13 Nights of Shocktober: Cemetery Man (Dellamorte Dellamore)

by A.J. 

Night 10: Weird Wild Stuff Night

“Dellamorte Dellamore bids you farewell.”

Cemetery Man (Dellamorte Dellamore)

Cemetery Man fits nicely into one of my favorite subgenres: weird, wild stuff. Though it is in English and stars Englishman Rupert Everett, this is actually an Italian film originally titled Dellamorte Dellamore (Of Death Of Love) directed by Michele Soavi, whose mentors included Dario Argento (Suspiria) and Lamberto Bava (Demons). Dellamorte Dellamore is based on the novel by Tiziano Sclavi, who also created the graphic novel Dylan Dog, about a paranormal investigator dealing with all kinds of supernatural horrors–the two works turn out to be curiously intertwined. This is that rare kind of movie that has to be seen to be believed; it is certainly not for everyone but it is so bizarre that you want everyone to see it.

 

What makes it so weird and wild? Well.. Rupert Everett plays Francesco Dellamorte, the melancholy caretaker of a provincial Italian cemetery for the village of Buffalora. His regular duties include groundskeeping, burying the dead, and shooting them in the head when they come back seven days later. This happens so often that, unphased, he shoots one while on the phone after he’s gotten out of the shower, since he lives at the cemetery. Dellamorte falls in love at first sight with a young beautiful widow, which is a big deal for him because he is impotent. She’s uninterested in him until he offers to show her the cemetery’s ossuary. They end up having sex on her husband’s grave because, she says, she never kept any secrets from him. Unfortunately her husband comes back, attacks, and kills her. This happens in the first 20 minutes and is only the beginning of Dellamorte’s troubles. 

The zombies, or returners as Dellamorte calls them, range from mild (grey makeup and blank zombie expression) to monstrous (mutilated and grotesque). The most spectacular return is the teenage boy who died in a motorcycle accident and then bursts out of his grave on his motorcycle. Even with all the returners, this is by no means a zombie movie. In fact there isn’t really a central plot, but the guiding line is Dellamorte’s melancholy attitude towards the “living dead and the dying living” in all of his encounters. Eventually he meets the double of the beautiful widow (also played by Anna Falchi), but they cannot be together because she has phallophobia. So, he seeks out an operation… He also has a vision of a giant grim reaper that tells him to stop killing the dead and start killing the living. So, that’s just what he does. Also living at the cemetery with Dellamorte is his childish assistant, Ghaghi (French actor François Hadji-Lazaro) who can speak only one word, “gna.” Ghaghi develops a crush on the mayor’s teenage daughter which is problematic because of the age gap, and also she is a talking severed head. This of course leads to problems with the mayor. 

Although this is based on Sclavi’s novel, not his popular Dylan Dog graphic novels, the filmmakers knew that fans thought of the two projects as so thematically linked that Dellamorte Dellamore was an unofficial Dylan Dog movie. And fans could only accept Rupert Everett as Dellamorte/Dylan Dog because Sclavi specifically based the look of Dylan Dog on Rupert Everett. So, producers offered the role to Everett hoping that 1) he would accept the role otherwise they might not even be able to make the movie and 2) that he did not know how essential he was to the very existence of the project because that might encourage him or his agent to raise his salary. Whether he knew about Dylan Dog or not, Everett took the role and even rejected a more conventional, less weird version of the script. 

Dellamorte Dellamore was released in Italy in 1994 but was not released in the U.S. until 1996 where it flopped and was panned by critics. Since then however it has gone on to have a cult following. Soavi said that he wanted to make a movie that was cynical and amoral and in many ways he did. This is a dark, melancholy, and even disturbing movie at times. It is also absurd, hilarious, strange, and thoughtful. I wouldn’t be surprised by anyone who found this movie offputting, but it is so radically different from any other horror movie at the time or even now that it is worth watching. 

Cemetery Man is available to stream on The Criterion Channel, Prime Video, Kanopy, Tubi, Shudder, and Plutotv.

13 Nights of Shocktober: The Fly (1986)

by A.J.

 

Night 9: Cronenberg Night 

“Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

 

The Fly (1986) 

 

David Cronenberg’s remake of The Fly is among the best horror movies of the 1980’s and one of the ultimate body horror movies. More impressively, it is regarded by many as one of the best remakes. The 1958 original is a classic, an excellent example of the sci-fi monster craze of the 1950’s. I think the most shocking thing about the original is that it is not campy or cheesy; instead, it plays like a dramatic tragedy. Cronenberg’s remake is effects heavy and certainly not for the squeamish, but it is such an affecting experience because the human drama matches the intensity of the visuals.

