The Oblong Box

1969

Action / Horror

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 38% · 11 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 38% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.0/10 10 4385 4.4K

buried alive disfigurement 19th century witch doctor

Plot summary

Evil lurks in the gloomy house at Markham Manor where a deranged Sir Edward is the chained prisoner of his brother Julian. When Sir Edward escapes, he embarks on a monstrous killing spree, determined to seek revenge on all those whom he feels have double-crossed him.

Director

Gordon Hessler Photo
Gordon Hessler

Top cast

Maxwell Shaw Photo
Maxwell Shaw as Tom Hackett
Christopher Lee Photo
Christopher Lee as Dr. J. Neuhartt
Nick Tate Photo
Nick Tate as Young Man in Tavern
Rupert Davies Photo
Rupert Davies as Joshua Kemp
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
879.75 MB
1280*706
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 35 min
Seeds ...
1.6 GB
1920*1058
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 35 min
Seeds 9

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ragosaal 6 / 10

No More Than Standard

Sir Julian Markham (Vincent Price) is an aristocrat of the late 19th century that keeps his disturbed brother Edward locked up in a tower of his manor; the man has been disfigured by natives in Africa when blamed for the accidental killing of a child. But Edward manages to escape and seeks revenge against Julian.Director Gordon Hessler -not a top one at all if you see his filmography- gets a sort of morbid and languid atmosphere and settings that help the picture; but too many turns and items in the plot (voo-doo, madness, revenge, killings, treason, body snatching, romance and else- sort of disperse the focus in the main events -to put it somehow- and the final product comes out just standard.Vincent Price and Cristopher Lee as a doctor that steals corpses for experiments are at their usual level and in some way save the picture (without them "The Oblong Box" would have been a complete failure).Perhaps the main flaw is the character of Edward that appears too light for a villain or monster and even lacks impact when his ruined face is shown at the end; in fact you feel sorry for the guy since he's not scary at all.Fans of Price, Lee and Gothic horror won't probably be disappointed but even then just one watch is enough. You always have the feeling that keeping the basic story and making it much more simpler would have made a good product in the genre; but it didn't come out that way.
Reviewed by Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki 7 / 10

"I'll only do my prowling at night."

Disfigured in an African ritual, Edward is kept, "protected", by his brother Julian by being kept chained up in attic. He fakes his death to escape from Julian and another man is killed to take Edward's place in the "oblong box". Film looks like a low-key, photographed stageplay, a well-dressed period piece having little to do with Poe's short story, besides the title box. This is one of those films to watch primarily to enjoy the cast, lush settings and photography, hooded killers, throat-slicings, and a couple of good scares along the way, even if it has little if anything to do with Poe, just don't get one's hopes too high up. It does have a good unmasking scene, and genuinely creepy twist-ending, which still stood out in my mind years after I had last seen this film. Favourite line: "I'll only do my prowling at night."
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