Review: The Black Cat

Writer David Manners and wife Jacqueline Wells are honeymooning in Hungary when they get caught up in the conflict between old acquaintances Dr. Vitas Werdegast (Bela Lugosi) and an Austrian-born Satanist named Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff, credited here as just ‘Karloff’) in the latter’s rather bizarre modern-looking house/lair. It seems the evil Poelzig has committed some very great wrongs towards Dr. Werdegast, and they are set to hash it all out.

 

Director Edgar G. Ulmer (“My Son, the Hero”, “Detour”) and his co-writer Peter Ruric (“Twelve Crowded Hours” with Lucile Ball) take nothing more than the title and an on-screen cameo by the title character for this 1934 Universal horror film. Whatever it may lack in Edgar Allen Poe (it’s closer to Aleister Crowley territory), it makes up for by looking great and being good, sinister fun.

 

Released prior to “Bride of Frankenstein”, Karloff gets one of his best early showings here as the sinister and creepy – but cordial and gentlemanly on the surface – Satanist named Poelzig. How much of a sinister and creepy Satanist is he? He reads a book about Satanism in bed! Yeah, that’s a curious bedtime story choice. The film is rich in thundery atmosphere from the outset, but Karloff’s classic entrance is the first thing that really makes you sit up and take notice. He also looks bizarre and rail-thin, whilst not playing a traditional ‘monster’ he looks positively other-worldly (the art-deco house interiors are also quite unusual). His sly and truly diabolical villainy steals the show, though Bela Lugosi gives one of his better performances too. Getting to play a rather complex character (but far from villainous), it’s saddening to see how good Lugosi is here and how dreadful he became in his latter, drug-addicted years. It’s like two completely different people. This film marked the first of eight on-screen pairings between Lugosi and Karloff, and a rarity in that each plays the role that would normally go to the other. David Manners is pretty good too, in one of the more colourless roles. Hell, there isn’t a bad performance in the film, really. The finale is creepy as hell and jolly good fun.

 

Although Ulmer isn’t as famous as say Tod Browning (“Freaks”, “Dracula”) or James Whale (“Frankenstein”, “Bride of Frankenstein”), he creates a damn good-looking, atmospheric film. Karloff is outstanding, Lugosi in solid form. Good stuff, if not on the level of “The Body Snatcher” or “Bride of Frankenstein”.

 

Rating: B-

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Hellraiser (2022)

Recovering junkie Odessa A’zion accompanies scuzzy boyfriend Drew Starkey on a break-in where all they find is a weird puzzle box. A’zion later opens the box and after some weird shit happens, A’zion and Starkey figure it might be a good idea to learn more about this messed up trinket. Goran Visnjic plays a millionaire who possessed the box before our protagonist nicked it.   Is there any point in remaking/rebooting “Hellraiser” when the 1987 adaptation of Clive Barker’s original text was written and directed by Barker himself? And is considered a horror classic? On evidence here, absolutely not. Directed by David Bruckner ( “The Signal” ) and scripted by Ben Collins ( “The Night House” ) and Luke Piotrowski (ditto) this is an entirely tedious affair. I took a long time to get on board with the 1987 “Hellraiser” , I have to admit. It was wildly imaginative and original, like a nightmare transplanted on to film. However, the characters were stone cold and left me similarly chilly t
Read more

Review: Boyka: Undisputed

Yuri Boyka (Scott Adkins) is out of prison and fighting for a living, with ambitions for the ‘Most Complete Fighter’ to make a real name for himself. However, after an opponent dies during a fight, the deeply religious Boyka starts to have a crisis of conscience. He tries to make amends with the man’s widow, which eventually pits him against a local gangster (Alon Moni Aboutboul, quite good). Anything with Scott Adkins will generally get me interested, and although this series peaked with the superlative “Undisputed II: Last Man Standing” , this 2017 film from director Todor Chapkanov (director of the SyFy movies “Copperhead” and “Ghost Town” ) is no slouch in a series yet to deliver anything less than solid entertainment. Producer Isaac Florentine is missed in the director’s chair, but Chapkanov gives us at the very least the series’ most dramatically ambitious entry, as Adkins’ ‘most complete fighter’ Yuri Boyka continues on his journey to redemption here. In this one, the
Read more

Review: Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear

Scott Adkins is once again Casey, an American proponent of the martial art of Ninjutsu. When Casey’s pregnant Japanese wife (Mika Hijii) is rubbed out, he’s on a vengeance mission to find her killers. A friendly face, Nakabara (Kane Kosugi) turns up at the funeral, and suggests Casey come to Thailand to deal with his grief in another country. Casey initially declines, but eventually takes Nakabara up on his offer. However, his wife’s murder still haunts Casey, and with intel supplied by Nakabara, the trail eventually leads Casey to a brutal drug baron named Goro (Shun Sugata).   I was extremely disappointed with the first “Ninja” , but had heard that this 2013 sequel from director Isaac Florentine ( “Undisputed II: Last Man Standing” , “Undisputed III: Redemption” , “Ninja” ) was a damn near masterpiece of the martial-arts action movie genre. Having now finally gotten my hot little hands on it, I’d say the hype is a bit much, but this is unquestionably a much better film than the f
Read more