Everything you could possibly look for in a campy 60's horror movie: "Die, Monster, Die" delivers it! The film opens with an American student arriving in an isolated British village and, when asking to get to the Witley mansion, all the friendly villagers suddenly turn pale with fear. Call me old-fashioned, but a story that starts like this can't be bad. "Die, Monster, Die" is an the adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story with quite an ambitious premise and a terrific (as usual) acting performance given by Boris Karloff. This is the directorial debut of the obviously talented Daniel Haller who previously served under Roger Corman as an art director in his legendary Edgar Allan Poe cycle. Haller clearly loved what he learned there, as he now also stuffs his own film with mysterious fogs, dark vaults, bats on strings and a constant use of ominous sound effects. the story continues with Karloff as the slightly insane landlord who desperately attempts to clear the foul name of his ancestors. In a nearby meadow he found a radioactive stone that causes vegetables to grow enormous sizes and living organisms to mutate! Although our father Witley keeps on denying it, his family descends further into misery due to this stone. The scenery is great, Karloff is at his most deranged and the make up effects are quite gore for the time. Convincing too, as the "melting face" sequence is a bit unsettling. "Die, Monster, Die" is highly recommended entertainment, particularly meant for admirers of the almighty Boris Karloff. I'm more and more discovering his last cinema-achievements and - so far - every single one I encountered is worthy to be called "a classic". Some absolute favorites include "The Sorcerers","Curse of the Crimson Altar","The Raven" and "Corridors of Blood". This "Die, Monster, Die" surely is a worthy addition to this list.
PS: keep an eye open for Patrick Magee! This great but shamefully underrated actor makes a small but neat appearance as the town's doctor.
PS: keep an eye open for Patrick Magee! This great but shamefully underrated actor makes a small but neat appearance as the town's doctor.