Welp, in two days it will have been precisely seven (7) years since my last post. Many things have changed. Dear God. But it turns out I still love movies.
I'm a Shudder subscriber. From my perspective, their programming kinda sucks. But at least they have the good sense to make a few of the luscious and mesmerizing American International Pictures Roger Corman / Vincent Price Edgar Allan Poe cycle of films available at a time of year when they really should be using that platform to serve up little else.
Where to begin, what to say. For atmosphere, style, class, mouth-watering “period attire,” deliciously sinister theatrics, a demented lead played by one of horror’s greatest icons at the height of his powers, a lush score, and genuinely chilling set pieces, this handsome, lean (79 minute run-time) 1960 macabre masterpiece featuring all of four actors puts most of the shit shoved onto our plates nowadays by Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, et al. to shame. There I said it.
Corman and Price conspire to ratchet up the tension right to the end and it’s all offset by just the right pitch-perfect dash of camp. And, boy howdy, what a frenzied, rip-roaring finale.
Guess they don’t make horror like they used to. But we’ll always have this viscerally satisfying take on The Fall of the House of Usher.
🎥🍿🎃💀🪓⚰️🍁🍂
