On February 7th, my wife and I went on a trip to sunny California. We started in LA, visiting a friend for a couple of days, and over the next week slowly drove up the coast to finish things up in San Francisco. It was rad! But, it made watching a movie every day/writing about it quite difficult. As committed as I am to this thing, I can't justify missing out on a potentially once-in-a-lifetime trip to blog about a terrible indie-slasher, you know? Plus, I think it's wise to occasionally do things with your spouse.
So things will be a little different for the next 11 entries. I managed to watch the movies, but rather than writing about them as I normally do, I'll do a quick little synopsis, a little imdb research, quote some of the reviews (can you do that?) and bounce off of them. Followed up with my general impressions. Okay, thanks!
California is pretty sweet.
Voodoo Man
Dr. Marlowe (Bela Lugosi) wants to bring his deceased wife back to life. He has his cronies kidnap women who are traveling alone, and then using a voodoo ritual he attempts to capture their life essence and transfer it to his dead wife. (Who, despite being dead for 20+ years, can still walk around and remains un-decomposed, because voodoo.) He hasn't had a lot of success yet, but is getting closer and closer to bringing her back. But then they make the mistake of kidnapping a woman who actually has people who want to find her.
imdb plot keywords, because they are usually funny:
mansion / dungeon / voodoo / gas station / drum
Reviews:
the film very consciously knows it's silly and because of this, it makes an otherwise stupid film quite enjoyable
-Thanks "planktonrules" via imdb
I didn't really think Voodoo Man was consciously being silly. I mean, *most* horror films of the 1940s are going to seem a little silly just by virtue of their age. But while there is a bit of over-acting, I didn't get the idea that anyone felt "above" the material. I think they were going for "fun," not "silly" or "stupid." And I'd say it succeeds.
-Thanks "zardoz-13" via imdb
The voodoo ceremony is kind of awesome. Marlowe and his voodoo partner are clad in these kind of cheesy robes adorned with stars and moons - they look less like imposing voodoo priests and more like they should be selling Lucky Charms. But aside from the ceremony, you've got some pretty witty dialogue from our kidnapped woman (before she gets snatched), a fun performance from John Carradine as a dim-witted henchman, and Lugosi being Lugosi. But my favorite part (that made me laugh out loud as I was watching it on the plane) was when our "hero" drops like a sack of potatoes after one punch during the climactic rescue at the end. Not very heroic, dude.
-Thanks "roxyroxy" via imdb
I can't really say it's a "must-see," but it's enjoyable. Any Lugosi is good, but Voodoo Man is much better than a couple of his that I've seen recently (here's looking at you, The Ape Man and Scared to Death).
Final Thoughts:
Overall, Voodoo Man was a fun little watch. It's short (just a hair over 60 minutes) and goes down easily.
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