Jeff Goldblum plays Seth Brundle, a scientist who has created, in secret, a teleportation device. Geena Davis plays Ronnie, a journalist who is caught up in the excitement of new revolutionary new technology, a great story, and a handsome, geeky, but charming scientist. Of course, they fall in love, and things are going well until Brundle tests the teleportation on himself. The teleportation seems like a success at first, actually more than a success as he now feels supercharged, stronger, more energetic. He also heaps spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee without noticing. Eventually he learns that a fly was in the telepod with him and their DNA fused together, dooming him to a horrific transformation.

Cronenberg and the special effects and special makeup effects team, led by Chris Walas, do not hold back. An early failed experiment turns a baboon inside out. As Brundle’s human body decays, his skin becomes splotchy and his teeth and ears fall off. The fly creature (AKA Brundlefly) is monstrous and unsightly. There’s no denying the transformation and creature effects are very gross, but they are also very technically impressive. Walas would go on to win the Best Makeup Academy Award. 

As important as the effects are, they are still subservient to the story and the characters. Goldblum proved to be perfect casting for the requirements of the role and a good match for Cronenberg’s sensibilities. He is great at delivering Cronenberg’s dialogue and esoteric speeches about “the flesh.” He was also excited by the challenge of special effects makeup, prosthetics, and wearing a rubber suit. Geena Davis does a great job playing a normal person witnessing something extraordinary and overwhelming. Her concern and care for Brundle give the movie its emotional core. 

This version of The Fly hits so hard because of the combined effect of the horror imagery and the gut wrenching drama of the characters. Many viewers at the time and since have seen The Fly remake as an allegory for AIDS. Cronenberg was aware of these similarities but saw Brundle’s degeneration, decay, and desperate drastic attempt to stave off the inevitable as a metaphor for mortality and the aging process. Neither is a very pleasant thought, but it makes for the kind of horror film that lingers in the mind long after the credits rolled.  

 

The Fly (1986) is available to stream on Hulu and Peacock.  

13 Nights of Shocktober: The Wolf Man

by A.J.

 

Night 8: Werewolf Party Night! 

“Even a man who is pure in heart

And says his prayers by night

May become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms

And the autumn moon is bright.”

 

The Wolf Man 

There’s no doubt that the Universal Pictures Wolf Man is one of the classic movie monsters. Lon Chaney, Jr. is as closely associated with the role as Boris Karloff is to Frankenstein’s Monster and Bela Lugosi is to Dracula. However, it is interesting to learn that The Wolf Man came rather late to the world of the Universal Monsters, being released in 1941, a full decade after Dracula and Frankenstein made their debut. It is also amazing that the simple title “The Wolf Man” had not been taken by another werewolf movie or book. Unlike Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man is not based on a classic novel. Even though the werewolf is part of the folklore of many cultures, there seems to be no major literary work about werewolves. So, Universal created not just a werewolf movie, but another monster-star that would spawn multiple sequels and become part of the iconography of classic horror movies.

Like many horror movies of this era, The Wolf Man is not very long. The runtime is only 70 minutes, but it does not feel rushed or truncated. Lon Chaney, Jr. stars as Larry Talbot, the son and heir of Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains), who has returned to Talbot Castle in rural Wales after 18 years away in America. Larry’s long absence serves three purposes: 1) it emphasizes the big rift with his father; 2) it makes him a stranger in own homeland; 3) it explains why he is American and his father is British. Larry goes on a date with Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), a local shopgirl, and her friend Jenny (Fay Helm), to a nearby fair to see a fortune teller, Bela, played by none other than Bela Lugosi. Not long after, Jenny is attacked and killed by a wolf. Larry kills the wolf with a silver handled cane, but not before he is bitten. The next day the police find the body of Bela the fortune teller, and Larry’s wound has vanished.

Unlike other movie monsters, Larry Talbot is as much a victim as he is a monster. His character arc is not turning from good to evil, hero to protagonist, or even struggling between opposing forces. Instead, he is mentally and emotionally struggling with a fate to which he is doomed. Chaney does a good job showing those internal struggles the more convinced he becomes that he is a werewolf. Claude Rains as Sir John is the sturdy voice of reason and modernity, offering psychological explanations. Rains previously starred in Universal’s 1933 film The Invisible Man and his presence, as well as Lugosi’s, seems to be the movie’s way of establishing some monster movie credibility.

