Very disappointing...

Expected more

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

"The Haunted Strangler" is an unusual beast for a horror movie. It makes the surprising decision to feature no surprise. There is never any question of who the killer is because the movie tells you early on. It doesn't even end with a twist.There are examples of this being done well with horror movies and thrillers, usually when the aim is to disturb, rather than scare the audience. Consider films like "American Psycho", where you already know the guy on screen is a killer. The suspense comes from wondering who they'll off next. "The Haunted Strangler" doesn't seem to be trying for that, though. The main feeling it evinces is sadness, I guess, at the tormented killer, when really you should just be scared of him. He's hideous and fearsome, but not interesting enough for the movie to show its hand so soon.The plot concerns an infamous killer called the Haymarket Strangler who is hanged in Victorian London. Twenty years later, Boris Karloff plays an ageing writer and social reformer who is determined to prove that the man executed for the Haymarket crimes was innocent. Karloff unravels the mystery of the case and the killings begin again.Who could the killer be?If you think I'm hedging perilously close to a spoiler with this review, the people who made the movie would have disagreed. The revelation of who the killer is could have been used to great shock and suspense, but instead, it's thrown away carelessly early on. With it, sadly, goes all trace of suspense.

Since having heard his name mentioned in Tim Burton's wonderful film Ed Wood,I have always been wondering when I should take a look at the work of actor Boris Karloff.As I was recently checking up titles that were featured in a sale on Amazon Uk,I was surprised to find this very interesting sounding Karloff mystery Horror film being sold at a fantastic low price,which led to me deciding that I would at last come face to face with a horror icon:The Plot:Heading on his way to be hanged for murdering a number of prostitutes and showgirls,Edward Styles yells out that he did not kill the women,and that his conviction is a miscarriage of justice.With Styles pleads being ignored as the last desperate words of a madman,he is hanged and then taken straight to the prisoners burial ground.Shortly before the coffin is nailed shut,a stranger suddenly appears and quickly chucks a knife (Styles alleged murder weapon) into the coffin.20 years later:A distinguish Victorian novelist and social reformer called James Rankin starts to take a look at the huge collection of cold/closed cases that the police have in their archive.Taking a peek at the files,Rankin suddenly experience's his interest being oddly drawn to the Edward "The Haymarket Strangler" Styles murder case,which he begins to suspect was carried out without every avenue having been looked at.Interviewing some of the showgirls/prostitutes that still work in Haymarket's most popular night time destination,Rankin's starts to get a strong suspicion that the long lost murder weapon could hold the key to the case.Searching high and low to find any trace of the knife,Rankin soon begins to suspect that the murder weapon may have been secretly buried with its most infamous owner.View on the film:Although the screenplay for the film by John Croydon was written super quick so that he could also write the script for 1959's First Man Into Space,I found the first half of the film to be a very enjoyable Victorian era Gothic Mystery.With Croydon having Rankin go on a "tour" which allows him to meet all of the dames and dirt bags who occupy the seedier side of the city.Along with including a small amount of fun smut from the showgirls,Croydon also does well at having Rankin's obsessive side slowly become more dominating as the film goes on.Disapointingly after the terrific build up of the first half,the second half of the movie turns all of that promise in to a real mess,which despite featuring a great performance from Karloff as the "gentle" Rankin,is let down by Croydon and director Robert Day (who would later direct the 1965 Hammer Horror She) pushing all of the wonderful foggy atmosphere right to the side,and replace it with a Hunchback like monster who,instead of looking like a terrifying monster,just looks (and acts) like a man with poor make up who has a deep desire to get closer to some beautiful dames.

This film bears the appropriate scars of the time :it begins with the obligatory prologue in the past which is perhaps the best scene: a man is hanged ,and people gather around the scaffold for the show.Later ,Rankin (Boris Karloff) is convinced that they hanged the wrong man and his hard task is to clear his name and to find the real culprit.Of course things will soon turn wrong.This is actually Stevenson's "Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde" revised and updated.The split personality has been used too many times to be really absorbing.The only relatively endearing character is the wife who has always known but...

Boris Karloff is a crusading novelist trying to change the British legal system by looking into the Haymarket Strangler case. Boris is convinced the man hung for the crime didn't do it. Of course his investigation turns up proof that he was right, and that he himself was the killer. Well made and well acted little thriller is on okay film to have on in the background. Recently released by Criterion as part of a 4 film set its an okay time killer best watched late at night. To be certain Karloff is wonderful to watch, especially in the scene where he finds the important piece of evidence which proves him right and also slides him into madness. However the mover isn't anything special and can be a bit dull (too much music). (The criterion commentary is excellent and the real reason to pick this up)