Edgar Allan Poe's diabolic classic

Starring: Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, Luana Anders, Antony Carbone, Patrick Westwood, Lynette Bernay, Larry Turner, Mary Menzies

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"You cannot know what it is to live here, month upon month, year after year, breathing this infernal air, absorbing the miasma of barbarity which permeates these walls." – Don Nicholas Medina

Why watch this? In Vincent Price, director Roger Corman found Poe's oft used tragic, sophisticated lunatic.

Plot Summary: In sixteenth-century Spain, Francis Barnard travels to a mysterious castle to investigate the sudden death of his sister, Elizabeth, who was married to the traumatized son of a cruel Inquisitor. He senses a hidden truth and stays to uncover the secrets surrounding her demise amidst vague explanations from her husband and the family doctor. As he delves deeper, Francis discovers disturbing events and suspicions arise about the true cause of his sister's death and the castle's unsettling history.

Dad's Preview: When a young Englishman's sister goes missing, he travels to the castle of his brother-in-law, Nicolas Medina, to investigate.  Soon, the plot reveals that Medina is losing his sanity, partly due to his relatives and their deeds as torturous inquisitors. Poe's tale wisely furnishes Medina with a well-equipped medieval torture chamber. It's most horrifying device is the razor-edged pendulum. This horror classic did so well that it spawned five more Poe adaptations from Corman and Price - all big hits at the time. I saw this as a kid and had nightmares for months.

Alta Vista Productions; American International Pictures