There are movies with a lot of ambition, but lacking in depth. This is the opposite. It’s a short film and if you describe the story very little happens. However, the atmosphere is like a night in a haunted house, every creak and crack keeps the tension going. It’s a film with four characters and about as many sets, but the furnishings, costumes and lighting are exquisitely garish, much like Vincent Price’s platinum blonde hair. If you watch for the plot – which is spoiled by the poster, the IMDB description and the main image on Letterboxd – you’re likely to grow impatient waiting for events to unfold, which is missing the forest for the trees. It’s a film where the simple act of walking down stairs can be creepy by the simple inclusion of a live spider crawling around while everyone ignores it.
I wouldn’t call this Vincent Price at his best, but it’s one of his most quintessential performances. At times campy and over-the-top (as you would expect), but considering the over-written dialogue, his ability to commit and not appear silly is incredible. Keeping up is Mark Damon, who I mention because he won a Golden Globe for this, a performance that reminded me of William Shatner. It’s perhaps quintessential Corman as well, getting a lot of visual flair out of very few sets, shot in beautiful widescreen.
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