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Supernatural More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 15 reviews in total |
14 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Quietly impressive., 20 March 2004
Author:
Jake (jemstream@hotmail.com) from Melbourne Australia
Unlike a lot of reviewers here, I was quite impressed by this film. Sure
it's not scary - I didn't expect it to be - but it effectively builds an
unsettling atmosphere without resorting to the usual mood enhancers such as
haunted houses, gloomy mansions, isolated islands, etc. Prosaic things such
as a spark generated from a railway wheel, the taking of a key, have an edge
to them. There are also some very nice touches along the way, eg, the dog
bringing the slippers to Carole Lombard's brother.
It is also interesting to see Carole Lombard this early in her career - from
my point of view she acquits herself quite well in the part. And H. B Warner
is also well suited to his role of Dr Houston. Randolph Scott however is
wooden, and the role of Bavian could have done with a more charismatic
player than Alan Dinehart. The real scene stealer in this movie however is
Beryl Mercer - much better in this than anything else I have seen her
in.
I also find this film interesting plot-wise, as I have on occasion come
across texts which refer to "The Uninvited" as the first significant
Hollywood film to deal with spirit possession when clearly this is not the
case. I suppose it depends on what you mean by significant.
Anyway, it is certainly interesting to see what the makers of "White Zombie"
came up with when they had the backing of a major studio.
14 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Gives me the creeps, even after 3 viewings, 9 August 2002
Author:
DeborahPainter855 from Norfolk, Virginia
I've seen this film 3 times over the past 16 years and I have to say that it still has its moments. Real pros were in charge of seeing to it that the movie evokes the right mood. No, it's not made in the same vein as "The Blair Witch Project" or any of a number of modern scarefests. Older movies often have a distinct style which is different than that used by directors, cinematographers and set designers today. This should not detract from the appreciation of old scary movies. Black and white cinematography can only enhance them. See the scene with the dead murderess in the scientist's laboratory for an example of what I mean. Brr.
10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
Good horror with a most shocking moment., 24 February 2003
Author:
tom.hamilton
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This is a very unusual, interesting and even pioneering horror and
having read a number of negative comments about this film I can't help
feeling people are missing the point almost as much now as audiences did in
1933.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
Try to see this as not a Carol Lombard film but a bigger budgeted follow up
from the guys who made White Zombie. It's a beautifully shot and decidedly
unusual story which actually takes it's subject matter quite seriously,
while providing some genuinely shocking moments and a chilling ending when
the real killer returns. Whilst it's true that Lombard is pretty bland
through most of this she does okay in her possessed scenes.
But the performance that really stands out for me is that of little Beryl
Mercer as the landlady of the faker who attempts blackmail. Mercer, most
familiar as James Cagney's simple minded mother in Public Enemy, excelled at
playing downtrodden yet naively positive types and always brought a touching
quality of innocence to her performances. Even here, as a seedy and
unscrupulous character that warmth is evident and it makes you not want to
see her hurt. So her terror and disbelief when she realizes her tenant has
poisoned her, makes for a very chilling and heartbreaking moment, one of the
most powerful pieces of acting I've seen in an early talkie.
That scene alone lifts this film far above the normal, and since then I'm
always pleased to see her in any supporting cast.
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
SUPERNATURAL (Victor Halperin, 1933) ***, 15 April 2006
Author:
MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta
Having independently made one of the most unusual horror films up to
that time in WHITE ZOMBIE (1932), the Halperin Brothers were given the
opportunity to duplicate its success – on a bigger budget, relatively
speaking – by a major studio, Paramount. Alas, the result wasn't as
good and, in fact, SUPERNATURAL emerged as a lesser addition to the
studio's brief output in the genre during its Pre-Code heyday! Despite
a nice opening montage sequence depicting the exploits of the murderess
(Vivienne Osborne), it takes a while to get going: Carole Lombard only
appears 15 minutes into the movie, and the possession plot only really
comes into play during the last 15 (interestingly, the 'transference of
souls at the moment of death' gimmick was also featured in EXORCIST III
[1990] – though it's unlikely this element was derived from the film in
question). That said, I enjoyed SUPERNATURAL a good deal and there are
some undeniably stylish sequences throughout.
Still, one might say that luscious Lombard's virtually the whole show
here, though she isn't totally comfortable in her role. Randolph Scott
and H.B. Warner lend solid if unexceptional support – but the
villainous character of the spiritualist (Allan Dinehart) isn't
particularly well-developed, while Beryl Mercer offers the obligatory
comic relief as the latter's tipsy landlady (who isn't above spying on
and eventually blackmail her boarders!).
