tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214930440884348127.post2124163023881148469..comments2024-03-27T08:51:52.335-04:00Comments on The Bloody Pit of Horror: Macabre (1958)The Bloody Pit of Horrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04419921450872885649noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214930440884348127.post-56704140417828436362018-07-18T20:17:05.986-04:002018-07-18T20:17:05.986-04:00This one did take me by surprise. I expected camp ...This one did take me by surprise. I expected camp based on several of the other Castle movies I'd seen plus the ad campaign but it was anything but that. I still need to check out 13 Ghosts but I'm looking forward to it.The Bloody Pit of Horrorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04419921450872885649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5214930440884348127.post-53148673418065192302018-07-16T03:38:47.163-04:002018-07-16T03:38:47.163-04:00William Castle himself billed "Macabre" ...William Castle himself billed "Macabre" as the most horrifying movie of all-time (and had the $1,000 insurance against "Death by Fright" gimmick). Well, maybe not the most "horrifying" but one of the most overlooked gems in screen history. The atmospheric sets and photography by Castle are terrific, both in the Cemetery and at the Funeral Parlor. The flashbacks seem at first rather jarring, going from William Prince and Jacqueline Scott searching around a dark graveyard with flashlights, complete with tombstones, mausoleums, and ground-fog -- to bright sunny scenes of Jim Backus, Christine White, and an uncredited Robert Colbert ("The Time Tunnel"). But it's an effective way to tell the "backstory" and further contrast the dreary night search for the missing little girl. The scenes where Prince and Scott are looking for fresh graves are among the best ever done in movies. The midnight funeral of Christine White in the rain is another highlight. The funeral parlor with the flashing light from the sign that illuminates the caskets, then the hearing of "breathing" in the still and supposedly empty parlor, are more highlights. I saw this as a rather young child in the 1960s on Los Angeles television (probably one of the independent stations) and never forgot it. Today, "Macabre" stands for me right with my two other William Castle favorites -- "House on Haunted Hill" and "13 Ghosts". Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04532244500049615631noreply@blogger.com