Some reviewers have called this a turkey, while others have tried to elevate it to a surrealist masterpiece. I found the film to neither be as bad nor as bizarre as they have made out.
It brought to mind Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations (e.g. House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum) and Mexican and Italian Gothic horror films from the same period, but done on a shoestring budget. The story, which borrows loosely from The Most Dangerous Game, was actually pretty good, and with a clever twist ending; I'm not sure why some reviewers claim it is incoherent, because I had no problem following it. While there may have been a few draggy bits, I found Dungeon of Harrow to be fast paced overall, which is surprising for an almost completely dialogue-driven movie. The worst that you can say about it is that some of the acting was wooden and some of the props (like a giant spider) weren't exactly state of the art. Given the tiny budget he was working with, I think the director can be excused for not hiring Vincent Price to be the lead man or for using cheesy props.
Some will think it's boring, but personally, I find obscure films like this that were made outside of the studio system and major cultural centers (Hollywood, New York, London, Rome, Paris, Berlin) to be fascinating.
My true rating is 7 out of 10, but I'm giving it a 10 out of 10 because I find the current IMDb average of 2.8 to be unjustly low.
It brought to mind Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations (e.g. House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum) and Mexican and Italian Gothic horror films from the same period, but done on a shoestring budget. The story, which borrows loosely from The Most Dangerous Game, was actually pretty good, and with a clever twist ending; I'm not sure why some reviewers claim it is incoherent, because I had no problem following it. While there may have been a few draggy bits, I found Dungeon of Harrow to be fast paced overall, which is surprising for an almost completely dialogue-driven movie. The worst that you can say about it is that some of the acting was wooden and some of the props (like a giant spider) weren't exactly state of the art. Given the tiny budget he was working with, I think the director can be excused for not hiring Vincent Price to be the lead man or for using cheesy props.
Some will think it's boring, but personally, I find obscure films like this that were made outside of the studio system and major cultural centers (Hollywood, New York, London, Rome, Paris, Berlin) to be fascinating.
My true rating is 7 out of 10, but I'm giving it a 10 out of 10 because I find the current IMDb average of 2.8 to be unjustly low.