Generally considered one of the least successful of Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe adaptations; which has a lot to do with the absence of star Vincent Price (this is the only film of the eight he didn’t star in). Because the film started as an independent production and Price was under contract with AIP at the time, he was not able to do the film. Price’s inimitable presence would have indeed turned this into an entirely different film (and probably would have effectively diffused some of the more horrific elements of the story), but I have no problem watching Ray Milland in the lead role, either. I also have no problem with the series taking a more serious turn. PREMATURE BURIAL is certainly one of the most grim, moody, foggy and removed of the entire series, but that doesn’t mean it is a bad horror film by any stretch. It’s actually pretty good.
Mr. Milland plays a cranky medical student who is obsessed with the idea that he will one day be buried alive; a fate that also befell his father. He has even devised his own special tomb, complete with trap doors, alarms and escape hatches in case his fears do indeed become a reality (one of the more clever touches in the Charles Beaumont/Ray Russell script). Naturally, all doesn’t work as planned and before the movie is over Milland gets buried alive, goes mad and busts out of his tomb to indulge in a murderous rampage. Hazel Court, who usually passed up the lead virtuous good girl role for characters like this, actually seems to be playing a supportive wife… until the final plot surprise is revealed. The fine supporting cast also Richard Ney as a doctor who may or may not be up to something bad, Heather Angel as Milland’s sister, John Dierkes, Alan Napier, Dick Miller (who is credited as “Richard Miller” and is hard to recognize in a small role as a grave-robber who become a victim) and Brendan Dillon.
MGM’s Midnight Movies DVD collection doubles this movie with the timeless MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964), which is a must for horror film collectors. It has two great interviews with a grinning Roger Corman about the productions of both films, plus trailers.
