Review of Madhouse (1974) by Tim S — 30 Mar 2012

And here we are again with another Vincent Price classic. I call it as such because the film is slightly autobigoraphical in nature, but disguised as a horror film (or even a giallo, if you ask me). Madhouse doesn't necessarily take place in its namesake, but it's more about Hollywood, the pressures of performing and the murder that tags along with all of that, so actually the title is somewhat appropriate.

It's been highly publicized that this film is looked down on because it features both Vincent Price and Peter Cushing in lead roles, but they have hardly any screen time together. To me it's one of the film's strengths.

If it had been that way, then it would have been a very different film altogether, and the focus as an audience would be strictly on that (as it was anyway, I guess). I like that the film focuses on its story and not the politics involved in the making of it.

The story itself is quite good, save for a couple of cheesy moments, but it has an underlying theme of actors under pressure, which is something that I'm sure Vincent Price and Peter Cushing could relate to quite well.

I found it to be smart and fun, and certainly different from other work from both Vincent Price and Peter Cushing, and that alone is worth the time to see it. Be sure to watch out for the use of footage from earlier Vincent Price films featuring Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone.