filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

sol- No real relation to the 1935 horror film of the same title (also starring Boris Karloff), this Roger Corman movie likewise purports to be inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem, but opening and closing scenes aside, this is a zany comedy of its own volition. The film gets off to a deliciously offbeat start as Vincent Price converses with a raven who insists on drinking his wine. The banter between the pair is fantastic and things only get funnier as Price changes the raven back to human form and it turns out to be a wisecracking Peter Lorre. The plot derails a bit as the pair set out to visit the sorcerer who turned Lorre into a bird, and the jokes in this middle section are extremely hit and miss. The sorcerer is played with much charisma by Karloff though and the climax has Price and Karloff battling each other with magic spells, much of which is funny even if the low budget special effects are hard to ignore. Similarly, the matte paintings of Karloff's castle look incredibly fake but the interiors are as spooky as ever. The film also gets some points for retaining some of Poe's poetic verses, even if they only ever feature sporadically. This certainly is not the scariest or deepest and most meaningful film that the three leads ever appeared in (neither is it their funniest) but as far as films inspired by Poe's Raven poem are concerned, this is arguably more amusing than its 1935 namesake.

SimonJack The writers for this film had a heyday playing on words in connection with Edgar Allen Poe's classic poem, "The Raven." This was the earlier of two comedy-terror films released in 1963 with much of the same leading cast. The second film, "The Comedy of Terrors," had many more laughs. Still, this is a fun film to watch Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre in their haunts. Price plays Dr. Erasmus Craven – the first obvious wordplay. Lorre is Dr. Adolphus Bedlo. Since he spends half of his time turned into a raven, the writers might have switched their names. Karloff is Dr. Scarabus. A young Jack Nicholson plays Lorre's son, Rexford Bedlo. The rest of the cast are good. The Price and Karloff characters are antagonists with magical powers in "The Raven." With a rather lame script and not much humor in the dialog, many may find the movie dragging. Fans of the great fright masters of the past should enjoy it.

Johan Louwet Yes I'm shocked myself that I rate it so low because it is an entertaining movie. However when you get comedy when you were expecting horror the whole perspective and enjoyment changes. I should have known this was not going to be horror the moment that Vincent Price's character bumped his head against a telescope and than not much later followed by the funny talking raven. But I have the intention to watch every Poe based movie from Corman so I kept watching until the end. It was interesting to have next to Price some other "horror" icons such as Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. And there is actually a young Jack Nicholson in there, actually quite handsome. Good to know he did not always had that ugly face thus unrecognizable here. So yes the story is simple and rather dumb and it does have some nice colorful magic effects but despite the medieval setting it lacks atmosphere. Price, Karloff and Nicholson in a comedy role I can take that but not from Peter Lorre. He is one who becomes irritating and annoying when playing a buffoon. This guy must be given a horror role!

Scott LeBrun Magician Erasmus Craven (Vincent Price), enough of a talent that he can make magic with mere hand gestures, is visited one night by Adolphus Bedlo (Peter Lorre), who's been transformed into the title animal by Craven's rival, the nefarious Dr. Scarabus (Boris Karloff). After Bedlo has been turned back to human form, they travel to the castle of Scarabus, as Bedlo has told Craven that he has seen a woman there who resembles Craven's late wife Lenore (Hazel Court). Accompanying them on this adventure are Bedlo's bumbling son Rexford (Jack Nicholson) and Craven's lovely daughter Estelle (Olive Sturgess).As envisioned by author / screenwriter Richard Matheson, and realized by producer / director Roger Corman, this entry in Corman's series of Edgar Allan Poe related films is a delight. It's a spirited blend of horror and comedy, taking a playful jab at the entire Gothic horror genre. The pacing is rather deliberate, but the script & performances generate some hearty laughs. Clearly the actors are having a good time. Price and Lorre didn't make much sense of the script, and opted to play the material as broadly as possible. They also did a fair amount of improvising, which contrasted with the more meticulous approach that Karloff took. All of the ladies (including Connie Wallace as a maid) are ravishing, and Nicholson is fun to watch. The animation effects add to the goofy charm of the film. The major highlight, naturally, is the climactic sorcerer's duel between Price and Karloff. Price was very afraid of the boa that had to be draped around his neck at one point.The music by Les Baxter perfectly matches the mood of each scene, and Corman's collaborators, production designer / art director Daniel Haller and cinematographer Floyd Crosby, bring their A game as usual. Almost all of the credits are saved for the final few minutes.Followed by the subsequent (and far more serious) Corman/Price combo, "The Haunted Palace".Eight out of 10.