THE RESURRECTION YEARS

After finishing touring the US and Australia with his triumphant one-man show, Diversions & Delights, in 1982, Vincent Price appeared in a handful of features that saw him return to the horror genre, including House of the Long Shadows, which starred three other titans of terror, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and John Carradine. But his stand-out film of the decade was Lindsay Anderson’s quiet achiever The Whales of August, appearing opposite cinema’s national treasured, Lillian Gish and Bette Davis). For his role as the elderly Russian émigré, Mr. Maranov, Price earned the only award nomination of his career: an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Vincent’s iconic status as the king of horror was etched in vinyl for all eternity when he provided the ‘rap’ to Michael Jackson’s record-breaking Thriller album and was the subject of Vincent, the fantasy animation which he narrated as a favour to young fan Tim Burton about a young boy, Vincent Malloy, who wanted to grow up to be like Vincent Price.

On TV, Vincent became the host of the PBS television series Mystery!, where he introduced North American audiences to a host of excellent British-made Agatha Christie dramas, and he scored a new generation of fans in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo voicing a Vincent Van Ghoul (who also looked a lot like Vincent). One of Vincent’s last great screen roles was also one of his favourites, voicing the Moriarty-like villain, Professor Ratigan, in Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective.

Vincent ended the decade being honoured by his hometown when he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Click on the (red) links up for a review of the film, plus sound and vision clips. The links in (orange) designate a clip, trailer or the full film. The links in (pale orange) are extra features for your reading pleasure.

THE RESURRECTION YEARS

The Monster Club, 1981 + (FULL FILM) + (TRAILER)

Tim Burton’s Vincent, 1982 + (FULL SHORT)

House of the Long Shadows, 1983 + (TRAILER)

Bloodbath at the House of Death, 1984 + (UK TRAILER) + (ALT. TRAILER)

The Great Mouse Detective, 1986 + (TRAILER) + (MAKING OF)

From a Whisper to a Scream (AKA The Offspring), 1986 + (TRAILER)

Escapes, 1986

The Whales of August, 1986 + (FULL FILM) + (VHS TRAILER)

Dead Heat, 1988 + (TRAILER)