Directed by Roger Corman, master of the cut-price horror saga, this chiller is more Price than Poe, but our Vincent is in great form showing off his Spanish Inquisition torture chamber - 'This room was my father's life... ' he sighs. Barbara Steele is in typically fierce form, proving an ideal foil for Price's very slightly tongue-in-cheek performance and the sets are wonderful. Pretty spooky too, as its characters creep along cobwebbed corridors clutching flickering candles. With some stunning shock moments, this is altogether the best of the earlier Corman horror films made in America.