CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Cody One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Giallo Fanatic I wanted to get more familiar with horror movies from the 60's and I couldn't find a better reason than Edgar Allan Poe adaptions. It is a decision I am glad to have taken, because I am now familiar with Vincent Price and Roger Corman. I was mesmerized by Vincent Price playing Verden Fell, I thought he was so smooth, so elegant in his portrayal of the character yet he gave off vibes of tragedy and sadness that was pretty intriguing and immersing. But he also gave a vibe of brutishness that felt like it was well hidden beneath his elegant and well-spoken exterior. Verden Fell is a deliciously mysterious and complex character. I have not read the short-story yet, but I feel the story was adapted pretty well. It was dark, poetic, romantic and tragic. It felt like Poe. With the horror of the story slowly unfolding as the movie progresses. I gotta say, Roger Corman did a good job introducing the characters first then slowly set out the plot which I feel made the impact of the story stronger. Also quite a story! It makes me wonder what horrors went inside the head of Edgar Allan Poe. The great, dark poet.Director: Roger Corman; writers: Robert Towne and Paul Mayersberg; based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story "Ligeia"; Year of release: 1964; Starring: Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd; themes: Jealousy, possessiveness and obsession. I must also mention Elizabeth Shepherd as Rowena Trevanion/Ligeia, I felt she played her characters pretty well. She was both vulnerable but still without being such a damsel-in-distress as Rowena. There was adequate reason for Rowena to be curious about her husband's odd behavior. Which made for an interesting drama between the two main characters. She also portrayed Ligeia with a strange fury yet authority you could see why a character such as Verden would be under her control. Verden was an intelligent yet torn man, torn between two worlds: that of Ligeia and the one he is trying to live in. Ligeia sounds like a cruel woman, putting a spell upon Verden before she died. Which is by the way a reflection of man's jealousy and possessive nature. Ligeia might have gone but she held so dearly onto Verden she did such a cruel thing. It can also be a representation of man's refusal to move on with his life, after the loss of a dear one.I have not read the short story yet, but I have read some of Poe's stories and I gotta say it is a memorable adaption that is full of gloom, dread and tragedy. 9/10

tomgillespie2002 The films that immediately come to mind when considering Roger Corman's considerable cycle of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations are undoubtedly titles such as The Fall of the House of Usher (1960) and The Pit and The Pendulum (1961), both starring Vincent Price as a man psychologically torn by a past event or his looming fate, and both featuring the Gothic, set-based atmosphere that is now so celebrated by movie fans. The Tomb of Ligeia may be one of Martin Scorsese's all- time favourite horror movies, but it has been strangely, and unfairly, overlooked in the horror cannon.Price once again plays a man, Verden Fell, haunted by the death of his wife. While out fox-hunting one day, the young and boisterous Lady Rowena (Elizabeth Shepherd) comes across Verden in a graveyard, apparently looming over the grave of his wife, the mysterious Ligeia, and forced to wear protective glasses due to his failing eye sight. Rowena takes pity on him, and witnesses his psychological torment first hand, which is mainly due to the presence of a threatening cat and the idea that his dead wife is haunting him from the grave. The two eventually marry, but Rowena finds herself the subject of increasingly strange goings-on.Ligeia is noticeably different to the other entries into the Corman- Poe cycle, mainly due to it's use of exterior filming. While this causes it to lose the claustrophobic, and beautiful, sets of the likes of Usher and Pendulum, it makes for a spookier atmosphere. Price is excellent as always, as is Shepherd, but the blooming romance between their two characters suffers from a distinct lack of chemistry and the niggling problem of the glaring age-gap. However, Ligeia was written by Chinatown (1974) scribe and all-round Hollywood titan Robert Towne, so the absorbing dialogue more than makes up for the awkwardness between the two leads. Certainly a different experience, but Ligeia is up there with the very best of Corman's output.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

TheLittleSongbird In my opinion, Corman's best Poe adaptation is Masque of the Red Death with Tales of Terror being his weakest(still an interesting film though). The Tomb of Ligeia does have some draggy padding and an ending that doesn't feel as complete as it could've been, however it is perhaps the most visually beautiful Roger Corman Edgar Allen Poe adaptation. Because it really is beautifully shot, and the locations and costumes are gorgeous. There is a haunting undertone to the score as well, and there is a great distinctly chilling atmosphere throughout. The slow pacing mostly did add to that. There is a very intelligent and I think flawlessly written script, and the story(reminding me slightly of Vertigo in its theme) delivers the creepy moments effectively. The fact that it does depart from the Poe story didn't bother me and I don't think it hindered the film much either. Corman directs splendidly, and the two leads are wonderful. Vincent Price is sinister but in a more subtle way than usual, while Elizabeth Sheppard really makes the most of her dual role. Overall, a very good film though I am not entirely sure whether it is the best of the Corman-Poe-Price films. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Dave from Ottawa The Tomb of Ligeia was yet another in the long line of Corman horror flicks with Vincent Price. This one aimed for a sumptuous Gothic romance look despite a low budget and mostly pulled it off. The production design work was surprisingly sharp for a B-picture. Everything has a nice murky gloom to it, nice and creepy, very goth. All of the usual story tropes appear here: Price as a brooding widower, unable to let go of his dead wife, and unwilling to believe wife #2 when she claims wife #1 has returned as something... unnatural! Dusty, unused staircases, locked rooms never to be opened, screams in the dead of night etc. abound and it all seems terribly clichéd forty years later, but the atmosphere of gloom and dread carries through to the modern viewer and the results are fairly entertaining. The script tends a bit toward the hysterical, and some of the performances get overcooked, but this is nothing too unusual for the time and genre. Worth a look.