The Haunted Palace
Release date: 1963-08-28
Votes: 173
Genres: Horror
A warlock burned at the stake comes back and takes over the body of his great grandson to take his revenge on the descendents of the villages that burned him.
Reviews
Wuchak
_**Lovecraft-ian tale of a dark castle with Vincent Price and Debra Paget**_ During the Victorian era, a man and his wife (Price & Paget) inherit an ominous chateau on the coast of New England, but its sorcerous history seems to cast a spell on him and this provokes the leery populace to hostile action (Leo Gordon, Elisha Cook Jr., etc.). Lon Chaney Jr. and Frank Maxwell are also on hand. "The Haunted Palace" (1963) takes its title from Poe’s poem, and quotes it, but the story hails from HP Lovecraft’s yarn "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward." AIP insisted on the Poe-connection to capitalize on the recent success of Roger Corman’s Poe movies. Eight of these Poe-inspired flicks were were done by Corman, but others were filmed by different directors, like “The Conqueror Worm” (1968), aka “Witchfinder General,” and “The Oblong Box” (1969). Others were Poe-ish in ambiance, yet had nothing to do with the works of Poe, like Corman & Coppola’s “The Terror” (1963). Most of these flicks didn’t follow Poe’s stories/poems very closely despite his name being attached to them, as is the case with this one, although a few did. The spooky Gothic horror sets are to die for. You have spider webs, foggy graveyards, forbidden castles, dark sorceries, hostile mobs with torches, burnings at the stake, curses, rats, caged monstrosities, hauntings, possession, demons in pits and beautiful Victorian lasses. Being a Lovecraft yarn, you naturally get gobbledygook about Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, etc. While not as good as “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) and “The Conqueror Worm” (1968), this one’s on the same level as “The Terror,” “The Masque of the Red Death” (1964), “The Raven” (1963) and “Tomb of Ligeia” (1964). AIP was basically the American version of Hammer in England, so devotees of Hammer horror should appreciate it. This was the last theatrical appearance of the stunning Debra Paget, who was 29 during shooting. She married a Chinese oil mogul, which would last 18 years and produce one son. She became a Christian and eventually came out of retirement to appear seven times on TBN’s Praise show (1988-2013). Also featured on the feminine front is the equally gorgeous Cathie Merchant, as well as Darlene Lucht in a brief role. The movie runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and was shot at Producers Studios in Hollywood. Virginia is also listed, which relates to establishing shots. GRADE: B-/B (6.7/10)
Movie Recommendation
The Whip and the Body1963-08-29Disowned in the past by his father, Kurt Menliff, a cruel and sadistic nobleman, returns to the family castle to reclaim his inheritance.More...
The Masque of the Red Death1964-06-24A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.More...
Twice-Told Tales1963-09-013 horror stories based on the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the 1st story titled "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", Heidegger attempts to restore the youth of three elderly friends. In "Rappaccini's Daughter", a demented father is innoculating his daughter with poison so she may never leave her garden of poisonous plants. In the final story "The House of the Seven Gables", The Pyncheon family suffers from a hundred year old curse and while in the midst of arguing over inheritance, a stranger arrives.More...
The Pit and the Pendulum1961-08-23In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.More...
Boys in the Trees2016-09-09On Halloween 1997, two estranged teen skaters embark on a surreal journey through their memories, dreams and fears.More...
The Scary House2020-10-30When a big-city family moves to a remote town, two young brothers and their new friends try to solve the menacing mystery that haunts their home.More...
Scream and Scream Again1970-02-02A serial killer who drains his victims for blood is on the loose and London police follow him to a house owned by an eccentric scientist.More...
House of Usher1960-07-20Convinced that his family’s blood is tainted by generations of evil, Roderick Usher is hell-bent on destroying his sister Madeline’s wedding to prevent the cursed Usher bloodline from extending any further. When her fiancé, Philip Winthrop, arrives at the crumbling family estate to claim his bride, Roderick goes to ruthless lengths to keep them apart.More...
LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Batman Be-Leaguered2014-10-27When Batman, claiming to be a loner, refuses to join the Justice League, he is drawn into working with them when they are kidnapped one-by-one and held prisoner by one of Batman's nemeses.More...
Gloomy Sunday1999-10-21Budapest in the thirties. The restaurant owner Laszlo hires the pianist András to play in his restaurant. Both men fall in love with the beautiful waitress Ilona who inspires András to his only composition. His song of Gloomy Sunday is, at first, loved and then feared, for its melancholic melody triggers off a chain of suicides. The fragile balance of the erotic ménage à trois is sent off kilter when the German Hans goes and falls in love with Ilona as well.More...
The Tomb of Ligeia1964-11-29Verden Fell is shattered after the death of his lovely wife. But, after an unexpected encounter with Lady Rowena Trevanion, Fell soon finds himself married again. Nevertheless, his late wife's spirit seems to hang over the dilapidated abbey that Fell shares with his new bride. Lady Rowena senses that something is amiss and, when she investigates, makes a horrifying discovery -- learning that Fell's dead wife is closer than she ever imagined possible.More...
World Without End1956-03-25Four astronauts returning from man's first mission to Mars enter a time warp and crash on a 26th Century Earth devastated by atomic war. At first unaware where they are, but finding the atmosphere safe to breathe, they start exploring and find themselves in a divided future where disfigured mutants living like cavemen inhabit the surface, while the normals live comfortably below the surface but are dying as a race from lack of natural water, air and sunlight.More...
i hate myself :)2017-04-07Nebbishy filmmaker Joanna Arnow documents her yearlong relationship with an open-mic poet provocateur. What starts out as an uncomfortably intimate portrait of a dysfunctional relationship and protracted mid-twenties adolescence, quickly turns into a complex commentary on societal repression, sexuality and self-confrontation through art.More...
The Gospel According to Matthew1965-03-03Along a rocky, barren coastline, Jesus begins teaching, primarily using parables. He attracts disciples; he's stern, brusque, and demanding. His parables often take on the powers that be, so he and his teachings come to the attention of the Pharisees, the chief priests, and elders. They conspire to have him arrested, beaten, tried, and crucified, just as he prophesied to his followers.More...
The Last Man on Earth1964-05-06When a disease turns all of humanity into the living dead, the last man on earth becomes a reluctant vampire hunter.More...
Shadow of a Doubt1943-01-15Just when Charlie is feeling especially frustrated by the lack of excitement in her small town in California, she receives wonderful news: Her uncle and namesake, Charlie, is coming to visit. However, as secrets about him come to the fore, her admiration turns into suspicion.More...
A World Apart2024-03-28Elementary school teacher Michele Cortese is about to start a whole new life. After 40 years of teaching in the metropolitan Roman jungle, he had to move to a village in Central Italy, to teach in a tiny school with just a few children aged 7-10. Struggling to overcome his urban inadequacy, he finds a friendly face in vice-principal Agnese and gradually manages to fit in, thanks to her and their spirited pupils. As everything seems to be falling into place, unwelcome news comes through: the school has failed to meet its student quota for the next year and will soon be shut for good.More...
The Little Hours2017-06-30Garfagnana, Italy, 1347. The handsome servant Masseto, fleeing from his vindictive master, takes shelter in a nunnery where three young nuns, Sister Alessandra, Sister Ginevra and Sister Fernanda, try unsuccessfully to find out what their purpose in life is, a conundrum that each of them faces in different ways.More...
Fountain of Youth2025-05-19A treasure-hunting mastermind assembles a team for a life-changing adventure. But to outwit and outrun threats at every turn, he'll need someone even smarter than he is: his estranged sister.More...
Hidden2015-09-15A family takes refuge in a fallout shelter to avoid a dangerous outbreak.More...
Similar Movies
Blood: The Last Vampi...
