Another tiresome example of an old dark house mystery that doesn't seem to have come to terms with the advent of sound. Even at a mere 63 minutes it is tortuously slow with the actors speaking slowly in deliberately sonorous voices and lots of pregnant pauses, even when they seem to have no dramatic purpose. Frank Strayer (who the following year would direct the far superior THE VAMPIRE BAT) directs as though he is asleep and faces with such material who can blame him. Mischa Auer tries to inject some sinister colour into his character but the chimp looks very unhappy and stressed. Rating *
2 comments:
How can you say that?!?! THE MONSTER WALKS is one of the greatest early horror movies that ever...
OK, it sucks. Frank Strayer isn't exactly John Ford or James Whale. . .hell, even Rowland V. Lee! But some of his film's are more entertaining than this rather stodgy, extremely creaky old dark house non-thriller which makes the mistake of many other early horror films. And that is: thinking an ape is a good basis upon which to rest a horror movie. It isn't. Apes (and their strangely copious proliferation in all too many horror films) are yawn-inducing monsters. Unless, of course, you are the eighth wonder of the world. But he is nowhere to be seen in THE MONSTER WALKS. Funny, I've always mistakenly referred to this film as THE MONSTER YAWNS.
Ah well. At least it's STILL more enjoyable to watch than VAN HELSING.
If a film is a bit corny I don't really mind an ape but it's got to be a Ray Corrigan in a suit made out of his mom's carpit rather than a real ape (The mismatched closeups of the chimp in MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE totally ruined the film's atmosphere) I really was a bit concerned about the obvious signs of stress the poor simian in THE MONSTER WALKS was showing. I see that Cheetah has just published his memoirs (no joke) which should be interesting to say the least.
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