La Malédiction d'Arkham

Roger Corman rarely gets the credit he deserves. While best known for the dozens of schlocky exploitation movies he was involved in as a producer, he also directed several underrated films, including his excellent Edgar Allen Poe series in the 1960s. 'The Haunted Palace' is really only a part of that series in name only. It takes its title from a Poe poem, but it's plot is (very loosely) adapted from H.P. Lovecraft's 'The Strange Case Of Charles Dexter Ward' by Charles Beaumont. Beaumont, a talented writer of short stories also scripted Corman's best Poe movie 'The Masque Of The Red Death'. As I said this is only loosely based on Lovecraft's original source material (a slightly more faithful version can be seen in Dan O'Bannon's 'The Resurrected', also recommended), but I'm sure most Lovecraft buffs will get a kick out of watching this, which is as far as I know the very first movie inspired by his fiction. Vincent Price stars in a duel role of Ward and his ancestor Joseph Curwen, and gives an enjoyable performance. Price really seemed to like working with Corman and gave the director some of his best work. I watched an old VHS print of this, but, like the Poe movies, it still looked like another great effort for a very limited budget. The supporting cast is worth noting - the beautiful Debra Paget, and legendary character actors Lon Chaney ('Spider Baby'), Elisha Cook, Jr ('The Killing') and Leo Gordon ('Kitten With A Whip'). 'The Haunted Palace' is another excellent Corman movie that still has a lot of entertainment value. Highly recommended to all Vincent Price and H.P. Lovecraft fans.

The darkest of Roger Corman's Poe chillers, though this yarn owes more to HP Lovecraft than Edgar Allan's poetry. Vincent Price gives his all time greatest performance in a dual role as possessed and possessor, aided by a wonderfully literate script by Charles Beaumont. It gives Price no leeway to indulge his tendency to sometimes ham it up.

Here, he keeps tight dramatic restraint on himself, making his gradual transformation from kindly innocent to the reincarnation of his warlock ancestor a virtuoso portrayal of inner turmoil overwhelmed by fiendish evil. Corman even provides a last good role for Lon Chaney Jr (as he'd done previously for Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone) as a ghoulish henchman.

Undeniably, 'The Haunted Palace' does have a rather ponderous pace and music score that makes the film seem stretched as Price wanders down just one more hidden corridor. Floyd Crosby's widescreen cinematography is also unrelenting, capturing the drab, muted blue and brown pastels of a Puritan village plagued by witchcraft. And the barely glimpsed green demon lurking inside the vault was perhaps a mistake.

But Corman's skill on a 15-day schedule and a cheap budget is evident throughout. He introduces Chaney in a splendidly done sudden shock appearance that will still make unwary audiences jump (asked why he is preparing a room in the dark, he tells Price, "One becomes accustomed to the darkness... here").

True Corman fans will rank this chilling piece of American Gothic among his best. Not least where an exasperated Chaney asks the possessed Price when he will be satisfied avenging himself on the descendants of those who burned him at the stake. "Not until this village is a graveyard," Price promises Chaney sibilantly. "Not until they too have felt the kiss of fire on their soft flesh... all of them."

Vincent Price once again stars in a Roger Corman produced and directed film, this time only partly inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, but more directly by H.P. Lovecraft, with Price playing two roles, first that of Joseph Curwen, an evil warlock who is burned to death by the angry citizens of the New England town of Arkham, then 110 years later his descendent Charles Dexter Ward, who arrives there with his lovely wife Ann(Debra Paget) to inherit the "palace", but instead finds that his evil ancestor wants to possess him in order to avenge himself on the town, then take over his body permanently...

Eerie and atmospheric tale combines both authors' stories well, with effective direction and acting. Still a bit protracted and slow, but otherwise a first-rate thriller with an ambiguous end.

Roger Corman directed this film in the midst of his Poe cycle. It has most of the typical features of those films. Lots of eerie atmosphere, swirling fogs, and wonderfully painted back-drops, a fine acting troupe headed by the incomparable Vincent Price, and ably assisted by a sober-looking Lon Chaney Jr. and a beautiful Debra Paget, a fairly tight script, a marvellous score by Ronald Stein, and always the look of a lot of money spent despite the knowledge that you know it was cheaply made. The film is titled based on a small Poe poem found within "The Fall of the House of Usher" and this film has little to do with it. It really is much more of an H. P. Lovecraft film as its main protagonist is called Charles Dexter Ward(Price), but also bears little relation to that great story. It does, however, incorporate many Lovecraftian touches. The names of characters and the town(Arkham) come from the works of Lovecraft, as does the plot thread dealing with an elder god of sorts in a well for the purpose of breeding and the fabled book of supernatural knowledge, the Necromonicon. Despite the complexity and borrowing nature of the script, the story makes sense and is entertaining. Vincent Price plays a man with two personalities, and he does so brilliantly. As always, he is a joy to watch. The rest of the cast is very good. One scene in particular stands out as Price and Paget walk alone in the streets of Arkham only to be slowly surrounded by human mutants. The scene is quite eerie with all its swirling fog, and creeping pace.

Roger Corman's 'Poe' series is one of the all time highlights of cinema. With low budgets, great stories and Vincent Price; Corman has created a legacy that is hard to react to with anything but admiration, and it's certainly a style of film-making that will never be utilised again. This film is, actually, not based on a story by Edgar Allen Poe; but one by the almost equally excellent HP Lovecraft. You will notice Poe's name on the posters, but that's nothing more than a ploy by American International to ensure that people went to see it. However, whoever wrote it is inconsequential, because it's incredible whatever. From the moment it begins, with an incredibly malevolent Vincent Price being burned for witchcraft shortly after putting a curse on the village of Arkham in one of the man's finest monologues ever; this film grabs you doesn't let go until the words 'The End' appear on your screen. The subject of witchcraft and burning witches has, and will always be absolutely fascinating and this film capitalises on that. Adding to the intrigue is some otherworldly creatures in the basement that Price feeds young women to, and a village full of deformed residents! Lovecraft's Necronomicon joins the party as well...

I don't know how much American International paid Vincent Price for making this and other Corman films, but whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Price holds the viewer's attention like no other actor has ever, and probably will ever do again. He handles his dual role fantastically, and switches between the darkly macabre and an innocent naivety at the drop of a hat. Also joining in the fun is fellow horror legend, Lon Chaney; who puts in a delightful performance and provides most of the scares! Corman does an absolutely fantastic job of building atmosphere in this movie, and the village of Arkham is constantly foreboding and intriguing. The use of smoke is right on cue; as is the music, which is massively over the top; but very, very effective. The problem with many horror films is that in spite of being excellent, they're often not very frightening; but there's one sequence in this film that sees a bunch of deformed villagers surround Price and his wife that is positively nightmare inducing! I have nothing but respect and admiration for this picture as it is an immense achievement in Corman's Poe cycle, and don't let the fact that it's not a Poe story put you off - if you're a fan of Price, Corman or just low budget atmospheric horror in general, see this film NOW!