Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditsAwards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guidemessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsmemorable quotesDid You Know?
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
box office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsReviews & Ratings for
Diary of a Madman More at IMDbPro »
| Page 1 of 3: | [1] [2] [3] ![[Next]](http://i.media-imdb.com/f86.gif){kind=small} |
| Index | 29 reviews in total |
11 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Vincent Price vs. The Horla, 27 December 2003
Author:
Space_Mafune from Newfoundland, Canada
Vincent Price, as Simon Cordier, is possessed by an evil spirit and is
forced to kill. Can he overcome the beast that haunts him
inside?
Dug this out of my collection and gave it another view. I really like this
one and feel it has been underrated by many. The only major problem I have
with it is the story would have been better served had the existence of
the
Horla been left more to question. Still I really enjoyed this, especially
Vincent Price in the lead. It's got that old-time 1960s AIP Horror feel to
it even though it wasn't made there.
11 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
surprisingly good Price vehicle, 18 January 2006
Author:
planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
During the 1960s, Vincent Price became super famous as a horror actor--starring in countless low budget horror flicks. Many of them were very cheap and rather forgettable but he also did a few dandies that were quite watchable. In that latter category I would place this film. It's very enjoyable and despite the plot being awfully far-fetched, it is carried off well. Price plays a nice judge who visits a madman about to be executed. At this meeting, the evil spirit controlling the maniac jumps into Price's body and as a result, he goes from a saintly life of a life of evil and depravity. The acting and writing are good, but I must admit this sort of fare isn't going to be for everyone--deep intellectual stuff this isn't! But, if you like a good scare, give the film a viewing.
10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
A work of horror -- and one of Price's better performances, 9 January 2005
Author:
robeykr from Warminster, PA
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
We begin with the end -- the funeral of Magistrate Simon Cordier
(Vincent Price). It was his wish that certain individuals gather after
the funeral, for the opening of a small chest he had entrusted to
Jeanne D'Arville (Elaine Devry). At the D'Arville Gallery, the chest is
opened and they learn that he kept a diary of his last days.
Simon Cordier, was a judge who sentenced a murderer to death -- a man
who claimed to have been possessed by the HORLA (an evil spirit) that
had driven the man to commit murder. The HORLA then holds Cordier
responsible for the death of his slave and reveals that he has chosen
Cordier to take his place.
The creature constantly taunts Cordier, breaking him under it's will to
kill and commit acts that he had always condemned.
Is he mad? Or is the HORLA real? These questions are the core of the
story -- and we are left (along with the mourners at the end) to ponder
and answer the question ourselves.
This film was written and produced by Robert E. Kent and adapted from
the stories of Guy de Maupassant . This film was done with the same
level of quality that Roger Corman would exercise with Price in his
adaptations of the stories by Edgar Allen Poe.
I have always considered this to be one of Vincent Price's finest
performances.
It is a classic.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Pretty good if unknown Price movie, 19 June 2006
Author:
Wayne Malin (wwaayynnee51@hotmail.com) from United States
Vincent Price plays Simon Cordier a kind man who is a judge. He is
possessed by a Horla (never shown--you only hear its voice) who thrives
on evil. It sets Price out to commit evil deeds even though he fights
against it. Then he meets sweet Odette (Nancy Kovack) and things go out
of control....
Well-made, colorful (some BEAUTIFUL set design here), low-key horror
film. The plot is interesting and the acting is good (especially Price
and Kovack). There's next to no violence in this one (the one murder
scene is badly faked)...it mostly concentrates on Price fighting
against the Horla. There's a few very interesting discussions between
Price and the demon about good, evil and morality. It all leads up to a
great climax. If you're looking for a blood and guts movie this isn't
it but it is an intelligent thoughtful horror film. Recommended.
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Suprinsingly great., 31 January 2008
Author:
Boba_Fett1138 from Groningen, The Netherlands
Most horror movies made between the '50's and '70's weren't very much
psychological once and featured for instance monsters, gore and tons of
blood. In that regard "Diary of a Madman" is a quite refreshing movie.
It lies its emphasis on the psychological aspects of the movie and uses
it for its tension, mystery and just overall horror, even though the
movie still features a 'supernatural' horror theme.
The movie has a well build up and constructed story, that only gets
better and better as it heads toward the ending. The movie begins quite
typical but soon becomes very intriguing when it becomes obvious that
just is not just another average standard '60's horror flick, with
Vincent Price in the lead role. The movie shows how the highly
respected magistrate/sculptor slowly looses his mind when he is being
possessed by a strange mysterious spirit called an Horla. Of course no
one believes him at first when he starts to hear and see things. He
starts to question his own sanity, until the Horla has him in his
almost complete control. Good old Vincent Price however decides to
fight back and we already at the start sort of know what has happened,
since the movie is told in the past time, when people read his diary in
which he described the strange events that had happened.
So you don't really have to expect an horror movie with monster, gore
and scare effects. This movie is mostly about its build-up and overall
atmosphere. It's a psychological movie, though visually the movie is
also a good one.
