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Sunday, October 28, 2012

31 Days of Halloween - Day 28 - Movie 2

A doctor finds himself at the mercy of John Gray (Boris Karloff) the Cabman, who provides his school with freshly obtained cadavers, because of a dark past history shared between them. The doctor's kindly student assistant finds himself caught in the middle.

The Body Snatcher (1945), based on the story by Robert Louis Stevenson, was produced by Val Lewton, directed by Robert Wise, and stars Boris Karloff in one of his best performances. This movie is an all around classic; well written, directed and acted, with beautiful cinematography and a claustrophobic atmosphere.

This is an essential horror movie that should not be missed.

31 Days of Halloween - Day 28 - Movie 1

A mad scientist injects a reporter with a serum that turns him into an asshole, a murderer, and then a two-headed monster in The Manster (1959).

Essentially a Jekyll and Hyde story with an extra head, this movie is actually not bad, with some very memorable disturbing imagery, particularly of one of the scientists surviving failed experiments, and some physical symptoms pertaining to the reporter's transformation. If you've seen stills of the two-headed monster, you'll recognize that it's not terribly convincing, but wise lighting choices, editing, and articulation of the second head keep it credible in the film itself.

The real flaw in this movie is one similar to Werewolf of London in that the reporter isn't particularly likable even before he starts turning into a jerk. It never even occurred to me to root for this guy to get rid of his Hyde persona and go back to normal. I just had no investment in him. The only somewhat sympathetic character is the mad scientist's beautiful assistant. Because of the lack of characters to invest in, the movie feels a bit long, but still contained enough elements to make it worth watching.