Blu-ray Review: MADHOUSE (1974)

MADHOUSE

Directed by:  Jim Clark

Distributed by:  Eureka Video

  Once again I get the privilege of watching and reviewing a film I have always known about, but had never watched for one reason or another.   1974's MADHOUSE stars the legendary Vincent Price, one of my all time favorite horror icons.  I really should make a point of watching all his films.  I have seen many of them, but there are still quite a few I have not.   I was glad to check MADHOUSE off the list of his films I have seen!  

Here is the basic plot synopsis from the Eureka! website!

Paul Toombes (Price) is an actor whose trademark role is the enigmatic and terrifying Dr Death, a skull-faced serial killer and the central antagonist of a long-running series of horror films. When Toombes’ fiancée Ellen (Julie Crosthwait) is murdered in mysterious circumstances by an assailant dressed as Dr Death, the actor wonders if he has succumbed to madness – a question he will be forced to reckon with again when, years later, people begin dying on the set of a new television series based on his most famous character.

  This was such a fun film, and pretty tame by today's standards.  It does have a couple of creepy images, including the skull makeup/mask of the killer and one instance of a woman's head coming off after a decapitation.  I know it sounds bad, but it's one of the cleanest, bloodless decapitations I have ever seen!   It's exactly the type of decapacitation you would expect to see in a rated PG horror film!  That's right, MADHOUSE is rated PG!  Of course, these were the days before the creation of the PG-13 rating, so most likely this is a PG-13 film by today's standards.  

  I thought it was really neat how they used clips from older Vincent Price films in the movie, to show his character's past films.  We see clips from THE HAUNTED PALACE,  THE RAVEN, and THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM, just to name a few. 

 The movie was pretty tame overall, but it kept me entertained for the entire running time, a quick 89 minutes.   Also of note, is an appearance from another Horror icon, Peter Cushing.    You can't go wrong with both Cushing and Price in a film together!  

 I would definitely recommend MADHOUSE to any horror fan.  Don't expect a lot of blood and gore, but do expect the strange charm that comes with any Vincent Price film.  I don't know what it is about him, but I love anything he is involved with!  

MADHOUSE comes out tomorrow, 6/22, and contains the following Special Features:

• Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring original poster artwork [2000 copies]
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on Madhouse by genre film expert Christopher Stewardson and an archival interview with director Jim Clark conducted by John Hamilton, originally published in The Dark Side [2000 copies]
• 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray
• Original English mono audio
• Optional English subtitles (SDH)
• New introduction to Madhouse by horror novelist Stephen Laws
• Lights, Camera, Murder! – new video essay on Madhouse by horror and gothic scholar Mary Going
• Audio commentary by film historian David Del Valle
• Archival making-of featurette
• Stills Gallery
• Original theatrical trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the Blu-ray 

Please note, this is a Region B release only.  You must have a Region B player, or Region Free player to play this disc.