WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1967)

I'd been searching for this one for a while now, and didn't realise it starred the one and only Vincent Price, whose movies I've become a little obsessed by of late.

The film itself revolves around Matthew Hopkins the "witchfinder" who wanders around 17th Century England doing Gods work, seeking out those who've been suspected of witchcraft and extracting confessions out of them and putting them to death or just killing them regardless. From what I've read about the witch burnings of the time (which isn't a huge amount) it seems to follow the historical accounts reasonably closely and the costuming and dialogue really add an air of authenticity to the proceedings.

Vincent Prices performance is of course legendary and chilling as per usual, and the film is lavishly shot, I love these old style films shot on film which i think have a more life like texture than many of the digitally shot films of today. The disc copy I got is of course a modern reprint, and it shows an "R" rating, while it may have been on the more extreme end of horror for the time, it was rather tame by today's standards and would have barely qualified for a "M (15)" rating .... which I guess isn't really important as the film holds up brilliantly either way, but it did kind of get me really excited for a gore-fest, which it certainly isn't.. while the violence contained in the flim does look convincing the blood looks like bright red paint and comes across as fake, which to be fair most films of the time up until the mid 70's tended to do.

Minor criticisms aside, I was immensely pleased I finally got to watch this little gem and i'd certainly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the old "hammer" style horror films, if you just want a blood and guts gorefest this may not be the film for you but i'd certainly recommend it for fans of Price, or vintage horror in general.

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HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959)

This is a vintage horror film featuring the talents of Vincent Price, who is looking and sounding as debonairre as always. I'm a big fan of this guys work and this one is no exception.

The plot centres in on Price's wealthy, and serial husband character Frederick who is unhappy with his current wife Annabelle his fourth or fifth wife. Annabelle organises the which involves spending a night in a haunted house with 5 other guests for a reward of $10,000 (a lot of money back in the times of black and white cinema) for anyone who survives the night.

Some of the party believe in the supernatural and of course others do not, and its not long before a few bumps in the night and macabre goings on have everyone scared for their life and wanting get out.

The dialogue is excellent and the story is extremely well written and engrossing through out the whole story. This movie has a certain old world charm about it that cannot seem to be recreated in this day and age... The gore factor is non-existent but this means the story has to rely on dialogue and plot development the whole way through, and it does very well thank you very much! The movie has a genuinely creepy atmosphere about it, and the sound effects compliment the film perfectly keeping the viewer rivetted. This is not going to scare hardened gore-fiends but is a very entertaining and compelling watch.

Plot wise there are a few twists and developments that are expertly written into the story development and everything in my opinion works rather well. I won't ruin them here but rest assurred it will keep you guessing~



Of course its up on Youtube so check it out here! You won't be dissapointed!

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DIARY OF A MADMAN (1963)

To be honest I hadn't heard of this film, I was really just looking for "Ozzy Osbourne" songs to listen to on youtube, but since this one came up in my search results I thought I'd give it a shot.... And why not? I quite like what little I've seen of Vincent Price films. While this one may or may not be considered "Horror" by todays standards, it is a pretty cool little viewing experience....... hardened gore fiends may or may not dig this as it does not have any real horror or violence (well very little violence) but touches on darker themes in a similar way to what Alfred Hitchcock did with his movies. Its also a movie that you can watch if you've got kids around without fear of scarring them for life which can be a good thing too for the parents out there. "The most terrifying motion picture ever created?" I think not, but still a great film.

Starring Vincent price as Simon the magistrate who prior to his death is possessed by an evil spirit, which attaches itself to him from a meeting with a deranged killer. Simon rekindles an interest in sculpture to quell the bad dreams. The subject of his artistic musings, Odette takes a shining to him and the pair decide to get married but the evil spirit that is trying to take a hold of Simon is getting stronger and this is where the things gets strange

The dialogue is a charming old world style affair and the plot holds water rather well, this is a well shot and executed film and quite captivating.

Anyway you guys can see for yourself below:

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