The Oblong Box

_**Vincent Price, Hilary Dwyer, Gothic horror and Voodoo in 19th century London**_ In 1865 England, an aristocrat (Vincent Price) locks his brother (Alister Williamson) in the attic because he was hideously scarred by a Voodoo revenge ritual in Africa. While the Lord woos nubile Elizabeth (Hilary Dwyer) the caged sibling is able to escape with the assistance of his lawyer and a witchdoctor, eventually hiding out with an unscrupulous doctor (Christopher Lee). When the hooded man ventures out of the house horror ensues. While "The Oblong Box” (1969) utilizes several Edgar Allan Poe themes, it is nothing like Poe’s East Coast sea voyage story from 1844 and simply borrows the title for a tale of Gothic horror in 19th century London. Producers at AIP thought linking Poe to a film would sell more tickets, which is why they dubiously renamed “Witchfinder General” “The Conqueror Worm” for American audiences a year earlier. Since “Witchfinder” was a surprise hit (for such a low-budget flick) producers hired the same director, Michael Reeves, and three members of the cast for this project (Price, Dwyer and Rupert Davies). Unfortunately, Reeves fell ill during pre-production and was replaced by Gordon Hessler. The young, promising director was found dead of an accidental overdose less than three months later at the age of 25. The cast is fine, the ambiance of Gothic horror is superlative and the females are appealing (Dwyer, Sally Geeson and Uta Levka). Regrettably, the script is filled with nonsensical bits and vagueness. For instance, how is it that no one at the aged brother’s funeral knew what he actually looked like? If Edward’s disfigurement is the result of a Voodoo ceremony, how does it morph into a contagious disease at the end? Sorry, but weak writing like this doesn’t make for great movies. Yet I suppose you can sorta put the pieces of the puzzle together if you use your imagination and it’s still worth checking out if you like movies such as Corman & Coppola’s “The Terror” (1963) and the aforementioned “Witchfinder General.” But this is the least of these IMHO. The movie runs 1 hour, 36 minutes and was shot at Shepperton Studios, just west of London. GRADE: B-/C+