact Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum." 

Bateman knocks out Jerry before Vollin takes Thatcher so he can't help him. 

When he awakens and goes down into the dungeon with Jean to find her father, Vollin has plans for them, too. And they walk right into his trap.

"The Raven" is the third film in a trilogy of Edgar Allan Poe-based movies from Universal. It follows 

"Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1932) starring Bela Lugosi, and "The Black Cat" (1934) starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. 

"The Raven" director, Lew Landers, directed some other horror flicks after 1935 including "The Boogie Man Will Get You" (1942) which stars Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre, both of whom star in Corman's "The Raven." He also directed "Return of the Vampire" (1943) which stars Bela Lugosi. Otherwise, he has a mix of genres in his filmography - sci-fi, westerns, mysteries, adventure flicks. Landers has also done some early T.V directing including two episodes of the "Adventures of Superman." He has quite a resume. He made quite a shock fest with "The Raven." 

This movie is not so much based on "The Raven" by Poe. Rather, it's suggested by Poe's poem. Clearly! Rather than make a movie adaptation of Poe's poem, it's used as a bridge for the villain to get closer to the protagonist. It's certainly better than Corman's trippy version. 

Universal's version is a dark and grim movie that doesn't overstay its welcome. In fact, for a horror film, it's a satisfying story despite straying far from Poe's work. Bela Lugosi fits as an insane and twisted doctor. For a horror movie from the 1930s - a time where caution was practiced much more when it came to decency - this movie doesn't pull any horrific punches. Granted it carries some cliches such as being set in a big dark house on a dark and stormy night. But the premise involving surgery adds to the uneasiness the movie brings overall.  

"The Raven" is a classic for horror fans thanks to the underrated performance from Lugosi and Karloff, who clearly channels his inner-Frankenstein's monster which he performed only four years prior. I think if it wasn't for Lugosi and Karloff, the film would fare as well. All in all, it's entertaining.

215) Barbarian (2022)

"You cannot get it upset."

Director
Zach Cregger

Cast
Georgina Campbell - Tess
Bill Skarsgård - Keith
Justin Long - AJ
Matthew Patrick Davis - "The Mother"
Richard Brake - Frank

As I've mentioned before on this platform, horror movies are often a reflection of society's deepest fears whether those collective fears surround European enemies during World War II, the possibility of hostile invasive aliens from outer space, or cultural shifts and counter cultures. There's a lot. When it comes to horror movies of the last five to ten years, they have a lot of themes centered on racial issues, delusions about how terrible America is, and sexual abuse amidst a sexually deviant society. The latter is seemingly the theme to the 2022 horror movie "Barbarian" starring Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long. 

The movie opens as Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell) pulls up at night to an Airbnb in a low-income neighborhood. 

Much to her chagrin, the homeowners double-booked the Airbnb. When she gets there, it's already occupied by a young guy named Keith (Bill Skarsgård). He's just as put out as she is, but he's certainly patient about the mishap. 

As they can't get a hold of the homeowner, Keith and Tess stay up for a while and talk before deciding that she'll sleep in the lockable bedroom while he takes the sofa. She has to get to a job interview the next morning, so she needs sleep. 

During the night, Tess wakes up to find her bedroom door open though she closed and locked it before turning in. 

Startled, she wakes Keith up to see if he opened her door. Irritated, he insists he didn't open the door. 

The next day, Tess heads to her job interview. After the interview, the interviewer asks where she's staying. Tess tells her the neighborhood, which she noticed leaving that morning is in nearly complete decay except for the house she's staying in. The interviewer advises Tess that the neighborhood isn't a place she should be staying, and suggests she locate another place to stay for her own safety. Of course, Tess thinks she'll be o.k. 

When Tess returns to the house, a homeless man chases her inside yelling for her not to go in. 

Tess manages to get in the house before he can catch up. Since Keith isn't home, she starts exploring the house and heads to the basement. 

However, the basement door shuts on its own, locking her down there. 

In the basement she finds a secret door into a dark corridor with a room at the other end that has nothing in it but a spring bed and a video camera. That's certainly disturbing. 

Georgina Campbell as 'Tess' in 'Barbarian.'

Keith returns back to the house and opens the door to let Tess out of the basement. 

She tells him about what she found down there, and he explores this secret space on his own...and doesn't come back. 

