Diary of a Madman

This was a great movie with Vincent Price as SIMON! He is very much the madman who writes in the Diary and we are not talking about the Ozzy album either. There is a beast called The Horla that is invisible and talks to Mr. Price and somehow possesses him. It is a very scary scene when The Horla does this! Mr. Price's eyes turn green like The Hulk and he is convinced to kill folks! The lady who falls in love with him is very good looking. It's too bad that she didn't have more screen time though. Again, I was very impressed. But what I am curious about is how a JUDGE is able to make enough money to live in a house of that size AND have a house in Switzerland?

See this movie. I can't believe no one did a review of this wonderful Victorian thriller yet. Cool villain, interesting characters and Hitchcock-ian plot twists. It's a really good movie that should be released on DVD. The defeat of the Horla's probably the best seen: he really gets what's coming to him.

I'm a big fan of Vincent Price and all of his films are a must see for me. Normally, this endeavour leads me to see some of the finest horror films of the fifties, sixties and seventies; but every now and again, it will turn up a lesser entry in the great man's filmography, and unfortunately - this is the case here. Based on stories by Guy de Maupassant, Diary of a Madman is a film without much to differentiate it from a number of similar films, and so to someone like me who has seen a great many horror movies; this one does fall a bit flat. Other bad elements include a rather long running time, which ensures that the flimsy plot always feel far too drawn out. The plot follows judge/sculptor Simon Cordier, a man who goes to visit a man put to death in his cell. He was put to death for various murders that he committed, and which he claims were under the influence of evil spirit Horla. However, after the death of the murderer; the evil spirit has nowhere to go, and so decides to take up residence inside the judge... It's a seriously good job that this film stars Vincent Price, as with almost anyone else in the lead role it would have been a complete dead loss. Price doesn't excel himself here; but even an average Price performance is great to watch, and the great thespian continually saves the film from tedium. Price is the only real star of the film, and that's not a problem in a way as he has more than enough to carry a film on his own; a film like this could really do with a few more distractions. The locations look nice, however, and the Technicolor cinematography excellently captures them. There's not a great deal of actual horror in the film; sequences that see Vincent Price's mirror reflection disappear, and a few where he has green eyes are about as horrific as it gets. The idea of an evil demon possessing someone isn't exactly original, but the basics of the story get good handling here; so it's a shame that the rest of the film wasn't better. Overall, this has it's moments I suppose; but aside from Price's performance, there isn't much to recommend it for. Interesting fact, though; a quote towards the start of the film was used by Rob Zombie in his song "The Return of the Phantom Stranger"!

Could the Horla be some kind of code word for... MR. HYDE? This story is a tame rehash of the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, only the Horla is some kind of evil spirit that jumps from man to man. The Diary is read after Price's death to tell the story in flashback of a man who loses his mind and ends up committing murder beyond his control. A bit tame by the standard set by Vincent Price's other work. While Price's turns in a fine performance as the gentle but tormented "Dr. Jekyll" character, the deeds of the Horla are done invisibly. Price's other films present wider ranges and better plot devices than the "Horla" delivers. This film does present, however, some very nice lighting effects. The color is rich along with the set design and costumes. The production reminded me of other Price classics including House of Wax and The Mad Magician (although this piece is vastly inferior). Indeed, the lighting is the real star here, as most every shot is lit like a fine painting. I used to be a furniture catalog photographer (ugh!) and appreciated how everything 'pops' out in classic Kodak tradition. The story is purely psychological, however, and is suitable for those times when the grandparents are over along with your friends and their 6 year old (although they would be bored out of their minds). It is not a classic.

This is a fairly standard 60s Vincent Price vehicle which looks like it was shot on a shoestring budget. The main "special effect" indicating possession by the evil Horla is a band of green light on the victim's eyes. Watch how Price and others have to hold perfectly still to keep the light aligned on their faces! And two other bloopers: when the prisoner falls in his cell, you can see the rock under his head give way, as if it were a sponge (which it probably was!). Then later, when Price is in his garden burying a head, he rolls up the phony grass with his right foot as he kneels by the hole. All exteriors were shot in the studio, or on a "European street" backlot. Corny but enjoyable.

