The Premature Burial

Released Mar 7, 1962

1h 21m

Horror

List

56%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

44%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Based on Edgar Allan Poe's story about a cataleptic Englishman obsessed with the fear of being buried alive.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Corman creates his world completely in the studio, including the grounds outside the manor, a veritable haunted forest of dead trees, ever-present mist hugging the boggy ground, and a pair of creepy gravediggers...

Dec 16, 2017

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Parallax View

Like most of Corman's Poe films, the script (this one by Charles Beaumont and Ray Russell) borrows little more than the central idea and the title from Poe. This one owes a debt to Gaslight and Diabolique

Jun 20, 2015

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

The picture is hurt by the central casting as well as too much narrative recycling required for this to reach feature length, but a nice plot twist allows the movie to end in somewhat satisfactory style.

Rated: 2.5/4

May 14, 2015

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

The third of the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations directed by Roger Corman and released by AIP, is... the ugly stepchild of the franchise

Rated: 5/10

Oct 17, 2011

Full Review

Mark Bourne

DVDJournal.com

Ray Milland emotes, by turns, dour gloominess or manic eyeball-spinning through a weak script that bears too little sense and too many similarities to its predecessors, Usher and Pendulum.

Apr 5, 2006

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 24, 2005

Full Review

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william d

I knew this was a Roger Corman cheapie going in and the story and sets were pretty much what I expected. What disappointed me most was the choice for lead actor. Ray Milland manages to overact while remaining wooden, expressionless - and even occasionally motionless - all at the same time.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Liam D

A disappointingly boring waste of talent both behind and in front of the camera

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/22

Full Review

Audience Member

The third of Roger Corman's Poe movies, this time Corman decided that he wanted to make his own Poe film outside of his deal with American-International Pictures. He got his financing through Pathé Lab, the company that did the print work for AIP. While he wanted to use Vincent Price, he had an exclusive deal with AIP, so he hired Ray Milland. Then, on the first day of shooting, James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff of AIP showed up, told Corman they were working together again and excited that they'd convinced Pathé to bring the movie back to them after threatening to pull all their lab work. Guy Carrell (Milland) is a British aristocrat who suffers from catalepsy and worries that he will only appear dead and be buried alive. This nearly ruins his marriage to Emily (Hazel Court, who shows up in so many movies that I love, such as The Raven and The Masque of the Red Death) as he goes mad at the slightest mention of death and even passes out when she plays the piano. But hey — they get married anyways, even if he makes an incredibly complex coffin that he can escape from. Let me tell you, the dream sequence where he does get buried alive? I saw it before I was ten when forced to visit the home of other children instead of getting to watch movies at home alone, as I have preferred my entire life. They went and played some game and I grabbed the TV Guide and found a horror movie. That sequence completely destroyed me and I remember walking onto their porch and staring into the sunset and wondering how the adults could be so carefree when death was stalking our every waking moment. Yeah, I was a weird kid and grew up to be even more odd. But hey — Dick Miller shows up as a grave robber!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

By The Premature Burial, Roger Corman has worn out his Poe formula. As the third in his series of adaptations of the classic author's gothic tales, it can't live up to its predecessors, which have already covered the same ground with superior stories and more frightening imagery. It doesn't help that Vincent Price has been replaced by Ray Milland who can't match the former's commanding presence. The movie still keeps from being unenjoyable thanks to its deadly twist ending and foggy Victorian sets.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

delysid d

this is a vincent price movie without vincent price. its still ok but it would have been better with the master of horror

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/28/18

Full Review

Audience Member

I don't care if this is the one Corman adaptation of Poe that jacks Vincent Price. This is gothic horror, as good as it gets. Milland brings an elegance, charm and an aristocracy to a part that calls for it. From beginning to end, we get a compelling tale of paranoia, obsession and destiny. It's exactly what you'd expect of a story based off of Poe's work.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

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Roger Corman

Director

Ray Milland

Guy Carrell

Hazel Court

Emily Gault

Richard Ney

Miles Archer

Heather Angel

Kate Carrell

Alan Napier

Dr. Gideon Gault

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Synopsis

Based on Edgar Allan Poe's story about a cataleptic Englishman obsessed with the fear of being buried alive.

Director: Roger Corman
Production Co: American Internat'l Pics
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 1962, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 9, 2015
Runtime: 1h 21m