The movie features quite some early and variating special effects and
other cinematic tricks. It's quite clumsy looking all of course but at
least you can say that they really tried and put some effort in it to
making something new.
Vincent Price of course always had been at his best in roles such as
these, so this movie forms no exception to that. He is highly
convincing as the respected magistrate but also as the 'madman'. Two of
course total opposite elements, which Price perfectly knows to handle,
without ever making anything look ridicules or totally unbelievable.
It's a real surprisingly good and quite different '60's horror flick,
that deserves to be seen and known better, starring genre-legend
Vincent Price!
8/10
http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Despite the somewhat negative comments of some other reviewers, I have to say I found this movie "magnetic", 19 June 2006
Author:
donjasper from Canada
Probably the "magnetic" nature of this movie as referred to above was due solely to acting and as-expected sinister nature of Vincent Price. For me, any movie starring this superb character actor was always a guarantee of my liking it. Noting that several movies with this title have been made, I would like to be able to compare them with this version. Also, in his "genre", Guy De Maupassant could always be relied upon to tell a good story. I have "experienced" quite a few of them, both in movie and written formats. I think that *that* is about all I have to say in this particular instance. To have to write any more would merely constitute "padding". I most certainly would recommend this movie to those viewers who enjoy this type of movie.
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
THE HORLAVA GOOD MOVIE!!!!, 30 June 2003
Author:
tom sawyer (sawyert2003@yahoo.com) from Waterford, Michigan
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Personally, this is one of my favorite Vincent Price movies. I think he played what could be construed as a victim of another more diabolical creature. A creature that turned a just, peaceful and artistic gentleman into a mindless killer. I always thought that Price had a great way of playing a suave and sophisticated gentlemen killer and Diary of a Madman is him to perfection. I do not think this is like Jekyll and Hyde for the reason that Dr. Jekyll was experimenting on himself, whereas Price's Judge character was content to do his job and live his life, with only a fascination for how a criminal mind works in relation to his delegating justice. He was a mad who had enough tragedy in his past and wanted to quietly go about his life. The story was excellent and some of the effects weren't too bad either. The cast and the acting were first rate too. Warning spoiler ahead. You didn't need much blood and gore to get the point across in dealing with the murder of Odette DuClass in the story. The point was made by the her head behind the clay.If you weren't a fan of Vincent Price as a sophisticated killer then this movie will help. In spite of being a possessed murderer, you could not help but pull for his character to destroy the Horla.Vincent Price pulled off the role of a good man becoming a possessed killer excellently. This movie shows that you don't need a special effects monsters to have a scary killer.This is one of Price's classic movie roles!
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Scared the @!#$% out of me as a child..., 18 July 2000
Author:
yortsnave from Columbus, OH USA
I saw this movie on late-night television when I was about 10 years old, just before my bedtime. I couldn't get to sleep! Even through tightly-closed eyelids, I kept seeing images from the movie, floating in the dark. There were several horrific scenes that really stuck with me. After all these years, I still think this is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. I highly recommend this movie, if you want to spend half the night awake after seeing it!
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
great for Halloween..., 17 October 2009
Author:
MarieGabrielle from United States
The dissociation of a madman, this film is great fun and terror from
Vincent Price, mater of the horror genre of 1960-1970's.
In this film as Judge Simon Corday, he is a judge who has recently
witnessed the public hanging of a heinous murderer. Somehow the evil
spirit enters his mind, and controls his evil side.
He also has the vocation of painting portraits of beautiful women, (the
lovely Debra Kovacs one of them). Of course after their interlude, the
evil spirit of the "horla" takes over and causes much evil.
The sets of 18th century Paris and costumes are lovely, and this is a
small gem worth renting for Halloween. Price always delivers, never
fails to disappoint. 8/10.
5 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Nancy Kovack was Pretty, 21 June 2006
Author:
whpratt1 from United States
This is the type of films that Vincent Price started to appear in when his acting career made a new change and the interest in horror films was a big hit in the 1960's after an all time low. Boris Karloff also had a revival in his career during this period of time. Director, Roger Corman even brought back to the screen Peter Lorre in Edgar Allen Poe's stories. Vincent Price( Simon Cordier) is a kind and fair judge in his local town and meets up with a man who is sentenced to death and this prisoner passes on an evil gift to Simon. Simon even becomes very interested in a model, Nancy Kovack,(Odelle Mallote DuClasse) who poses for Simon. Odelle is a married woman and Simon still hits on her and even wants to marry her. There is a "Horla" involved in this film and sometimes when the actors mentioned this name, it sounded like they were saying whore! This is definitely not one of the greatest horror films, but it is a Classic Price film.
| Page 1 of 3: | [1] [2] [3] |
Related Links
| Plot summary | Ratings | Newsgroup reviews |
| External reviews | Parents Guide | Plot keywords |
| Main details | Your user reviews | Your vote history |
Copyright © 1990-2012
IMDb.com, Inc.
Terms and Privacy Policy under which this service is provided to you.
An 
company.