Saturday, March 13, 2010

The Premature Burial (1962)

4 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: Within the Coffin I Lie...ALIVE!
Directed by: Roger Corman
Written by: Charles Beaumont, Edgar Allan Poe
Actors include: Ray Milland, Hazel Court, Richard Ney
Genre: Horror, Drama, Mystery
Length: 81 minutes
Banned: Finland




Review:
I quite liked this 'un but the pairing of Poe and Roger Corman is a pretty easy win. In this tale a fellow named Guy (Ray Milland) who's old girlfriend Emily (Hazel Court) has come back into his life hoping to get married. The two wed despite protests from Guy's sister Kate but soon it becomes clear that something is wrong with Guy. He's paranoid about being buried alive and he even builds an elaborate contraption of a coffin that would keep him from being buried alive. Emily feels he spends more time obsessing over his future death than with her and gives him the ultimatum of his contraption or her and well it goes on from there. It's pretty darkly comical and well presented, the acting is quite good and the story is clear and interesting. It also has some nice horror payoff in the end, and it's very short and sweet. An enjoyable well made little film that I think most should be able to enjoy!

Availability:  On DVD as part of a 2fer with The Masque Of The Red Death

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