I saw Madhouse as I love Vincent Price and would see anything with him in, regardless of its reputation. Madhouse is not one of his best sadly, actually of the films of his I've seen(I need to see more but I have seen enough to know of his talent and most of them are good to great films) only Story of Mankind was worse. Madhouse does have major problems, the footage was interesting but doesn't always add much to the story or the atmosphere, while the script felt rushed and cobbled together and the story, although I didn't mind the unoriginality, just didn't thrill me enough and felt obvious complete with a twist that was entirely unsurprising. The film does feel stodgily paced sometimes also. On the other hand, the production values are decent, the editing could've been crisper but the settings and such do have a nice edge to them. The music is reasonably atmospheric also, but it is the cast that really lift this film. Peter Cushing is underused but as ever he is good value, and Robert Quarry is amusingly slimy. Their scene at the costume party was a lot of fun. Best of all was Price, proving once again that no matter the state of the film or script that he can do no wrong, with his magnetic presence, distinctive voice and deadpan delivery of lines, all present here. Overall, not sure if I recommend it but for Price or Cushing completists it is at least worth a look. Not a bad film, in fact better than its rather dismissive reputation, but considering the promise of the idea it had and the cast it could have been much more at the same time. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Review of Madhouse
