I’m not sure if this film would work better in black and white, as I watched a colour version of this 1959 film but I found it to be more camp than creepy or horrifying. With no more than one, maybe two scares but the rest was so tame it was almost laughable. I’m not sure if this was considered as a scary film back when it was released but by todays standards it was pretty weak.
Speaking of weak I though the acting also left something to be desired and I think I actually preferred the acting in the silent films from the 1920’s (Nosferatu/The Cabinet of Dr Caligari) than this one. The headline name in this, Vincent Pryce, seemed almost uninterested. The characters felt cliched and ordinary and it felt like everyone was strolling through this one, no-one putting in any real effort. In fact the only thing this film had going for it was the plot twist at the end. With all this in mind it leaves a very ineffectual film in both horror terms and overall.
Horror Rating: ½☆☆☆☆
Overall Rating: ★½☆☆☆
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