Castle follows the Strait-Jacket formula in The Night Walker by casting a couple of former heavyweight champs (Stanwyck and Taylor) and retaining Bloch for another script. Castle's direction is less inspired than Strait-Jacket although the mise-en-scene and depth of field become compelling for creating an ironic sense of claustrophobia and solitude. The opening sequence is sans Castle prologue, but Bloch has written in a poetic voice over address accompanied by a surreal and technically proficient montage sequence. The shot-reverse-shot is sloppy and overt at times and fails to use alternating sound design. There is little alternating shot scale within a scene and few closeups during intense moments. All these elements combined make close psychological identification with characters difficult. Castle keeps the mood eerie through good noir lighting setups, dense smokescreens and mysterious explosions. I wouldn't say that the film follows a dream logic but it shows a significant repression in such a regard and is at least conscious of doing so. This self-reflexive aspect of the film text provokes questions from the spectator which likely aids in retaining engagement given that the pace can lag. The special effects are pretty crumby and the film had no gimmick support. The twists at the end can only be supported through the most convoluted of contrivance, making this film's resolution rather dreary.
Review of The Night Walker
