The title of this film is borrowed from Edgar Allan Poe, but the real inspiration was H.P. Lovecraft's fantastic horror epic The Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Whatever the source, this chiller is still considered as part of Roger Corman's "Poe" films and all the usual signs are there: sturdy direction, great sets, spooky atmosphere, and a splendid two-tiered performance by Vincent Price. The actor stars as a good-natured young man whose arrival in a small town to claim his castle inheritance becomes doomed when his body is taken over by a diabolical ancestor. Playing both roles could have looked silly in the hands of the wrong actor, but Price's ability to distinctly shift his facial features from good to sinister really adds power to the character. Another horror great, Lon Chaney Jr. co-stars in a small role as Price's faithful assistant. The special effects are obviously dated, but effective with makeup work on the town's mutants reminiscent of several great Twilight Zone episodes. The major effect comes at the finish with the unveiling of the castle's monster, but the tape/disc must be paused in order to get a clear look since it is only shown in glimpses. There is also a monstrous mutant locked up in one resident's home (this was lifted from Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror), but it is only shown in silhouette before being burned to death. The screenplay was written by Corman favorite Charles Beaumont, who also scripted the Poe films The Premature Burial and The Masque of the Red Death. The Lovecraft story was remade in 1991 as The Resurrected.