The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)

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Producer/director Roger Corman completes his series of films based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe with The Tomb of Ligeia, the story of a man mysteriously obsessed with his late wife, Ligeia. When he remarries, he and his new wife find themselves terrorized by supernatural forces, begging the question — is Ligeia really dead?

Vincent Price carries the film as nicely as you would expect from the legendary genre icon, but it’s Elizabeth Shepherd who does the most remarkable work here. Shepherd plays both wives, performing at diametric ends of the archetypal spectrum. She’s the hunter and the hunted, the fleeing damsel and the pursuing demon. Corman once again shows his mastery of limited resources to yield exceptional production value. The lush, moody sets here rival any we’ve seen in prior Poe pictures. The film is also the first Poe outing to feature outdoor location photography as well.

Like all Corman’s Poe films, The Tomb of Ligeia is a bit of a slow burn and foreshadows itself out of any true surprises. But the magic of Vincent Price and the artistry of English set and costume creators make any of these old gothic horror flicks worth checking out. The taut, final twenty minutes are enough to make it perhaps marginally the best of all the Corman/Price Poe collaborations. Screenplay by Robert Towne (Chinatown).