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The Haunted Palace, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Haunted Palace
Year of Release: 1963
Directed By: Roger Corman
Starring: Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney Jr, Frank Maxwell
Genre: Horror

Overview:
Based on an Edgar Allan Poe poem, this Roger Corman chiller starring Vincent Price is "filled with terror and macabre events [and] guaranteed to bring shudders" (Boxoffice)! A perversely evil 18th-century warlock is burned at the stake. A century after the human barbecue, the warlock's great-great-grandson returns to the family castle where he falls under Gramps' ghost's spell...beginning the evil all over again.

My Thoughts:
Vincent Price meets H.P. Lovecraft.  Two great things that go great together!  What more could I ask for?  I adore Price, and Lovecraft has long been a favorite as well.  Sure, AIP markets this as a Poe picture, but it's actually based in Lovecraft's story with Poe's poem tacked on to market his name.  I suppose Poe was much more commercially known in 63 than Lovecraft.

This is a really good interpretation of Lovecraft's story.  The atmosphere is great.  Loads and loads of props to art director Daniel Haller, whom Corman says in an interview deliberately tried to make the exteriors seem claustrophobic and the interiors unnaturally spacious.  Haller's work really sets the tone of the film, and Lovecraft's atmosphere over gore aesthetic really shines.  Price, of course, is great, as is horror icon Lon Chaney Jr. in a supporting role.  The ambivalent ending only makes the film better, as you leave uncertain that evil has been destroyed.  Price plays it perfectly.

If you love Vincent Price like I do, this is a must see.  Highly recommended.  On a note to the blu-ray, this is as beautiful as the other two films I've watched from the Price sets, and the PBS intro/exit is in the best shape for this film thus far.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 4/5

2015 Horror Movie Count: 5

(From Horror/Halloween Marathon 2015 on October 10th, 2015)

Rear Window, a review by Dragonfire

Rear Window None of Hitchcock's films has ever given a clearer view of his genius for suspense than Rear Window. When professional photographer J.B "Jeff" Jeffries (James Stewart) is confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg, he becomes obsessed with watching the private dramas of his neighbors play out across the courtyard. When he suspects a salesman may have murdered his nagging wife, Jeffries enlists the help of his glamorous socialite girlfriend (Grace Kelly) to investigate the highly suspicious chain of events...Events that ultimately lead to one of the most memorable and gripping endings in all of film history. My Thoughts I think I have seen this one more than any other Hitchcock movie.  I love this movie.  I think everything about it works very well and it is a highly entertaining movie.  It has held up very well and is definitely worth seeing.  The plot isn't that complicated, but it works.  It makes sense for Jeffries to watch what his various neighbors are up to while he's stuck in the cast.  That is something that most people have done - watched what a neighbor was doing in some situation - and the movie just expands on that.  People can relate to doing that.  I also think it makes sense that Jeffires gets wrapped up in trying to figure out if a murder has happened. This is one of the Hitchcock movies with limited locations.  Jeffries is stuck in his small apartment for the entire movie.  He's confined even more since he is in a wheelchair thanks to his broken leg.  He spends most of his time looking out his windows, watching what the neighbors are doing.  Everyone has their windows open since they are in the middle of a heat wave..this was before air conditioning was that common.  All sorts of things are going on in the other apartments, though usually only parts of situations are seen.  That does help to make the mystery stronger and make the movie more interesting.  Some of what happens does progress slower since a lot of it involves Jeffries watching the neighbors, but there are some very suspenseful scenes in the movie.  When Lisa decides to go investigate, it is very suspenseful, as is another scene later in the movie.  The suspense is done wonderfully well. Lisa and Jeffries have been seeing each other when the movie begins and he is a bit upset because she is hoping for marriage while he claims he isn't ready.  At one point, he is deliberately looking for reasons why a marriage between them wouldn't work.  There's nothing too explicit shared about their relationship, though things are hinted at.  I do think the relationship adds to the movie and Lisa's presence helps to keep things interesting. Many of the characters shown are the neighbors and they aren't developed.  The audience is restricted to seeing only what Jeffries sees, and they only know superficial things about them.  That works perfectly for the plot.  Jeffries is a good main character and likable overall even though he does show a few flaws every so often.  I really like Jimmy Stewart in the part.  Lisa is a beautiful, elegant woman and there is contrast between her and Jeffries.  I do think the relationship works even with the contrast.  I think Grace Kelly is wonderful in the part.  She has some wonderful moments in the movie, including the first moment she is shown.  She is just perfect in the part.  Stella is a nurse who stops in to check on Jeffries each day.  She is very vocal in her opinions about some things and she gets pulled into certain things as well.  Thelma Ritter is wonderful in the part. I didn't watch the extras this time, but I remember them being very interesting.  There is one focused on the restoration of the movie and how the one kiss scene was almost lost because of how bad the original film was.  That scene looks good on the DVD, though there is a difference in the quality.  I do wonder if it could be made to look better on Blu-ray.  Once this is out on Blu - I'm sure it will be eventually - I am almost certain that I will be making another trip to double dip city. This movie is wonderful and I still really enjoy it when I watch it. I did get a review posted on Epinions back in 2008. Rear Window

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on June 30th, 2010)

"Due South" marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

One Good Man
This episode is not bad... but there isn't really anything special about it either. This one feels like nothing more then a filler episode to me.

My Rating:

One Good Man

The return of Mackenzie King, the reporter from Episode 2. I think Pete was looking forward to her return. This time though the character is not played by a brunette but by a blonde (sorry Pete  ). Maria Bello actually. (ER; Coyote Ugly).

Pretty good episode. Nothing great though. We do learn a bit more about Ray's background.

Rating:

Yes... I was looking forward to her return... and I don't like that they had to replace the actress playing her. Don't get me wrong... I don't really dislike blondes... I just prefer red heads and brunettes. Though they should have gotten a brunette for continuity sake! 

(From "Due South" marathon on August 24th, 2009)