Though I generally disdain streaming services for movie collection, every now and then I'll use the access I'm already paying for to watch something.
Last week it was Vincent Price in Horror Palace. This is a typical low-budget 1960s horror film but it has an interesting an unexpected twist – some oddball tie-ins to the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
The story is a conventional one – a warlock (male witch) of course played by Vincent Price is burned at the stake by the outraged townspeople in the late 1700s for his various crimes. He places a curse on the town and vows to return.
A century later, Price returns as a descendant who has inherited the estate. Naturally he's a decent, secular man who will of course be possessed by his ancestor. Price excels at these kinds of rules, being kind and warm in one scene and cruel and sinister the next. That transition is what makes him so fun to watch.
What makes the film stand out is the number of Lovecraftian influences, including references to the Elder Gods, a copy of the Necronomicon, and other flourishes. I'm not going to say this is a must-own, but it was fun to watch and Lovecraft nerds need to add it to their collection.
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