‘The Haunted Palace’ or — H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘Gaslight’?
Roger Corman’s adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Haunted Palace’ (1963) is pretty interesting, not least because it has absolutely nothing to do with Edgar Allen Poe in the slightest and everything to do with H.P. Lovecraft, specifically ‘The Case of Charles Dexter Ward’. In fact, ‘The Haunted Palace’ is not only the first Lovecraft screen adaptation but also one of the best and most Lovecrafty I’ve seen, hitting the tone and tropes of his work a little more precisely than most of the later “Lovecraft” movies that followed.
So we get all the good stuff such as the setting being Arkham, a town of mutated weirdos, a sinister warlock, a huge unnameable monstrosity in a pit, the Necronomicon, a call-out to Cthulhu and hints of those vast, cosmic forces intent of obliterating humanity. It’s got all the good stuff and was a pleasant surprise to see it so faithfully (for Lovecraft on screen anyway) rendered.
The film starts in the 18th century where evil warlock, Joseph Curwen (Vincent Price), is up to mischief so the townspeople burn him alive, Curwen promising revenge on them and their descendants as he goes up in flames. It’s a beginning not too dissimilar to Mario Bava’s ‘Black Sunday’ (1960). A century later Charles Dexter Ward, Curwen’s great-great grandson, and his new bride (what is it with these horror films and newly married couples?) rock up to Arkham to move into the palace Charles has inherited from his long-dead ancestor. They decide to spend their first night in town although the townspeople are none too pleased as all the descendants of those who killed Charles’ forbearer are now mutants, possibly down to the evil warlock’s attempts to mate the town’s women with hideous beings summoned by the Necronomicon. Not only that but Charles bears an uncanny similarity to his great-great grandfather, almost as though they were played by the same person!
Advised by the local doctor not to spend the night in town the young couple spend the night in their newly inherited palace. However, once inside it seems as though the good-natured Charles is slowly becoming victim to some sort of spell, almost as though his long-dead great-great grandfather is attempting to possess him, to take over Charles body completely from beyond the grave. Charles’ wife knows something is not right with her husband but will anyone listen to her? Think of the havoc Curwen could unleash on the world if he was to return to physical form! He can’t stand the townsfolk for what they did and is obviously out for revenge. And who’s to say he’d be content to unleash his power simply on the town?! Can the evil warlock be stopped? Enter the haunted palace and find out for yourself… if you dare.
‘The Haunted Palace’ is great and not just because it’s another hugely enjoyable Corman/Price project but because it’s also a great early entry in Lovecraft screen adaptations, nailing pretty much everything a fan could want. I was not expecting this. Indeed, as Kim Newman accurately points out in one of the extras, the next film to come close to really capturing the spirit of Lovecraft was ‘Ghostbusters’ (1984), a movie less to do with actual ghosts or a possible after-life and way more concerned with the coming of a vast, cosmic force. This would be explored even more explicitly in the cartoon ‘The Real Ghostbusters’; it’s important to remember just how significant that TV cartoon was to giving Cthulhu’s name decent exposure. Sure, ‘The Haunted Palace’ might not be the full Lovecraft works but it comes damn close.
The film also benefits from a great central performance by Vincent Price playing both the innocent Charles and the evil Curwen, allowing him to relish in a role actors love — playing two extremely different people at once. There’s a wonderful moment when a terrified Charles, looking at the hideous portrait of his ancestor above the fireplace, turns away from the painting (and the camera) in fright and by the time he has turned fully around he is now the malevolent, grinning Curwen. Is it subtle? God no! But it’s effective as hell, just what the material needs and demonstrative of more skill than might be apparent. Once in full-on warlock mode Price can then be an absolute asshole to his poor wife, treating this poor pathetic, mortal creature with total contempt and merely something to be ignored or exploited. Indeed, some of the best scenes are between “Charles” and his wife and are a pretty uncomfortable portrayal of domestic abuse (imagine finding out the man you married is a totally different person once it’s too late!). And his poor wife does go through the wringer, especially when she not only suspects her husband might be cheating on her but cheating on her with a corpse! There’s not just the Necronomicon here but also touches of Jorg Buttgereit’s ‘Nekromatik’ (1987).
The film also touches on other typical Lovecraft obsessions, the most obvious being how a town or village unable to let go of ancient, collective trauma results in this trauma being passed down the generations leading to horrific aberrations such as mutations, social collapse, civil retardation or Old Firm matches. There’s also the trope of the old house having been brought over from England to America, the writers feeling that maybe the States didn’t have a nightmarish history of its own so had to borrow Europe’s or that the one they did have (ethnic cleansing) they weren’t quite ready to fully investigate yet. That would have to wait for ‘Poltergeist’ (1982), another Lovecraft influenced film.
Most importantly of all though is that ‘The Haunted Palace’ is a fun, entertaining watch. It’s got a strong story, great performances, wonderfully spooky design and an ending that had me giving a cackle of satisfaction. Not just another great Corman/Price film but a pretty damn good Lovecraft movie to boot.
