Director: Reginald Le Borg
Year: 1963
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural Slasher
Plot:
Gathered at a judge's funeral, his friends and family learn that he kept a diary which details how he gained the idea of becoming increasingly paranoid about a prisoner possessing him to commit murder, and he must deal with the issue before more around him are killed.
Review:
This was a rather fun and engaging effort. The main positive found here is how much this one plays up how Vincent Price has always been a quality name when it comes to horror, and this film is no exception. The film plays to his strengths and gives him about ninety percent of the screen time, and he doesn't seem to be chewing the scenery as he delivers a stellar performance as the possessed judge who has no idea why he is being tormented by the spirit of a man he had no real connection with. Giving him the real-life hobbies and attributes allows this to be quite fun with the high-end community this one dwells in, as that gives the film plenty of room to work through, as this is a pretty creepy film.
The real horror of this film rests on the fact that Price is under the influence of the madman for his killings, so his appearance at his victim's place is more unsettling than it should be, from overturning chairs to the way the ghost makes his sudden appearances, usually by the sudden openings of the windows with high winds and a demonic voice. These appear at the oddest times, so they do make their appearance known if need be, from the appearance in the jail cell to the surprise ambush in the apartment, and the various verbal battles with the figure taunting him to continue. That as well leads into the finale, which includes the rather unique and enjoyable manner of how the threat is finally dealt with, and leads this into a rather nice action-packed finale that includes the utterly Gothic burning-down-the-house conclusion, which gives this a nice bit of life at the right time.
As these hold this one up, there were only two small gripes about this film. The biggest one of these is that the eyes of the possessed are established by them glowing green, which is a particularly corny effect. They don't emote the horror they should've as this one turns into a comical effect where it continually seems to be obsessed with Price's eyes, which in the film is played off as silly more than anything. It is a creepy effect, but it simply doesn't work at all because of the goofiness of the effect. The only other gripe is that there is never any reason for the people to become possessed. Normally, a film is given a purpose for what happens in them, but in here, there really is no reason why Price becomes possessed, or why it chose him. These two small, meaningless gripes are all that lower this one beyond his best efforts in the genre.
Overview: ****.5/5
An unnecessarily maligned enjoyable film, this is one of the finest entries in his catalog and manages to get quite a lot of likable elements to it, while only being let down by slight issues here. Those who enjoy this era of the genre, who appreciate the style attempted here, or who are fans of the creative crew will have a lot to like, while most others out there should heed caution.
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