“DOWN — Certainly, Relentlessly Down! It Vibrated Within Three-Inches Of My Bosom…”

“…I Struggled Violently, Furiously, To Free My Left Arm. This Was Free Only From The Elbow To The Hand. I Could Reach The Latter, From The Platter Beside Me, To My Mouth, With Great Effort, But No Farther. Could I Have Broken The Fastenings Above The Elbow, I Would Have Seized And Attempted To Arrest The Pendulum. I Might As Well Have Attempted To Arrest An Avalanche! …“

—EDGAR ALLAN POE

(From His “THE PIT And THE PENDULUM“)

“My Own Mistake Arose, Naturally Enough, Through Too Careless, Too Inquisitive, And Too Impulsive A Temperament…”

“…But Of Late, It Is A Rare Thing That I Sleep Soundly At Night.  There Is A Countenance Which Haunts Me, Turn As I Will. There Is An Hysterical Laugh Which Will Forever Ring Within My Ears.“

–“THE OBLONG BOX“

by EDGAR ALLAN POE

“…For A Moment, She Remained Trembling And Reeling To And Fro Upon The Threshold…”

“…Then, With A Low Moaning Cry, Fell Heavily Inward Upon The Person Of Her Brother, And In Her Violent And Now Final Death-Agonies, Bore Him To The Floor A Corpse, And A Victim To The Terrors He Had Anticipated. …”

—EDGAR ALLAN POE

“THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER“

Wanna Know What’s On Right Now??? “BLACK DEATH” (2010)

Yes Yes Yes, My Peeps…

“BLACK DEATH“

…Seemed Like The Perfect Flick For A Sunday Morning.

Wouldn’t You Agree?!?

I KNEW YOU WOULD!!!

😉

😀

Being A Huge Fan Of…

SEAN BEAN

…The Star Of…

“BLACK DEATH“

…I Was Oh So Ready To See This Flick As Soon As Was Possible.

I Rented It The First Week It Was Out On The DVD…

…And Ended-Up Renting It THREE (3) More Times Before Finally Saying To Myself…

“Sheesh, Dude. Just BUY IT And Be Done With It!”

And So I Did.

🙂

 As The Title Suggests…

…This Flick Takes Place During The 14TH-Century…

…When The Plague Was Running Rampant Throughout The Whole Of Europe.

SEAN BEAN

…Is…

“ULRIC“

…And He Is Dispatched, Along With A Company Of Warriors And A Monk, To Seek-Out A Village Far Far Away.

This Village Is Said To Be Immune From The Plague Because It’s Headed By A Necromancer With Devilish Powers Over Life And Death.

The Ensuing Journey To The Village Brings HARSH And HORRID HORRORS To…

“ULRIC“

…And His Men.

They Do Find The Village…

…And They Are Shocked To Find The Rumors About It Are VERY TRUE!

What Happens Next???

Well…

…You’ll Just Have To WATCH IT And FIND OUT!!!

😀

This Flick Is A Regular Pant-Load Of Fun, Fo SHO!

I Know A Few Folks Who Said They Simply LOVED IT…

…And A Few Folks Who Said They Simply HATED IT…

…Though NO ONE Has Yet Uttered A Single Negative Word About…

SEAN BEAN

!!! !!!

SO, Kiddies…

…If You’re Kicking About At The House…

…And You’re Oh So Bored…

…Then I Can TOTALLY Recommend This Flick…

“BLACK DEATH“

…As A Perfect Way To Break-Up Those Bored Feelings.

Is This Flick An Amazingly Great Flick???

No.

Is It Cool Enough To Make You Say…

“That Was Pretty Cool. I’m Glad I Watched That.”

??? ???

YES YES YES, My Peeps!!!

FO SHO FO SHO!!!

😉

😀

“…Distinct, Coldly, Calmly Distinct, Fell Those Few Simple Sounds Within My Ear, And Thence Like Molten Lead Rolled Hissingly Into My Brain. …” — EDGAR ALLAN POE (“Morella”)

“…Years – Years May Pass Away, But The Memory Of That Epoch Never.  Nor Was I Indeed Ignorant Of The Flowers And The Vine, But The Hemlock And The Cypress Overshadowed Me Night And Day. …“

“…And I Kept No Reckoning Of Time or Place, And The Stars Of My Fate Faded From Heaven, And Therefore The Earth Grew Dark, And Its Figures Passed By Me Like Flitting Shadows, And Among Them All I Beheld Only… Morella. …“

(Not So) Random Movie Mention: CRY OF THE BANSHEE (1970)

EDGAR ALLAN POE and VINCENT PRICE Merge Once Again!

