Review of The Haunted Palace (1963) by Allan C — 28 Dec 2013
Another masterpiece of the genre between three greats: Poe, Price and Corman, The Haunted Palace is perhaps the most atmospheric of the American International Pictures' Poe film releases. It shows Vincent Price in great form, playing dual characters, and features a lot of spooky visual settings, which are much darker than usual.
It should come as no surprise as the story concerns a warlock (Price) who is burned to death by a town mob in the 1700's. Before his death, he places a curse on the villagers, which causes their latter offspring to be born with birth defects.
His great, great grandson (also Price) in the 1800's inherits the home of his satanic dead relative, only to be taken possession of by him and get up to his old devilish tricks again. The best thing about the film is the score, which is quite fantastic, and probably the best score of the Poe films.
As mentioned the atmosphere is also great, but the story and the pace are a bit lax. It's still a terrific film. Maybe not the best, but definitely worth the time if you're a fan.
This review of The Haunted Palace (1963) was written by Allan C on 28 Dec 2013.
The Haunted Palace has generally received positive reviews.
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