Amongst the giants of horror acting--Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, etc.--Boris Karloff, who used to be the least to my mind, has fast become my favourite. His quiet dignity, whether he is a villain or a hero, lends itself perfectly to any situation: it can be deeply menacing or soothing kindness. He never steals a scene, but elevates it; he never hams, nor does he telephone in his performance. When Karloff's name is in the credits, you can be sure of some satisfaction. Curse of the Crimson Altar not only gives Karloff top-billing, but also directly references him in-film,
And so he does.
Eve Morley: It's like a house from one of those old horror films.
Robert Manning: It's like Boris Karloff is going to pop up at any moment.
The film has this before-its-time self-consciousness about it that surprised me somewhat. Barbara Steele and Christopher Lee are also cast with the same self-consciousness about horror. And in one scene the protagonist, Manning, finds a cobweb-making machine as used by special effects teams, in this case used to make a hidden room appear old and creepy by the villain(s).
Manning is an antique dealer who has come to a small town, where a witch named Lavinia is burned instead of Guy Fawkes, in search of his missing brother. He stays with Christopher Lee and his beautiful, blonde niece during his investigation, begins having nightmares of a green Barbara Steele who tries to make him sign a book, annoys Boris Karloff, is seriously creeped out by Michael Gough, and nearly gets shot by Elton John (okay, a guy who looks vaguely like him). He begins to suspect some doings-a-transpirin'.
You never really discover if the supernatural aspects of the film are real or imagined, which should please more than a few viewers. There are hints dropped both ways. Perhaps Lavinia's power does haunt this town or perhaps the villain has just been drugging the relevant people. I happen to think the latter, but one could argue that there really is something supernatural at work. It is, after all, based off Lovecraft's "The Dreams in the Witch House."
What I like most about Curse of the Crimson Altar is the array of characters. They are all distinct, all with carefully-crafted personalities, and they are all fascinating people, including Manning. In one scene Manning interrupts Karloff when he is about to show off some of his collection of antique torture instruments; I wish he hadn't and that the film had allowed the characters room to just sit and chat, shoot the breeze.
At any rate, the film is a bit slow, ponderous, or 'stately' if you will, which translates as 'boring' to some. This is certainly not a film to watch if you're looking for action or anything over-the-top. "Subdued" is the word, here. Maybe it's the influence of Karloff. The only person who could ever shake up a Karloff film was Ernest Thesiger--which is perhaps why James Whale kept casting him with Karloff.
7.5/10
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