Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 1/5
I’ve watched several 1940s horror movies and became rather blasé about them because they were very mild. Well, this one was a horror movie and no mistake. The aesthetic was shadowy and dark and creepy. For a horror aesthetic, it was good, I suppose, if you like horror. I don’t. So personally, 1/5.
Characters: 1/5
No one was likeable in this film except for Degar and Sika, and she was in contact with demons, so not very nice in that respect, while he was a liar and was cast as the villain for half the movie, which drove me wild. I don’t like spooky guys. Also he didn’t look one bit Indian—he came across as a German wearing a turban and pretending to be a Ram Dass type of fellow.
Mary was stupid and flirted with the journalist when she was engaged to Arthur. I did like how she stood up for Sika and Degar though. The journalist [Tom Hartley] was loud and rude and forced himself on Mary. The police sergeant [Rinehart] was obnoxious, stupid, and pigheaded. (Sharp-tongued, snappy men in uniform aren’t appealing.) Moses had some of the horrid “stupid-funny black character” stamp, although he wasn’t as bad as some I’ve seen.
I hated Arthur. The aunt and uncle were racist. The scientists were the only indifferently okay ones. And the taxi driver was nice. And I suppose Prof. Rinehart was decent.
Plot: 1/5
A insane serial killer is roving around a house, coming in and out, climbing all over it, killing about five people, and NO ONE does anything about it?! No locking doors and windows, setting guards, calling for a manhunt, NADA ZILCH ZERO?! I know horror movies exist on dumb characters, and I know in real life we’d not know it was horror and probably be dumb too, but Y’ALL. This is downright excessively dumb.
That plot point aside, the mystery was well done in that I couldn’t figure out who did what. However, I thought the whole buried dead alive thing was pretty ridiculous to focus on when people are dropping like flies thanks to a homicidal maniac. (Also that ending is hilarious cheap comedic fright stuff.) And I got tired how overdone the deaths were and how no one cared at the end, and I was really bugged by the first scene because I didn’t need to see a sweet romance being ended by both people being murdered—that scene was super creepy and also HOW DID THEY NOT NOTICE HIM? Maybe I’m just more paranoid than most folks…?!
I know, horror isn’t my thing, okay?
Romance: 1/5
Bleh. I don’t find guys of Hartley’s overconfident stamp appealing. He was straight up wrong in the way he treated Mary and it’s not romantic. I don’t care if “deep down she did love him,” right then she BELONGED TO SOMEONE ELSE and also KEPT TELLING HIM TO QUIT and he wouldn’t. Apparently no doesn’t mean “no,” it means “chase me harder.” I’m not a feminist but I do know a gentlemen should back off when asked to. Fitzwilliam Darcy, anyone?
Theme/Message/Topics: 0/5
No theme. Except maybe that racism is wrong.
Content: 2/5 (high)
A few euphemisms (“d*rn,” etc); smoking; a seance; racist comments against Indians; mockery of a black man; 3 on-screen kisses, two unwanted by the girl. Hartley also gives Mary a bunch of compliments, one being slightly racy for the time.
Violence: 3/5 (between low and medium...?)
No on-screen murders but plenty of “backed up in a corner screaming” shots and several off-screen murders. Plenty of horror. Lots of scary shots.
Overall: 1/5
Yucky and dumb. I wasted an hour on this stuff?
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