Die, Monster, Die!

In the world of genre films, Daniel Haller demonstrated his ability as a capable production designer and art director with an apparent weakness for Edgar Allan Poe stories (examples of his work include gorgeous art direction in cult films such as “The Pit and the Pendulum”, 1961).

Unfortunately, as a director (this was his debut), the good Daniel leaves a good deal to be desired. In theory, “Die, Monster, Die!” is an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s excellent short story “The Colour Out of Space” (1927), a disquieting sci-fi tale, and one of the solitary Providence writer’s most successful examples of cosmic horror and terror of the unknown.

Instead, it’s clear right from the film’s opening scenes that we’re miles away from the poetry of the myths of Cthulhu, with a protagonist visiting the his beloved’s estate (when has there ever been a love story in one of Lovecraft’s tales?!) and a shadowy, mysterious “paterfamilias” surrounded by portraits of his mad ancestors. Simply put, Haller not only remained entirely anchored to the Poe universe, but, lacking both Roger Corman’s skill and his brilliance, he fell back on producing a mediocre version of “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1960), substituting a tired and broken-down Boris Karloff for a Vincent Price at the apex of his career.

The list of flaws plaguing this sad muddle is a long one: a screenplay with more holes than Swiss cheese, an exhausting string of impromptu screams, mindless wandering from one room of the castle to another, and dismal acting performances led by a completely wooden protagonist. As if that weren’t enough, let’s throw in an uncommonly intrusive soundtrack, dialogue of exceptional vapidity (stuff like “It looks like a zoo in hell“), and a plethora of ridiculous visual choices. Moreover, in this dreary scenario, logic itself seems to have gone on a long vacation.

Not satisfied with the result, Haller will return to Lovecraft with his tepid, half-hearted “The Dunwich Horror” (1970): to persist in error is diabolical!