The Premature Burial

So riddled w/ plotholes I want to read the short story just to see if it's equally bad. & the 1-note storyline (a man fears being buried alive & others try to calm him down) offers nothing compelling (except the over-the-top escape hatch tomb) to distract from many questions like why does Milland have to destroy his perfect tomb to behave normally? Did he plan on killing his wife's dad? Why? How does he know his wife planned it all? How could she know what would happen? & his useless sister:WTF?

Guy Carrell (for about 60 minutes): "I'm scared of being buried alive, i'm terribly scared of premature burial!". [goes cataleptic] Doctor (after 5 seconds): "Yep, he's definitely dead. 100% sure".

Another pleasurable piece of Poe horror from the smoke machine master himself, Mr. Corman. I really quite like this, even if some elements strain believability.

65.

It drags a bit in the middle and doesn't completely make sense, but it is strangely creepy right up to the end.

Roger Corman #7

There's something Hitchcockian about this one's approach that makes it feel very different from the Price efforts. Not only is Ray Milland a more regular leading man but it was written more for Milland. Hazel Court is enchanting as ever in here as well. A welcome and refreshing departure from the Poe series.

The story is much better than the finished product.

Another fun Poe adaptation by Roger Corman. I wasn't familiar with the story upon which it's based, so I can't speak as to the movie's fidelity to the source material. I wasn't expecting for the film to take the turn that it did in its last block, but I enjoyed the direction that Corman took. The gothic look to the film- lots of bare trees and mist- was great.

Another atmospheric Poe Cycle film (missing Price, but Milland is serviceable). The Rube Goldberg crypt is morbidly hilarious. The last fifteen minutes or so makes no sense whatsoever, which detracts from the whole buildup.

One of Corman's less effective Poe adaptations. There's a definite sense of deja vu, and the foggy, studio bound "locations" don't work as well this time around. Milland and Court give good performances, but it's a bit flat.

Obsessão Macabra estreava há 60 anos na Itália. É ótimo como todo Corman do período, mas o Milland não é o Vincent, embora o Price não tivesse o perfil para o papel e Milland sabia uma coisa ou outra em interpretar obsessivos vide Farrapo Humano, um Corman/Poe não é a mesma coisa sem o Price. Box Versátil Edgar Allan Poe no Cinema Volume 1.

I enjoyed Carrell's private tomb, but that was about it.

"Just because Corman is incapable, which he is, of making a Bergman film, it's unfortunate that that didn't happen." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2015/12/episode-84-edgar-allan-poe-adaptations.html

Milland is clearly too old for the role, but so would Price have been, so I'm inclined to just let it slide. He's really quite good ... less dramatic than Price would have been, but really sells his fear and anxiety. I'm not sure that the film's final reveal really makes a ton of sense, but it's genuinely surprising, so I'm inclined to just cut it a lot of slack. Francis Ford Coppola was an uncredited assistant director.

The only of Corman's Poe cycle not to feature Vincent Price, his absence is notable as this is one of the weaker ones. It's still not bad, but doesn't stand out like some of the others.