Dead Men Walk" is a solid, if unspectacular, vampire film.
**SPOILERS**
Following the death of his twin brother, Dr. Lloyd Clayton, (George Zucco) buries him amongst speculation that he was a raving madman by the townspeople. Caught snooping through his brother's affairs by his assistant Zolarr, (Dwight Frye) he is later seen in the cemetery resurrecting Dr. Elwyn Clayton, (George Zucco) who comes back as a murderous vampire. As a series of vicious murders begins plaguing the town, he discovers that his brother has indeed returned from the dead to stalk his daughter Gayle, (Mary Carlisle) and she is soon under his spell. Finding the source of his powers to be Black Magic, Lloyd and Gayle's beau, Dr. David Bently, (Nedrick Young) race to stop him before his plans of revenge are fulfilled.
The Good News: This here wasn't that bad. When it tried to be, there was plenty of atmospheric shots that were just fabulous. The early shot, where the coffin is being removed from the graveyard, with the fog slowly closing in and covering the figures, leaving only the outlines to waft through the scene, is inspired and quite striking. The film also has some really spine-tingling moments, where the vampire materializes out of nowhere and appears in front of people, often times appearing through the background like a shadow, and they are handled flawlessly and come off even today. For such a short film, there's also the traditional scenes and ideas from past vampire films, including the initially skeptical fiancée, the helpless local cop, the mad woman who knows the truth, the irate and skeptical villagers, the hunchback acolyte, and a rampant mob seeking to deal harshly with the good doctor under the belief that he is the killer. While clichéd, these offer a sense of familiarity that the rest of the film fails to offer. The climactic fire to reduce everything to victorious, but tragic, ashes is an effective action set-piece, being an effective end to send the film out on a high point. While derivative, this wasn't exactly torturous.
The Bad News: There really wasn't a whole lot to dislike in this one. Most of it comes the fact that the movie does not follow conventional vampire lore, as the brother becomes a vampire through the use of black magic rather than the more commonly associated means. While not bad, the fact that it does tamper with convention doesn't really give more of a vampire feel, making it seem more like a curse inflicted upon a normal person rather than a being that preys upon us. That also makes us fear the main vampire far less than in most cases, a serious detriment in such a short film. The only other main problem with the film is it's extreme predictability. The presence of so many vampire traditions and sequences means that it's just a matter of time before the next item on the checklist is marked off, giving this a really easy plot to follow through with the ending that can be seen coming from the opening minutes. While not a dangerous threat to the film, by making it so predictable is to really squeeze most of the fear and tension out of the film, leaving it to coast on the strength of it's set-pieces. That is not a good case for a film to do. But these are easily overlooked.
The Final Verdict: With a few flaws that can be easily overlooked for some, this is actually one of the more solid B-films from the time-period. It's not earth-shattering, but if given a chance, it can provide some entertainment value, so give it a shot. It's short time may hinder most of it's problems.
Today's Rating-PG: Mild Violence
**SPOILERS**
Following the death of his twin brother, Dr. Lloyd Clayton, (George Zucco) buries him amongst speculation that he was a raving madman by the townspeople. Caught snooping through his brother's affairs by his assistant Zolarr, (Dwight Frye) he is later seen in the cemetery resurrecting Dr. Elwyn Clayton, (George Zucco) who comes back as a murderous vampire. As a series of vicious murders begins plaguing the town, he discovers that his brother has indeed returned from the dead to stalk his daughter Gayle, (Mary Carlisle) and she is soon under his spell. Finding the source of his powers to be Black Magic, Lloyd and Gayle's beau, Dr. David Bently, (Nedrick Young) race to stop him before his plans of revenge are fulfilled.
The Good News: This here wasn't that bad. When it tried to be, there was plenty of atmospheric shots that were just fabulous. The early shot, where the coffin is being removed from the graveyard, with the fog slowly closing in and covering the figures, leaving only the outlines to waft through the scene, is inspired and quite striking. The film also has some really spine-tingling moments, where the vampire materializes out of nowhere and appears in front of people, often times appearing through the background like a shadow, and they are handled flawlessly and come off even today. For such a short film, there's also the traditional scenes and ideas from past vampire films, including the initially skeptical fiancée, the helpless local cop, the mad woman who knows the truth, the irate and skeptical villagers, the hunchback acolyte, and a rampant mob seeking to deal harshly with the good doctor under the belief that he is the killer. While clichéd, these offer a sense of familiarity that the rest of the film fails to offer. The climactic fire to reduce everything to victorious, but tragic, ashes is an effective action set-piece, being an effective end to send the film out on a high point. While derivative, this wasn't exactly torturous.
The Bad News: There really wasn't a whole lot to dislike in this one. Most of it comes the fact that the movie does not follow conventional vampire lore, as the brother becomes a vampire through the use of black magic rather than the more commonly associated means. While not bad, the fact that it does tamper with convention doesn't really give more of a vampire feel, making it seem more like a curse inflicted upon a normal person rather than a being that preys upon us. That also makes us fear the main vampire far less than in most cases, a serious detriment in such a short film. The only other main problem with the film is it's extreme predictability. The presence of so many vampire traditions and sequences means that it's just a matter of time before the next item on the checklist is marked off, giving this a really easy plot to follow through with the ending that can be seen coming from the opening minutes. While not a dangerous threat to the film, by making it so predictable is to really squeeze most of the fear and tension out of the film, leaving it to coast on the strength of it's set-pieces. That is not a good case for a film to do. But these are easily overlooked.
The Final Verdict: With a few flaws that can be easily overlooked for some, this is actually one of the more solid B-films from the time-period. It's not earth-shattering, but if given a chance, it can provide some entertainment value, so give it a shot. It's short time may hinder most of it's problems.
Today's Rating-PG: Mild Violence