Vincent Price is one of my all-time favorite actors, and it is undeniable that most of his greatest work comes from the the 60s. Even though not nearly as memorable as the masterpieces Price was in in the the early 60s (such as Roger Corman's brilliant Poe-cycle, or "The Last Man On Earth"), Reginald Le Borg's "Diary Of A Madman" is a moody and spooky little Horror tale that my fellow Price fans can not afford to miss.
Price stars as Simon Cordier, a widowed magistrate, and spare-time sculptor. When Cordier visits a convicted murderer in his cell, the convict keeps swearing that he was forced to murder by an evil spirit. After a subsequent fight, in which Cordier accidentally kills the murderer in self-defense, he soon has to find out that the murderer's claims were not the foul excuses he thought they were, as he suddenly begins to hear the voice of evil himself. It is the voice of a 'Horla', a bizarre entity that feeds on evil, able to take control over people once it has possessed them... The film is based on the story "The Horla" by Guy de Monparnass, a French author whose writings reportedly served as a major inspiration to H.P. Lovecraft. Vincent Price is, as always, great. Pice always played madmen like no other, and the particular role as a possessed man who is still trying to fight the evil spirit possessing him fits him like a glove. It should be a joy for any fan of classic Horror to watch Vincent Price try to fight off evil and turn into a mindless executor of the Horla's will. The Horla is never seen, only heard, but the voice is eerie enough. The film is well-shot on cool settings and in nice colors and Nancy Kovack makes a nice female lead. The rest of the performances are not particularly memorably, but Vincent Price alone is more than enough.
As mentioned above, "Diary Of A Madman" is not nearly as memorable as many other contemporary films with Price. Price starred in quite a bunch of brilliant flicks around that time, however, (one of his greatest films, "The Haunted Palace" was made in the same year as this one) and this is still a highly entertaining, eerie and nicely made film that none of his fans should miss. More than once, this film resembles older Vincent Price Classics, but, as far as I am considered, this is legitimate. Overall "Diary Of A Madman" is great, spooky fun that should not be missed by any of my fellow Price-enthusiasts! Highly recommended!
Price stars as Simon Cordier, a widowed magistrate, and spare-time sculptor. When Cordier visits a convicted murderer in his cell, the convict keeps swearing that he was forced to murder by an evil spirit. After a subsequent fight, in which Cordier accidentally kills the murderer in self-defense, he soon has to find out that the murderer's claims were not the foul excuses he thought they were, as he suddenly begins to hear the voice of evil himself. It is the voice of a 'Horla', a bizarre entity that feeds on evil, able to take control over people once it has possessed them... The film is based on the story "The Horla" by Guy de Monparnass, a French author whose writings reportedly served as a major inspiration to H.P. Lovecraft. Vincent Price is, as always, great. Pice always played madmen like no other, and the particular role as a possessed man who is still trying to fight the evil spirit possessing him fits him like a glove. It should be a joy for any fan of classic Horror to watch Vincent Price try to fight off evil and turn into a mindless executor of the Horla's will. The Horla is never seen, only heard, but the voice is eerie enough. The film is well-shot on cool settings and in nice colors and Nancy Kovack makes a nice female lead. The rest of the performances are not particularly memorably, but Vincent Price alone is more than enough.
As mentioned above, "Diary Of A Madman" is not nearly as memorable as many other contemporary films with Price. Price starred in quite a bunch of brilliant flicks around that time, however, (one of his greatest films, "The Haunted Palace" was made in the same year as this one) and this is still a highly entertaining, eerie and nicely made film that none of his fans should miss. More than once, this film resembles older Vincent Price Classics, but, as far as I am considered, this is legitimate. Overall "Diary Of A Madman" is great, spooky fun that should not be missed by any of my fellow Price-enthusiasts! Highly recommended!