2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

mike48128 With a quarter of a million dollar budget from AIP, a surprisingly decent adaptation (by Richard Matheson)of the well-known and well-worn Edgar Allen Poe tale. An almost perfect cast except for a too-young male lead; it is spellbinding. As noted by many other reviewers, "The House" is one of the major characters in the film as it groans, moans, and creaks its way toward the horrific fire and destruction that is inevitable. There is a depressing "tone" of melancholy throughout, especially expressed by the "heroine" of the piece. Highly recommended and that's quite rich praise for anything that Roger Corman ever produced and directed! It revived Vincent Price's career for a second time. Almost "out of print" and therefore overpriced as a collectable, so look for it on Turner Classic Movies which now shows AIP releases.

TheRedDeath30 1960 is such an important year in the development of horror films and, in my opinion, the turning point in the birth of "modern horror". PSYCHO and PEEPING TOM were changing the very tone of horror cinema, Bava directed BLACK Sunday, bringing a new sense of horror to the old Gothic imagery and Roger Corman released the first in his successful series of Poe adaptations that would redefine what indie horror could do on a micro budget.Looking back now it seems that it couldn't fail, but the idea was pretty revolutionary in 60. Roger Corman had been making a living releasing quick to make, cheap to produce black and white features. He finally convinced his studio to put that money behind a color film and to give him the cash to hire a star, the legendary Vincent Price. He took a ready made story from the king of American horror, Edgar Allen Poe, and used one of the greatest contemporary writers, Richard Mathewson, to adapt it for screen. It's like a supergroup joining together and the results are amazing.Some would argue that this is the best of those collaborations, which totaled 8 films in all. In my opinion, the better films would come later with RED DEATH and PIT & PENDULUM, but this is certainly a marvelous movie with Corman's distinct eye for gorgeous images and colors. This story is, perhaps, one of Poe's most well-known, so it makes perfect sense that it was the launching point for this cycle of films. It was not, thought, probably the easiest of his stories to choose for film adaptation. Poe's writing relied heavily on creating a feeling of terror and dread. This story, particularly, is so notable not for the plot or any action that it contains, but for the dark, Gothic, foreboding atmosphere that was so unique at the time of its' writing.How, then, do you portray that sense of dread on screen and create enough action to make it an interesting movie? That was the challenge that faced Matheson and Corman and I think they do an admirable job. Most of that praise, though, should be going to Price. Even when the movie devolves into far too much dialog and "talkiness", Price holds it all together with his magnetic screen presence, chewing each word and line as if they were his last and for his character, Roderick Usher, there is that lingering fear that they would, indeed, be his last words.The story itself revolves around an ancient family curse, an evil house, and the maladies that those things produce in the Usher family. Roderick may be stark raving mad, an incestuous jealous brother, or truly afflicted with the responsibility of preventing this curse from spreading to future generations. His sister's betrothed shows up to take her from all this madness and sets in motion a chain of events that would prove to be their undoing.Corman does wonder with his budget, crafting costumes, sets and looks that are perfect period pieces, especially when one considers this was his first color work. This may not elicit thrills from some modern viewers as it does tend to bog down at the beginning, but for those willing to dive into a moody movie, with a fantastic star turn from Price, this is a treasure.

Paul Magne Haakonsen Hmmm, odd that I have never seen this movie before now in 2013, especially since I enjoy horror movies as much as I do. And I do realize that having missed out on watching this movie, I have indeed missed out on a classic. I think initially my reason for not having seen it prior to now has been because it is so old. But again, I was dead wrong, because this movie is ageless it seems - even in 2013 it is very enjoyable and entertaining.Right, well I am not going to go into the layout of the storyline, as this is a classic and most people should be up to speed with it by now - unless they, like me, shrugged it off given its age.The movie was really directed quite nicely by Roger Corman, and he has indeed managed to put together nothing short of a classic masterpiece.And the movie is really well acted, by the four people that were in it. I was a bit surprised that there were only four people to the cast list, so they had a lot riding on their shoulders. But they all delivered really well; good performances, believable performances and the characters were nicely detailed and fleshed out. There is sort of a thespian-feel to the acting-style in the movie, sort of something that transcends ordinary movie acting.There was a really nice Gothic feel to the entire movie, and the details of the house, the decor and decorating was just mind-numbingly beautiful. There were so many details that I believe the movie deserves a second watching, just to take in all of these.The story in "The Fall of the House of Usher" is timeless and it have enough weight and contents to support more than a single viewing.If you, like me, have been putting off watching this movie, then I strongly suggest you wait no longer. "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a classic and a masterpiece that belongs on the DVD collection of any movie fanatic and fan of the horror genre.

TheLittleSongbird Overtime the horror genre has really grown on me, and Vincent Price, one of my favourite actors has been a big part of why. The Fall of the House of Usher was the film that spawned a series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, and is up there with the best of them like The Pit and the Pendulum and The Raven. Whether it is completely faithful to Poe's writing I am not entirely sure, whatever way it makes little difference to me. All that matters for a film is how good it is on its own merits, and The Fall of The House of Usher in my mind is more than good, it's great. The settings, costumes and the way the film are shot is both Gothic and gorgeous to look at in their lavishness, and the music is suitably spooky. The script is very literate and quite intelligent, while the story is always compelling and delivers its spooky scares with not an ounce of predictability or hamminess. The ending really convinces in its creepiness and in its tragic undercurrent, making it moving as well. The acting is fine, Mark Damon gets better throughout the film and by the end he really comes to life but to start with I did find him a little too wooden for my tastes. Myrna Fahey and Harry Ellerbe characterise splendidly, but the film belongs to Roger Corman's lively direction and especially to Vincent Price, who is always great but gives one of his best ever performances here, with his ever commanding presence, his distinctive voice, Skakespearean-like line delivery, droll sense of humour and a sense of melancholy, every single of those are here and make for one memorable performance indeed. In conclusion, a great film worth seeing for Price alone though the production values, the atmosphere and how intelligently it's written also are fine attributes. 9/10 Bethany Cox