Review of Madhouse (1974) by James O — 15 Jun 2011

My instant queue on Netflix was overflowing, so I decided to just watch some movies that I hadn't had time to get around to see. The first one I watched was Madhouse. All I knew about it was that it had Vincent Price as an aging movie star, and that was it.

Well, I actually really enjoyed Madhouse, even if I predicted the killer from the very beginning. I don't know a movie where Vincent Price is NOT phenomenal, and this is no exception. The murders are all pretty mean, like a decapitation or a guy getting crushed by a canopy on a bed.

Peter Cushing also makes an appearance as Price's writer friend. There's also one scene where Price's character is getting interviewed on TV and they show some clips of films his character has bee in, so they show clips of old Price movies like The Pit and the Pendulum and The Fall of the House of Usher.

I found it to be a nice touch. There's also this weird character who used to be an actress in Paul Toomes (Price) film, but now she's horrifically burned and spends her time in the basement of a mansion (the "madhouse" of the title) with her pet spiders.

It's really entertaining, with thanks in no small part to Price's performance. is this campy? Oh yeah. Is this fun? Heck yes!