Quartile rating: 8.5/10 · 1 rating
On Quartile, Vincent scores 8.5/10 across five categories — strongest on Cinematography (Well Above Average), weakest on Plot (Above Average).
Ranked among Quartile’s Top Cinematography, Top Novelty.
Young Vincent Malloy dreams of being just like Vincent Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams that annoy his mother.
Tim Burton's debut short is a strikingly original piece of gothic stop-motion animation rendered in stark black-and-white expressionist imagery that clearly draws on German Expressionism and Universal horror aesthetics but filters them through a wholly unique, unmistakable Burtonesque vision. The Dr. Seuss-style rhyming narration by Vincent Price himself is a masterstroke of casting and tone. Cinematography earns a 4 for its extraordinary visual invention — the shadowy angles, elongated figures, and expressive lighting are remarkable for a student film. Novelty is similarly high: nothing else looks or feels quite like this. The plot is slight by necessity (it's a short), and the ending, while darkly poetic, is more of a mood conclusion than a dramatically earned one. Acting/voice work is above average but limited in scope.