Horrorfest 2022 Presents: The Raven (1963, Roger Corman)

I finally watched Roger Corman’s 1963 horror comedy classic The Raven, which is a delightful movie with a great cast. When Jack Nicholson is a supporting actor in this movie you know you have some stars, that’s for sure. Vincent Price and Peter Lorre play sorcerers battling Boris Karloff in a battle of wits, powers, and even manners. Hazel Court plays Price’s wife who may still be alive, and Olive Sturgess is Price’s daughter. The movie uses the Edgar Allan Poe legendary poem The Raven as it’s main basis, although of course the rest of the movie has nothing to do with the actual story. Richard Matheson wrote the film, so that’s why it has so much good natured and fun humor combined with fantasy and horror movie elements.

In fact this is probably more of a dark comedy than a horror movie, still I counted it as such anyways because this is my Horrorfest and I do what I want. Price vs Karloff is great and all, yet the movie works the best when Lorre and Price are bickering amongst each other back and forth. While Corman and Price made better Poe movies than this one, I think it’s up there amongst their best works and it’s beyond fun to watch. The castle setting is perfect for this movie, and the chair wizard battle scene is marvelous in every way. I saw this thanks to Tubi, and I’m happy to check off another Price movie. It’s a shame he was never nominated for an Oscar.

Horrorfest 2020 Presents: The Masque of the Red Death (1964, Roger Corman)

Throughout my years of horror watching, I have marveled at the fact that there are 1960s movies that can disturb and even scare me. You would think that movies way older than me wouldn’t have that effect, yet the decade gave us many a good chiller picture. Well The Masque of the Red Death is easily one that left me uneasy very much, and made my skin crawl. This is a film depicting evil of all kinds, and it almost seems to revel in the cruelty of mankind. I’m glad my dad didn’t let me watch this on AMC when I was a kid-it would have given me nightmares.

It doesn’t help that we are currently in a pandemic that has swept the land. Just like the red death that has taken over the land ruled over by devil worshiper Prince Prospero, played with evil relish by Vincent Price. This might be his best role, or at least his most unforgiving one. Price takes the part and dials it up to 100, resulting a role that is both memorizing and very creepy. Jane Asher is also great as Francesca, the ginger peasant girl he forces to be a part of his court.

This film also has Hazel Court, Nigel Green, and Patrick Magee, all playing different roles of good and evil. The cinematography is marvelous yet it is the film’s gorgeous set design that really caught my eye. The film uses colors like any good or great horror film, and this is easily going into my Top 100 Horror films list when I’m done with October. I don’t know if I have the stomach to view it again though, and I thank Shudder for gathering a nice batch of Vincent Price films to watch in time for Halloween.

It’s Hammer Time Presents: The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959, Terence Fisher)

Operating as another one of the studios famous mad scientist movies, The Man Who Could Cheat Death has some of Terence Fisher’s usually strong visual style of film making that is the reason why he is the best out of the studios’ stable of directors at the height of its popularity. This film is well made and also is a tad creepy, as the title character turns out to be a monster as a result of his desire to live forever. Georges Bonnet is arrogant, intelligent, murderous and yet utterly charming. Without the parathyroid glands he takes from his victims Georges will finally die after living for over a 100 years. His mentor, Prof. Ludwig Weiss, refuses to help and therefore Georges has to force Pierre Gerard to perform the operation that will enable Georges to continue living forever. A scene that shows what happens to Georges’ victims is rather eerie, aimed at being terrifying and featuring plenty of green. Its almost as if Georges was an alien instead of just a man who thanks to science has found the secret of eternal life. This gift is of course not without a steep price.

Its a bit strange seeing Christopher Lee in a non-monster/evil person role, and he does a fine job here as Pierre, the doctor who unless he aids Georges will suffer the loss of the woman the two men love, Janine Dubois (played by the lovely and talented Hazel Court).  Anton Diffring is fantastic as Georges, giving life to a man who has become evil in his quest to never die. His fate becomes sealed by different forces, and the finale is rather violent and intense, as are most endings to Hammer Studios movies. This film is rather good also for its discussion on what long life, especially possibly living forever, can do to a person. In a key scene Ludwig and Georges argue about the surgery, with Ludwig mentioning that the years have changed Georges for the worse, not for the better. It almost reminds me of some newer Doctor Who episodes where the Doctor’s companions tell him to never travel alone, and how the Doctor often reflects that living so long has turned him into a different man completely.

Some argue that this movie is too heavy on dialogue, yet I like how Fisher sets up his more dramatic elements. Plus the killings are properly horrific and there is plenty of suspense in the final act. I do want to view the original version of this film, titled The Man In Half Moon Street and compare the two films. Hammer Studios was usually quite good at making remarkably entertaining remakes that either channeled the spirits of the originals or offered a new twist on previous material.