How does a man go mad? In The Pit and the Pendulum the answer is inch by inch, like shadows creeping up a stair. A disintegrating mind is as terrifying as a haunted house. Francis Barnard (John Kerr) isn’t interested in ghosts. They interfere with facts. Sent word that his sister Elizabeth (Barbara Steele) has […]
Phantasmagoria: ‘Spirits of the Dead’ (1968)
If you’re obsessed with films and potter about Twitter, you might have seen director Edgar Wright’s list of his 1000 favourite movies, an inventory both admirable in scope and staggering in content. I’ve seen only about 40 percent of the films on the list (predictably, most of them made before 1970) and since I adore […]
Once upon a midnight dreary: How to tell if you’re in a Poe cycle film
It’s Friday the 13th, day of dread, when mirrors shatter, all ladders are left suspiciously unattended and black cats leap from dark corners to startle the unwary. What better day to curl up with a little Edgar Allan Poe, courtesy of the good people at American International Pictures? Starting with House of Usher in 1960, […]