Director: Jacques Tourneau
Year: 1963
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Horror/Comedy
Plot:
Following the funeral of a friend, a pair of undertakers in business together find themselves in danger of not being able to pay their fees and decide to drum up more business by killing others, but when they have issues with their target, they find themselves targeted by a deadly supernatural figure.
Review:
This one ended up being an absolute blast of an effort. Part of what gives this one its impact is that it works more as a comedy than a horror film, and as such, it ranks as a hilariously funny one. This will keep you laughing for a long time after and is quite enjoyable since it's not what is expected from a Vincent Price movie to be funny, but this was actually much more than expected in this type of movie. So many lines and situations are good for at least a good chuckle. From Lorre never pronouncing Price's name right to his constant bickering with Price's wife to the way he treats Karloff, this film provides a good share of laughs. By Price being drunk half the film, his ramblings are perhaps the best of the quips, though Karloff has some good old man lines. Lorre even has some great slapstick scenes, accidentally bungling missions they undertake, from breaking into houses without anyone waking anyone up, sneaking into a locked office and back out again, which is an absolutely classic, and the various escapades that would mean going on and on about the comedy here, as it isn't too over-the-top or that eye-rolling type that many films use, this will make anyone laugh.
When the film begins to change into a horror film, it makes up for lost time by cramming lots of scares into a few minutes, starting with the resurrections in their care that sets the stage for the final appearance in the last part of the film, which results in some fine slapstick-inspired stalking that has a real threatening air to it and then reverts back into standard slapstick. These here are what hold this one up, as there's not much to dislike at all from this one. The biggest issue here is that true-blue horror fans will be sorely disappointed, as there is barely any horror from the master of the genre, Price, so this may be the only thing stopping someone from renting this. Also, Karloff fans will be displeased as he has almost zero screen time and is generally wasted in what could've been a key role. This series of missed opportunities is really all that holds the film back at all.
Overview: *****/5
The best example of Vincent Price's comedic stylings, there's so much on display with this one that comes off incredibly well that, while it's not much of a horror film, there's still more than enough to like. Fans of this era of the genre or the creative crew will have the most to like here, while most others out there might want to heed caution.
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