The Worst Film Ever

The greatest movie ever made..!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Obsessed with the unlikely possibility of being buried alive just like his cataleptic father was, a celebrated artist dedicates all his spare time to building a tomb that he can escape from should such an event ever occur in this Edgar Allan Poe adaptation from Roger Corman. With Poe and Corman's name on the project, it seems easy to label 'Premature Burial' as a horror film, but it is much more a psychological thriller and character study of a paranoid individual. Ray Milland is both intense and empathetic to watch as his obsession takes full swing with his escapable tomb nothing short of spectacular when he eventually shows it off. There are some spooky moments also though, and while the film has a tad too much fake fog and fake spider webs for its own good, the whistling of two gravediggers provides a lot of genuine chills in lieu of a traditional music score. All that said and done, what ultimately happens to Milland, despite his preparation, it is a touch too easy to predict, and while there is a thought-provoking twist thrown into the mix, it vexingly subtracts from what is otherwise a great study of paranoia. Many have complained about Milland being cast over Corman stalwart Vincent Price, but Milland is just as effective here as in the better known 'X', and a solid supporting cast including Heather Angel and Alan Napier certainly helps.

Following his wife's return from a trip away, she begins to notice her husbands' growing concern and fascination with the concept of being buried alive has consumed him to the point of madness and tries in vain to find a solution while he remains convinced of his beliefs.This here was a decent enough if slightly flawed effort. What this one gets right is the exact same elements that have always worked so well before in the other Corman/Poe films in the striking atmosphere present here that effectively takes the Gothic setting to it's fullest. Taking place at their usually large, elaborate mansions with the main fixings to be found in these types of efforts with the grandiose layout, usually large spacious rooms and decorations that keep the flow and flair of the decrepit mansions of the genre, and along with the moss-overgrown columns and fog-laden grounds that permeate the house makes for a grand setting that perfectly fits in this kind of Gothic effort. The different settings here, from the gnarled trees fitting around the cemetery outside or the fool-proof mausoleum he built for himself makes for a series of great set-piece settings here with these being added nicely to the film's atmospheric ideals and allowing for some creepy scenes throughout here, from his feverish search deeper and deeper into the cemetery to find the cause of the nightmarish whistling the tune that's befallen his nightmares for years, the nightmare hallucination he has letting his escape fantasy come to fruition of escaping from the coffin inside the tomb or the futile search through the house for the infamous whistling once again. As well, there's the usual fun to be had in the finale where he leads them into the burial crypt that triggers the final charge which lets this one let it's main plot get worked out rather nicely in a series of chilling and truly suspenseful series of scenes that are far better than anything else in the rest of the film. These here are what make this work, although it does have a few flaws here. The biggest factor here is the fact that there's just no real action to be had here which comes from the rather dull, plodding pace featured which doesn't have a whole lot to do throughout here. For the majority of the film this one concerns itself with the very idea of his condition grating on everyone rather than actually doing anything, and with his affliction growing worse all it concerns itself with is his delusional ramblings and misplaced paranoia that just ends up doing nothing of any real interest and turning him into an utterly unlikable bore with his constant blathering about the condition. Not only does this not really produce any action but it just makes the film pretty boring as a result, which also makes for the finale being quite bland as well without the high-energy action of the usual burning-down-the-house finish that most of the others really used. These here are what hold this one back.Today's Rating/PG: Violence.

