All Rise...

Appellate Judge Patrick Bromley loves a good Vincent Price house party!

Editor's Note

Our reviews of Madhouse (published November 25th, 2008) and Vincent Price: MGM Scream Legends Collections (published October 8th, 2007) are also available.

The Charge

Lights, camera, murder!

The Case

As Vincent Price movies go, 1974's Madhouse isn't one of his best. In fact, it might not even land a spot in the top 20. It is still, however, a great deal of fun and a movie that's worth seeking out. Here's why:

1) Vincent Price. The star of over 100 movies, Price never gave a bad performance. He made plenty of bad movies—some real junk—but never committed to any role less than 100 percent. Here he plays Paul Toombes, a legendary horror actor (not unlike Price himself) famous for a character known as Dr. Death. After Toombes announces his engagement to a former adult film star, she is murdered and he spends years in an institution unsure of whether or not he's responsible for killing her. Upon his release, he's called to London by his friend Herbert Flay (Peter Cushing, Corruption), the screenwriter of the Dr. Death series, who wants Toombes to reprise his most famous role for a BBC series. Unfortunately, it isn't long before more murders begin, each one a recreation of a scene from a Dr. Death film. Has Toombes snapped and become the killer he's played on screen so many times? Or is someone else out to finish the job begun by Dr. Death all those years ago?

Admittedly, Price doesn't have a really great part to play here. He's at his best when he's playing the heel, but here he's just the put-upon victim, unsure of his own sanity and walking through the movie as fragile and practically helpless. But we've already seen him lose his mind much more effectively in some of the Roger Corman Poe films, making Madhouse feel a little bit like a weaker imitation. Still, even second-generation Price greatness is great, and there's nothing lazy or half-hearted about his work here. Does the movie always make sense? No. Is it a good mystery? Not really, as the great Roger Ebert's Law of Economy of Averages is in full effect. But…but…but it's got Vincent Price.

2) Madhouse was made in the '70s, when Price's movies with AIP had gotten a little sleazier and a little more violent. While it's not as gory as the R-rated Theater of Blood (released one year prior) and is, in fact, rated PG, the movie still features beheadings and impalements and stabbings and people being burned and eaten by spiders (the HD transfer on this new Blu-ray makes the strings attached to the rubber spiders more visible than ever before). That it manages to be gory within the constraints of its rating gives the movie a sense of playfulness that's really fun.

3) The movie plays like a victory lap for Price's run at AIP. While it essentially takes the same approach as a couple of other Price vehicles in which a series of murders follow a specific theme—I'm thinking of both The Abominable Dr. Phibes, its sequel and Theater of Blood)—this time around it incorporates a bunch of clips from Price's past AIP movies. As a fan of his 1960s and '70s work, it's a lot of fun to see scenes from The Raven and The Pit and the Pendulum, House of Usher and more. It's the kind of movie that rewards horror fans just for being horror fans.

Kino Lorber has released Madhouse on Blu-ray, and while I wish the rights had gone to Scream Factory so they might include it in a future Vincent Price Collection box set, I'm just happy it's on Blu-ray at all. The 1.85:1-framed, 1080p HD transfer looks good. It shows some of the same signs of print damage as a lot of these "Studio Classics" titles released by Kino Lorber, but colors are bright, black levels are stable and there's no visible digital tinkering. The only audio option is a lossless mono track that delivers the dialogue in a manner both clear and faithful to its original source. Historian David Del Valle provides a commentary track, giving a history of the production and putting the whole thing in context within the period and Price's filmography. Also included is a brief retrospective featurette and a trailer for both this film and Tales of Terror, a Price anthology available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

If you're well-versed in Vincent Price's filmography, most of Madhouse will feel very familiar. That's not such a bad thing. It's a fun little horror film that celebrates both the genre and Price's past filmography. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray may not come with the bells and whistles of the titles in Scream Factory's box sets, but it's cool that they managed to squeeze in a few decent supplements. For fans of Price and/or AIP horror from the '70s, Madhouse comes recommended.

The Verdict

Not guilty.

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