For all that, the latter stages of the film – involving the séance
(highlighted by the 'apparitions' of Lombard's dead twin brother and
various other tricks perpetrated by Dinehart to milk his gullible
clients) and Lombard's possession (particularly the nice close-ups of
her lit eyes) – are reasonably effective. All in all, while I wasn't
excessively let down by it, I can only see SUPERNATURAL (I wouldn't
mind having it on an official DVD from Universal, either, perhaps as
part of a horror collection?) improving with further viewings, and I
would certainly like to catch up with the Halperin Brothers' subsequent
horror outings – REVOLT OF THE ZOMBIES (1936) and TORTURE SHIP (1939) –
even if their reputation is nowhere near as assured as this one's is,
let alone WHITE ZOMBIE…
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Shock after shock!, 6 November 2006
Author:
JohnHowardReid
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
After the success of White Zombie (1932), the Halperin Brothers moved
to Paramount where they produced this stylish, big-budget horror piece,
its thrills even more chilling because they now seem so credible when
presented against such lavishly realistic sets, and augmented by
Martinelli's rivetingly moody cinematography.
The cast too is absolutely out of the box. Carole Lombard gives one of
her finest performances as the troubled and ultimately possessed
heroine, making the transition from innocent yet ultra-sophisticated
mourner to vengeful, homicidal madwoman with disturbing conviction. As
the villain of the piece, suave, hateful, murderous Allan Dinehart is
truly a stand-out. The hideous scene in which he coldbloodedly murders
his lowlife landlady (brilliantly played for both repugnance and
sympathy by Beryl Mercer) is seared into my memory.
Randolph Scott's disbelieving hero is also well played. So is Warner's
high society doctor, and especially William Farnum's amiably greedy
Hammond.
Last but second only to Miss Lombard's is the powerful performance
delivered by Vivienne Osborne in a tenth of the star's footage. Her
presence literally haunts the whole film.
Paramount have not spared any expense. The sets, whether grimy, hell's
kitchen tenements or palatial high society palaces are so naturalistic,
the viewer never questions or doubts for a moment his role as a
committed voyeur in this disturbingly real-life scenario. True, the
special effects are few, but this admirable restraint only serves to
make them so much more frighteningly believable.
Director Halperin never puts a foot wrong. He seems to know
instinctively when to slow down the pace to build up a brooding
atmosphere and when to heighten the drama with quick cutting to deliver
shock after shock.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Restless Spirits, 1 October 2006
Author:
bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
By the thinnest of plot connections in Supernatural is millionaire
heiress Carole Lombard connected to Vivienne Osbourne a serial
murderess who is awaiting her execution in prison. Alan Dinehart,
Osbourne's sometime boyfriend is the one who turned her in to the
authorities because he was afraid. With good reason as it turns out.
Dinehart is a fake medium, but H.B. Warner is the real deal, a
psychologist studying life after death. He wants Osbourne's body after
she dies for experimentation and she agrees to it.
Turns out he's a family friend of Carole Lombard who is mourning the
recent death of her brother, leaving her sole heir to a vast fortune.
And Dinehart has designs on it through her.
Warner has the best performance in this film. His scientist is part Dr.
Frankenstein and part Dr. Van Helsing, the best parts of both. Closely
following is Dinehart who is definitely one scurvy rat.
Lombard did far better work in her career in those screwball comedies
than she does her as a frightened heiress who gets possessed by the
spirit of a killer. Supposedly a female serial killer has not been
identified, but apparently Supernatural anticipates one will eventually
be found.
Randolph Scott plays Lombard's boyfriend. He was doing B westerns for
Paramount at the time, based on Zane Grey stories mostly. He looks like
he'd rather be back in the saddle than in the tuxedo he wears mostly in
this film. Of course his part is colorless and he's given little to do,
but look concerned.
Not the best work for fans of either Carole Lombard or Randolph Scott.
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Vivienne Osborne is Just Splendid!!!, 22 March 2011
Author:
kidboots from Australia
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
"Supernatural" broke new ground, being one of the first films to deal
with possession by otherworldly influences. Before the Golden age of
Horror, film chillers were usually adaptations of stories by Poe or
Stevenson and ghost stories usually had "down to earth" explanations,
explained at the movie's end. After the popularity of "Dracula" there
came a greater acceptance among the public of things of a super-
natural bent. The reasons may also have been that during the early
talkies, when sound recording was often limited to one or two sets -
movies about faith healers, mentalists and seances became extremely
popular. Between "White Zombie" (1932) and it's supposed sequel "Revolt
of the Zombies" (1936) the Halperin Brothers made only 2 films - one
was the forgettable "I Conquer the Sea", the other was the unusual and
innovative "Supernatural" starring the luminous Carole Lombard.
With several scriptural quotations, as well as a montage of newspaper
headlines and courtroom shots, the scene is set and we are introduced
to Ruth Rogan (the always excellent Vivienne Osborne) who is to die in
the electric chair for murdering three lovers. Not only is Ruth not
sorry, she is eager to kill again - if only she can get a reprieve - No
Chance!!
Meanwhile, Roma Courtney (Carole Lombard), who is grieving over the
death of her brother, John, receives a note from spiritualist Paul
Bavian (the always excellent Alan Dinehart), who tell her he has been
visited by a "distressed John" and wants to arrange a seance. There is
always a naysayer in these movies and in this one it happens to be
Randolph Scott, who plays Roma's shoulder to cry on (and hoping to be
more) Grant. At the seance "John" appears and accuses Hammond (William
Farnum) an old family friend of killing him to eventually take control
of his fortune. Afterwards Roma and Grant visit Dr. Houston (H.B.
