Tomb of Ligeia (1965)

Over-rated and talky, this proved to be the last of the Poe/Corman/Price collaborations. Vincent Price plays the peculiar Verden Feel, a morose and gloomy man haunted by the death of his wife Ligeia. Upon her deathbed, Ligeia promised Verden that she would be the only woman he would ever marry during his lifetime, and he is convinced his deceased wife haunts him day in and day out. Daring to fall in love again and tempting his wife’s curse, Verden marries a young lady that is eerily the spitting image of his dead wife. Soon a mysterious black cat is tormenting Verden’s new bride, and Verden himself is acting mighty peculiar…has Ligeia returned from the dead to keep her hubby on a tight leash?

The three points of focus here are on acting, story and atmosphere. Roger Corman once again serves up a gothic delight of haunted crypts and gloomy abbey’s, and the acting by all is terrific. The main drawback to this one is that there is hardly any onscreen excitement to compliment the acting and overall creepy vibe. This one is extremely talky, and I found myself nodding off at several points during the film. Throwing a black cat at an actor every twenty minutes or so just isn’t my idea of fun. And, while the story is fairly good and the end eventually reveals everything, there are some parts that will either intrigue you or confuse you depending on how closely you are watching. I would say that this one is a must for Poe/Corman/Price fans, but is more than likely a little to slow paced for someone that needs something to explode every ten minutes or so to maintain interest.