Saturday Night Horror: The Monster Walks (1932)

Director:  Frank R. Strayer
Cast:  Rex Lease, Vera Reynolds, Sheldon Lewis, Mischa Auer

PLOT:  The film opens with Ruth Earlton's (Vera Reynolds) father's death.  We hear the screeches of an ape from below and we can already tell this is going to be some sort of horribly done KING KONG remake.

Ruth arrives at the home with her fiancé, Dr. Ted Clayton (Rex Lease).  The handmaid, Mrs. Krug (Martha Mattox) and the servant, her son, Hanns (Mischa Auer) are not pleased with the amount of money Ruth's father left to her.

When it's time for everyone to go to bed, Hanns tees off on Ruth's uncle, Robert (Sheldon Lewis), calling him a hypocrite and questioning why he didn't tell Ruth he hated her and calling the family liars.  

When the clock strikes midnight, Ruth spies a hairy hand next to her on her pillow and lets out probably the most horrible scream I've ever heard in the history of the horror genre.

After a few scenes of Ted interrogating potential suspects, the hairy hand returns and beings to choke Mrs. Krug, who makes one of the best choking faces I've ever seen.  The hand strangles her to death and Ruth faints.  

Ted speaks to Robert and informs Mr. Wilkes (Sidney Bracey) that when Ruth entered the room, his heartbeat stopped for five seconds.  Hanns confronts Robert about his betrayal and strangles him.  While Ted and Wilkes are investigating what happened to Robert, Hanns brings Ruth's body to the cellar to feed her to Yogi.  Robert confesses that Hanns is the one doing his bidding, and Ted and Wilkes rush down to the cellar.  But Yogi is one smart critter, strangling Hanns, which allows Ted and Wilkes to rescue Ruth and save the day.   


REVIEW:  I did like this film's clever use of background movement (in the scene where Ted is talking to Ruth in her room, look carefully at the painting).  Other than that, the film was rather slow, not too much action, and ample amounts of racism, though I suppose that's expected, considering the time period this was filmed in.  2.5/10 stars.

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Saturday Night Horror: The Raven (1935)

Director:  Lew Landers
Cast:  Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Irene Ware, Lester Matthews, Inez Courtney

This week's SNH is a Lugosi-Karloff hit.  Yay!

PLOT:  Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) has been injured in a car accident and her father, Judge Thatcher (Samuel S. Hinds), in a desperate attempt to save her, calls a retired surgeon, Dr. Richard Vollin (Bela Lugosi).  Vollin refuses to help but is eventually forced to give in. 

Judge Thatcher approaches Dr. Vollin with the claim that Jean has fallen in love with him.  He requests that Vollin stop seeing her, but Vollin is obsessed with her and won't obey his request.  A murderer on the run, Edmond Bateman (Boris Karloff, hard to believe under all that hair), serves as a scapegoat for Vollin.  He agrees to change Bateman's face if Bateman will murder the Thatchers.  After various refusals by Bateman, Vollin agrees to simply perform the surgery.  In what could be considered the first instance of epic trolling in the history of time, Vollin transforms the left (to us) side of Bateman's face into a disfigured mess; his eye is crooked and his mouth is pudgy (Vollin even laughs when he discovers that Bateman shoots the mirrors after he discovers he's disfigured [because that will change his appearance], so you know he knows he's a master troll).  Bateman demands that Vollin fix his mouth, and Vollin says that he will IF Bateman agrees to carry out the murders.  Bateman eventually says yes.

Vollin invites the Thatchers and Jean's fiance, Jerry (Lester Matthews) to his mansion for the weekend.  During the party, Jean is scared by Bateman and lets out a (rather lackluster) scream.  This prompts Dr. Vollin reveals why he is so obsessed with Poe's poem, The Raven.  He loves anything to do with torture and death.   

Jerry decides to humor Judge Thatcher and move Jean into another room.  At 11, Bateman captures Judge Thatcher first.  Jerry runs after him, and, as is usually the case when a lover goes after a fiend, he makes no attempt to stop Bateman other than simply running towards him, and is knocked out. 

Jean is awoken by her entire room descending.  Her and Jerry are thrown into a room in which the walls will close around them and they will be crushed to death.  Bateman, however, saves the day and throws Vollin into the room instead.  I like this because I was rooting for Bateman all along, lol.  At the end of the day, Bateman dies due to Vollin's gunshot and everyone gets away safely.
 
REVIEW:  Considering the fact that almost nothing in this film had to do with The Raven (besides Vollin's torture devices and "Poe has been avenged!"), I enjoyed this film.  I loved the mad scientist combined with evil host motif (similar to HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL with Vincent Price).  Great music and Bateman was lovable.  4 out of 5 stars.

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