Director: Charles Barton
Year: 1948
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
Heading out for a spook-show owner, two deliverymen learn they unwittingly released a horde of deadly monsters that intend to include them in their brain-swapping plans and force them to fight off the creatures with the help of a friendly werewolf to get away alive.
Review:
This here is one of the greatest horror comedies ever made. What makes this one work here is the absolutely perfect storyline this concocts for their brand of slapstick comedy and physical gags, which are inserted into this one incredibly well. Letting their usual deadpan-style of self-deprecating quips and nervous fidgeting that gives so many scenes a good, consistent chuckle at their nature, and these are given an awfully great boost by the remaining physical gags. Resorting to slapping each other, mugging for the camera, bumping their heads on everything, or simply winding up at the right place at the wrong time to have their story get revealed as there's always a silly turn-out or escape to keep it be known, and everyone assumes there's been nothing there all along.
As a result, it ends up leaving the scenes of them unearthing the crates in the storage facility, escaping the wolf-man in his hotel room, or the classic encounter in the castle's basement, seeing the two creatures on the opposite side of the revolving door, keeping everything on the other side, just being wholly enjoyable and laugh-out-loud effort. It's one of the better examples of the horror comedy genre as well, by displaying one of the main characteristics that few who have followed it fail to accomplish, in that the threat that comes in the film is treated as a serious threat. The monsters are serious and can really injure the protagonists, and aren't played for laughs or gags against them, which many who follow never really utilize well and therefore fail. The gags that come are therefore funny, as the situation is serious, and the out-of-place gag done really well has some merit and is the better for it.
This one also manages to go big when it can with some other fun moments here as the end provides some nice action that was common-place among the era, as there's some spectacle thrown in that is quite exciting with the different battles going on that all intermingle with each other while the different story lines play out regarding rescues and the different battles here provide some nice action, including the ending on the dock which is a fine high-end action scene with the area going up in flames with the monster in the middle. These make this one so much fun and enjoyable throughout that it's a very rare film that should satisfy all the different types of fans out there. About the only flaw here is to be found with those that don't prefer this kind of effort with their slapstick routines and generally fast-paced comedic timing, which is possible to find, but is really the only thing to do that can knock this down.
Overview: *****/5
A classic in every sense of the word, this is one of the most impressive and enjoyable genre efforts out there with plenty of likable aspects and not much about it to hold this back. Those with an interest in this style of genre fare, who appreciate the tone attempted here, or who are fans of the creative crew, will have the most to like here, as only those turned off by these factors should heed caution.
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