A Terrifying Trilogy of Passion, Poison and Possession! It’s spine-tingling terror—in triplicate! Virtuoso of horror Vincent Price (The Raven, The Tomb of Ligeia) dials up the depravity in this spellbinding trilogy of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s (The Scarlet Letter) chilling classics! Dripping with demented genius, poisonous plants, oozing blood and a corpse in a wedding gown, Twice-Told Tales spins three gripping, diabolical nightmares of madness, mayhem and murder most foul. Price stars in all three stories, including “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment,” about a scientist who finds the fountain of youth…and lives to regret it; “Rappaccini’s Daughter,” the twisted tale of a demented father whose love for his daughter turns poisonous; and “The House of the Seven Gables,” the ghostly legend of an ancient cursed family who lived for power…and died for greed. The stellar cast includes Sebastian Cabot (The Time Machine), Brett Halsey (Return of the Fly), Beverly Garland (Chicago Confidential) and Joyce Taylor (13 Frightened Girls!).

For thoughts on Twice Told Tales, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

Twice Told Tales gets another shot on Blu-Ray courtesy of Kino Classics after previously being available from the label by repressing this disc which has long been out of print. While this may come with a new slipcover, it is with almost certainty I can say that this 1080p presentation is the same disc as before. While far from perfect, this disc looks fairly pleasant throughout most of the runtime. The skin tones look a touch pale, and the presentation could stand to have some deeper black levels. The detail in shadow sometimes falters with blacks presenting with a bit of a milky appearance.

The presentation seldom falters when it comes to the fine detail that you would hope for from a Blu-Ray upgrade. Not all of the nicks and scratches have been eliminated, but for the most part the damage does not make this one unsightly in the slightest. The natural film grain mostly resolves well, but there are points that look a bit clumpy or frozen. The colors have a decent vibrancy to them that ranks among the more impressive aspects of the disc. This film is one that deserves to be readily available, and it is nice to have it in nice quality.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio lossless soundtrack that sonically represents the film fairly well. The dialogue falters a bit when it comes to crispness, and the track can sound a little hollow at points. That being said, it is never overpowered by any competing sonic elements. The track also showcases a minor bit of age related wear and hiss that even casual viewers will clock. The activity in the movie is primarily contained to the center channel with the soundscape not opening up much even with various elements. The music which so handily dictates the mood sounds good, but it feels as if it is lacking a bit of power. This track is fine, but never comes close to reaching greatness.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Film Historians Richard Harland Smith and Perry Martin provide an entertaining and enlightening commentary track in which they deliver ample background details about Nathaniel Hawthorn, how his stories are adapted to the screen, the background of the production, the performers, the score and much more. Fans will love digging into the details of this one. .

Trailers From Hell with Mick Garris: A three-minute piece in which the great Garris takes you through the history of the film and some of the plot points.

Trailers: The nearly three-minute trailer for Twice Told Tales is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Tales of Terror, The Raven, The Comedy of Terrors, Master of the World, The Last Man On Earth, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Oblong Box, Scream And Scream Again, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, Theater of Blood and House of the Long Shadows.

Final Thoughts

Twice Told Tales is an inconsistent affair from the great Vincent price, which only makes sense given the structure. Not all of these tales are created equal, yet even the stronger ones have a bit of lackadaisical pacing which drags it back from being the best version of itself. Price does his level best to elevate the material, but only so much can be done with some moments. It is always a treat to see the master at work, but the material needed be thrills and chills and less stately dramatics. Kino Classics has brought this one back to Blu-Ray with a fairly solid A/V presentation and a decent array of special features. Vincent Price fans will appreciate having access to this one if they missed out on it previously.

Twice Told Tales (Special Edition) is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.