The Wolf Man has a great gothic atmosphere especially in outdoor scenes in the woods filled with gnarled trees, mist, and heavy shadows. The rural village setting also helps establish this movie as taking place just outside of the modern explainable world. As the werewolf, Chaney stalks through the gloomy woods attacking whoever he finds, though he does not seem to bite anyone; he only wrestles and strangles his victims.

 

It’s never explained why Bela turned into a wolf and Larry turned into an actual wolfman. There is no mention of silver bullets, but silver is instrumental in killing a werewolf. There is also no mention of the full moon. According to the poem Maria Ouspenskaya as Bela’s mother recites, it is “when the wolfsbane blooms and autumn moon is bright” that a werewolf transforms. This rhyme that everyone in the village knows by heart was the creation of screenwriter Curt Siodmak, though the sequels changed “autumn moon” to “full moon.” It may only be a few lines, but it builds an entire local werewolf mythology.

The thing I found most surprising about The Wolf Man is that the transformation scene only shows Larry’s legs and feet becoming gradually hairier and clawlike with time lapse dissolves. The more famous time lapse dissolves of the Wolf Man’s face are from the sequels. Other night scenes simply cut to him already transformed. The Wolf Man design by makeup artist Jack Pierce is as iconic as the looks he created for the other Universal monsters. There’s no problem noticing the difference between the Wolf Man and any other werewolf. Both at the beginning and the end credits, Lon Chaney, Jr. is credited not as playing Larry Talbot, but as The Wolf Man. Universal sure knew how to create memorable monsters.  

 

The Wolf Man is available to stream on Peacock. It is also probably at your local library.  

13 Nights of Shocktober: Carrie (1976)

by A.J.

 

Night 8: Stephen King Night 

“Red. I might have known it would be red.”

 

Carrie (1976) 

The film adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel, Carrie, was released in 1976 to critical and box office success kicking off 50 years of film and TV adaptations of the work of the master of horror. King is not shy about commenting on which adaptations he likes and which he does not. He famously hates The Shining because he felt Stanley Kubrick missed the point of the novel. Filmmakers who are also fans are aware of this and tend not to stray too far from King’s plots or themes. However, I think the best Stephen King adaptations have been done by filmmakers who put as much of themselves into the movie as King put into his novels and stories. Among these I would include: Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, John Carpenter’s Christine, Mike Flannigan’s Doctor Sleep, and, the one that started it all, Brian De Palma’s Carrie.  

Whether writing a novel or short story, King excels at creating and fleshing out full characters, no matter how large or small a role they play. The characters in Carrie have an impressive cast to bring them to life on screen. Sissy Spacek gives a great performance as Carrie White, the skinny, shy, odd, cruelly bullied and teased high school girl who happens to have telekinesis. Carrie’s principle bully is Chris, played by Nancy Allen, who is planning a terrible prank to pull on Carrie at the prom. Chris’s boyfriend, Billy, is played by John Travolta, who is great at flashing charm one moment then turning into a jerk the next moment. Amy Irving plays Sue Snell, who was part of the group that teased and threw tampons at a frightened and crying Carrie, unaware she was getting her first period, at the start of the film. She creates a way to punish herself and make amends with Carrie: she will skip prom and have her boyfriend, Tommy Ross (William Katt), take Carrie instead. Betty Buckley plays the gym teacher who offers sympathy and kind words of encouragement to Carrie. By far the most memorable character, even more memorable than Carrie, is Carrie’s mother, Margaret White, played in a superb performance by Piper Laurie. Margaret White practices her own repressive brand of Christianity and in many ways is more harmful and abusive to Carrie than the school bullies. She believes that anything sexual or related to sex is a grave sin, so she never told Carrie about menstruation. In his rave review, Roger Ebert called Carrie a character study. He is right; the horror works so well and is so effective because it comes from the characters. 

