The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)

Directed by Roger Corman [Other horror films: The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955), Day the World Ended (1955), It Conquered the World (1956), Not of This Earth (1957), Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), The Undead (1957), War of the Satellites (1958), The Wasp Woman (1959), A Bucket of Blood (1959), House of Usher (1960), The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Premature Burial (1962), Tales of Terror (1962), Tower of London (1962), The Raven (1963), The Terror (1963), X (1963), The Haunted Palace (1963), The Masque of the Red Death (1964), Roger Corman’s Frankenstein Unbound (1990)]

I was rather surprised by The Tomb of Ligeia. When it comes to Roger Corman/Vincent Price movies, I generally enjoy them, but I rarely love them. The Haunted Palace, House of Usher, and The Raven are all varying levels of okay; The Tomb of Ligeia, however, really is a stellar film.

What really worked for me was the story. Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s short story ‘Ligeia,’ this was a wild ride. The last Roger Corman-Edgar Allan Poe combination (following films such as House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, Premature Burial, Tales of Terror, The Raven, The Haunted Palace, and The Masque of the Red Death), I didn’t know what to expect, but I loved the mystery throughout the film, and come the finale, there are some big twists and turns I didn’t see coming at all.

It’s even better, though, because these twists didn’t come out of nowhere – we’re given multiple clues as to what’s going on, and though I didn’t catch on, I loved it all the more for that.

Vincent Price’s character throughout the film was so melodramatically maudlin. I mean, he’s dramatic in a lot of his films, such as the similarly stellar The Pit and the Pendulum, but it’s turned up to eleven here, and I loved it. Price has long been one of my favorite actors of the genre, and among films such as House on Haunted Hill and Theatre of Blood, this is certainly now a favorite of his performances.

Aside from Price, we have Elizabeth Shepherd (Damien: Omen II), Oliver Johnston (It!), John Westbrook, and Derek Francis. Westbrook didn’t really make too much of an impression, but everyone else, especially both Shepherd and Johnston did stellar. Playing a manservant, Johnston’s character would seem limited, but I think he really adds a lot to the film, especially more toward the finale.

It’s not just the wild plot and twists, or performances, that make this work though. The cinematography seems oddly dynamic for the time period, with some quick-moving camera action. Not only that, but there’s a dream sequence in the film that really captures the atmosphere of a dream, and I dug it.

Like I said, going into The Tomb of Ligeia, I expected to like the movie, because there’s very few movies with Price that I end up disliking. What I didn’t anticipate was coming out rather loving the movie. It’s not quite as good as The Pit and the Pendulum, but it’s still a very solid movie, and if you’re a Vincent Price fan and haven’t yet seen this, I recommend it highly.

8.5/10