In the 60's, Roger Corman was on a roll with movies based on Poe stories. Among the greats were Pit and the Pendulum, The Masque of the Red Death, and Fall of the House of Usher. Poe was obsessed with being buried alive, so you will see this common theme in many of his stories..and therefor the movies. 1962's Premature Burial didn't beat around the subject, it was the subject.

Guy Carrell is convinced that this father was interred prematurely, an event which scarred his psyche as a young lad. It was his worst fear that this should happen to him, that he should fall prey to catalepsy as did his father.

cat·a·lep·sy - A condition characterized by lack of response to external stimuli and by muscular rigidity, so that the limbs remain in whatever position they are placed. It is known to occur in a variety of physical and psychological disorders, such as epilepsy and schizophrenia, and can be induced by hypnosis

Guy lives on the family estate with his spinster sister. As with previous Corman films, this estate is old and eerie, with fog covered ground, complete with the family tombs in the dank cellar. Enter the fiance who arrives to announce she wishes to work thru this illness with Guy in spite of a letter to her stating he wished her to stay away. (This is another common thread in these movies.)

Guy becomes obsessed to the point of building his own mausoleum on the grounds behind the house. This is designed with the idea of escape should he be pronounced dead during a cataleptic episode. Now, he's building this and I'm think yeah.. just lay on couch here and we'll work thru this. heh.

BUT.. wow, what a cool mausoleum! The casket has escape hatches, and in case that doesn't work, tools attached to the gorgeous purple velvet lid. Additionally, he has ropes that ring bells outside, trigger a rope ladder to descend leading to a sky hatch, and one that simultaneously unlocks both the gate and crypt door. What if all that fails? Why, he has dynamite just in case! And another secret panel that opens to the outside...and food .. and if all that fails, he has a most awesome lidded chalice of poison for a last resort. I'll take two.

Ray Milland (Oliver's Story, Man with the X-ray Eyes, Terror in the Wax Museum) plays Guy Carrell very well. I kept trying to picture Vincent Price in this role since he did sooo well in all the other Poe/Corman flicks..but I have to admit Miland was the man for the role this time. Understated like Price, but with a wide range of facial expression that require no lines to let ya know what this guy is thinking. Corman wanted Price, but was having a dispute with AIP at the time, and Price was under contract to them at the time.

There is one scene with Milland where he is describing what it must feel like to be buried alive. Talk about sending chills up your spine! Milland was superb in this scene..just the right amount of fidget and eye jitter to make ya go ewwwwww!

Hazel Court is Emily Gault, Guy's fiance-turned-wife. Court did a great job as the concerned wife, and it's no wonder as she is quite an accomplished actress. Among her credits are Juliana in Masque of the Red Death, Lenore in The Raven, and Elizabeth in Curse of Frankenstein. She's practiced at shock and grieving.

Heather Angel (Pride and Prejudice (1940), Three Musketeers, The (1935)) is Kate Carrell, the creepy unwed sister to Guy. She seems a bit of a wench, but you find out why at the end. Angel is great at looking suspicious and disapproving. She should, with 53 acting credits...51 of which were prior to this one.

Richard Ney plays Miles Archer, friend of the family and research physician. Ney tries to reason with Guy about this obsession to no avail. He's also one of Emily's past loves. How convenient is that? Ney also does very well in his role. He really is a friend to Guy, and you feel he does care...even while you suspect something is up. This was Ney's last role for some reason, having previously appeared in Babes in Bagdad, Mrs. Miniver and Midnight Lace.

The atmosphere used here was developed by Corman when he made the first of his Poe movies, House of Usher. He liked the dark fog-covered ground surrounding the estate so much that he went on to use this in them all. It works. I suspect he used the same cobweb-covered cellar too.

Corman both directed and produced this one. Not one his best, but good none the less. Don't get me wrong, it is good..just not quite as good as his other Poe films. Like Man with the X-Ray Eyes, this ending is bad. Why, Roger, why? It was meant to be melodramatic and shocking. It was neither. It was actually pretty darned predictable and anticlimactic. Bummer.

Unrated but suitable for all ages if they can handle horror.

So. Do I recommend this one? Sure, why not? I mean, if you are at all into Corman, Poe, or horror in general, ya gotta have this one. I believe this is not available by itself yet though. It was released as a Midnight Madness duo along with The Masque of the Red Death. Good combo. At the time of this review, the duo is running 10 bucks at Best Buy. One disc, two sides, with a background history on each by Corman. Sweeeet.




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older