PLOT: Years after being accused of murdering his wife, an iconic horror actor reprises his role as Dr. Death, only to have a masked killer terrorize the production.
This is an interesting film in the fact that it’s barely a film. This is more of a meta love letter to Vincent Price’s career in a time when meta films weren’t really a thing. It’s kind of interesting to see the film stitch in some of Price’s old movies, but the storyline overall is a paint-by-numbers slasher. The twist ending is pretty telegraphed, but it’s pretty nice to see Vincent Price and Peter Kushing together in a film. They’re both pretty decent in a movie that, otherwise, is forgettable.
Seeing as how this film came out well after the Hammer films pushed the envelope, Madhouse is pretty tame in terms of gore. This film feels more in line with the rest of Vincent Price’s filmography, which doesn’t belong in the 1970s. There’s a couple of headless bodies, but there’s no splatter to go along with it.
Gore Rating: 1 out of 5
This is kind of a throwback to Vincent Price’s old roles, which were never really all that scary.
Scare Rating: 0 out of 5
You know what’s a weird thing to see? Vincent Price kissing a woman. It’s uncomfortable for everyone involved and nobody enjoys it.
Sex/Nudity Rating: 0 out of 5
OVERALL
I appreciate that this movie is paying tribute to its own lead actor, Vincent Price, but it’s built into a story that’s just kind of pointless. Price and Kushing are always great to watch, and they’re even better when they’re playing off of each other. There’s some good kills in it, but in a decade where film was exploring what it could do, this one plays it extremely safe. Also, the title Madhouse is completely meaningless.
The Main Damie 