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The Terrorphile: Corman, Price, and Poe -- A Video Tribute

Author
Date
08-24-2010
Comments
Fall of the House of Usher poster

I grew up on two kinds of horror movies: Universal creature features and Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe films. I have very specific memories of watching Vincent Price going mad in Pit and the Pendulum and cheering on the magic duel in The Raven. These are formative experiences in my life as a film aficionado, so when Jose Cruz decided to devote a month of his Cold Reads column to celebrating Poe's short stories, I felt it was the right time to pay tribute to the cinematic triumvirate of Corman, Price, and Poe. 

Using Kasabian's Club Foot as the music, I recreated the shared narrative of four of the Poe films: Fall of the House of Usher, Pit and the Pendulum, the "Morella" segment in Tales of Terror, and Tomb of Ligeia (note that three of those four were written by Richard Matheson). I also included nods to Masque of the Red Death and used some emotional beats from The Raven and The Haunted Palace.

Some additional notes:

  • Since this was a more narrative-oriented vid than my previous Universal monsters tribute, I wasn't able to include much that didn't fit neatly into my constructed storyline. As such, I had to leave out a lot of my favorite moments throughout the series, including the "Black Cat" segment from Tales of Terror, the last act of Pit and the Pendulum, and most of The Raven and The Masque of the Red Death.
  • Along those same lines, I wasn't able to include Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney Jr., Patrick Macnee, or Basil Rathbone. Hazel Court and Barbara Steele make cameos.
  • The odd-man-out status of Premature Burial as the only Corman Poe film to not star Vincent Price means that it didn't get included at all. I tried, but there just wasn't a good place for it. 
  • I wish I could have done more with the house-as-monster angle, but it didn't pan out.
  • Apparently, because of copyright issues with the song, the Youtube embed won't play for some of our international readers. I'm working on a solution.

Great. what software are you

Great. what software are you using to edit the videos? Sony Vegas? I may try something like this in the future. I am slightly skilled at basic Vegas and Not too bad with Sony Acid but never thought of doing anything like this. Effect. very much so at the beginning before the singing begins whena ll the people seem to ne walking towards something or searching for something. here was something I tried. I did the music with Sony Acid and the clips are from films like Fatser Pussycat and Explosive Generation. It is sort of a mess but maybe can lead somewhere with practice.

http://podcast-beatcast.uraniumcafe-the.com/2010/05/08/short-of-clothes-...

 

I like this sort of thing and am always interested in what other people are doing.

 

Bill

I use Final Cut Express which

I use Final Cut Express which is a Mac-exclusive program. It's served me well.

That was a pretty cool video you linked to. You should keep exploring video editing.

"He went for a little walk! You should have seen his face!"

I know of Final Cut since my

I know of Final Cut since my wife is a Mac person. Yea, any little like this inspires me. We -the wife and I- are planning an animated little cartton about an ESL teacher in China but so far in the talk stages. Will let you know if it gets off the ground.

 

Bill

Corman's Poe adaptations are

Corman's Poe adaptations are some of my favorite and nostalgic horror films. I had an opportunity to write a retrospective on Fall of the House of Usher at Cinefantastique and know what it's like to channel your appreciation into a piece like this. Thanks for creating this tribute, and for nurturing my inner '70s horror child.

A really great piece, sir.

A really great piece, sir. Having not heard the song or seen many of the Corman-Poe films, this video served as a real viewing treat. The music and visuals combined to make a truly effective and engrossing segment. Awesome job!

Great work. Really great. Now

Great work. Really great. Now I'm in the mood to watch House of Usher.

Nate, this is excellent! I

Nate, this is excellent! I love all the films featured in your clip, and this video is cool enough to inspire a Price/Poe marathon.