The acting in this movie was soooooooo bad that the only thing I could think of to compare was 'Plan 9 from Outer Space'. Jim Backus was the one notable exception.

"Macabre" definitely wasn't the legendary director William Castle's most successful horror accomplishment, as this honor probably goes to either "House on Haunted Hill", "The Tingler" or "13 Ghosts". "Macabre" also wasn't Castle's coolest or most entertaining horror accomplishment, because according to yours truly that special title either goes to "Homicidal", "Mr. Sardonicus" or "Strait-Jacket". But one thing's for sure, namely that "Macabre" was Castle's very first horror flick AND the first time he tried out a nifty little gimmick, which would later become his trademark and his ultimate formula to fame & success. The gimmick here included that all spectators received a special type of insurance against "death by fright" and that a stern voice-over warns about the shocking impact of the film. It's all rather silly and cheesy by today's standards, but Castle's gimmicks quickly proved to be highly effective and he still remains one of the most imitated horror directors now, nearly forty years after his death. "Macabre" itself is extremely simplistic and low- budgeted, like all of William Castle's movies, but the plot is quite compelling and several sequences are drenched in an atmosphere that is … well … macabre! Small town doctor Rodney Barrett is confronted with the ultimate nightmare when he learns that his innocent 5-year- old daughter Marge has been kidnapped and lies buried alive somewhere with only five hours left to live. The doctor, along with his secretary and fragile old father-in-law, starts a frantic search for his little girl at the most obvious location – the local cemetery – but where to dig and who to trust? After all, the good doctor seemingly has quite a few enemies in town, including the rancorous Sheriff Tyloe, and (redundant) flashbacks show that he wasn't very kind to his deceased blind wife Alice. The race-against the clock aspect results in a handful of tense moments and most of all the scenes set at the fog-enshrouded graveyard at night are genuine horror highlights. The flashbacks and some of the plot- twists near the end are pretty dumb and merely raise the impression that William Castle only wanted to stretch the running time a bit, while other sequences (like for example the phone call from the kidnapper and nurse Polly's subsequent report to the doctor) are laughably inept. But who cares, as "Macabre" is a terrific piece of 50s horror and marked the start of the career of one of the most creative minds in cinema history.

"Macabre" is the first entry in William Castle's cycle of horror films and it isn't bad; it's better than "13 Ghosts" but not as good as "I Saw What You Did" and nowhere near as intense as "The Tingler." A lot of the right elements are in place for a good thrill; the photography is excellent, there is plenty of claustrophobic atmosphere and the first two thirds of it is completely credible, though as a kind of detective picture rather than horror. One has to accept the fact that Dr. Barrett is a lousy detective, and that even though there is the frantic search for the missing girl, with the clock ticking, it has to be set aside periodically to allow for other plot points to go by; maddening. But ultimately Castle takes the easy way out when just a little more effort would have made "Macabre" a great film. And judging from some of his other work, Castle had it in him, it's just that at a certain point the film begins to undermine its own potential with ludicrousness. Christine White is marvelously sexy as a blind girl with a taste for adventure, and it's fun to see Jim Backus in a role as a heavy, speaking in his natural voice. Ellen Corby is stronger than the part that she is given, which could have been more consequential if she hadn't been awarded such a limited and repetitive repertoire of lines to say. "Macabre" isn't successful at all at passing the blame for its caper on individuals not involved in the situation, and that's fine; the confusion about where the girl is, who might have taken her, and why is enough to instill a kind of unsettled confusion that sets the right mood. It's definitely worthwhile as a kind of period piece as it works towards its Cold War-ish conclusion, but one wonders how well it would play if Ingmar Bergman had taken a look at the script, and it wouldn't have taken a lot to bring it up to that level; "Macabre" just falls short.

Learning of a great treachery against his daughter, a man and his wife race to the graveyard containing her before a deranged madman can win out in his quest for revenge.An exceptionally flawed and not really all that worthwhile William Castle gimmick effort, only this time the gimmick isn't that great and the movie's little better. The central premise to this one is quite chilling, with the abduction of the daughter and being buried in a grave that requires a man and wife to find her, means we get some incredibly wonderful Gothic atmosphere with the scenes in the cemetery that are quite creepy in design and chilling in how the story's built up. These scenes here and their bantering about where she is and where to dig are really the only parts of this that's worthwhile, as the rest of the time it doesn't have a whole lot to really get interested in. As it goes around with all the potential suspects and why they're interested in seeking revenge, the flashback nature of these participants and why they're out for revenge is not in the slightest bit interesting and drags the movie to a halt as it goes about this section of the movie, dropping all potential horror angles and does so for the majority of the film's running time. Even more so, the fact that the central premise doesn't allow for a lot of time dealing with the graveyard search forces this upon the viewer, a rather unfortunate handicap right off the top. It's got its moments, but not a whole lot of them.Today's Rating: Unrated/PG: Mild Violence and children-in-jeopardy.