One of the most popular and enduring actors to ever specialize in horror films, Vincent Price may be gone but his legacy lives on. Shout! Factory, through their Scream Factory horror movie specialty sub-label, have gathered together six of his finest films and issued them together in a special edition Blu-ray boxed set. Note, the movies in the set are not presented first to last in terms of release date, they are presented in the following order, and here's what you'll find…

DISC ONE:

The Pit And The Pendulum (1961):

After the success of The Fall Of The House Of Usher, director Roger Corman was able to talk MGM into bankrolling another Poe adaptation, this time in the form of The Pit And The Pendulum and of course, once again starring the inimitable Vincent Price in the lead role. This one had pretty much everything you could want from a Poe movie: great gothic sets, period dress, a tortured lead character and a finale that still impresses even to this day.

The movie follows Francis Bernard (John Kerr) as he travels to Spain after hearing of the demise of his sister, Elizabeth (Barbara Steele). When he arrives he's greeted by her widower, Don Nicholas Medina (Vincent Price), a man still very much overcome with grief over the loss of his beloved wife. Nicholas' sister, Catharine (Luana Anders), shares the home. Nicholas' family is somewhat infamous, as his father, a wealthy nobleman, was known for his penchant for torture. In fact, so malicious were his ways that he had built in the stately old castle and massive torture chamber. Nicholas insists, however, that the loss of Elizabeth had nothing to do with this family's past and that she was in fact poisoned to death, the culprit still at large.

Francis is not convinced. He, with some help from Nicholas and his right hand man, Doctor Charles Leon (Antony Carbone), go so far as to exhume her corpse, mysteriously buried in the basement behind a brick wall. Much to the surprise of all involved, the corpse appears to have been buried alive. Upon this discovery, strange things start to happen. Nicholas believes to have seen the ghost of his dead wife while the maid, Maria (Lynne Bernay) swears she heard her whisper to her in the night. As Nicholas' behavior becomes increasingly more insane, Francis becomes only more determined to uncover the truth, all of which leads up to a grisly finale.

This is a solid horror film with a great cast and some impressive visual flair. Yes, there are times where the film's low budget shows (the scenes in the dungeon being the most obvious) but outside of that, this is well paced and actually pretty nice looking as long as you don't mind the matte paintings. Corman shows a great grasp of timing here, and the script (adapted from Poe's source material by Richard Matheson) manages to build the mystery nicely so that when we get the big reveal at the end, we know the characters well enough for it to have some pretty strong impact.

The cast all turn in fine work. Price is as excellent here as you'd expect, with the role really fitting his occasionally over the top acting style rather well and allowing him the chance to exaggerate things rather appropriately once his character breaks down. Seeing him cast opposite Barbara Steele is great, she too does fine work here. Even if she doesn't get as much dialogue as most of the other characters her piercing eyes and gauntly beautiful features communicate everything they need to. John Kerr is also quite good here. All in all, this one fires on all cylinders, it's quite entertaining and just polished enough to let us suspend our disbelief, without taking the spotlight away from the talented cast.

The Masque Of Red Death (1964):

The darkest and most atmospheric of the Corman/Poe run, 1964's The Masque Of Red Death is set in the twelfth century and tells the twisted tale of Prince Prospero (Vincent Prince), a man in league with Satan himself. With a plague called The Red Death rumored to be on the cusp of infecting the town, whose peasant population Prospero has long been happy to take advantage of, Prospero invites a score of the local bourgeoisie to his estate. Here he and his twisted assistant, Hop Toad (Skip Martin) intends to host a masquerade ball ripe with all manner of decadent activity.

As Prospero's guests arrive, the evening gets underway and soon his party is in full swing. During one of the party's activities a woman named Juliana (Hazel Court) has her breast branded and then later a man named Alfredo (Patrick Magee) is put to death for Prospero's amusement. Things take a mysterious turn when an unknown guest cloaked in a red robe, his face hidden underneath a hood, arrives unannounced. Prospero assumes that the guest is in fact Satan and that his allegiance to his dark master will now be rewarded, but as the evening continues the truth as to the stranger's identity is revealed and Prospero soon learns that all is not as it seems.