The wealthy cataleptic painter Guy Carrell (Ray Milland) believes that he overheard his father, who also had catalepsy, crying in the crypt of his family when he was a kid and is obsessed by the fear of being buried alive. He leaves his fiancée Emily Gault (Hazel Court) and lives alone with his sister Kate Carrell (Heather Angel) in the family manor. However Emily seeks him out and convinces Guy to marry her, despite the disapproval of Kate, promising that she would never bury him without the certainty of his death by her friend, Dr. Miles Archer (Richard Ney), and her father Dr. Gideon Gault (Alan Napier). After the wedding, Guy does not travel in honeymoon to Venice, as he had promised to Emily, and builds a crypt with safety devices to avoid that he is trapped alive inside. However Emily and Miles convince him to demolish the building. Guy has nightmares and visions with the gravediggers and weird events happen in the mansion. He decides to prove that is cured of his fear and opens his father grave, but someone has moved his skeleton and Guy is diagnosed of heart attack. However he is catatonic indeed and is buried alive as he has always feared. Will be the end of Guy? Who might have caused the shock on Guy? "Premature Burial" is a creepy tale of paranoid obsession and madness, with good scenarios and locations and good acting. Ray Milland is a great actor but does seem to be miscast for the role of Guy Carrell that should be of an insane man instead of so dramatic. The conclusion is disappointing with the overprotective Kate disclosing the mystery after killing her insane brother. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): Not Available on VHS / DVD / Blu-Ray

Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe cycle ranges among the most essential moments ever in Horror cinema, some of the adaptations such as "Pit And The Pendulum" (1961), "The Masque of the Red Death" (1964) or (the actually Lovecraft-inspired) "The Haunted Palace" (1963) being among the greatest Gothic Horror films ever brought to screen. The brilliance of these films lies in the creepy Poe-themed stories, Corman's outstanding talent for eerie Gothic atmosphere, and, not least, the leading performances by Horror-deity Vincent Price."Premature Burial" of 1962 treats an eponymous subject that is as essentially 'Poe' as it gets - being buried alive, or more precisely, the terror of being buried alive.While I did have high expectations for this film, it had been lying on my DVD shelf for a long while before I finally saw it, the only reason for delaying the viewing being the lack of Vincent Price in this film. Ray Milland, who plays the lead here, was a fantastic actor, but simply not quite as fantastic as Vincent Price (who happens to be my all-time favorite actor). Price simply was one of the greatest actors who ever lived, and the Poe-adaptations are arguably the ultimate highlights of his career. The only flaw of this film, is therefore not really a flaw, but the greatness of Corman's other Poe-adaptations: The fact that the other films had Vincent Price, and this one doesn't. As great as Milland is - and he IS great - every fan of the other films will see that Price could have been greater in some scenes. Vincent Price had a unique quality of being likable sinister. Price played dozens of Horror villains and murderous madmen, yet one always somehow had to like them (the one notable exception being his entirely diabolical eponymous role in Michael Reeves' 1968 masterpiece "Witchfinder General"). Ray Milland is a great actor, but he doesn't share this unique talent for being macabre, creepy, even scary, and yet somehow likable at the same time. Actually, his character here is not villainous, and yet he is somewhat unlikable.This being said, "Premature Burial" is still and wonderful Gothic Horror experience, which once again proves that Corman is a true master of creepy greatness and beautifully eerie atmosphere. Ray Milland plays Guy Carrell, a man living in paralyzing fear of being interred alive. The beautiful Emily (Hazel Court) nonetheless falls for him and becomes his wife. Once they are married, however, his obsessions become worse and worse... The setting in an eerie mansion near a foggy cemetery is perfect for a Gothic Horror film like this one, and, apart from the usual atmosphere donors such as foggy grounds, Corman includes many morbid set-pieces, such as a demented live-in mausoleum. The fact that Milland's leading character is a painter of very morbid pictures also helps the film's creepiness. The stunning Hazel Court is, as always, absolutely wonderful in the female lead.Overall, "Premature Burial" isn't quite as essential as films like "House of Usher" (1960), "Pit and the Pendulum" (1961), "The Haunted Palace" (1963) or "The Masque of the Red Death" (1964), but it is still a fantastic Gothic Horror that no genre-lover can afford to miss. The true genius of this film manifests in that it creates a uniquely claustrophobic atmosphere - which actually makes the viewer afraid of being buried prematurely!