Based on a Guy de Maupassant story, this one opens with a direct quote from the source, then cuts to a funeral on an obvious set and a will reading for Simon Cordier (Vincent Price), who narrates his own story from his diary. He's a 19th-Century magistrate who becomes possessed by "The Horla" (voiced by Joseph Ruskin), an invisible evil spirit who talks to him, laughs, moves furniture around and compels him to kill. When his eyes glow blue, he's turned into a zombie-like killer who can't remember what he's done the next day. This patently silly Price vehicle has too much ranting, raving and extremely corny dialogue for most peoples taste, much (not all) of the supporting cast is stiff and lifeless, the whole thing is very set bound and stagy and the period detail is minimal and unconvincing. In fact, it would probably be a total waste if it weren't for the inventive photography (the colorful print I saw was excellent), Nancy Kovack's bright presence as a sexy gold digger and the always-fun camp hysterics of Price. Score: 4 out of 10

Vincent Price, as Simon Cordier, is possessed by an evil spirit and is forced to kill. Can he overcome the beast that haunts him inside? Dug this out of my collection and gave it another view. I really like this one and feel it has been underrated by many. The only major problem I have with it is the story would have been better served had the existence of the Horla been left more to question. Still I really enjoyed this, especially Vincent Price in the lead. It's got that old-time 1960s AIP Horror feel to it even though it wasn't made there.

Although I am a fan of Vincent Price, I only caught this particular effort of his today. Watching it, I think I know why it slipped past my attention for all of these years. Don't get me wrong - it is not a terrible or bad effort. Price is in top form as always, the low tech special effects are actually pretty good, and the script's basic idea is an intriguing (if a little familiar) one. However, the actual execution of this idea by the director and the screenwriter is kind of lacking. The main problem with the movie is that at 96 minutes it seems quite long and stretched out. It would have worked better at a much shorter pace; in fact, I think the story would fit very well as an episode of the television show "The Twilight Zone" than as a feature film. If you are a Vincent Price fan, the movie is adequate, though it doesn't match up to some of his other movies of this particular era like the Poe films directed by Roger Corman. For all other viewers, it passes the time painlessly, but that's about all.

Vincent Price plays a 19th century Justice of the court, who, upon hearing a statement from a condemned man, is set upon and contracts the evil from the poor soul in the form of "the Horla," supposedly the evil in men's souls. As the movies progresses, his internal fight with the evil Horla claims a life - and that's where things get real wacky. Enter the Horla, exit continuity and sensibility. Vincent Price's movie career was always up and down, and this film is definitely a thumbs down. One, there's no blood. Two, Price is playing Vincent Price. And probably most important, there are at least three (3) repeated scenes, as if they had to reuse footage. Upon the opening of the film, one says,"Where's Vincent Price? Answer: He's dead. The movie is mostly flashback with Price voice-overs. Considering that this film is supposed to be set in Victorian times, there are a few anachronisms as well as a decidedly Non-Victorian approach to mores and social conventions. If one chooses to overlook the glaring improbabilities and camp, the film at least should keep you awake, if you make it to the final "showdown" scenes. Maltin's review gives Diary of a Madman 2 1/2 stars; out of a possible 5, I'd give it 2

Probably the "magnetic" nature of this movie as referred to above was due solely to acting and as-expected sinister nature of Vincent Price. For me, any movie starring this superb character actor was always a guarantee of my liking it. Noting that several movies with this title have been made, I would like to be able to compare them with this version. Also, in his "genre", Guy De Maupassant could always be relied upon to tell a good story. I have "experienced" quite a few of them, both in movie and written formats. I think that *that* is about all I have to say in this particular instance. To have to write any more would merely constitute "padding". I most certainly would recommend this movie to those viewers who enjoy this type of movie.