Dehydrator
06-25-2002, 03:12 AM
TWICE TOLD TALES (1963)
Directed by Sidney Salkow
Starring:
Vincent Price
Sebastian Cabot
Brett Hasley
my rating 5/10
+++ might contain minor spoilers +++
TWICE TOLD TALES is yet another horror-anthology starring the incomparable Vincent Price in all 3 episodes. Unfortunately, it's not a good anthology and only recommended to pure Price enthusiasts.
In the first story, DR. HEIDEGGER'S EXPERIMENT Price hangs out with his old time friend Dr. Heidegger ( I think it's Sebastian Cabot ) and the two discover that, due to some liquid substance dropping through the casket, that Heidegger's much loved, but dead ex-girlfriend, the body has been conserverd. Then they find out that drinking from the fluid makes you young again, and since their best times are long gone, the two researchers welcome this with open arms. Unfortunately, Heidegger deceides to re-vitalize his dead girlfriend and everything goes to shit.
I found this segment to be very creepy, there's a sense of something horrible happening throughout the scene. The portrait of Heidegger's dead spoose is kinda disturbing and the story spots some nice atmosphere. Price' two acting compadres all do their best and it shows and Vince himself doesn't chew the screen like he does often and in this case, it worked for the movie. Also has the best ending of the three episodes. If you have to watch TWICE TOLD TALES, watch it for this!
7/10
The next one, RAPPACHINI'S DAUGHTER is a total crapfest. It's boring even in fast-forward motion and doesn't deliver any kind of worthwhile payoff. The plot : Some guy falls in love with a girl he only sees walking around in a big garden next to his house and even though she tells him to stay the hell away from her, he insists on discovering her secret. Price is yet again another scientist but doesn't get much to do. It almost put me to sleep in all the self-righteous boredom, exept for an amusing scene involing an angora-rabbit and Price incredible cool look before he gets himself over the river styx, there's nothing to recommend here at all.
3/10
The third and final episode THE HOUSE WITH THE SEVEN GABLES is a bit better, although driven down by a way stupid love angle, everytime it starts to be really cool, it just stops dead. The plot is pretty predictable, featuring Price coming back to the house of his youth ( The house with the seven gables, duh, nothing about the fact that it has seven gables means anything for the story) to discover the treasure once hidden there by the guy his asshole-family buried in the cellar. Oh yeah and there's a curse that makes every male person in his family die with blood on their lips, once they spend a night in the house. This one spots some cool, gloomy atmosphere but is almost completely ruined by that damm love-angle his wife has with that guy from the cellar...or his grandson...or something...I don't care! Still a rewarding way to kill time, watch Vincent swing the pick-axe on excatly who you think he will swing it on. Features laughable plot points like nobody bothered to clean the chair of this guy's blood and how everytime the people we're supposed to root for get something to do, the doors open by themselves. Cute, isn't it?
Not too bad after all, but could have been a lot better.
5/10
In the end, TWICE TOLD TALES remains a must-see for people who have Vincent Price tattooed on their penis, everybody else should rent one of his finer works first. I wouldn't really want to live without my tape but you could do a lot better (if a lot worse too). Oh forgot to mention, all three episodes are adaptions of short stories by Nathanhiel Hawthrone. I once had RAPPACINNI'S DAUGHTER in a short-story sampler but seeing this adaption put me off reading it forever.
5/10
Directed by Sidney Salkow
Starring:
Vincent Price
Sebastian Cabot
Brett Hasley
my rating 5/10
+++ might contain minor spoilers +++
TWICE TOLD TALES is yet another horror-anthology starring the incomparable Vincent Price in all 3 episodes. Unfortunately, it's not a good anthology and only recommended to pure Price enthusiasts.
In the first story, DR. HEIDEGGER'S EXPERIMENT Price hangs out with his old time friend Dr. Heidegger ( I think it's Sebastian Cabot ) and the two discover that, due to some liquid substance dropping through the casket, that Heidegger's much loved, but dead ex-girlfriend, the body has been conserverd. Then they find out that drinking from the fluid makes you young again, and since their best times are long gone, the two researchers welcome this with open arms. Unfortunately, Heidegger deceides to re-vitalize his dead girlfriend and everything goes to shit.
I found this segment to be very creepy, there's a sense of something horrible happening throughout the scene. The portrait of Heidegger's dead spoose is kinda disturbing and the story spots some nice atmosphere. Price' two acting compadres all do their best and it shows and Vince himself doesn't chew the screen like he does often and in this case, it worked for the movie. Also has the best ending of the three episodes. If you have to watch TWICE TOLD TALES, watch it for this!
7/10
The next one, RAPPACHINI'S DAUGHTER is a total crapfest. It's boring even in fast-forward motion and doesn't deliver any kind of worthwhile payoff. The plot : Some guy falls in love with a girl he only sees walking around in a big garden next to his house and even though she tells him to stay the hell away from her, he insists on discovering her secret. Price is yet again another scientist but doesn't get much to do. It almost put me to sleep in all the self-righteous boredom, exept for an amusing scene involing an angora-rabbit and Price incredible cool look before he gets himself over the river styx, there's nothing to recommend here at all.
3/10
The third and final episode THE HOUSE WITH THE SEVEN GABLES is a bit better, although driven down by a way stupid love angle, everytime it starts to be really cool, it just stops dead. The plot is pretty predictable, featuring Price coming back to the house of his youth ( The house with the seven gables, duh, nothing about the fact that it has seven gables means anything for the story) to discover the treasure once hidden there by the guy his asshole-family buried in the cellar. Oh yeah and there's a curse that makes every male person in his family die with blood on their lips, once they spend a night in the house. This one spots some cool, gloomy atmosphere but is almost completely ruined by that damm love-angle his wife has with that guy from the cellar...or his grandson...or something...I don't care! Still a rewarding way to kill time, watch Vincent swing the pick-axe on excatly who you think he will swing it on. Features laughable plot points like nobody bothered to clean the chair of this guy's blood and how everytime the people we're supposed to root for get something to do, the doors open by themselves. Cute, isn't it?
Not too bad after all, but could have been a lot better.
5/10
In the end, TWICE TOLD TALES remains a must-see for people who have Vincent Price tattooed on their penis, everybody else should rent one of his finer works first. I wouldn't really want to live without my tape but you could do a lot better (if a lot worse too). Oh forgot to mention, all three episodes are adaptions of short stories by Nathanhiel Hawthrone. I once had RAPPACINNI'S DAUGHTER in a short-story sampler but seeing this adaption put me off reading it forever.
5/10