The Fall of the House of Usher

This film has some historical importance. Its modest success started Roger Corman on a classic cycle of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price. This one, only the first, isnt half bad, but its not nearly as good as Masque of the Red Death or The Pit and the Pendulum. Still, its highly recommended for Price fans, or lovers of old horror movies. Not a lot of violence, but plenty of mood and suggestion. Vincent Price is effectively creepy.

Not a lot happens during the first half of the movie, and the plot unfolds at a very slow and deliberate pace. Yet the sets and the atmosphere are great, and Vincent Price puts on such a good performance that you can forgive some of the pacing issues.

Mostly the ornery Vincent Price show, but it does capture a decadent/decrepit atmosphere at a creeping pace. The evil paintings are a hoot, I like how old horror tends to imply that psychopathy correlates to portrait commissioning.

Tough to grade this since not even Richard Matheson can keep this slim tale from dragging in parts. Still, I've read this was Corman's 1st attempt at going bigger w/ budget & aspiration - & it shows. As a period piece he surely had to spend more than he was used to, so he smartly found 1 old house & keeps the action there. There's basically only 3 characters too & they're all played by solid performers. The music score is well above average, but it needs to be to cover for the lack of story.

Floyd Crosby's lush color cinematography and Daniel Haller's set designs lend this well-dressed low-budget Corman/Poe collaboration (the first of many) a classy, Hammer-like look.

Great atmosphere and beautiful set design - I wouldn't mind owning one of those whacked out paintings myself. The story is unusual and interesting and really brought to life by Price's performance as the deranged Roderick Usher. There are certainly worse ways to spend 80 minutes of your life.

Roger Corman, one of the kings of the B-movie, hits it big with this adaptation of one of Poe's most famous stories. The gothic scenery looks like something out of a Hammer film, though particularly more claustrophobic and secretive. Vincent Price steals the show playing a man with heightened senses and who, along with his sister, is doomed to an early death. Price speaks with a quiet coldness that is utterly chilling. The finale is tense and riveting. It's a must see for fans of creepy chillers

Well, visiting your girlfriend couldn't possibly go more wrong..

It's decent fare, never hits any heights that I thought it might after first 10 minutes. Think more could have been made out of the great creepy set and to bring the house more into the story as a character. The story is quite threadbare, yet the film keeps you engaged in it.

Vincent Price is good and this does have some spookiness to it.

Some very lush production design, that seems to be clearly influenced by Hammer film (tho Corman says he never saw a Hammer film before this). While Price is good in all these Corman Poe-adaptations, this is one of his best. He's very convincing in playing the thin line between pitiful madman and scheming lunatic.

Some points for atmosphere, but it never really comes alive.

Price is always fun and the atmosphere is legitimately creepy.

Middle of the road as far as Corman/Poe/Price flicks go.

Dated. Good last 20 minutes, though.

Surprisingly well paced considering it's four people in a house talking most of the time. A lot of the finer points seem to be glossed over and I can't decide if that's truly Matheson's doing or Corman's. Still I think it's something even Poe would enjoy. The finale is truly unnerving and some of Price's most understated work.

i think they liked succession but srsly?

Wooden and stylish.

Decrepit horror tale.

Corman/Price fun. Price is a delight as always, though the other characters are a lot weaker. The sets and props, etc, are all very well done and make it feel like a bigger budget film than it is. The dream sequence bathed in blues is a special highlight.

I've been enjoying the "Poe Cycle" films. Similar to the others, this one does a lot with its impressive sets and Vincent Price (as a soft-speaking fop here). The main problem is that the short story isn't quite enough for an eighty-minute movie so at times the pace seems glacially slow. Creepy without being horrifying. I'm also glad the painter of those surreal pictures was credited!

Vincent Price is delightful to watch but Mark Damon's performance in the back half is laugh out loud bad

Hammer always does a pretty good job with the source material, and this is no exception. Vincent Price is especially great, and the movie sports some really haunting imagery in the later parts.

Pompous is the word that I'd use to describe this movie. There's just not quite enough of a story to justify the length of this movie and what I mostly got out of it was the setting itself, because I do have a great love for a good old-fashioned haunted house. The thrills are scarce and I feel like it works better as a short story for certain, and would need more meat to its bones to really grab you in the film format.

"Just because Corman is incapable, which he is, of making a Bergman film, it's unfortunate that that didn't happen." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2015/12/episode-84-edgar-allan-poe-adaptations.html

Not the best of Corman.

One of the best Poe adaptations out there. I'm a sucker for this whole gothic thing when it's done right. Beautifully staged

Effective retelling of Poe.

I enjoyed this, the first of Corman's dalliances with the work of Poe. A bizarrely blond Vincent Price is again worth the entrance fee alone, with a suitably subdued but very effective performance that places the three other (decent) actors in the background. It's quite a tight film, in terms of length and content, and it feels like some detail has been skipped over. That said, it is creepy and unsettling enough. It looks good as well. A competent and likeable entry in the canon.

76.000

So dusty, there should be a "no asthmatics allowed" warning on the TV guide.

80.000

Classic, atmospheric Gothic horror with all the expected (predictable?) elements.

Good Movie

70.1.

Roger Corman #6