De Palma’s filmography is brimming with references and homages–some subtle, some blatant–to his greatest influence, master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. Here, anytime Carrie uses her telekinetic powers, the score uses sharp, stabbing strings that sound very similar to the strings used in the Psycho shower scene. In terms of visuals, Carrie is a great example of De Palma’s style. He and cinematographer Mario Tosi make use of one of his favorite camera tools: the split diopter, a special lens split down the middle that allows for two different focal points in the same shot. So, in the scene where Carrie reacts to Tommy reading his poem in class both are shown in focus in the same shot even though Carrie is in the back of the class. It is not offputting but the eye knows it is an unnatural point of view. When Carrie and Tommy have a wonderful dance the camera spins around them, caught up in the joy and romance of the moment, but the spinning goes faster and faster until the image is dizzying; it's a clue about the chaos to come. The climactic disaster at the prom is a great example of a director showing chaos without disorienting the audience. To show just how much is happening all at the same time, De Palma uses another favorite technique: split screen. A kaleidoscope effect to put us in Carrie's mental state. Images swirl and we hear tauntings from her mother, the bullies, and even Miss Collins’s words of encouragement that now seem like taunts. The prom massacre is a great horror show but there is no joy or excitement in Carrie’s revenge. Her rage is the result of a complete breakdown, lashing out indiscriminately (unlike in the 2013 remake where she targets her bullies), and we realize that we have been watching a tragedy unfold.

Aside from some minor changes by screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen, this might be the closest film adaptation of any King novel. Little is lost in terms of set pieces and scenes but more importantly little is lost in terms of characters and themes. Carrie still resonates because no matter the era or technology involved, the essence of these characters, the way they act, the things they are capable of (telekinesis aside) are recognizable and relatable. 

 

Carrie is available to stream on HBOmax and Prime Video. It is also probably at your local library. 

13 Nights of Shocktober: Faces of Death (2026)

by A.J.

 

Night 6: Thriller Night

"looks legit. so awful. nice find."

 

Faces of Death (2026) 

 

Whether you are into horror or not, you have probably heard of the title Faces of Death, a faux documentary that purports to be a study of death showcasing real scenes of brutal, violent, and graphic deaths. The VHS tape was hard to find and was something like the VHS tape from The Ring. It was something certain people gossiped about and you had to get it from someone, not the big chain video stores. I've never seen it and never had any desire to even after I learned that the film was in fact fake. When I heard there was a remake/re-imagining I had little interest, but thanks to a friend I went and saw it in theaters earlier this year and was most pleasantly surprised. I knew little about the remake and had not seen a trailer or reviews, so I was not sure what to expect. I certainly was not expecting to walk out of the theater comparing it to The Silence of the Lambs and Dirty Harry, but that's just what happened.

Barbie Ferreira plays Margot Romero, a content moderator at Kino, a short form video platform. She spends her entire workday looking at outrageous, off-putting, and even violent videos, approving or flagging them for removal. She comes across multiple videos of what seem to be real executions and murders and reports them to her boss, who is indifferent. While investigating on her own she comes across a comment that compares the videos to Faces of Death. Fortunately, Margot's roommate is a horror movie hound and explains to her the legend of Faces of Death.

 

In a shrewd move by co-screenwriters Isa Mazzel and Daniel Goldhaber, who also directs, there is no mystery about the identity of the killer. We meet Arthur (Dacre Montgomery), an outwardly mild-mannered employee at a cellphone store, relatively early in the movie. Of course, he is actually a violent psychopath with pretensions of being an artist. Montgomery does a great job playing the many different levels of a disturbed, unhinged person. His committed performance of such an unredeemable villain reminded me of Andrew Robinson’s great performance as the Scorpio Killer in Dirty Harry. Yet, Barbie Ferreira does not get overshadowed. Margot is a fully realized character who feels like a relatable person. Her backstory includes trauma she is still dealing with, since dealing with trauma is an unofficial requirement for horror movie protagonists these days, but it is not just a shortcut for character depth. It informs Margot’s relationship and attitude towards online video culture. Watching their storylines gradually come together until the female protagonist ends up in a showdown in the killer’s basement reminded me of The Silence of the Lambs.

Since Arthur is trying to impress Kino users and build a following, his murder tableaus become more elaborate and gruesome and graphic. Despite the gruesome gore, this is not a difficult film to watch, relatively speaking. None of the violent or gory moments feel like they are meant to gross out the audience or put them through an endurance trial. Nothing about this movie feels mean or grim. Its scariest moments are scenes of suspense and tension. Margot and Arthur’s climactic confrontation is thrilling because we know they are smart and capable characters. Faces of Death 2026 is not just an excuse to see graphic violence; it is a well-crafted and engaging thriller, visceral and psychological.

