In a move that can only be called genius, Vincent Price stars in Madhouse – a film about an actor who features primarily in horror films, with his claim to fame being the character called Dr. Death. Things are golden in the life of Paul Toombes and yet, tragedy strikes when his fiancé is murdered and upon discovering that her head has been removed from her body, the man who makes it a practice to scare others for a living, loses his mind at the sight. The road to recovery is long and the film industry’s memory is short and so it seems that people have been remembering Dr. Death with great fondness and a revival is in order. The only problem with all of this is that while Toombes might be on board, someone else wants him out of the picture.

Written by Ken Levison and Greg Morrison and directed by Jim Clark for Amicus Productions, the film would be the perfect starring vehicle for Price, almost as if it were based upon his life, minus the murder of course, and it ultimately not only made it an interesting watch, but a fun one too. Price would give the role his usual flare and seeing him play an actor, especially a horror icon was a bit of meta that was incredibly smart, but would clash with the predictability that the movie would be saddled with. Very early on in the picture there was one scene that would almost give the killer away, and then soon after, another that would seal the deal. It was not anything overt or such, but it would have been nice to have been able to keep guessing until the very last. It by no means ruined the picture as everything that went into it was worked really well, especially the performances by the cast and especially Price, but if the makers of the film had been able to keep the mystery just that, it would have made this movie all that much better for it.

The film boasts Robert Quarry, Adrienne Corri, and Natasha Pyne among its supporting cast and even Michael Parkinson who at one point interviews Toombes on his show, but it is the addition of Peter Cushing that really adds that extra bit of special to the movie. One master of horror in Price is great, but having two in the same film is incredible and the two play off of each other as if it were the most natural thing in the world and making each other better by doing so as well. Cushing only plays a bit part, being a supporting character himself and it is not too often that the man ever did so. Still, he lent his usual charm and class to the film and if you were in need of a good supporting character, you could not do any better than Peter Cushing.

There was quite a bit of action to be had, more so during the latter half of the film as the killer starts to strike down all those around Toombes and while there are a couple of grisly murders, it is the killer’s actions which are more horrific than the end result. The title of the film is an apt one as eventually the events that take place do tend to make Toombes a little bit batty, as they would anyone. The fact of the matter is that Price always seems a bit mad no matter the role he takes, perhaps due to the tone of his voice, the steely eyes or the way he almost overacts everything, though never quite managing to do so. It is hard to imagine just what this film might have been like without Price in the lead as the man completely sold his performance, and thankfully, we shall never know. Madhouse may not be the most frightening of pictures, but it is a good one that is guaranteed to claim your attention and deliver a little bit of joy.

4 out of 5