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The Oblong Box

The Oblong Box

Horror · 1969

Evil lurks in the gloomy house at Markham Manor where a deranged Sir Edward is the chained prisoner of his brother Julian. When Sir Edward escapes, he embarks on a monstrous killing spree, determined to seek revenge on all those whom he feels have double-crossed him.

Movie details

The Oblong Box

“Some things are better left buried.”

1969 Horror 1h 36m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.8 / 10

Community rating

Evil lurks in the gloomy house at Markham Manor where a deranged Sir Edward is the chained prisoner of his brother Julian. When Sir Edward escapes, he embarks on a monstrous killing spree, determined to seek revenge on all those whom he feels have double-crossed him.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Oblong Box?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Twice-Told Tales

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Gordon Hessler

Written by

Lawrence Huntington

Vincent Price

Vincent Price

Sir Julian Markham

Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee

Dr. J. Neuhartt

Rupert Davies

Rupert Davies

Joshua Kemp

Uta Levka

Uta Levka

Heidi

Sally Geeson

Sally Geeson

Sally Baxter

Alister Williamson

Alister Williamson

Sir Edward Markham

Peter Arne

Peter Arne

Samuel Trench

Court is in session

Put The Oblong Box on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Its refusal to behave is the point.”

The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Oddness is not depth.”

A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.