The master of horror, Bela Lugosi is back in this exciting and surprisingly chilling horror film. Although it shares the title of the famous poem it is merely "inspired" by the masterpiece of Poe.

Bela Lugosi plays Dr. Vollin, a madman who is obsessed with the macabre works of Edgar Allen Poe. He obsesses with Poe so much that he builds life sized replicas of the Pit in the Pendulum and the closing walls from the same poem. He entraps several of his house guests in an attempt to kill the father of a woman with whom he has an infatuation for.

It's all very exciting and Lugosi is at his madness. This was Lugosi before he had gone totally off the deep end into addiction and yet it's obvious here that while he is the main character the attention was focused on his off-screen rival, Boris Karloff. The opening titles even list Karloff, who is only a supporting actor, above that of Lugosi. It is sad that the studios and audiences of the time had such favor for Karloff and ignored the genius of Lugosi in his peak.

Labels: 31 days of film, Bela Lugosi, Classics, Horror