This was another in the Val Lewton Horror Collection, released in 2005 on a nice 9-film pack DVD set.
It's a typical film from the collection. Some stories, of course, are more interesting than others ("The Body Snatchers" was, I thought, by far the best) but this one - supposedly "Lewton's masterpiece," according to one national critic - I found was generally typical of the rest.
"Typical" for the following reasons:
1 - Great cinematography, film-noir-like with dramatic light and shadows, super black-and-white images that are a treat to see. The DVDs offer very good transfers with clear screens and fairly sharp images.
2 - Generally-speaking, not much happens in these films, such as this one. In this film, there was one quick "action" scene but nothing was shown. The rest of the film is all talk, talk and more talk...but great anticipation that something is going to happen....but it never does. The ending to this particularly movie, and some of the others, was flat and very disappointing. You are left asking, as Peggy Lee sang in her famous song years ago: "Is that all there is?"
3 - Decent acting and suspense...but see above for the end result. Of note, regarding the acting, this Lewton film has Kim Hunter making her debut. It also had a bunch of familiar faces from the 1940s and 1950s but no big names, unless you count "Ward Cleaver" from the "Leave It To Beaver" TV series. Ironically, his character name in this film is "Mr. Ward."
It's a typical film from the collection. Some stories, of course, are more interesting than others ("The Body Snatchers" was, I thought, by far the best) but this one - supposedly "Lewton's masterpiece," according to one national critic - I found was generally typical of the rest.
"Typical" for the following reasons:
1 - Great cinematography, film-noir-like with dramatic light and shadows, super black-and-white images that are a treat to see. The DVDs offer very good transfers with clear screens and fairly sharp images.
2 - Generally-speaking, not much happens in these films, such as this one. In this film, there was one quick "action" scene but nothing was shown. The rest of the film is all talk, talk and more talk...but great anticipation that something is going to happen....but it never does. The ending to this particularly movie, and some of the others, was flat and very disappointing. You are left asking, as Peggy Lee sang in her famous song years ago: "Is that all there is?"
3 - Decent acting and suspense...but see above for the end result. Of note, regarding the acting, this Lewton film has Kim Hunter making her debut. It also had a bunch of familiar faces from the 1940s and 1950s but no big names, unless you count "Ward Cleaver" from the "Leave It To Beaver" TV series. Ironically, his character name in this film is "Mr. Ward."