An aristocratic painter, Guy Carrell(Ray Milland), has this obsessive fear of being buried alive(particularly, his seeing a victim of such a case, at the opening of the film, not helping matters), and those around his inner circle try to assist him in penetrating that which mentally weakens him. Emily Gault(Hazel Court)arrives on coach to coerce Guy into marriage claiming she loved him ever so dearly. But, we can see plainly that she has designs on medical student, the kindly Miles Archer(Richard Ney), who clearly wishes to help Guy conquer his inner demons that plague his life, controlling nearly every move. The film's two best sequences, in my opinion, occur inside a specially made crypt, designed by Guy carrying various methods of escape if he were to suffer an attack of catalepsy the way his father(supposedly)did..Guy insists he overheard his father's cries from the tomb, but sister Kate(Heather Angel)says that is false, merely a creation from a tormented mind. We see a nightmarish sequence where all his methods of escape(Corman's way of enacting this with color tinting the screen, I thought was simply marvelous)are damaged by rot and decay. Catalepsy is the method of near-death which freezes your body, even causing your heart to temporarily cease, while the brain(..and eyes)still functions. When Miles finally gets Guy to unlock his father's vault, showing him that the result of his death wasn't catalepsy, a sudden shock(..in an earlier sequence, someone cloaked by dark off-camera snatches the key to the vault, offering the possibility of underhanded tactics)sends Guy into a cataleptic state showing us that his fears were indeed realized. Will Guy be buried alive as he so feared?
I think PREMATURE BURIAL is an exercise in Gothic style, expertly executed by a master horror director. What it lacks in surprises(I felt Hazel Court was the wrong choice to play the wife..she's too much the vixen to ever pass as an object of sympathy, and if the viewer just pays attention to her mannerisms, the way the plot is directed to it's conclusion leaves little shock value)Corman makes up for in sheer atmosphere. It also helps that Corman has an actor of the caliber of Milland as your lead, displaying intense strain and absolute horror without uttering a word. I got a special thrill during Guy's rage thanks to Milland's portrayal. I know many feel Price is the one most suitable for this role, but I found no problems with Milland..right the opposite, actually.
I think PREMATURE BURIAL is an exercise in Gothic style, expertly executed by a master horror director. What it lacks in surprises(I felt Hazel Court was the wrong choice to play the wife..she's too much the vixen to ever pass as an object of sympathy, and if the viewer just pays attention to her mannerisms, the way the plot is directed to it's conclusion leaves little shock value)Corman makes up for in sheer atmosphere. It also helps that Corman has an actor of the caliber of Milland as your lead, displaying intense strain and absolute horror without uttering a word. I got a special thrill during Guy's rage thanks to Milland's portrayal. I know many feel Price is the one most suitable for this role, but I found no problems with Milland..right the opposite, actually.