Supelice
Dreadfully Boring
Ogosmith
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Stephanie
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
BA_Harrison
A skeletal hand turns the pages of a book, revealing three tales of the macabre loosely based on the works of 19th century author Nathaniel Hawthorne, all starring horror legend Vincent Price, who plays a different character in each.In the first story, "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", Price plays Alex, who meets with his old friend Carl Heidegger (Sebastian Cabot), who is celebrating his 79th birthday. When a lightning bolt strikes the crypt outside, the pair investigate, and to their surprise find the perfectly preserved body of Heidegger's fiancée Sylvia, who died 38 years before. After studying the water that has been dripping onto Sylvia's coffin, Heidegger believes that the liquid not only has the power to preserve, but also to reverse the ageing process, and even bring his beloved back to life.The second tale, "Rappaccini's Daughter", sees Price as reclusive Dr. Giacomo Rappaccini, whose wife ran off with another man, leaving him to raise his daughter Beatrice (Joyce Taylor). To ensure that Beatrice can never sin like her mother, Giacomo has used a rare plant to turn his daughter's blood into poison, making her deadly to the touch. When Giovanni (Brett Halsey), the young man living next door, falls for Beatrice from afar, the young woman is distraught, knowing that she can never be near him. However, after she threatens to take her own life, Giacomo conducts a procedure that means the couple can finally be together, but his actions have tragic consequences.The closing chapter is "The House of the Seven Gables", in which Price stars as Gerald Pyncheon, who, accompanied by his young wife Alice (Beverly Garland), moves into his ancestral home, which is also occupied by his sister Hannah (Jacqueline deWit). Gerald is convinced that the house holds a hidden vault containing his ancestor's fortune, but a centuries old curse and a malevolent ghost ensure that his search for the treasure results in madness, death and the destruction of the Pyncheon home.They might be called Twice-Told Tales, but I'll wager that most horror fans will be satisfied to see these stories unfold just the once, Hawthorne's 'dark romanticism' resulting in a trilogy that is heavy on Gothic atmosphere, melodrama and Shakespearean tragedy (Hawthorne borrowed the title 'Twice-told Tales' from a play by the bard), but extremely light on terror. The film's leaden pacing doesn't help matters much either, especially with the film clocking in at two hours. Price puts in three commendable performances, but even with the star on fine form, Twice Told Tales is a rather dismal and depressing addition to the horror anthology sub-genre.
gridoon2018
Three-part horror anthology: in the first story, Sebastian Cabot finds what appears to be the elixir of youth, and re-animates his long-dead wife-to-be to boot; some good (for the time) "morphing" effects, and the payoff is both amusing and grim. In the second story (my favorite), Brett Halsey, a university student, falls in love with neighbor beauty Joyce Taylor (who gives a strong, sympathetic performance), but if touches her, he will die! Her father, Vincent Price, has turned her into living poison so that she will never be tempted by "sin". This story is more of a romantic tragedy (ala "Romeo And Juliet") than horror. In the third tale, Vincent Price returns to his (cursed!) ancestral house, determined to find a hidden vault, while his young wife (Beverly Garland, with her exquisite cheekbones) gets weird premonitions, as if someone is trying to communicate with her - from beyond the grave! This story is a little too long and clichéd, but well-done and positively shocking in some spots. Price demonstrates his versatility (playing 3 quite different characters in the same film!), and also provides opening and closing narration for each story, in his inimitable voice. *** out of 4.
gavin6942
Three stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne converted into a horror film. Surprisingly, this works well, despite Hawthorne not being known for his horror material.Vincent Price serves as the narrator, but also appears as the characters Alex Medbourne, Professor Giacomo Rappaccini, and Gerald Pyncheon."Dr. Heidegger's Tale": A doctor's wife is found in her tomb after 38 years, and never aged or decomposed a day. What keeps her this way? Some sort of purified water... a virgin spring? Decent special effects on the rose and elsewhere. The makeup department deserves some credit here.One wonders how someone who has magic youth water dripping on them manages to stay a certain age rather than revert back to a baby or even a fetus. I mean, if it makes 70-year old men 40, should it not make 30-year olds infants? But I should not think about this too much."Rappaccini's Daughter": We find that Naples "shines like a necklace that should be hung around a pretty girl's neck" and is much bigger than Padua. But also, in twenty years, no visitor has ever entered the house of Rappaccini -- why? There is some connection between Beatrice Rappaccini and a noxious, smoking plant. What is it? The professor has the largest nose I have ever seen. The actress playing Beatrice (Joyce Taylor) is the most beautiful person in this film, far exceeding the wife of part one. We also see guinea pigs being used as guinea pigs, the only time I can ever claim to have seen that."House of the Seven Gables": Gerald and his wife return to his childhood home where his sister still lives and are not welcomed warmly. Every male member of the family has died the same way... is Gerald next? Epic, though slightly cheesy, use of a pickax. Beverly Garland claimed having seen Vincent Price expertly spotting parts of the prop furniture on the set of the film. When the shooting ended, those pieces of furniture "mysteriously" vanished.
Andrew Taylor
Another triple play of Poe/Price, like Tales of Terror, but without Corman, and not quite as good. The stories are a bit too nice... a bit melodramatic and drawn out. The tales are Heidegger's Experiment, Rappaccini's Daughter and The House of Seven Gables, and the stories are really the stars. Heidegger's explores that nugget of eternal life, Rappaccini's is about the relationship of poison and purity and Seven Gables is a twisted ghost/blood feud with lots and lots of blood. All three are certainly unusual topics, but I'd say Heidegger's and Rappacini's were my favourite. Again, the sets and design were fantastic, if limited in scope and the actresses beautiful (especially Garland and Taylor). The attention to detail is remarkable. Still, it's something only a Price/Poe fan will love, which is fine by me.