The first in Corman's Poe cycle to travel to England for principal photography, The Masque Of Red Death benefits from a larger budget than the Poe films that Corman had made prior, and Corman being the thrifty filmmaker that he is, makes sure that every penny winds up on the screen. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Nicholas Roeg, a fine director in his own right, the movie always looks lush and colorful. From the opening scene to the still shocking finale, this movie really could not have been better in terms of set design, use of color (red, in particular) and camerawork and Charles Beaumont's clever script works perfectly alongside the consistently impressive visuals. The influence of Ingmar Bergman's work, The Seventh Seal being the most obvious film, runs throughout the film and so much the better.

As is the norm with the film's Corman and Price made together, the spotlight shines firmly on the lead and the script gives him plenty to do. While in some of the earlier entries we were able to have some sympathy for him, here he is evil incarnate. Prospero is a man who will kill in the name of his dark lord and for his own amusement, a twisted man fully capable of horrible torture and twisted carnality and Price makes the absolute most of the role. His work in this picture rivals that which he'd deliver for Michael Reeves with Witchfinder General a few years later and here we see a consummate professional at the top of his game.

DISC TWO:

The Fall Of The House Of Usher (1960):

The first in the series of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations directed by Roger Corman to star Vincent Price, this film begins when a young man named Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon) travels from afar to the House Of Usher where he insists on visiting Madeline Usher (Myrna Fahey). Having met her some time ago, he fell hopelessly in love with her and he has travelled to see her in hopes of convincing her to marry him. Upon his arrival, Philip meets Madeline's older brother, Roderick (Vincent Price) and their servant, Bristol (Harry Ellerbe). Roderick tells her that their marriage can never happen. His reasoning? He and Madeline both suffer from a terminal illness and they are dying. Roderick insists that under other circumstances he'd be happy to welcome Philip into the family, but it is simply not to be.

Hoping for an explanation, Philip is told by Roderick of the family curse. Anytime the Usher's have had more than one child, it has resulted in all of the children eventually losing their minds and dying in various horrible ways. While Philip meets with Madeline in secret in hopes of convincing her to leave with him, their rendezvous is interrupted by her angry older brother and very quickly things begin to spiral out of control…

Made for only $125,000.00 with a cast of only four people, The Fall Of The House Of Usher is a pretty impressive achievement. Yes, some obvious matte paintings stand in for locations that were out of reach and there are times where the sets are obviously just that, sets… but overall this is a perfect example of low budget filmmaking at its best. The type of movie where ambition and creativity more than make up for financing, the picture is very well paced and particularly in its second half very tense.

While Corman deserves much of the credit for spearheading this project as does scribe Richard Matheson but Price really delivers here. His appearance may seem unorthodox, his hair bleached blonde and his face devoid of any of his trademark facial hair, but he really invests himself in the role and turns out a fine performance. Damon is also very good here, playing the noble Philip rather well and handling ‘hopelessly in love' aspect of his character quite sufficiently. Myrna Fahey is also good, looking quite lovely and playing the other side of the doomed romance effectively. Throw in Ellerbe as the loyal butler who has served the Usher's for over sixty years and you wind up with some serious talent in front of the camera and Corman exploits it all perfectly. Quick and well-paced with a great finale and plenty of gothic style, this one set the stage for what was to come and has stood the test of time incredibly well.

The Haunted Palace (1963):

Once again written by Charles Beaumont and directed by Roger Corman, The Haunted Palace is set in the year 1765 in the town of Arkham where we meet a man named Joseph Curwen (Vincent Price), a warlock reputed to be skilled in the dark arts. For his crimes against God, the local villagers lynch him and burn him to death but of course, before he shuffles off this mortal coil he curses the townsfolk and their descendants.

