THE OBLONG BOX

In the heart of the African jungle one night, a voodoo tribe dance to a hypnotic beat while preparing to offer a hapless victim as a sacrifice to their God. Intrepid traveller Julian (Vincent Price) stumbles across the ritual as blood is spilt, and cries out in terror as he realises the victim is his brother Edward (Alister Williamson).

Back home at his stately country manor, the well-to-do Julian still suffers nightmares about the terrifying ordeal. It's not easy to forget such a traumatic event, when your brother has been crazed ever since - and you've had to enlist the help of your servant Ruddock (Michael Balfour) to shackle Edward in the cellar.

Things have got so bad for Julian that he can't even raise the energy to continue his engagement to the comely Elizabeth (Hilary Dwyer).

Then a trio of wily gents saunter into town, making their presence felt in the local inn. Trench (Peter Arne) and Mark (Carl Rigg) have brought African witch-doctor N'Galo (Harry Baird) to Julian's neck of the woods, in the hope of curing Edward from the zombie-like spell he's been placed under.

Trench ventures alone to Julian's home that evening, to discuss Edward's "madness" with his worried brother. Who'd have thought that a trip to pursue a plantation venture in Africa would lead to such chaos? Julian is determined to keep Edward's illness a secret, and determines to not allow his brother to be subjected to surgery or a spell in Bedlam.

Reluctantly, Julian permits Trench a personal audience with Edward in the cellar. When Trench approaches the demented Edward, he's grabbed by the throat as the madman demands "How long will it be? I must get out of here before it's too late!". He must wait only two days, Trench promises him.

But you should never promise what you can't guarantee, as Trench discovers two nights later when he takes Mark and N'Galo along with him to Julian's home in the hope of breaking Edward free. Their plan is scuppered when Julian finds Edward dead in the cellar.

Julian requests Trench's help in organising a discreet funeral for Edward, so as to disguise his illness from the intrigued locals. Trench even provides a substitute cadaver for the service - the inn-keeper from the tavern where he's been staying.

For a while, with Edward having been buried and his illness kept quiet, all seems well in Julian's life. Even his relationship with Elizabeth gets back on track. But all goes very wrong when the local grave-robbers steal Edward's corpse and take it to Dr Neuhart's (Christopher Lee) laboratory for the purposes of medical research …

From the energetic, grisly pre-credits prologue and through the garish animated opening titles, to the beautiful period detail and typically Poe finale, THE OBLONG BOX delivers atmosphere and quick-fire thrills in equal spades.

It's a comic book-style caper, fast-paced and often melodramatic, with a sweeping string score from Harry Robertson and a surprising amount of bloodletting for a 1969 production.

It's obvious that the financial backing behind the film was meagre, but this is overcome by a fluent zest among the cast. Price hams it up expertly, offering equal amounts of comedic over-acting and unexpected warmth in a role that deserves more credit than it often gets. Lee meanwhile is as sublimely po-faced and villainous as ever. If he was an unknown actor struggling today, he'd never get a role in a million years - but he's great value for money, all the same.

Dwyer is an amiable female lead, while supporting prostitute roles from Anne Clune and Jackie Noble keep the cleavages bustling out of their period corsets in grand fashion.

Director Gordon Hessler keeps things brisk and to-the-point, aided immensely by Lawrence Huntington's unfussy and direct retelling of the original Edgar Allan Poe story. With material such as this, and such a great cast to work with, all Hessler has to do is point the camera and edit tightly … and he manages this with professional ease.

Leading to a nice if abrupt twist ending, taking in plentiful nods to classic Grand Guignol set-pieces along the way, THE OBLONG BOX is pure fun from beginning to end. Not always cohesive and often guilty of some off-the-record performances, but all of that and more conspire to make this an enormously enjoyable relic that has aged remarkably well. Managing to be both austere and exploitative (and blessed with the wonderful image of a ghoul in a crimson hood), this is highly recommended.

The film is presented in a superb anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer, boasting incredibly clean images and strong colours. Detail is sharp but not too much, while contrast and blacks are solid throughout. It is by far the best I've seen the film look.

English mono audio does its job well, ensuring an even and consistent hiss-free audibility is achieved throughout.

Static menus include a scene-selection menu allowing access to the main feature via 12 chapters.

The only extra on the disc is a 2-minute trailer, presented in anamorphic 1.85:1. Again, the picture quality is dandy.

THE OBLONG BOX is a fun ride with wild performances and superb, colourful production design throughout. It often gets overshadowed by the more well known works of its main protagonists, but is definitely worth catching up with now if you're not already familiar with it.

Review by Stu Willis