Tess goes into the secret area to look for Keith but he's not in there. She finds another secret door at the other end of the short corridor next to the room with the bed and camera. Behind that door are steps leading to a dark and dank subterranean maze of rooms. 

Tess musters up courage to go down those steps to the underground. She's not prepared for the evil that lingers down there, which emerge late at night to roam the abandoned neighborhood. 

Tess finds Keith just before he's murdered by a deformed woman who's living down there. 

Meanwhile, the homeowner, a TV actor named A.J. (Justin Long), is accused of raping a co-star. His legal costs are more than he can afford. So, he's pressured to sell his assets, including the house, in order to pay the increasing legal fees. 

He heads to the house to check it out before putting it up for sale. 

A.J. has no idea Keith and Tess, or anyone for that matter, has been staying there. He seemingly doesn't know it was being used as an Airbnb. He finds their belongings in the house and thinks squatters have been living in the home. 

After spending a night, he finds the tunnels the next day and is taken by this deformed woman who attacks him before putting him into a hole where he finds Tess. This monstrous woman tries to act like a mother by treating A.J. like an infant in the most disturbing way possible. The more he tries to escape, the angrier she gets. 

The movie cuts back to the original homeowner named Frank (Richard Brake) who lived alone in the house back in the 1980s. The neighborhood was much more vibrant and inhabited at the time. Little do the neighbors know that Frank has been abducting women. The aftermath of his terrible crimes dwell beneath the house. 

After watching this movie, one question remains unanswered. Who opened the house as an Airbnb? And why? 

Matthew Patrick as 'The Mother.'

Anyways, the movie is such a gag inducing experience. I hated thinking about this movie days after I watched this. All the worst scenes made me sick, especially during my lunch breaks. 

It's a lot of uncomfortable scenes and grotesqueries in order to preach a theme of sexual abuse and the trauma it causes that never goes away. Such a twisted and consuming sin like sexual abuse leaves scars even after those involved are gone. 

I do appreciate the premise that public sin corrupts both the culprit and society in general. That moral is seen in the character being pulled into the sludge of Frank's crimes, and the decay of the neighborhood that went from a nice vibrant place to raise a family, to a crumbling abandoned "wrong side of the tracks" kind of neighborhood. 

Regardless, the movie feels pretentious. It's as though it's proud of itself for being "daring" enough to touch on a subject that's been preached to death by the blatant unconscionable hypocrites of Hollywood who submerge themselves to begin with in promiscuous behavior.  

The suspense begins as soon as the movie starts. The story pulls the audience in, wanting to see what'll happen. It's unpredictable. I thought it was going to go one way, and it went a completely different direction. It's at a medium level when it comes to being scary. Or I've just watched too many horror movies. It's probably a mix of both. 

"Barbarian" has an uncomfortable storyline held together by stomach churning images. That's what it relies on most after its message about sexual abuse and the lasting scars such abuse leaves behind. 

It's a disgusting modern creature feature with something to talk about. It did pull me in only to leave me wishing I hadn't watched it. Even writing this, I don't want to think about the movie. It just upsets my stomach. 

214) The Haunted Palace (1963)

"One becomes accustomed to the darkness here." 

Director

Roger Corman 

Cast
Vincent Price - Joseph Curwen / Charles Dexter Ward
Debra Paget -Anne Ward
Cathie Merchant - Hester Tillinghast
Frank Maxwell - Priam Willet / Dr. Marinus Willet
Lon Chaney Jr. - Simon Orne

Milton Parsons - Jabez Hutchinson

Roger Corman's movie, "The Haunted Palace," is his sixth movie loosely based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. This one is a sinister turn from Corman's previous off-the-wall Poe movie, "The Raven." 

As Frankenstein's monster himself, Boris Karloff, shows up in "The Raven," as does Peter Lorre, this time, Lon Chaney, Jr., famous for playing the Wolfman in the Universal Wolfman movies, stars in "The Haunted Palace."

As expected, Vincent Price returns in the lead role to carry this picture just as he has with the other Poe movies except for "The Premature Burial" where he's replaced by Ray Milland for the lead role. 

In this movie, strange things are afoot at the big house on the outskirts of Arkham, Massachusetts back in 1765. 