More than a century later, Charles Dexter Ward (Price), a distant relative of Curwen, visits Arkham with his wife Ann (Debra Paget) at his side. He's there to lay claim to Curwen's castle and although the townsfolk are none too keen on his arrival, he is legally entitled to his inheritance. As they make their way through the town, they notice many of the citizens obviously suffer from birth defects but they don't pay it too much mind and instead make their way to the castle. When they arrive they meet the castle's caretaker, Simon (Lon Chaney, Jr.), who is in allegiance with Ward's long deceased relative. As it turns out, Simon plans to help Curwen come back by taking over Ward's body so that he can once again practice his black magic.

With only a tenuous connection to Poe's writing (Price reads Poe's poem after which the film was named over the end credits… that's about it), The Haunted Palace isn't as good as the other Corman/Poe films in this set but it's certainly entertaining enough in its own right and a fairly dark film compared to the ones that came before it. Price is great in the dual role and it's fun to see him cast alongside an equally legendary horror actor like Chaney. Both men deliver fine work here with Price seeming to enjoy himself in a film where he was able to play both a good guy and a bad guy in the same story. He uses his remarkable screen presence very effectively here, we can buy him as a kind man who cares for his beautiful wife and we can buy him as a sinister warlock as well, his diversity certainly working to the film's advantage.

The movie also benefits from a strong score and some impressive photography. The interiors of the castle itself as appropriately eerie and the scenes in which we see the deformed townsfolk are surprisingly creepy, the camera work doing an interesting job of highlighting what are obviously the effects of Curwen's final curse. As a Poe adaption, there's not much here, but judge The Haunted Palace on its own merits and you'll find that this is a very enjoyable and well-made slice of vintage gothic horror and one that Price fans should relish given how the roles he plays here are fairly unique.

DISC THREE:

The Abominable Doctor Phibes (1971):

Director Robert Fuest's 1971 film The Abominable Doctor Phibes stands as one of Price's finest moments, a wonderfully bizarre horror picture with loads of great visual style and a twisted sense of humor. The movie, which is set in the 1930s, follows the titular Doctor Anton Phibes (Price), a former vaudeville performer who has since retired and seems to spend his spare time wailing away on the massive organ that is the centerpiece of his home.

Phibes has a checkered past, and most believe him to be dead from a car crash. Before that crash, he lost his wife, Victoria (Caroline Munro), who died on the operating table. The surgeons who tried to save her did the best that they could but it was to no avail and now Phibes wants revenge against them. He's a pretty creative, if slightly insane, type though and not content to simply murder his subjects with something so simple as a knife or a gun, he instead constructs an elaborate plot in which he hopes to dispose of the surgeons by recreating the ‘ten plagues of Egypt' put upon the Egyptians the Bible. With some help from his mute violin playing assistant, Vulnavia (Virginia North), Phibes also hopes to be able to resurrect Victoria, whose body he keeps on site in suspended animation. Unfortunately for Phibes, a police detective named Trout (Peter Jeffrey) is suspicious and with some help from Doctor Visalius (Joseph Cotten), he just might have figured out what Phibes is up to…

This one might be a bit campier than the other films in the set but Price is amazing in the lead role here. He's obviously exactly what Fuest wanted in the part, the right balance of over the top and completely sinister in the way that only Price could deliver. He performs the role with plenty of scenery chewing enthusiasm and his work here perfectly complements the style that Fuest was going for, which is equally over the top. Fuest's experience working on The Avengers for TV in the UK prior to this picture shines through here, as that mix of sly humor and slick set pieces that made that show so much fun pop up in this picture as well.

