The Haunted Palace (1963)

Best movie of this year hands down!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Arriving in town to inherit a family-owned castle, a man and his wife find the local villagers warning them away in fear of a curse about an ancestor crucified and burned for being a witch, and they soon fear it has returned and set out to stop him from reliving his actions.This is one of Price's more underrated efforts. One of the most impressive elements here is that this one really joins the others in the others in the series by making the mood in here very apparent from the outset. The opening scene is extremely moody, with the large amounts of fog, the dark night, and the angry mob make for great Gothic undertones while parlaying the perfect set-up used for the story of witchcraft and secret curses displaying the right action for the sequence as well. That is also stated elsewhere, as the de-rigeur castle is one of the better ones from the time period that looks suitably spectacular with the long hallways leading off into the distance, the large elaborate and brightly-detailed paintings, cobweb filled rooms, candle-lit rooms and large, open Gothic chamber-spaces also adding to it's charm and are all mood- inducing ways of getting the best out of the film, and it works marvelously. Likewise, with the cliff-top locale and the constant, raging thunderstorm blaring away in the background it makes for quite an impressive effort. This is aided along nicely by the idea of the curse coming back to the present-day inhabitants which makes for a great overall viewing experience, and carries on the usual antics found in these types of Gothic efforts. It feels quite modern because of this, and it's hard to believe that it came from the early 60s by going far more into those traditional tropes featured here and even making this quite violent for it's time mixing between the supernatural antics of his curse and the mutants of the original story. The remains of the curse that was left is pretty gruesome to watch, and they have some impressive make-up work as well as seeing several people lit on fire, another is viciously killed, and a corpse is seen in all it's burnt glory which is all quite enjoyable. The ending is pretty exciting, from the secret experiments down in the basement with his resurrection spells leading into the by-now- usual ending of a burning down castle that makes for some nice action sequences as the flames get higher and higher with the fun of the approaching crowd and the chaotic action leading to a fine finale. Finally, getting together Price and Chaney is a great coup and allows for two greats of the genre opportunities for scenery- chewing performances, and both do commendable jobs. There's only one real factor to this one that holds it back which is the somewhat stumbling pace. It moves a little slow compared to most modern horror films as after the promising set-up, the film slows a bit down in the middle section with his gradual descent into possession following their exploration of the castle really taking up a bit too much time than normal. This is the only real complaint about this one.Today's Rating/PG-13: Violence

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.

The Haunted Palace is directed by Roger Corman and adapted to screenplay by Charles Beaumont from H.P. Lovecraft's story, The Case of Charles Dexter. It stars Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney Jr., Frank Maxwell, Milton Parsons, Leo Gordon and Elisha Cook Jr. A Panavision/Pathe Color production, music is by Ronald Stein and cinematography by Floyd Crosby. 1765, Arkham, and Joseph Curwen (Price) is accused of being a Warlock and about to be burnt alive at a tree outside his palatial mansion. Before being set alight he vows vengeance on the town by way of a curse. 100 years later and Charles Dexter Ward (Price) arrives in Arkham with his wife Anne (Paget) after inheriting the Curwen Palace from his great great grandfather, Joseph Curwen...Bsed on Lovecraft's novella with the title taken from a Edgar Allen Poe poem, this is unmistakably a Corman/Price Gothic. From the eerie spider on a web opening, accompanied by Stein's brooding score, we are in no doubt about what lays ahead. The tale is a simple one, Arkham is cursed, which in this case means many of its inhabitants have been born with deformities. The Curwen/Ward home houses secrets and the spirit of the long dead Curwen wants back in on the action by way of possessing gentleman Charlie. Cue vengeance and a good old battle between good and evil.It's how it is dressed up that matters most, we of course know roughly how these narratives work, but you hope for visual splendours and some striking scenes. Thankfully we get both here. The production team are on excellent form, it's a condensed production and there is no doubt that is the case, we know these are sets, but Daniel Haller's design is gorgeous. From the matte drops to the Gothic textures of the street and the Curwen home, it's all so suitably period and rich in atmospheric detail. Corman of course then brings in the mist while Crosby mutes certain colours to accentuate the mood around the town and in the Curwen abode.Though the picture is primarily concerned with psychological beats rather than anything boo jump or shocking, there are some moments of genuine horror as Curwen (in Charlie's body) goes about enacting his revenge. Yet Corman has this glorious knack of keeping things poetic even as the gloom and despondency pervades the narrative. It helps, too, that Price is on immeasurable form, turning in yet another sinister villain performance whilst deftly balancing it with the gentleman aspects of poor Charlie. Lon Chaney compliments Price's turn, as does Paget (what a beautiful bone structured face), even if neither of them are asked to stretch themselves. While it's always nice to see Elisha Cook in the sort of role Hammer would give to Michael Ripper.It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, The Necronomicon angle isn't utilised to potential, the secret creature of the pit proves to be a big disappointment and some of the green faced make-up (used to differentiate between good and bad characters) gets ridiculous, but still the film rises above these problems. It's a cracking Gothic horror that deserves to be better known, a must see for those who have enjoyed the films from the Poe/Corman/Price cycle. 8/10

THP is a strange kind of horror film. Not in its execution, premise, or style – in all these areas it is a very typical 60s (Corman) film - but the fact that it promotes lynch mobs. I have to mention here that I have always been a bit of a fan of lynch mobs myself, considering that LMs have often worked in society's favour, its "victims" usually being murderers and psychopaths who got pretty much what they deserve. Naturally, in this politically correct, hypocritically anti-violence/anti-war lovey-dovey age of hugging-as-a-way-of-solving-all-issues age, lynch mobs are a major no-no, so it is refreshing to see a movie that so honestly supports the lynch mob, even if it is a movie made nearly half a century ago.Just kidding, of course.No, I'm not. Lynch mobs get a bad rap.One would perhaps assume that writing credits which include Lovecraft, Poe and Beaumont would more than suffice to guarantee an above-average horror tale. Alas, there is of course the unmistakable touch of one called Roger Corman to bring down the potential somewhat. THP has the typically Cormanesque padding; the story is too drawn out, with a number of scenes that don't serve the plot as much as they merely re-(re-)establish things that we already know. The occasional tedium starts in the second third and predictable doesn't quite let up until the finale. The problem is that the plot of THP could have fit into a half-hour TV-show episode. But visually nice, has that 60s flair.I was none-too-pleased with the choice of actress to play the damsel-in-distress. They could have done a lot better. I don't know if she was Corman's mistress or someone's niece, but a below-average face is certainly not acceptable in such roles - or any roles.