IslandGuru Who payed the critics

AboveDeepBuggy Some things I liked some I did not.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

utgard14 Po' (or poor, if you prefer) horror movie from AIP that has next to nothing in common with the Edgar Allan Poe story from which it gets its title. Arguably the least of the many Poe-inspired films that starred Vincent Price, although this has its share of fans. For his part, Price does fine here but the movie is just so dull there's nothing he can do to save it. The same can be said for the great Christopher Lee, who is wasted here in a small role. Most of the movie is spent focused on Price's character's disfigured brother, played by Aleister Williamson. We don't see his disfigurement until the end and, even then, it's nothing to get worked up about. Obviously die-hard fans of Price and Lee will want to cross this off their list, but be prepared this isn't among the best films of either man.

Rainey Dawn Another Price/Poe movie that is worth watching. I found the movie a highly interesting Gothic horror mystery-thriller. It is as creepy as it is suspenseful.Julian Markham (Price) and his brother Edward Markham (Williamson) spent some time in Africa doing some dirty deeds. Edward's face becomes disfigured by a witchdoctor and he is held like a prisoner by his own brother Julian. When Edward escapes he ends up in the home of Dr. Newhartt (Lee) and begins to wear a red mask to hide is disfigured face. Edward wants answers as to why he was the victim of witchcraft and becomes vengeful in doing so.I do recommend this film for those that enjoy Poe, Price, Lee and classic horror, mysteries and thrillers.8/10

amosduncan_2000 There actually WAS an "Oblong Box" story by Poe, and in the time honored tradition of these things, it has nothing to do with the story in this movie. This non-Coreman Poe looks a lot closer to Poe than AIP, with it's lingering gore and flashes of nipple. The Hammer style Blood, both highly fake and gratuitous, is really odd to see today. These great stars appearing in films happy to go low to appeal to the crowd. Anyway, the sad thing about "Oblong Box" is that, like many a Hammer film, it starts promisingly enough, with some fine photography and nicely staged widescreen shots and a promising premise. As Price exits the story, however, things get absurd and tedious fast. By the time the silly shocker ending rolls around you are likely to have lost interest. Price's butler is played by the guy who went on to be one of the Murderers in Polanski's great "MacBeth", nice to see him again.

Scarecrow-88 Julian Markham's brother, Edward, is cursed by an African tribe with voodoo via hideous visage and he is held prisoner for his own good inside the family mansion. Julian(Vincent Price)attempted to save his brother who was kidnapped, nailed to a cross, and given the disfigurement through a ceremony for the accidental death of a child by the trampling of a horse. Edward(Alister Williamson)had negotiated with an associate of Julian's, Samuel Trench(Peter Arne)over being cured of his disfigurement through a witchdoctor, quietly put to sleep and buried alive by his brother, believing him to be dead. A scientist, Dr. J. Neuhartt(Christopher Lee), hired body snatchers to provide him with corpses for his research. One night the oblong box containing the body of Edward arrives to Neuhartt. Edward puts Neuhartt in a precarious position, knowing of his illegal activities, agreeing to keep mum about his secret in exchange for a place to stay. Edward even agrees to pay him, kind of a funding for his research. Edward becomes a pain in Neuhartt's ass when he starts getting revenge on Trench and others for his premature burial(Trench was supposed to recover him for he was paid handsomely to see that Edward "gets a new face"). Meanwhile, Julian has a courtship with Lady Elizabeth, trying to move on with his life after the supposed death of Edward. Edward, wearing a crimson cloak over his face, kills a conman's wife(pretending to be a prostitute as to rob unsuspecting johns of their money)which draws the attention of the bobbies, with Julian soon discovering that his brother is in fact still alive. Edward, through the work of the witchdoctor he finally finds through Trench, will understand just why he was cursed and this will only fuel his mania even further. Lesser Edgar Allan Poe adaptation utilizes great sets and locations in England. Price steps out of the villain role for a change, and his part isn't as conflicted or interesting. In actuality, Williamson, despite being hidden under the crimson cloak, is the character focused on in this particular film. Lee has a minor part as a doctor caught in the middle of a difficult situation, attached to body snatchers who rob graves for him and a psychotic madman who makes matters even worse. Interesting enough it takes a little while getting to Edward's release and subsequent revenge against those who left him to rot in the casket. Quite a fascinating conclusion in regards to Julian's reaction to Edward's bite and how he himself was inadvertently involved in his brother's devastating condition. As expected you finally get to see Edward's ghoulish face in a grand reveal. The film points out with its finale that you can not escape your responsibility for the death of a child, particularly if you leave the scene of the crime...eventually you must pay the piper, so to speak.