 

Faces of Death 2026 is available to stream on Shudder and also available on DVD/Blu-ray.

13 Nights of Shocktober: Phantasm

by A.J.

 

Night 5: Reggie Bannister Memorial Night 

"You play a good game, boy, but the game is finished. Now you die."

 

Phantasm 

 

Earlier this year, musician, actor, and producer Reggie Bannister passed away at the age of 80. That name might not be familiar to many, but to horror fans Reggie Bannister is beloved for his role in the Phantasm films as Reggie, the pony-tail sporting guitar playing ice cream man turned monster fighting action hero. Though Reggie became the unlikely lead and co-star of rest of the Phantasm series, which had is most recent and likely final entry only a few years ago, his character began as a supporting character in the first Phantasm, which is the only space to start the Phantasm series since each sequel is part of one continuous story. And it's also the best of the series.

Phantasm is a great example of a cult classic: it may not have mainstream recognition, and it may have flaws, but it has enthusiastic fans. Describing individual scenes and plot points can make Phantasm sound odd or even ridiculous and the plot itself does not hold up to scrutiny. Yet, Phantasm is effectively creepy and scary because it relies more on atmosphere and the main character’s fear and fascination with the things he witnesses and encounters than on plot. Dreams, nightmares, and the line between fantasy and reality also play a large part.  I suppose this is what some would call a vibes movie.

On that front, writer-director Don Coscarelli does a great job keeping us in the emotional and mental space of the main character, 13-year-old Mike (A. Michael Baldwin), who is still dealing with the death of parents. He also has anxiety that his older brother Jody (Bill Thornbury), a musician, secretly wants to leave him with a relative. After witnessing strange things around the local cemetery, Mike comes to believe that the tall, grim-faced undertaker has a sinister plan that involves stealing recently buried bodies. Of course, Jody is skeptical but as danger mounts, he and his friend, Reggie (Reggie Bannister), the local ice cream man, join Mike to stop the undertaker, also known as The Tall Man. 

 

Coscarelli makes great use of long shots that play out slowly. He also uses slow motion with eerie effectiveness when Mike sees The Tall Man walking through town. At first, it is jarring to see him out in daylight then he pauses by Reggie’s ice cream truck to savor the cool air from the freezer. The slow motion and exaggerated sound design make a simple moment unnerving and surreal.

 

On the more ostentatious side of Phantasm are the flying metallic orbs that stab people in the face with daggers and then drill a hole in their head and make blood shoot out the back. There purpose is clear: elaborate, horrific death. But like many things about Phantasm the “why” remains a mystery. There are also the hooded dwarves that Mike sees running around the cemetery. They resemble the Jawas from Star Wars, released only two years before Phantasm, but Coscarelli said this was a coincidence. Next to the orbs, what everyone remembers about Phantasm is Angus Scrimm as The Tall Man. Tall, slender, dressed in black, imposing and intimidating, he is like a personification of the boogeyman. The most frighting sight in Phantasm is Mike’s nightmare of The Tall Man looming over his bed.

 

Phantasm is more than the sum of its parts. From scene to scene its flaws are easy to overlook because the story is already on to the next thing. After the credits roll, it still casts a creepy spell. Horror spectacle does not stand in the way of exploring an adolescent’s fear and fascination with growing up and with death. The final scenes seem to come out of nowhere and close the film on an ambiguous note, but tonally and thematically they match everything that has come before. 

 

It is in these quiet and emotional scenes that Reggie has more lines and character depth than has in the whole movie and he and Mike develop a deep bond. Reggie and Mike’s relationship, essentially becoming an adopted family, is what drives the rest of the Phantasm films. Each is a horror film but Part II, made nine years later, is a horror-action movie (this is where Reggie combines two double barreled shotguns to make a super 4-barrelled shotgun, which of course becomes his signature weapon through the sequels). Part III: Lord of the Dead leans into comedy and is also a road trip movie. Part IV: Oblivion goes back to the meditative side of the original and even uses unused footage from the original shoot. The final entry, Ravager, which Coscarelli did not direct, aims for both action and esoteric meditation. Each is entertaining in its own way. Each has Reggie and Mike fighting The Tall Man and looking out for each other. Reggie Bannister is a most unlikely action hero and that is the appeal. He’s just a ponytail wearing, guitar playing ice-cream man who has to protect the people he cares about.

13 Nights of Shocktober: The Tomb of Ligeia

by A.J. 

