A curse is set upon this house.
“Die Monster Die” AKA “Monster of Terror” made in 1965 is an adaptation of the H.P, Lovecraft story “The Colour Out of Space” written in 1927. The story was adapted into feature films again in 1987 as “The Curse”, in 2008 as “Colour From the Dark” and 2010 as “The Color Out of Space”. The story relays the effects of a radioactive meteorite that degraded into the soil poisoning plants and animals alike.
The movie stars Boris Karloff as Nahum Witley, and Nick Adams (The Rebel) as Stephen Reinhart. The screenplay by Jerry Sohl moves the story from New England to Great Britain. The movie presents the story as more of a mystery. A haunted house story. At first you don’t know what is going on. The plants in the greenhouse are huge and glow at night. The animals are grotesque. People in the house die mysteriously. They become deformed. And there is something in the basement. Nahum Witley is hostile and appears to be insane. It’s not till the end of the movie where you find out the real reason for it all.
Stephen Reinhart is an American visiting his fiancé’s family in Britain. Nahum Witley wants him to leave. Boris Karloff is suitably creepy and larger than life even though he is mostly confined to a wheelchair. Nick Adams seems a little stiff. He seems to do better as a brooding rebel than a loving boyfriend. Suzan Farmer who plays Susan Whitley appears the perfect complacent airhead. She doesn’t know what’s going on or why things are the way they are and she’s lived there all her life.
Even though the movie veers from the original story it has its own place as a horror movie. There are some gaps in the storyline but Karloff’s performance makes up for any of that. Plus the movie is sufficiently creepy and weird. If you can overlook the insufficiencies in the story you can enjoy it as a fun spooky movie. If you’re a Boris Karloff fan you’ll like it. If you are a Lovecraft fan you might find it a little sacrilege.