Production values are excellent. Phibes' lair is amazing to behold, an ornate house built around a theater style design obviously in homage to his prior experience in vaudeville. It gives off a perfectly weird vibe but also seems completely in keeping with how this character would want to live. Accompanying Price in the cast are Joseph Cotton, who is pretty solid here, and Peter Jeffrey, who is great as the cop and the lovely Caroline Munroe as Phibes' muse. All three contribute nicely to the movie but not surprisingly, Price steals the show.

DISC FOUR:

Witchfinder General (1968):

Released in North America by AIP re-titled as Conqueror Worm (to cash in on the success of the Corman/Price Poe films), Michael Reeves; Witchfinder General debuted on Blu-ray thanks to the UK's Odeon Entertainment but that disc was coded for Region B playback and the inclusion of the film in this set from Scream Factory marks its Region A high definition debut.

The story is not an overly complicated one. The immortal Vincent Price plays Matthew Hopkins, a former lawyer and self-appointed witch hunter who operated around Suffolk and Essex during the English Civil War that waged from 1644 to 1646. Hopkins was a rather despicable man responsible for the deaths of twenty three people, nineteen of whom were accused witches and hanged for their crimes against God, and four others who died in prison.

When Hopkins hears word of a Catholic priest named John Lowes (Rupert Davies of The Oblong Box) who has been known to associate with Satan, he and his assistant, Stearne (played by Robert Russell) arrive on his doorstep to accuse him, and a few of the local women, of witchcraft. Lowe's beautiful niece, Sarah, agrees to sleep with Hopkins in exchange for sparing her uncle's life, but things don't go as planned and when Hopkins leaves town, Stearne ends up raping her.

Hopkins returns and has Father Lowe put to death despite his promise to Sarah, and when her fiancé, Richard (Ian Ogilvy who had worked with Reeves a year prior in The Sorcerers) arrives he swears he will send Hopkins to find true justice at the hands of God and vows to kill him no matter what it takes. Unfortunately for Richard, Hopkins is as smart as he is sinister, and he and Stearne think to kidnap Sarah in order to drag a false confession out of Richard so that they can legally execute him for witchcraft.

Price turns in an excellent performance as Hopkins, eschewing all sense of camp in favor of a very serious turn as the self-righteous witch hunter. He's menacing, contemptuous, and perfect in the role, and comes quite close to literally defining evil. Not only does his character do horrible things, but he does it in the name of his religion (an all too common occurrence throughout history), when in fact it is nothing more than an excuse for a perverted sadistic man in a position of some power to inflict his will upon the populace of the time.

Those expecting the camp appeal or the tongue in cheek style horror movies that Price is oft times synonymous with may be surprised to find Witchfinder General contains some powerfully and disturbing interrogation scenes that are really nothing more than torture scenarios, some of which are quite gruesome. In the context of the film and its central titular character though, it makes sense that they be there and they do add a sense of dread to the film that it otherwise would not have had.

Obviously, like in most films, some liberties were taken with the actual facts behind the Matthew Hopkins escapades. He wasn't killed by a vengeful soldier but was in fact put to one of his own tests by irate townsfolk who had become sick of his behavior. Unluckily for him, and quite ironically, he floated, and therefore must have rejected his baptism, so he was hung for witchcraft.

Video:

All six moves in the collection are presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition widescreen in the following aspect ratios: The Pit And The Pendulum is framed at 2.35.1, The Masque Of Red Death at 2.35.1, The Haunted Palace at 2.35.1, The Fall Of The House Of Usher at 2.35.1, The Abominable Doctor Phibes at 1.85.1 and Witchfinder General at 1.85.1.

Generally speaking, the quality of the transfers here is very good. The earlier films show a little more wear and a little less detail compared to the later films but they still demonstrate good depth and dimensionality. Colors look excellent across the board, particularly in the Poe pictures, while skin tones look nice and natural in each movie. There isn't any obvious edge enhancement to note and there weren't any obvious compression artifacts even on the double feature discs. These don't looks as good as a series of more modern bigger budgeted movies might, but given their roots and age, they looks pretty damn great in high definition.