Strangler of the Swamp (aka Strangler From the Swamp, a difference that Amazon considers vital enough to put in the actual title in their listing) is a pretty effective and moody old-timey chiller. From these modern eyes, the gender politics at play are annoyingly conservative at times, but other than that it's an enjoyable film that moves along nicely and has some creepy effects.
As you might guess, it's about a small town on the edge of the swamp that is cursed by a ghostly strangler. Several years prior to the events of the film, a man named George was accused of murder. Despite George insisting on his innocence and having no evidence against him other than the testimony of one man, a lynch mob brought George out to the swamp and hanged him for his crime. Several years later, many people who have ventured out into the swamp have been found strangled to death. Some in town credit it to superstition/bad luck (they just wandered into some vines shaped like a noose, or something), while others are sure that George is exacting his revenge from beyond the grave. Meanwhile, when the swamp ferryman is killed under mysterious circumstances, his granddaughter Maria moves in and takes his place. Maria catches the eye of Christian, the son of the most prominent businessman in town, and the two become romantically involved. But will the curse of the Strangler put a damper on their blooming relationship? Or does an even worse fate await them? Tune in to find out!
The first thing you notice about Strangler of the Swamp is the setting and the fog - if you are a fog machine enthusiast, you will love it. There is just clouds and clouds of the stuff, and it creates a great, eerie mood. The swamp where most of the action takes place looks good too - lots of tall, mossy trees with giant roots for the fog to move through. I haven't spent a lot of time in swamps, but this one looks real enough for me.
We figure out right away that the stranglings are not an accident - George is in fact a ghost, and a pretty cool looking one at that. This is obviously an old film, although the wear and tear on the print actually adds to the overall effect. The ghost is obviously just a guy, but the filmmakers have somehow manipulated the film to make him darker and somewhat out of focus. You can hear his voice, but his mouth doesn't move. He doesn't strangle with his ghost hands - his victims are either strangled by rope/vines, or just slowly get the life sucked out of them via some telepathic force. And he can do other ghostly stuff like slamming windows and doors, although he seems to be most at home when strangling. Honestly, the combination of the solid ghost effects, the (uncredited) actor's portrayal, and his overall mode of operation add up to one of the creepier ghosts I've seen in a long time - especially impressive when you consider how old this film is.
It moves by really quickly too (the runtime is 59 minutes). There isn't really any padding or wasted time - just about every scene moves the plot forward. And honestly, I think there is enough going on in Strangler From the Swamp that it actually could have been longer. I would have liked to see a little more drama amongst the townsfolk, and the romance angle between Maria and Christian is *way* underdone. Like they meet each other, chat one more time, and then are in love and engaged. At least a date or something would have been nice. But this isn't the first 1930s-40s movie relationship that I've seen with a staggeringly short courtship, so perhaps that was just the style of the day.
Also the style of the day? Institutionalized sexism. There is lots of talk amongst the men about "keeping your women in line," and at one point, Maria is chastised by a drunk guy for liking her independence: "That's crazy - such a pretty girl worrying about her job. Say, you should marry, have a nice home... you need protection." Moments later, the guy tries to force himself on her (just aggressive kissing - this is 1946 after all), but Christian comes in to save the day. Then the drunk guy is all "sorry, I guess I'm a bit pickled," and Maria says "that's okay."
I guess Maria is an interesting character in the respect that she is a pretty independent woman - she's resourceful, okay being alone, and wants to keep her job as the ferrywoman. And she never faints from fear, which surprised me. Really, she's more of the hero than anyone, so I guess it's progressive in some respects. Still, some of the tone is just kind of icky, but I've seen much worse. But baby steps, I guess.
It is worth noting that the ghost is gentlemanly though - he makes it clear that he's only going after the men who killed him and their sons. So there is a sense of chivalry from beyond the grave to go along with the gender-biased times.
But that's not enough to derail it by any means. Strangler From the Swamp is still a really neat, old-school, atmospheric ghost film. If you can abide by some 40s politics and some old-timey cinematic conventions, I think you'd find a lot to like.
I would recommend this film.
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