Madhouse
Posted by martinteller on August 7, 2012
Paul Toombes (Vincent Price) is a horror star, famous for his role as “Dr. Death”. When his fiancée is beheaded, everyone — including himself — believes he did it, but without any proof, he gets off. Now several years later, his former writer partner (Peter Cushing) convinces him to reprise the role in a new series of films. But when the bodies start piling up again, suspicion falls once again on Toombes, and even he isn’t sure if the persona of Dr. Death isn’t controlling him.
Although peppered with occasional fun bits of grisly violence, this is overall a rather humdrum and uninspiring affair. It’s not creepy enough, scary enough, inventive enough, or campy enough. There isn’t a whole lot of tension, and the mystery is pretty obvious early on. Fans of Price may be tickled to see clips from his films of the early 60′s, but in this movie his performance isn’t that memorable. Beyond the obvious self-reference of it, there isn’t anything too intriguing about his character. Cushing doesn’t get much to do either. The most interesting performance is Adrienne Corri as the deliriously demented, spider-obsessed former actress living in the basement. More of her would have spiced up this film, which in most other respects barely registers as average. Rating: Fair (63)
