Sorry, at this point in my film viewing career I have a hard time taking seriously old films that were shot exclusively on a sound stage; especially if they have a very low budget, and especially if they try to make you think you're looking at the outside of a house. The minimal sets give the film a cramped, claustrophobic feel. In a horror film, that should help the film accomplish its ambitions, but it really doesn't, it just draws attentions to its shortcomings. But this certainly is an appropriate film for a midnight showing on a local UHF station passing like a ghost in the night...
There were a few odd shots in the film that made me think: "Hmmm...was this film originally supposed to be in 3-D?" That should give you some idea of the gimmicky directing style on display here by Mr. Cahn.
The actor playing Dr. Zurich was quite good but I couldn't stand the sub-Jack-Webb cop character who seems to show up far too often in 50's films, be they sci-fi or otherwise. This guy is supposed to be the hero? What a stiff! He's got about as much charisma as his starched hat.
The DVD in the Midnight Movies series is quite good, with stunning visual quality, probably better than this film looked at the drive-ins where it played to teenagers making out in the back seat of Dad's '59 Buick. The soundtrack was a bit weird though, the music was too loud compared to the dialog. Pared on DVD with "Voodoo Island," that film is clearly the more enjoyable of the two, but only by a bit. FSOJ certainly had a lower budget. As a fan of Ed Wood films, this film is a good testament to whatever it is Wood's art had: it takes more than a low budget and a meager script to reach the delirious heights of an Ed Wood anti-masterpiece.
There were a few odd shots in the film that made me think: "Hmmm...was this film originally supposed to be in 3-D?" That should give you some idea of the gimmicky directing style on display here by Mr. Cahn.
The actor playing Dr. Zurich was quite good but I couldn't stand the sub-Jack-Webb cop character who seems to show up far too often in 50's films, be they sci-fi or otherwise. This guy is supposed to be the hero? What a stiff! He's got about as much charisma as his starched hat.
The DVD in the Midnight Movies series is quite good, with stunning visual quality, probably better than this film looked at the drive-ins where it played to teenagers making out in the back seat of Dad's '59 Buick. The soundtrack was a bit weird though, the music was too loud compared to the dialog. Pared on DVD with "Voodoo Island," that film is clearly the more enjoyable of the two, but only by a bit. FSOJ certainly had a lower budget. As a fan of Ed Wood films, this film is a good testament to whatever it is Wood's art had: it takes more than a low budget and a meager script to reach the delirious heights of an Ed Wood anti-masterpiece.