The Tomb of Ligeia (1965)

The last of Corman’s Poe films gives viewers further reason to hate the aristocracy, as if more were needed. Vincent plays a man held in thrall from beyond the grave by a mating of two souls. The horror of it affects his waking hours and makes him more aggressive than we usually see him. Elizabeth Shepherd is his love interest; she’s excellent in a dual role.
It throws in references to other Poe works just for the hell of it, but what really sets it apart is the beautiful, poetic language used and the stunning location work in and around the ruins of a picturesque Norfolk abbey. I’d willingly forgo sleep just to be able to live there.

4 conqueror worms out of 5

Damien: Omen II (1978)

Damien is thirteen, on the precipice of maturity. It's time for him to put away childish things and look menacing in uniform.
The film exists solely because the first one made a profit. The plot is stretched to fit 107 minutes when in reality it could be told in just one paragraph. Damien’s awakening lacks drama. The diabolical intervention is predictable and boring. The deaths are comical. It fails to capture the uneasy feelings that the original had. Although, it makes a kind of sense that the Antichrist would be educated at an American military school.

2½ days of the Jackal out of 5