Book #5 - Walker Percy’s The Message in the Bottle: How Queer Man is, How Queer Language is, and What One Has to Do with the Other (1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1967, 1972, 1975) - 327 pgs. (Read b/t: Feb. 25, 2013 - Mar. 12, 2013)
Charles Brown & Amos Milburn - “I Wanna Go Home” (1959)
House on Haunted Hill (1959) - dir. William Castle; starring Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart
Vincent Price is the man. He is one of the great all-time suspense/horror actors also. This film ranks up in one of his best horror films. This is a devilishly delightful tale of intrigue and horror. Unlike its 1999 remake, this film does not settle for cheap thrills but instead plays on the insecurities of the audience. We are the ones that are placing our own value of horror on the events of the movie, because not one ghost, ghoul or long-legged beastie appears in the film.
The setup for the film is great where Price’s character has specifically invited certain people to a haunted house party and if they make it through the night then he will pay them 10,000 dollars each. The absolute genius of the film is the nastiness and seething hatred that is apparent between Price and his wife. The dialogue is ridiculously sharp and cutting between these lovers. And, in the end, we find that the explanation for the night lies exactly where the film started, in the midst of a lover’s spat. This is an exceptional example of an early horror movie that is smart and full of suspense and tension.
The Bat (1959) - dir. Crane Wilbur; starring Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead
It is films like this that present the slasher in non-supernatural terms. Where Michael Myers kept coming back from the dead, the Bat was mortal. When the premise of this film is explained on the back, images of a shadowy figure who is never revealed by the camera comes to mind, not what actually appears in the film. A man with a solid black mask over his face and gloves with sharp claws on the ends of the fingers in order to rip out the throats of his victims. Truly a spark of genius on the part of the director to be able to show the villain, in full, without giving away his identity. There are some truly well done scenes in the film, unfortunately the often hokey murder mystery story propping the film up plays like an elementary game of Clue. Vincent Price is the most authentic character in the movie and that is simply because he is being himself: creepy!
Overall, this is not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, but do not plan on being scared so much as entertained by the cheesiness of the acting and the occasional scene that does create a dark, sinister feeling. A much more skilled director could have made the whole film dark, but, as was often the case with movies during this time, the comedic flair often won out. The one distinguishing factor about this film compared to others during this time was the truly strong female characters who were not afraid of facing The Bat. They had no use for running of the stairs only to get murdered as was often the case in the slasher genre.
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Vincent Price is the man. He is one of the great all-time suspense/horror actors also. I dare to say that this film may rank up in one of his best horror films as well. This is a devilishly delightful tale of intrigue and horror. Unlike its 1999 remake, this film does not settle for cheap thrills but instead plays on the insecurities of the audience. We are the ones that are placing our own value of horror on the events of the movie, because not one ghost, ghoul or long-legged beastie appears in the film.
The setup for the film is great where Price’s character has specifically invited certain people to a haunted house party and if they make it through the night then he will pay them 10,000 dollars each. The absolute genius of the film is the nastiness and seething hatred that is apparent between Price and his wife. The dialogue is ridiculously sharp and cutting between these lovers. And, in the end, we find that the explanation for the night lies exactly where the film started, in the midst of a lover’s spat. This is an exceptional example of an early horror movie that is smart and full of suspense and tension.
