The Tomb of Ligeia is a 1964 horror film directed by Roger Corman, loosely based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story "Ligeia". The screenplay was written by Robert Towne.
It tells the story of a recently widowed man named Verden Fell (Vincent Price) who is haunted by the spirit of his first wife, Ligeia, despite her passing. When he marries the beautiful and headstrong Rowena Trevanion (Elizabeth Shepherd) against his better judgment, strange and unsettling things happen within the mysterious abbey Fell made his home. Adding to the horrors is the appearance of a black cat that threatens the life of Rowena and the memory of his first wife torments Fell as he is forced to resist her or perish...
The eighth and last film in Corman's so-called "Poe Cycle", it was not particularly successful either critically or commercially, although the director later cited it as one of his better Poe films.
The Tomb of Ligeia provides the following tropes:
- Betty and Veronica: Christopher (the original fiancé) is the Betty, and Verden (the mysterious yet charming abbey resident) is the Veronica, with Rowena filling in as the Archie.
- Bittersweet Ending: Rowena is rescued from Ligeia's supernatural threat and her fiancé escapes with her, but Verden perishes in the abbey fire while sacrificing himself to fight Ligeia.
- Brainwashed: At night, Ligeia uses her power from beyond to control Verden's movement.
- Bungled Hypnotism: Verden demonstrates hypnosis on Rowena for others' amusement...only for Ligeia to momentarily speak through her, freaking him out.
- Cats Are Mean: the black cat that appears throughout the film tries to kill Rowena at every opportunity.
- Creepy Cemetery: Ligeia's body is buried there despite reservations by the clergy. The body buried is a fake.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Ligeia
- Eye Scream: Verden's eyes are damaged by Ligeia in her cat form.
- Haunted Castle: Technically an abbey, but close enough.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Verden fights off Ligeia long enough for Rowena and Christopher to escape the burning abbey before it collapsed.
- Hidden Harasser: Ligeia haunts the abbey and anyone living there.
- Hollywood Atheist: Ligeia is implied to be one, given the priest's demand she not be buried on hallowed ground.
- House Fire: The abbey catches fire and comes crashing down, taking Verden and Ligeia with it.
- It Was Here, I Swear!: Rowena's experience in the abbey boils down to this. Each time she experiences Ligeia's haunting and tells someone, nobody could find the cause of the scares.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Rowena as the Light Feminine, being an innocent blond-haired lady who experiences the occult after marrying Verden, vs Ligeia as the Dark Feminine, an equally beautiful brunette woman who holds strong belief in the occult and perpetrates the supernatural occurrences.
- Mummies at the Dinner Table: Rowena discovers Ligeia's eerily intact body in a secret room where she also finds an entranced Verden.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Verden has this when he discovers Rowena unconscious, and again when he realizes he was tricked into strangling Rowena by Ligeia.
- Opaque Lenses: Verden requires them due to an eye condition that can't tolerate sunlight.
- Pastimes Prove Personality: Rowena rides around recklessly on her horse like a classic Spirited Young Lady. Verden is more the artistic type, studying ancient art and making replicas (because he doesn't agree with the common archaeological practices of the time which often amounted to just taking anything you like), showing him as highly intelligent, introverted, and unconventional in his approach to things, as well as rather isolated, showing more interest in what happened thousands of years ago than in the day-to-day world.
- Recurring Dreams: Rowena experiences nightmares where she finds a secret room she doesn't recognize. She eventually discovers the room for herself, where Ligeia's body is actually kept.
- Romancing the Widow: Gender flipped, as Rowena strikes a relationship with the widower Verden Fell.
- Spirited Young Lady: Rowena is a lady of quality, but is also strong-willed and headstrong.
