Robert Siodmak
1945
Despite being directed by Robert Siodmak, despite featuring a psychotic serial-killer, and despite the rich black and white photography (which far surpasses the usual quality of B horror/thriller fare), I could not get particularly excited about this RKO chiller. Plotting and performances are only above average (Ethel Barrymore's token crazy granny and all), legitimate scares are lacking, and the film's cardinal sin comes from a far too easily guessed "whodunnit." Hired help Helen has been rendered mute by childhood trauma and is holed-up in a baroque mansion on a dark and stormy night. Unfortunately for her she's being stalked by a killer who has a taste for offing women with physical imperfections. The killer's mental tick is marginally interesting, and the set-bound art department does a superb job with the atmospherics, but there's just not enough chutzpah to keep this one going - a well executed and ornate exterior without guts. Not even a seemingly callow playboy, colorful brandy-sneaking servants, or the fiend's lurking POV shots do much to set this one apart. I'll take a picture by RKO contemporary Val Lewton over this any day.
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