Vincent Price's 8 Most Entertaining Horror Films

"No one shall ever enter this room again!"

Pit and the Pendulum and The Fall of the House of Usher are rightly considered to be the strongest of the Price-Corman series of Poe adaptations. Pit arguably is the stronger of the two films, though there really isn't much in it.

This films offers not one, but two incredible Vincent Price performances: devoted husband and brother, Nicholas Medina, and his barbaric father Sebastian. He is very sympathetic as the former; the look of pure horror on his face upon discovering that he has entombed his wife (Barbara Steele) alive, and upon being confronted by what he believes to be her vengeful ghost, is brilliant. His sudden descent into insanity is also very well played. However, it is with his portrayal of the murderous Sebastian Medina, torturer of the Spanish Inquisition, that Price really shines. It's obvious that Price is delighting in being as diabolical as he possibly can.

Barbara Steele, one of the all-time greatest scream queens, is also fantastic as Nicholas' scheming and adulterous wife, Elizabeth. She is every bit as good as Price in this film, if not better. The closing shot of Steele's wide eyes staring in terror from within an iron maiden is genuinely chilling. This shocking ending, as well as an earlier lingering shot of Elizabeth's rotting, exhumed corpse - mouth hanging open in an agonised scream - must have been terrifying in 1961.