Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Waste of time

A Disappointing Continuation

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Even though it has some nice visuals and Vincent Price is great playing both heir and his evil ancestor (a warlock which is the male equivalent of a witch) this movie wasn't really as enjoyable as I hoped to be. The introduction scene made me think the movie would bear resemblance to Black Sunday starring Barabara Steele playing both witch and one of her descendants. Here it is not about the resurrection of the witch but heir Charles Dexter Ward getting possessed by his ancestor warlock Joseph Curwen and this by means of a painting with the most penetrating eyes. However it all seemed to go so easy. The revived warlock goes on a revenge spree on the descendants of those who burned him over 100 years ago. Funny enough these descendants are an exact copy of their ancestors. Well yes after 3 he stops even though there are still names left on the paper. And than there are the deformed children as part of the curse expressed by the warlock. And there is the warlock's wife being resurrected, how did she die in the first place? And conveniently Charles Ward's wife needs to be a sacrifice to let out some demon residing in a hole. It was a bit of everything, chaotic and had a few dead ends and clearly I must have lost my interest at some point. Also the ending felt really rushed. Not bad by any means but somehow it didn't click with me.

Charles Dexter Ward (Vincent Price) arrives in the creepy village of Arkham with his wife Ann (Debra Paget) to look at a large mansion he inherited. The villagers are none too happy to see Ward as he is the descendant of a warlock that placed a curse on Arkham a century before when he was burned at the stake. The curse, they believe, is responsible for the large number of mutants in their village. Ward soon finds himself being possessed by the spirit of his ancestor, who seeks revenge on the descendants of the villagers who killed him.Another great Roger Corman 'Poe' movie, though this owes only the title to Poe. The story is H.P. Lovecraft's "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" and it's one of the better adaptations of a Lovecraft story to film, even if it's a loose one. Vincent Price is excellent, as you probably expect. Lon Chaney, Jr. has one of his better later roles. He replaced Boris Karloff, who was ill at the time of filming. This was Chaney's only Corman movie. Beautiful Debra Paget and busty Cathie Merchant provide the sex appeal. This was Paget's last film. Leo Gordon, Frank Maxwell, Elisha Cook, Jr. and the other villagers are all good support. Nice music, cinematography, and direction. Cool sets, costumes, and makeup. An entertaining Gothic horror movie that fans of Corman and Price will love.

One hundred and ten years after his great-great-grandfather is burned at the stake for being a warlock, congenial husband Vincent Price inherits his ancestor's castle, which the tavern-dwelling townspeople tell him is cursed. Turns out they're right; Price becomes possessed by the ghost of his insidious relative, and hopes to mate his own wife with a creature dwelling down in the cellar. Adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's story "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (with a title borrowed from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe), begins as a ghost story and revenge thriller (with Price eliminating names from a list) before morphing into a monster movie. It doesn't quite hang together, despite a decent production and Price having fun playing both good guy and villain. Less talk and more hocus pocus might have helped generate some excitement in this 'Palace'. Not even the (mild) twist ending makes much sense in the context of this muddled stew. **1/2 from ****

This movie pays homage to the classic horror writers of old. Not quite Lovecraft, not quite Poe; this movie creates a unique story that borrows a bit from both.The acting is excellent, and the plot and characters are well written. The special effects are pretty good for the time period this movie was made, and the "less is more" approach" worked to a great advantage here. It is so refreshing to watch a movie that actually relies on good storytelling and competent actors; rather than distracting visual effects. Too often movie makers attempt to dupe the audience by replacing substance with style; which imo is a backhanded insult to the collective intelligence of the audience. You do not have to be a Lovecraft or Poe fan, nor do you have to be familiar with their writings to enjoy this movie; which is a huge bonus. Vincent Price delivers once again in a timeless masterpiece.