Some highlights, but mostly tedious

RELEASED IN 1965 and directed by Daniel Haller, "Die, Monster, Die" (aka “Monster of Terror”) is a semi-Gothic horror about a young man (Nick Adams) who travels to the estate of his fiancé (Susan Farmer) in England. Unfortunately, her wheelchair-bound father (Boris Karloff) is curiously curmudgeonly and something strange is going on behind the scenes. The movie is based on HP Lovecraft’s story "The Colour Out of Space."

While this isn’t a vampire flick, the opening is reminiscent of Dracula (young man visits old man’s eerie chateau). I used to get this mixed up with “The Terror” (1963), probably because of Karloff, similarities in the plot, and they both came out in the early/mid-60s. Regrettably, “Die, Monster, Die” lacks the haunting fascination of “The Terror.” It tries to work up a mysterious ambiance, and succeeds to a degree, but the story’s mostly tedious and the characters dull. Susan Farmer is fine, but her part is too secondary and nothing interesting is done with her, like Venetia Stevenson in 1960’s “City of the Dead,” aka “Horror Hotel” (you know what I mean if you’ve seen that flick).

Thankfully, there are some highlights, like the imaginative scene where the protagonist exclaims “It looks like a zoo in Hell,” not to mention the impressive monster at the close.

FYI: Two and a half years after the release of this movie in the US, a demoralized Nick Adams was found dead from an overdose, which might have been accidental, but it also could’ve been suicide.

THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 15 minutes and was shot in England (Surrey & Berkshire).

GRADE: C

American "Reinhart" (Nick Adams) arrives in a small English village seeking the home of his girlfriend "Susan" (Susan Farmer). Shunned by the villagers, he must walk to the stately pile of her wheelchair-bound father "Naham" (Boris Karloff) whereupon things begin to become mysterious for the young visitor as he tries to find out what secrets are being kept hidden. The problem with this is that - well - nothing much actually happens. There is a very slight sense of menace, but there is nothing much by way of accumulation to that. Something is glowing in the greenhouse, and there is a rather angry woman clad in black; but for the most part we can easily guess what is going on, going to happen and the ending is straight out of the ABC of horror films set in a big house. It's well enough made, the special effects basic but adequate, and maybe devotees of Karloff will get a little more from it. For me, though, this is entirely forgettable fayre.

Lovecraftian sci-fi
This is all very Lovecraftian, and they do credit him for the story. They lifted elements from several stories, but the 'Color out of space' is the primary one. The plucky American can sort it out through, surely. The mention of cults and things don't get explored to any noticeable degree, and this is more sci-fi horror than cosmic horror, but still with a Lovecraftian vibe. It is a lovely little movie.