 While “CRY OF THE BANSHEE” Is NOT The Best Of The Best…I

…It Does Have Some Plus-Points.

The Main Plus Being Its Star VINCENT PRICE!

He Does All he Can To Give This Flick Something Fun To Showcase.

His Performance Is CLASSIC VINCENT PRICE, Fo SHO!

The Production Values Are Acceptable.

The Direction Is Simply NOT As Top-Notch As One Would Have Hoped, And The Supporting Cast Is VERY HIT&MISS.

That’s Putting It As Mildly As Possible.

HOWEVER… It IS A Fun Flick, Despite Its Glaring Flaws, And An EASY CHOICE For A Random, or (Not So) Random, Mentioning.

If You’re Just Looking For Something Kinda Gory & Brutal, With An AMAZING PERFORMER Headlining The Show…

…You Could Do A Lot Worse Than “CRY OF THE BANSHEE” And THAT’s A BIG FO SHO, Good Buddies!

😉

“…We Have A Task Before Us Which Must Be Speedily Performed. We Know That It Will Be Ruinous To Make Delay. …” — EDGAR ALLAN POE (“The Imp Of The Perverse” (1845))

“…The Most Important Crisis Of Our Life Calls…

…Trumpet-Tongued…

…For IMMEDIATE Energy AND Action.

We Glow…

…We Are Consumed With Eagerness To Commence The Work…

…With The Anticipation Of Whose Glorious Result Our Whole Souls Are On Fire.

It MUST…

…It SHALL Be Undertaken Today…

…And Yet We Put It Off Until Tomorrow…

…And Why?

There Is No Answer…

…Except That We Feel PERVERSE…

…Using The Word With No Comprehension Of The Principle. …”

EDGAR ALLAN POE –Author Of The Short-Story “THE IMP OF THE PERVERSE” Which Was First Published In JULY Of 1845 In “GRAHAM’S MAGAZINE” And Is A Story About A Person Dealing With His “Self-Destructive Tendencies” Including Murder, And The Burning NEED To Confess About The Murder.–

(Not So) Random Movie Mention: THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964)

The Lone Reason I Have For Calling This Bloggin’ing “(Not So) Random…” Is That I’m Actually Watching The Film, “THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH”, As I Write This 😀 Every Actor Has Their Favorite Role, or Character, They’ve Had The Good Fortune To Play. For VINCENT PRICE, He Was Overheard On More Than One Occasion Making Statements Over Basically How Much Fun He Had Playing The Evil “PRINCE PROSPERO”!!!

The Original Story Of “THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH” Was Written By Another ALL-TIME FAVE-FAVE, Mr. EDGAR ALLAN POE. As LAURENCE OLIVIER Was To WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, So Was VINCENT PRICE To EDGAR ALLAN POE, Fo SHO Fo SHO! If You’d Ask Me For A Film Recommendation Based Off Of A Classic POE-PENNED-TALE, You’d Be Hard Pressed To Find One Better Than “THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH” I Promise You, Fo SHO Fo SHO Fo SHO!!! 😉

Something Wildly WILD WILD WILD Has Happened, My Peeps…

…As…

…Something I’ve “OFFICIALLY” Stated…

…Many Many MANY Times…

…Has “OFFICIALLY” CHANGED In My World!

SOME Folks HATE HATE HATE That.

I…

…Am On The Ole “Flip-Side” Of THAT “Proverbial Coin“!!!

If You’ll Allow Me To Jive With Ya A Moment…

…Here’s What Up:

For An ULTRA-LOOOOOOONG-TIME…

…I’ve Told (nearly) EVERYONE…

…”WITCHFINDER GENERAL“…

...Is…

…BY FAR…

…MY…

…”FAVE of FAVES“…

…In Regard To…

…VINCENT PRICE Films.

Period.

TODAY…

…However…

…I’m “OFFICIALLY“…

…Going “ON-THE-RECORD“…

…With Y’ALL…

…And Saying…

…”WITCHFINDER GENERAL“…

…IS…

…An AMAZING…

…”Horror/Thriller Film“…

…And…

…Honestly…

…That Can NEVER Be Denied.

Well…

…At Least…

…Not In MY Mind.

BUT BUT BUT, Dear Friends…

…I’ve “OFFICIALLY” Found…

…A NEW…

 …”FAVE of FAVES“!!!

I’ve Seen EACH and EVERY (available) Horror/Thriller…

…Within Dear VINCENT’s “Film Acting Catalog” I’ve Found…

..Thus Far.

😉

Some Are Silly.

Some Are MORE Silly.

Some Are Brutal.