Residents know something's not right at the house. In fact, they all think that Joseph Curwen (Vincent Price), the master of the house, is a sorcerer or warlock. 

A young girl wanders up to the house, led in trance by Joseph and his mistress, Hester (Cathie Merchant). 

The couple take the girl down into the house's dungeon - all the big houses in Corman's Poe flicks have a dungeon. Anyways, she's forced to take part in some weird ceremonies and rituals. 

During these rituals, an evil entity is summoned and rises from a pit in the dungeon to possess this girl. 

Afterwards, some of the folks in town see this girl wander from the house clearly in a strange daze. They think she's cursed or under some kind of enchantment. 

So, they all march up to the house, grab Curwen, and take him to be burned alive. 

Just before he goes up in flames, Curwen curses the entire town and its inhabitants along with their descendants. 

Vincent Price in "The Haunted Palace."

The story jumps 110 years after these shenanigans. Curwen's great-great-grandson, Charles Dexter Ward (Vincent Price, again) has inherited the estate. So, he and his wife Anne (Debra Paget) move to Arkham to take over the house. 

However, the townspeople don't welcome them so warmly. 

They blame Charles's ancestor and his curse for all the locals suffering from deformities and other afflictions. It's all Joseph's fault as far as they're concerned. 

Charles and Anne are disturbed by all the disdain hurled at them that they consider leaving. 

However, the house's caretaker, Simon (Lon Chaney, Jr.) convinces the couple to forget about the crazy townspeople and all their personal issues, and to stick around. 

One thing that completely astounds Charles is the amazing and practically identical resemblance he has to his great-great grandfather, Joseph. His portrait hangs above a fireplace. He's taken by this portrait so much that he becomes obsessed with it. It's as though the portrait of his great-great-grandfather begins to possess Charles.
He and Anne meet a local doctor named Marinus Willet (Frank Maxwell) who catches them up to speed about Joseph and why everyone in town hates them so much. 

To add fuel to the fire, Marinus introduces them to the Necronomicon - the book of black magic. He tells Charles and Anne that the book belonged to Joseph, which he used to summon some nasty evil spirits, two in particular named Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth. 

Joseph's diabolic plan was to conjure up these evil spirits to, uhhh... hook up with women and then create a race of superhumans. This is what led to all the deformed towns folk. 

Meanwhile, Charles eventually falls under the complete control of Joseph's painting. In fact, he's completely possessed by Joseph's spirit and begins conducting the same rituals Joseph did over 100 years ago. 

Corman brings his Poe line-up to a much darker and more serious tone with "The Haunted Palace." The story has an eviler sting to it. Eviler - that is a word, I believe. 

The story is based partly on the poem of the same title by Edgar Allan Poe, and partly on "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" by H. P. Lovecraft. The
Lovecraftian elements are clearly seen in the presence of the Necronomicon and the inclusion of Yog-Sothoth and obviously Cthulhu.

Price's performance here is the best yet. Don't get me wrong, being a fan of Vincent Price, I haven't yet seen a performance of his I didn't like. But here, he brings such an unsettling tone that fits brilliantly well. Price seems to take each role of his seriously and meticulously puts details and specific tones into each of them. That's especially true here. 

If I had to pick a favorite Vincent Price role among these Poe movies, I'd think, thus far, this is it. He's playing dual roles and has the task to meld them together. 

Seeing Lon Chaney, Jr., is certainly a treat. I'm telling you, the casting choices within these last couple of movies is nothing short of classic. For me, being a fan of Universal monsters, it's a treat. This is the kind of stuff I geek out on. 

I'm loving Roger Corman's low budget but grand Poe movies, and "The Haunted Palace" certainly hits the spot.  

The movie has a generous and very welcomed portion of unsettling images that are off-putting, especially the deformed towns folk, some of whom have bare skin instead of eyes. In true Corman form, this Gothic film has an impressive set and showcases Corman's masterful talent in making a grandiose film despite a small budget. 

The age of the movie adds to the welcomed creepy factor acting like real cobwebs left untouched in a haunted house attraction. 

This movie is a return to something dark, in true Poe and Lovecraft fashion, and is more serious in tone than the previous film before it. 

Also. in true Corman/Poe fashion, the story ends with a large gothic looking home going up in flames. It's the signature on a priceless art piece.