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[tab title="Movie Review"]

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Cinematic horror has worn many faces over the years.  Few actors such as those of Vincent Price have actually earned a reputation for being the genre’s torchbearer.  The man “gets it” and made a bankable career in films we now celebrate as horror classics.  Once classified as only a second billing, Price found himself the leading man when it came to horror.  No wonder then that he stuck with it.

Perhaps there is no other cinematic team-up worthy of considerable envy than that of Edgar Allan Poe, Roger Corman, and Price.  After all, with Poe’s work adapted for the screen, Corman and Price created quite a rich legacy that spanned across a total of 8 films.  The films were made on the cheap, fairly innovative, and gave audiences exactly what they wanted.  They were huge hits at the time and still have quite a legacy in film history.  Tales of Terror, newly released on blu-ray courtesy of Kino-Lorber, is the fourth in the series and the first one centered around Poe’ favorite obsession: death.

Starring Price, Basil Rathbone, Peter Lorre, and David Frankham (The Return of the Fly), Tales of Terror is arguably the best at showing just how versatile Poe was as a writer.  Sure you get the paranoid victim, the rich imagination, and the wit, but Tales of Terror highlights the humorous aspect more so than in what had come before.  Lorre is genius in his madness as Montresor Herringbone, a man who hates his cat as much as he does his wife.  Rathbone, who would later appear in Corman’s The Comedy of Terrors upon the success of this one, finds himself caught between two worlds and pulls off some serious life after death.

The three short sequences in each tale of terror are based on the following Poe tales: "Morella", "The Black Cat" which is combined with another Poe tale, "The Cask of Amontillado", and "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar".  Price introduces each story (a routine he would revisit when asked by PBS to host a monster movie matinee for their stations).  He also appears in them, anchoring Poe’s intentions with wit.

Price gets to show off his range as an actor in Tales of Terror.  Each one of his characters are different and, while a moot point nowadays, really show that the man was more than just a B-movie actor.  He is still deliciously fun to watch on the screen as he mourns over the death of a wife as a paranoid widower, appears as an arrogant boaster in another, and a feeble old man on the edge of death in the final tale. 

Throughout each of the three shorts, Price flexes some serious acting skills and keeps Tales of Terror afloat amidst all its, as the New York Times described it at the time of its release, “trashy absurdities”.  The 1960s were good for the horror anthology and, rather surprisingly, the style seems to be having a sort of resurgence with V/H/S and The ABCs of Death.  See where it all began with Tales of Terror on blu-ray.

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[tab title="Film Details"]

MPAA Rating: Unrated
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: Roger Corman
Writer: Roger Corman
Cast: Vincent Price, Maggie Pierce, Leona Gage
Genre: Horror | Classic
Tagline: A Trilogy of Shock and Horror!.
Memorable Movie Quote: "What exactly is it that occurs within the moment of death, especially to a man within that moment who is not permitted to die, as in the case of Mr. Valdemar?"
Distributor: American International Pictures
Official Site:
Release Date: July 4, 1962
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: April 14, 2015
Synopsis: Three tales of terror involve a grieving widower and the daughter he abandoned; a drunkard and his wife's black cat; and a hypnotist who prolongs the moment of a man's death.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - April 14, 2015
Screen Formats: 2.35:1
Subtitles: None
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 25GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Region Encoding: A

Tales Of Terror arrives on Blu-ray from Kino.   The 1080p transfer is an upgrade from previous versions.  Colors are well-saturated.  Black levels are strong.  The contrast is high.  The release is offered in a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• There are two commentary tracks.

Special Features:

• Corman Interview (11 min)
• Trailers from Hell! (9 min)
• Original Theatrical Trailer

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