Review of Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) by Tapani M — 09 Nov 2018

The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) is one of the worst adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's short story by the same name.

First of all. It's not the story from the book. Many horror films from that time period typically bought the rights to use a name of a famous book and just made a film which sometimes was close to actual book and sometimes not. This film is an example of the latter. There is only one similarity - an ape.

Scenes are repetitive. Most of the movie depicts Herpert Lom running around in a ridiculous black cloak and a mask on his face. Sometimes he sneaks in a lady's bedroom or throws some acid from a cute little bottle on someones face. He has a dwarf minion who really has no function in story. Story line is allover the place and the film viewers are either puzzled of what is happening on the screen or bored out of their minds.

Acting is both lame and overly dramatic. Naturally women are helpless and dumb as a doorbell. Bad acting can't be explained to be a style typical for the time of the films production. For example Willard and The Nightcomers from the same year are totally on the different quality level.

Don't waste your time on this turkey - read Poe's original story instead.