Warner) and find him in the middle of a ghastly experiment. Before Ruth
Rogan's execution she had given permission for Houston to experiment
with her remains - to see what makes her tick!!! When Roma bursts in,
Ruth (looking no worse for her electrifying death) is sitting there and
after a flutter of curtains, the harassed doctor demands that Grant
"get Roma out of the room" - too late she is already possessed!!!
Bavian has a few secrets, not the least that he is a phoney
spiritualist. He is the man who supposedly put Ruth on her murderous
path and the man she wants to return to life for, in order to kill him.
He has also, just before the seance, murdered his landlady, who was
getting a bit nosy. Beryl Mercer, usually the epitome of sweet,
simpering mothers ("The Public Enemy", "All Quiet on the Western
Front") is anything but here. If any actress can be forgiven for
rebelling against typecasting, it was Beryl Mercer - maybe she was just
taking one last stand, because in this movie her role was that of a
sly, drink dependent hag who lived in a roach infested room.
Roma, now possessed by Ruth's evil spirit organises another seance and
when Hammond is murdered she and Paul take off - he, envisioning a
night of lust, she with murder on her mind. Lombard's transformation to
the possessed Roma is more than just acting. Makeup creates a harsh
look but at the film's end the lipstick, eyeshadow and general darkness
of her face disappears and she is the old Roma once again. Again
Vivienne Osborne, as the psychotic murderess really steals the show.
She excelled at highly emotional parts - it was just such a pity that
those roles were few and far between. She retired in the late 40s but
even one of her last roles, as the sick querulous first wife of Vincent
Price in "Dragonwyck", she was completely memorable.
Highly Recommended.
4 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
A memorable old horror film, 4 November 2001
Author:
John Seal from Oakland CA
I find this film immensely enjoyable. Sure it's ridiculous, but wouldn't any film with this title be a little silly? The cinematography is outstanding (particularly in the remarkable opening montage) and the cast is fine. The hero is Randolph Scott. Recommended.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
You'll probably dislike this one if ..., 4 December 2010
Author:
calvinnme from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
... you're expecting the Carole Lombard of those great mid-30's
screwball comedies and beyond. However, she does give a great dual
personality performance here. In order to make it believable that she
is possessed by the more aggressive personality, she has to make the
other personality extra demure and undistinguished so you can tell them
apart. Believe me, you can.
The film opens with Ruth Rogen being tried, convicted, and sentenced to
death for strangling her three lovers with her bare hands for the fun
of it all. Dr. Carl Houston (H.B. Warner) comes to visit Miss Rogen in
jail and asks if he can perform some experiments on her once she is
dead, since the good doctor is interested in the paranormal. She agrees
only because she sees the possibility of the escape of her soul into
another person's body - it seems there is one more person she wants to
strangle before she closes her affairs in this world and she doesn't
care whose body she uses to do it.
At the same time, wealthy Roma Courtney (Carole Lombard) has just lost
her twin brother, John, through death. There are some nice touches here
showing the depth of Roma's grief and her close relationship with her
brother including her playing some home recordings that the two had
made together and their dog, confused by his master's absence, bringing
John's slippers to a now all too empty chair. Slimy fake spiritualist
Paul Bavian (Alan Dinehart) reads the newspapers and gets an idea. At
night he slips into the mortuary where John's body is, makes a death
mask of John's face, and then uses that mask to try and perpetrate a
fraud on Roma, claiming that he can reach beyond the grave and contact
John. Did I mention that Bavian is the one that informed on Ruth to the
police when he couldn't get her to break off their affair? Did I also
mention that Roma got a little too close to Ruth's body during one of
Dr. Houston's experiments one night? I think you probably know where
this is going.
This one is very atmospheric and moves quite briskly at only 65 minutes
in length. The séance scenes are not scary at all, since the audience
can see how Bavian is doing his tricks, but the scene where Roma and
her fiancé walk in unexpectedly to Houston's lab and see the body of
Ruth Rogen sitting upright in a chair, dressed in some kind of evening
gown, seeming to stare right at them - that is good precode horror
stuff.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Horror film not for Lombard fans, 26 July 2010
Author:
mhesselius from United States
Negative reviews of this film should be seen in context. Most Carole
Lombard fans are looking for light comedies and romances, certainly not
horror pictures. Horror fans, however, must be delighted to find
Lombard starring in this movie from the Halperins, who produced the
successful Lugosi vehicle "White Zombie" in 1932.
Only a few times in the 1930s' golden age of horror did these films get
the star power and production they deserved. Among major studios
Paramount led the way with this type of film, even predating Universal
with John Barrymore's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" in 1920 when the only
horror films were coming out of Germany. In the '30s Paramount,
encouraged by Universal's success, cast Charles Laughton in "The Island
of Lost Souls" and Frederic March in a remake of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde." In "Supernatural" Lombard is fine in the lead role of a woman
possessed by the evil spirit of a murderess. And while this film is not
a classic, it is an effective horror film by a major studio. The fact
that it rates 6.0 stars is amazing when you consider what types of
films Lombard's fans are used to seeing her in.
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