Customer Reviews

Tales of Terror/Twice Told Tales (Midnite Movies Double Feature)

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In the 1960's, Roger Corman directed and produced many of Edgar Allan Poe's novels and short stories to the silver screen. The cast were usually Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone with a few appearances by Boris Karloff (The Raven is one of those and is worth every penny if you find it).

This double feature of Poe Tales are suited for these masters of fright and their wonderful acting talents.

Those fans of modern day splatter horror may not get these semi bloodless thriller. However these tales of mayhem may grow on you

Without a doubt, worth every penny to keep in any horror collection

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

As another reviewer mentioned, one of the Tales of Terror is actually a combination of "The Black Cat" and "The Cask of Amontillado". I read both stories in my English classes, and then show the video and have the students write a compare/contrast paper. It's a lot of fun right around Halloween, and helps us get into the mood for the holiday. We all especially love the end, when Peter Lorre's head is being tossed back and forth between his wife and Fortunato. Great stuff!

As a huge fan of Vincent Price films, I've found this a valuable addition to my collection. I never saw either of these films in the theatre or on T.V. and while not at the top of the line like Dr. Phibes or The Fly, there's still some good creepy and entertaining moments.

Vincent Price & Peter Lorre have great fun in "The Black Cat" segment which also intertwines the plot of "The Cask of Amontillado"- Price's Fortunato insults Lorre's Monstressor by sleeping with his wife, who gets walled up with Price and... well, there's where even more fun begins!
"Morella" and "M. Valdemar" are also good scary fun, but it's "The Black Cat" that makes the show. Alas, I have not yet seen "Twice Told Tales".

Every October, I go on a horror movie binge, revisiting some old favorites, and discovering new classic horror titles to get me in the mood for Halloween. This double feature is actually an anthology of stories that are creepy, at times campy, but all of which are high on atmosphere and gothic suspense. In "Twice Told Tales", the three stories featured are by no means good adaptations of the original sources,but are still worth viewing if only to watch the incomparable Vincent Price. The stories here are very loosely adapted from the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The first story "Dr Heidegger's Experiment" is perhaps the best of the three - it centers around two old friends who suddenly find the source of life and youth dripping from the ceiling of a crypt. Before long, the two friends restore their youth and also bring a long-dead corpse back to life but discover that some things are best left as is. "Rappacini's Daughter" is the weakest of the three - Vincent Price stars as Dr Rappacini, whose possessiveness of his daughter goes to literally toxic lengths with predictably tragic consequences. The plot here was rather plodding and lacked credibility as the story felt rushed through.

Finally,in "The House of the Seven Gables", Gerald Pycheon (Price) returns to his cursed ancestral home much to the chagrin of his estranged sister and the horror of his wife, who feels a pull to the place. This story would have played out a lot better if it were not confined to the ridiculous length of abt 35 minutes [imagine an entire novel being shortened into a short story] and everything plays out so quickly and abruptly that the story ends up being more of a farce than true horror.

The "Tales of Terror" DVD features adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's stories, all of which are produced and directed by the talented Roger Corman. The first story "Morella" is about Lenora, a young girl (played by Debra Paget) who returns after many years to her ancestral home, only to find her estranged and almost deranged father (Price) stumbling about the house in a stupor, and horrors of horrors, still keeping the remains of his dead wife, Morella in one of the bedrooms. Not long after, Lenora is 'visited' by the vengeful spirit of Morella and all hell literally breaks loose. This first story is the shortest of the trio. The next story "The Black Cat" is actually a combination of Poe's "The Black Cat" and "The Cask of Amontillado" which brings together the dark and comic talents of both Price and Peter Lorre, and is quite entertaining (look out for the head tossing scene). Price especially plays his role to comic perfection. In the final story, "The Case of M. Valdemar," Basil Rathbone plays a mesmerist (hypnotist) who decides to experiment with the unknown, i.e. putting a man (Price) into a state of hypnosis at the point of death, with horrifying results.

All in all, I'd recommend this to fans of Vincent Price and classic horror with a high dose of Gothic suspense and atmosphere.

This DVD has some of the best thrillers. One side is based on Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories. The other side classic tales of terror. All have Vincent Price and guest appearances from Peter Lorrie and other stars. Really good.Tales of Terror/Twice Told Tales (Midnite Movies Double Feature)

Having been a fan of Vincent Price ever since I was a child, I always find these classic movies of his entertaining, and this collection is in my 'faves' list, especially since half of this collection is based on Poe's works. If you love Price, (and Poe!) you won't be disappointed with this. Stories like these I find more chilling than what is deemed 'horror' today.

Received both Vincent Price DVD's on time and in excellent packaging. We read "The Pit and the Pendulum" in class, and it is quite different from the Vincent Price story on this DVD. My students watched clips of it and found this version not as intense as the original story but quite enjoyable. Great for students studying Edgar Allan Poe.

Great movies. Tales of Terror was featured on "Chiller Thriller" in the 1970's when I was a kid, scared me enough to be up all night at the time. Enjoying it now in the same spirit brings back memories. "Morella" and "Mr. Valdemor" still give me the creeps, nice representation of Poe's work. "The Black Cat" was new to me but very entertaining! "Twice Told Tales" was also new to me. It maintained that old fashioned scarey movie feel, but was slightly less scarey. I find Hawthorne is more mysterious, Poe was more dramatically scarey. Vincent Price is the iconic character in every movie and is genious - well within the same ranks as Boris Karloff.

A double feature of horror anthologies! TALES OF TERROR stars Vincent Price in three Edgar Allan Poe tales (MORELLA. THE BLACK CAT, and THE CASE OF M. VALDEMAR) filled w/ madness, murder, and ghoulish revenge! Peter Lorre and Basil Rathbone join in on the fun. My favorite is THE BLACK CAT, due to its mixture of the macabre and the hilarious. TWICE TOLD TALES is a bit dry, but still has its moments. These three Nathaniel hawthorne spookers feature Price in rare form as Sebastian Cabbot's lifelong "friend", an insanely "dedicated" father, and an eeevil, greedy relative respectively. Beverly Garland and Richard Denning round out the cast. This is a must for any / all fans of horror and Vincent Price...