A&E Horror
Deep into that darkness peering... Classic Poe adaptations good for a bit of midnight fun
O
By Braden Turk
Once upon a midnight dreary, expert independent filmmaker Roger Corman and celebrated actor Vincent Price made “The Fall of the House of Usher,” based on the Edgar Allan Poe story of the same name. Over the next few years, the two would reunite for six more Poe adaptations, in the process creating one of the most lasting series in all of American horror cinema. “House of Usher” lays the foundation for the rest of the series, featuring a delightful Price performance, colorful widescreen cinematography, and a mansion that, without fail, will burn down during the finale. It starts with the young Philip Winthrop arriving at the Usher estate, a decrepit house whose backyard consists of swampland and dead trees. He has come with the intention of visiting his fiancée Madeline Usher, but his brother-in-law, Roderick (Price), is steadfast in his belief that the “cursed” Usher bloodline should be discontinued, permanently. The first in the cycle holds up as one of the best. Its twists never let up, something the later films could take a cue from, and is solely responsible for the seven-movie cycle audiences have today. After the success of “Usher,” American International Pictures commissioned Corman to direct another Poe adaptation. If you go into “The Pit and the Pendulum” expecting anything remotely like the story it is based on, prepare to be disappointed. The only relation it has to the tale is the torture 34 THE VOICE MARCH 2020
device, otherwise the “man visits his brotherin-law’s castle in order to uncover the cause of his sister’s sudden death” plot is completely original. Despite feeling like a rehash of “Usher” at parts, it makes for a good follow-up. Next is “Tales of Terror,” a criminally underrated anthology that adapts three Poe stories: “Morella,” “The Black Cat” (though it’s mostly just “The Cask of Amontillado”), and “The Poster for “The Raven” / Public Domain Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar.” “Morella” plays it straight. Reuswalls. Look out for a truly bizarre ing locations (and footage!) from dream sequence, in which the screen Corman’s previous films, it’s pure is stretched so much Lorre looks like a Poe, with no shortage of revenge or deformed bowling ball. despair. The frame is stuffed full of “M. Valdemar” brings the viewer cobwebs, corpses, and candlelight, back down to Earth -- or would it making the perfect gothic setting for be more appropriate to say the spirit a dark romanticism story that tells of realm? The benevolent Valdemar a dead woman’s revenge against her (Price) is on his deathbed, his only daughter. wish to fulfill his promise to the man In “The Black Cat,” Lorre plays who helped relieve his chronic pain. Montresor Herringbone, an alcoholThat man is the slithery psychic Caric bastard who pesters his wife for michael, whose final experiment on drinking money without an ounce of Valdemar leaves him wading between shame. Capitalizing on a chance for the overworld and afterlife. The segfree alcohol, he challenges the slightly ment is split into two parts: the deal pompous, very flamboyant Fortunaand the experiment. The climactic to Luchresi (Price) to a wine tasting scene is too silly to be taken seriously battle. It ends in a draw and the two (a “decaying” corpse appears to have become friends -- until Luchresi cuck- peanut butter smeared on its face) but olds Herringbone, who promptly seals is great nonetheless. him and his wife within his basement If “The Pit and the Pendulum” had
