The Oblong Box (1969)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Believing him to be guilty of accidentally killing a local boy, natives at an African plantation grab Sir Edward Markham (Alister Williamson), nail him to a wooden cross, and use witchcraft to leave him hideously scarred and struggling with his sanity.Back in England, and locked in a room by his brother Julian (Vincent Price), Sir Edward devises a desperate plan to escape and reverse his disfigurement: he swallows a special tablet that makes it seem as though he is dead. Once interred, he is to be secretly dug up and taken to a witch doctor who will hopefully cure his malady.Unfortunately, things don't go as well as planned, and Sir Edward is left buried alive—at least until a body-snatcher unearths him and takes him to the home of surgeon Dr. Newhartt (Christopher Lee). Coming out of his self-induced death state as the doctor prises open his coffin, Sir Edward blackmails Newhartt into keeping his existence a secret while he seeks revenge on those who left him for dead.Other than the title, The Oblong Box has very little in common with Edgar Allen Poe's short story, but it matters not: the first film to star both Price and Lee, this ghoulish tale of vengeance benefits from a compelling screenplay, stylish direction, and great performances, not just from its leading duo of horror icons (who sadly share little screen-time together), but also from a fine supporting cast, including the lovely Hilary Heath as Sir Julian's wife Elizabeth, and extremely cute Carry On star Sally Geeson as maid Sally.Also adding to the fun are some mean-spirited murders (albeit wholly unconvincing, with bright red paint for blood), some fleeting nudity, a midget whore, and a rousing bar-room brawl. Very much in the tradition of Hammer's later horror movies, this Poe-in-name-only offering from American International is well worth the effort.7.5/10 rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Returning from Africa to his London home, a nobleman's quest to keep his hideously deformed brother hidden away from the public is foiled when an accidental burial results in his being loosened upon the world and sets out for revenge forcing him to stop him.For the most part this here was quite the fun and enjoyable effort. What really makes for quite a fun time here is the way this one manages to combine the rather starting late-60s style Gothic splendor with some more modernized slasher elements which is a rather strong combination. There's plenty to like here about the film's Gothic sensibilities, with the setting and era causing a lot of that to come to fruition here while also setting the stage for the numerous bouts of walking through dimly-lit corridors wielding only candle-lit light which causes this to readily feel at home in the old-school Gothic realm. That also leads rather nicely into the attitude about the grave-robbing and their feelings of the family- owned business with their reputation being called into question rather than simply being concerned with the remaining part of his revenge which doesn't turn into the kind of traditional slasher effort it really could've been as there's plenty of overall appeal to these scenes. Alongside the fact that there's the big party he throws at the house which gets crashed by the killer and frightened away as well as the central investigation scene that handles the vast majority of the second half which starts off the great slasher film aesthetic of the film. There's some rather nice stalking scenes here as he goes after the hooker in their tryst room, the grave-robbers in their flat and the doctor in his house which are more shorter set-pieces relying on the shock of actually stabbing them but still manage to get quite a lot of rather impressive and enjoyable action out of their encounters as well as setting the stage for the big finale as he goes about trying to get his final revenge as that leads into a strong chase into the forest which is quite fun with the killer coming into play and the resolution being quite brutal. Along with the fun opening voodoo ceremony that gives this a strong start, these here are more than enough to hold this up against the minor problems found here. The film's main issue is the fact that there's just no sensible action found throughout here that makes it in the slightest bit logical or coherent, which really undermines a lot of the storyline. The inability to really come to terms with the switch concerning the original burial is the biggest culprit, as that becomes quite a flimsy manner to start the main problem with the killers' actual identity along which is somewhat undone by their inability to really reveal that throughout here and really manages to make for a problematic entry. The only other big issue is the rather atrocious and appalling special effects here to provide not only the murders but also the main villains' appearance who looks so comical it's hard to imagine anyone would find him terrifying even though it's mainly the laughable kills that undo this. Alongside the unnecessary stop-over in the tavern, these are film's flaws.Rated R: Violence, Nudity and some sexual conduct.

Disfigured in an African ritual, Edward is kept, "protected", by his brother Julian by being kept chained up in attic. He fakes his death to escape from Julian and another man is killed to take Edward's place in the "oblong box". Film looks like a low-key, photographed stageplay, a well-dressed period piece having little to do with Poe's short story, besides the title box. This is one of those films to watch primarily to enjoy the cast, lush settings and photography, hooded killers, throat-slicings, and a couple of good scares along the way, even if it has little if anything to do with Poe, just don't get one's hopes too high up. It does have a good unmasking scene, and genuinely creepy twist-ending, which still stood out in my mind years after I had last seen this film. Favourite line: "I'll only do my prowling at night."

I recently got the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe (in a single volume) for Christmas and around the same time, I acquired "The Oblong Box" movie through a tape trader on the internet which was recorded from a 1982 broadcast of Movie Macabre--where Elvira provides her own colorful commentary just before the commercial breaks.I had put off watching this film because I wanted to read the Edgar Allan Poe short story of the same name. In that story, a man brings an oblong box on a ship voyage to New York. A hurricane causes the ship to sink, and the man refuses to go on a lifeboat, clinging to the box as he drowns. We find out later that the contents of the oblong box was the corpse of the man's recently deceased wife.The movie version is nothing like this, of course. It involves Vincent Price burying his brother alive after which, the latter goes insane and lusts for revenge. It might have been more fitting to call this one "The Premature Burial" (another Poe short story) but there is another movie with this same name (a Corman film also based on the Poe story).In spite of the misleading title, I enjoyed it. Vincent Price is one of those actors who makes every movie, no matter how bad, very entertaining when he appears in it. Christopher Lee also appears, though I wish he had more screen time with Price. I really liked the period settings and costumes which contributed to the overall enjoyment of the film.On the B-movie scale, I rate this a 9.