Madhouse (1974)

Strong and Moving!

hyped garbage

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Vincent Price not only parodies his own career but salutes the whole genre as well in this look at the modern world through the eyes of Gothic horror. Old colleagues Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone get honored through their then recent deaths through clips of several of their horror films, and while this marked the end of Price's American International films, he had nearly 29 years left in his own career that included film, stage and TV, as well as various other forms of art. Paired here with Peter Cushing, Price still gets the spotlight as the complicated horror movie star whose series of films as Dr. Death have seemingly driven him mad. But is he the fiend, or is it someone else?Cushing actually has little footage as an actor of horror films who instead became a writer of the series, and hints are dropped that he could be the maniac. But there are other suspects too, among them a former female co-star who has obviously gone mad due to her own frightful memories and unrequited love. The film is bloody and gruesome but not needlessly so, unlike some other films that took the frights a bit too far. Its ultimately pretty predictable but a nice ending to the lengthy career Price had at the greatest B studio following the end of the golden era of movie making. At times, Price overacts a bit and seems to be taking what Karloff had done in Targets and giving it his own touch. There is a persistent blonde who stalks Price and I couldn't wait for her to be dispatched. Perhaps that is the point of the film made through a speech Price gives that we all have a deep seated desire to see violence even if we are unable to commit it.

Madhouse with Vincent Price was actually pretty good. There were some moments where I think the story went dry but everything else was OK. The acting was good, the sets were cool looking, and the eerie music just had me on edge for the most part of the movie. But lets add something else awesome to the pot, Peter Cushing! What can I say about Cushing, he's a terrific actor. From his roles as Van Helsing in Dracula to Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars. Now take that and add Vincent Price and what do you get, the greatest acting duo in a movie. Despite some mediocre moments, the movie was well worth it. I got this movie in the Vince Price 5 movie pack and that's saying something. Its an average horror, and replay value for me is average as well. Overall this gets a 6 out of 10.

Just one of many amazingly idiotic thrillers. Won't I ever learn? In my defense, I hadn't seen one in years, and I did think this was a horror film. Otherwise I doubt I would have seen it. It starts off promisingly, but soon starts spiraling rapidly into abject stupidity. And a painfully predictable "surprise end-twist". Who didn't see it coming that Cushing was the killer? The foster parents of the second murdered woman: did they escape from a Monty Python set? They grin slyly right after being questioned by the police (following their daughter's murder), then they follow Price around like some deranged out-of-work mimes, and then lash out at the defeneseless viewer with that over-the-top performance when they actually attempt to blackmail Price with the watch. How the hell does the watch prove Price killed the girl? All it might prove is that she stole it from him. Naturally, Price doesn't give them the time of day, let alone money, in this utterly bizarre and pointless scene.All of the murders had been committed within a rather laughably complex set of circumstances. In other words, you would need a team of a dozen carefully orchestrated murderers – with magical powers including foretelling the future – in order to carry them out exactly as planned, not some old fogey such as Cushing.The murder of the fourth blonde, for example, required that no-one be roaming around the BBC building – in broad daylight – when the killer was first chasing Price and then the girl. Dumber still, Price doesn't immediately report the attack on himself, but first does a live TV interview, which is so convenient for the killer (yet again) coz he commits the other murder more easily. The murder of the third blond required that she be isolated from everyone else right at the time when the murderer needed her to be alone. The murder of the second blond required Price to be hypnotized by his own movie. Hang on! Just wait right there! Where did Herbert (Cushing), a mere actor, suddenly get such divine powers from? This was never explained, in this silly mess of a film.Did anyone really believe for a second that Price wasn't being set up all along? I didn't understand why they would set up the story as a whodunit mystery, but then give away the murderer's identity after only 20 minutes. That seemed a rather daft way to construct a screenplay. It was quite obvious that it was Cushing (as soon as he played Price that old movie), so the only remaining question was Cushing's motive, but the writer thought he'd be stretching out the mystery by adding several more murders – all of which were superfluous because by that time anyone could have guessed the killer.Of course, I knew that Cushing's motive would be something typically daft, because what common motive could there possibly be for the current murders and the old murder he had committed years ago when he had helped advance Price's career? Well, the explanation is as dumb as I'd expected: Cushing had wanted to play Dr.Death himself, all along, hence was jealous of Price getting the role instead, hence the mayhem. Duuuh. Nevermind the fact that it was clearly explained at the outset that Cushing willingly gave up an acting career for one in writing. Hence this movie's entire premise stands on rather shaky legs.The less said about that entire nonsense surrounding the character of Faye, the deranged woman living in Cushing's basement, the better.Still, a couple of very attractive blonds in the movie. Unfortunately, both get bumped off very quickly.

The legendary Vincent Price lands himself the plumb part of veteran horror star Paul Toombes, who returns to acting after spending several years in a sanitarium. Toombes has trouble distinguishing between himself and his most popular creepy role of Dr. Death. Someone starts committing a series of murders while dressed up as Dr. Death. Is Toombes the killer? Or is it someone else? Director Jim Clark, working from a clever script and inspired by Ken Levisan and Greg Morrison, pokes plenty of sly sardonic fun at Price's famous sinister horror star persona, expertly mines a wickedly amusing line in sharp sarcastic humor (the barbed digs at ruthless and selfish showbiz types are especially spot-on), and does a sound job of creating and maintaining a good degree of spooky mysterious atmosphere. Moreover, the able acting from a bang-up cast helps out a lot: the always terrific Peter Cushing as Toombes' loyal writer friend Herbert Flay, Robert Quarry as sleazy producer Oliver Quayle, Adrienne Corri as the bitter, unhinged, and grotesquely disfigured Faye Carstairs Flay, Natasha Pyne as sweet PR specialist Julia Wilson, Linda Hayden as brash opportunistic aspiring actress Elizabeth Peters, and Michael Parkinson as a hearty TV interviewer. The generous use of choice clips from such vintage 60's Roger Corman chillers as "House of Usher" and "The Haunted Palace" greatly enhances the considerable macabre merriment. Although they only appear in a few scenes with each other, it's nonetheless a real treat to see horror icons Price and Cushing acting in a movie together. The ending is deliciously nutty and ironic. Ray Parslow's polished cinematography gives the picture an impressive glossy look. Douglas Gamley's spirited shivery score hits the shuddery spot. An immensely entertaining fright flick.