2000-11-18In Japan, the vampire-hunter Saya, who is a powerful original, is sent by her liaison with the government, David, posed as a teenage student to the Yokota High School on the eve of Halloween to hunt down vampires. Saya asks David to give a new katana to her. Soon she saves the school nurse Makiho Amano from two vampires disguised of classmates and Makiho witnesses her fight against the powerful demon.Gremlins
1984-06-08After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.Gremlins 2: The New B...
1990-06-15Young sweethearts Billy and Kate move to the Big Apple, land jobs in a high-tech office park and soon reunite with the friendly and lovable Gizmo. But a series of accidents creates a whole new generation of Gremlins. The situation worsens when the devilish green creatures invade a top-secret laboratory and develop genetically altered powers, making them even harder to destroy!The Phantom of the Op...
1925-09-22The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.Meow
2016-12-30Four friends who live in an apartment get gruesomely murdered one after the other by an unknown power, which leads to an insecurity among the residents there.Hannibal Rising
2007-02-06The story of the early, murderous roots of the cannibalistic killer, Hannibal Lecter – from his hard-scrabble Lithuanian childhood, where he witnesses the repulsive lengths to which hungry soldiers will go to satiate themselves, through his sojourn in France, where as a medical student he hones his appetite for the kill.The Host
2006-07-27A teenage girl is captured by a giant mutated squid-like creature that appears from Seoul's Han River after toxic waste was dumped in it, prompting her family into a frantic search for her.Dead in 3 days
2006-07-21When Nina and her high school friends receive eerie text messages declaring that they will all die within three days, they dismiss it as a hokey prank - until one by one, the pals start turning up dead in the alpine countryside. With the cops stymied, Nina and her remaining friends must scour their past for clues to identify the madman before he kills them all.Vampyr
1932-05-06A student of the occult encounters supernatural haunts and local evildoers in a village outside of Paris.Rosemary's Baby
1968-06-12A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.The Omen
2006-06-06A diplomatic couple adopts the son of the devil without knowing it. A remake of the classic horror film of the same name from 1976.Jack Frost
2022-09-12A supernatural creature will stop at nothing in order to turn a family's whole world upside with his icy mayhem.The Ritual
2017-10-11A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest, but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that's stalking them.Crust
2024-09-13A depressed has-been child actor and owner of a dingy laundromat, becomes powerfully vengeful when his collection of lone socks transforms into a protective, cute, murderous monster named Crust.Kuntilanak Kesurupan
2011-04-14Wesley Jabrik, Kevin and Momon Nganga were best friends. One day Wesley assigned to write a horror novel, but he got a writer's block. Then Wesley got another job to write Indra Devian's biography, which was a hot shot celebrity. Since he started to write the biography, soon he got haunted by a Kuntilanak.The Hole
2001-04-20Four teenagers at a British private school secretly uncover and explore the depths of a sealed underground hole created decades ago as a possible bomb shelter.The Covenant
2017-02-07After the tragic deaths of her husband and daughter, Sarah Doyle moves back to her childhood home with her estranged brother, Richard. It's not long before Sarah begins to experience supernatural phenomena of a violent and hostile nature.Freaks
1932-01-01A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.Dracula
1931-02-12British estate agent Renfield travels to Transylvania to meet the mysterious Count Dracula, who is interested in leasing a castle in London. After Dracula enslaves Renfield and drives him to insanity, the pair sail to London together and Dracula, a secret vampire, begins preying on London socialites.The Wolf Girl
1974-01-01Seeking vengeance, a man is directed by a sorcerer to cut his child out of his pregnant wife so he can create a miraculous 'ghost child'. Overhearing this conversation, his wife flees into the forest where she ends up giving birth to twins with the help of a kindly woman living there. Afraid her husband is chasing her, the wife flees further into the forest with just one of her children, but dies when she falls off a cliff after being chased by wolves. The wolves raise the child as one of their own, whilst her twin sister is raised by the kindly woman living in the forest.