Macabre tells the tale of a small town doctor who gets a cryptic message telling him his small daughter has been kidnapped and buried alive. He has to find her before time (and her air!) runs out.
William Castle started as he meant to go on, with a low budget, yes, but also with the ability to direct and photograph what counts: tight dramatic scenes, stark lighting and shock effects. I am sure the audiences loved this when it first came out. It's pretty short and actually quite low on action, even tough it's central idea (death of a child by suffocation in a coffin) is quite nasty.
The acting is variable. Jacqueline Scott overacts rather as love-lorn nurse Polly, whereas William Prince tends to keep things fairly wooden as the tormented doctor. They are better supported by the rest of the cast, who all do great work, especially Ellen Corby who I love as the child's elderly nursemaid. Castle always seems to get quality actors for the small parts in his movies, even if the leads can be a bit flakey.
There's lots of acton set in a graveyard as the cast equip themselves with spades and torches to search for the missing child, and in a nice touch the film only covers a period of about 5 hours in time (a clock reminds of of this), although two fairly long flashback fill in some details of past intrigues. The film only really boats a handful of shocks, the notable one being some hilariously gruesome remains found inside a coffin, and a dead body found suddenly in a dark corner. Short enough and silly enough to be entertaining, it shows that William Castle knows how to make a movie.
William Castle started as he meant to go on, with a low budget, yes, but also with the ability to direct and photograph what counts: tight dramatic scenes, stark lighting and shock effects. I am sure the audiences loved this when it first came out. It's pretty short and actually quite low on action, even tough it's central idea (death of a child by suffocation in a coffin) is quite nasty.
The acting is variable. Jacqueline Scott overacts rather as love-lorn nurse Polly, whereas William Prince tends to keep things fairly wooden as the tormented doctor. They are better supported by the rest of the cast, who all do great work, especially Ellen Corby who I love as the child's elderly nursemaid. Castle always seems to get quality actors for the small parts in his movies, even if the leads can be a bit flakey.
There's lots of acton set in a graveyard as the cast equip themselves with spades and torches to search for the missing child, and in a nice touch the film only covers a period of about 5 hours in time (a clock reminds of of this), although two fairly long flashback fill in some details of past intrigues. The film only really boats a handful of shocks, the notable one being some hilariously gruesome remains found inside a coffin, and a dead body found suddenly in a dark corner. Short enough and silly enough to be entertaining, it shows that William Castle knows how to make a movie.