The Oblong Box

I’m not sure why I’ve not previously set eyes on Gordon Hessler’s 1969 Gothic horror The Oblong Box, but from the vivid opening goat sacrifice onwards, it’s very much a cherishable hidden gem of the genre that even an old sourpuss critic like Leslie Halliwell admired for its ‘background action.’ whatever that means. Adapted from an 1844 story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe, The Oblong Box was an American International Pictures production, and came at the tail end of their Poe cycle; as with the recent Karloff entry Die Monster Die, it’s been restored to replace poor transfers and cut versions, and is now re-released on spiffing blu-ray by the BFI. For 1969, The Oblong Box has got a remarkably progressive attitude to criticising issues of British identity, traits make it a valuable entry in a traditionally stuffy and backwards-looking genre…..