Some Are MORE Brutal.

Some Are Brilliant.

Some Are MORE Brilliant.

And…

…I Have Now Made My Decision, Kiddies.

“WITCHFINDER GENERAL“

???

Brutal AND Brilliant.

“DIARY

OF A

MADMAN”

??? ???

Not So Brutal…

…But…

…BRILLIANT…

…BRILLIANT…

…BRILLIANT!!!

"DIARY OF A MADMAN" (1963)

I’d Only Seen This Film ONCE.

I Was About…

…oh…

…12’ish.

I’m NOW About…

…oh…

…30’ish’ish.

My Mind Is MORE Aged.

My Perception Is MORE Acute.

My Passion For “The Things I Find AMAZING“…

…Has Grown By “LEAPS and BOUNDS“…

…And In Ways I TOTALLY Find…

…MUCH MORE AMAZING.

PERIOD.

VINCENT PRICE…

…Totally Totally TOTALLY…

…Found His…

…”Performance Balance“…

…In…

“DIARY

OF A

MADMAN”

VINCENT PRICE is "Magistrate Simon Cordier" in "DIARY OF A MADMAN"

I Have NEVER…

…NEVER NEVER EVER NEVER NEVER…

…Seen Such An “AMAZING Combo“…

…Of…

…Calm…

…Cool…

…And…

…Calculating…

…Mixed…

…To…

…PERFECTION…

…With…

…STARK…

…RAVING…

…CRAZY…

…BRILLIANT…

…MADNESS!!!

VINCENT PRICE is TOTALLY In-Control, Here!

I’m A HUGE Fan…

…Of Often “OVER-ACTORS“…

…Who Show You Something “DIFFERENT“.

Something You’ve NEVER Seen From Them Before.

“WITCHFINDER GENERAL“

In All Honesty…

…DID Give US That.

VINCENT PRICE…

…Had NEVER Shown Such…

…hmm…

…”Restraint“???

And THAT…

…In VERY MUCH All Honesty…

…Is What SOLD…

…That Film…

…And…

…That Performance.

The Often “OVER-ACTING“…

…VINCENT PRICE…

…Held Back.

He Wanted To Make…

…”Mr. Matthew Hopkins“…

…A TRULY…

…”Frightening Character“…

…And I’ve ALWAYS Felt He DID DO EXACTLY THAT.

In…

“DIARY

OF A

MADMAN”

…However…

…He Gives Us That “Restraint“…

…And He Then…

…EXPANDS Upon-It.

He’s NOT Just…

Calm, Cool, And Calculating.

NOT. AT. ALL.

He’s ALSO…

…A DAMNED…

…”COMPELLINGLY“…

…”CRAZY-MO-FO“!!!

Sooooooooooo CRAZY…

…You’re Often Left To Wonder…

…”Is This…

…MY VINCENT PRICE“???

His "WORK Within His Work" Is DAMN SURE CREEPY!!!

Once You Come To Terms With The Fact That…

…IT DAMNED SURE IS…

…You Are Instantly…

…”INTRIGUED“!!!

You’ve Seen Him Act Before.

You’ve Seen It Many MANY Times.

You’ve Just NEVER Seen Him Act LIKE THIS!!!

You've (likely) NEVER Seen VINCENT PRICE Act SOOOO WELL!!!

I Sooooooooooooooooo WISH…

…WISH WISH WISH…

…There Were A “VETERAN’S COMITY“…

…For…

…”ACADEMY AWARD OVERSIGHTS“…

…FO FLIPPIN’ SHO!

If There WERE Such An Animal???

And…

…Had VINCENT PRICE…

…EVER EVER EVER…

…Been…

…TRULY…

…”Taken-SERIOUSLY“???

Vincen Price Was NEVER Taken Seriously Enough. PERIOD.

Yeah.

We’d Be Calling Him…

“ACADEMY

AWARD

WINNER

VINCENT

PRICE“

…WITHOUT. A. DOUBT.

PERIOD.

PERIOD.

Has A (rather) Pleasant “Ring To It“…

…DON’T IT, My Peeps!?!?!?!!!!

DAMN

SKIPPY

It

Does!!!

VINCENT PRICE Plays This One SOOOO Amazingly Well, My Peeps. PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!!!

Bradley Alan…

…NOW HAS…

…A NEW…

…”FAVORITE FILM”…

…And…

…COULD NOT BE MORE HAPPY WITH IT!!!

Subtle Is One Thing.

Crazy Is Another.

SUBTLETY…

…AND…

…CRAZY…

…COMBINED???

It Becomes…

…PURE…

…PURE…

…BRILLIANCE!!!

😉