 Decemberdike
December 19th
The Mad Ghoul (1943)
A fairly run of the mill programmer from Universal about a mad scientist (George Zucco) who discovers a strange vapor that makes people do his bidding in an almost catatonic state.
Zucco plays the scientist with relish as he goes round sadistically cackling, but David Bruce as the mad ghoul of the title is a bit of a let down or should i say his make up is.
Despite being formulaic there are also decent performances from Mummy fave Turhan Bey and Universal scream queen Evelyn Ankers, meaning the film has a better cast than script. That's not to say the film isn't good it is, but when put up against the Universal heavyweights it feels a bit thin.
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December 20th
Bad Samaritan (2018)
A young valet breaks into a man's home and discovers a terrified woman who's chained and gagged. After notifying the police, he soon becomes the target of the home owners wrath as he tries to rescue the victim that he left behind.
A very enjoyable cat and mouse psycho-thriller. David Tennant plays against type as the kidnapper but does it very well in a nice sadistic way and former Misfit Robert Sheehan plays the valet whose life is suddenly turned upside down.
It's a fast moving film and Sheehan makes for an engaging lead but the whole thing is utterly ludicrous. If you were to suddenly stop and think i'm sure the film would fall apart, however if you can disengage your brain as i did then there's a hell of a lot of fun to be had here.
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