I feel jipped. No really, it's like I've been bamboozled here! Where is the true travesty of an Ed Wood production? I was expecting some serious miscare, intent to harm when it came to the work of the "worst director of all time" as purported by the Golden Turkey Awards of the early eighties. This, Wood's largest
budgeted film, has the same capacities as any other 50's sci-fi horror film, certainly not as awful as repeatedly reported. Sure, it blatantly shows flaws in the lack of passable special effects, stock footage of a crocodile and a giant octopus from previous films of the studio, and the horrific acting that comes from shooting every scene once, whether it be a simple exchange or the climax of the film. Still, much of this felt nostalgic and easy to follow, like the horror classics that proceeded it, but there's always something just a bit off with the acting, especially the relationship between the Monster and his creator. The doctor is portrayed by the aged Bela Lugosi, by then a morphine addict and faded star compared to Boris Karloff. He brings the same insanity and chaotic charisma of his Dracula persona to the Hungarian accent tinged character of Dr. Eric Vornoff, a ruthless man attempting to breed atomic men to rule the world. He is aided by a monster, played by wrestler Tor Johnson. Tor, I am sorry, but you cannot act. I say this with utmost sympathy, because the way you portray that gentle giant is petulant and ignorant to the craft that is acting, or the species that is human. Loretta King, a backer of the film, is strikingly stiff, and the cameo by Dolores Fuller feels bland and porous. Most of the beginning is simple dialogue and this makes the rush of information near the end a bit auto-climactic. Still, it's an Ed Wood, so at least you're enjoying the hilarity involved.
January 17, 2011