 

Night 4: Vincent Price Night 

"She will not rest because she is not dead…to me."

 

The Tomb of Ligeia 

 

It's just not Shocktober without Vincent Price. The Tomb of Ligeia is the 8th and final film of what came to be known as the Corman-Poe cycle, that is: movies produced and directed by the legendary Roger Corman, based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe (or at least titled after Poe works), released by American International Pictures, and starring Vincent Price (the only exception being The Premature Burial (1962), starring Ray Milland). These films, like a great many Corman movies, vary in quality, but Price and Corman together mean you are in for a good time.

Naturally, any movie based on an Edgar Allen Poe story requires expansion and it is a pleasant surprise to see the adaptation was written by Robert Towne, one of many Hollywood legends who got their start with Corman—Towne would later win an Oscar for writing Chinatown and become a revered screenwriter. While the screenplay adds a lot, the eerie gothic tone of Poe is strong as are many Poe-esque themes such as being haunted by a lost love, black cats, and mesmerism. Set in vaguely the 19th century, Vincent Price plays Verden Fell, a wealthy widower whose dead wife Ligeia, a scandalous figure when she was alive, still looms large over his life. Ligeia insisted that she would never die and Fell treats her as such until he meets Rowena, who is instantly drawn to his outsider charms and goth style. He indeed makes a striking impression dressed in black with a top hat, cane, and strange but stylish wraparound sunglasses, perhaps a bit too stylish for the 19th century. The sunglasses he says are "the result of a rather morbid reaction to sunlight." However, as the film goes on, he needs the sunglasses less and less until they are forgotten. Elizabeth Shepperton plays both the dark, evil Ligeia and the sweet Rowena. Not long after Rowena and Fell get married, she finds herself troubled by Fell’s inexplicable disappearances at night. It is clear the spirit of Ligeia means to possess Rowena, although the movie is not entirely clear on how this works, but a black cat seems to be involved. In one of the standout sequences Rowena follows a mysterious black cat through the house into a bell tower while Price’s voiceover delivers a monologue about Ligeia and death. This stylistic touch adds to the surreal off-kilter nature of the scene because it seems so out of style with previous Corman movies, or American movies in general, and more influenced by the French New Wave.

 

Price delivers a different take on the man-driven-to-madness character that he often played throughout his horror career, and especially in the Corman-Poe movies. He is more sympathetic here because as the movie goes on it becomes clear that he lacks agency—this is where the mesmerism comes into play. In at least one interview Price spoke fondly of "Ligeia" but it is a role that he almost did not get. Corman wanted a younger actor, but AIP would not fund the movie unless Price played the lead. Corman says that Price's age was his only concern with his casting; the producer side of Corman no doubt wanted a younger actor to bring in a younger audience. Price's performance is proof that he was the right choice.

 

The climax of the movie has Price battling an evil black cat, which of course is just a regular cat and/or cat puppet thrown at him from off screen. He does his best to sell it when the cat attacks (is thrown at) his face and he has to wrestle with it. On one hand it works in camp value and is fun, on the other it does not match the eerie gothic story we have just seen. Like Corman's infamous The Terror, one of the ultimate so-bad-it’s-good movies, Tomb of Ligeia requires a servant character to come right out and explain what exactly has been happening the whole time. Unlike The Terror, what the servant reveals more or less makes sense. Robert Towne admits that he and Corman were a mismatch creatively. Towne thought that supernatural and psychological explanations should be equally plausible. Corman wanted a straightforward horror story.

The gothic atmosphere is enhanced greatly thanks to filming, at least in part, on location in England. The half-crumbled walls and archways of Castle Acre Priory are great scenery and make for eye-catching shots. Even more gothic atmosphere comes surprisingly from the use of pre-psychedelic imagery: blue and green candles, Rowena's colorful flowing gowns and robes, and, of course, Price's sunglasses. Rowena's dream has some striking and surreal imagery like a bouquet of flowers with a bleeding fox head.

 

Unfortunately, The Tomb of Ligeia did not do as well at the box office. The Corman-Poe cycle felt played out and after 7 films together in 4 years, Corman, Price, and the public were ready for something different. Yet, this does not mean that Ligeia is a lesser entry in the Corman-Poe cycle. The Tomb of Ligeia is a good spooky-but-not-scary movie, a good moody horror movie bridging the transition from the classic to modern eras.

 

The Tomb of Ligeia is available to stream on Prime Video, Hoopla, and Youtube.