Here comes the groom awaiting his doom....and there goes the bride with no place to hide...
In watching this science fiction film of the voodoo kind, I was actually very surprised how much I enjoyed it after not having seen it in over 10 years. I got past my film snobbishness and upped the rating from "2" to "5" because even though one capsule book on film reviews called it one of the top films to be on everybody's worst list, I found it extremely enjoyable. The critic referred to it as a plethora of non-actors at their worst, but even ones I sometimes sneer at myself (Lon Chaney Jr.) gave sincere performances here that surprised me with their simplicity and believability.
The Maria Ouspenskaya like Gisela Werbisek is the servant to plantation owner Paul Cavanaugh and when she witnesses his foreman Raymond Burr arrange his "accidental" death, she plots her revenge which takes place on the day Burr marries Cavanaugh's beautiful younger widow, Barbara Payton. This turns him into a feared monster who in the form of a gorilla terrifies the natives as it brutally kills other wild animals and makes them wonder if human beings will be next. As this creature takes over Burr's personality, his marriage to Payton crumbles with his desire to remain in the jungle as she longs to escape it. Lawman Chaney and Cavanaugh's doctor (Tom Conway) suspect something is amiss with Burr, and in short order, all is revealed.
Chaney, who in his Universal leading roles bothered me with his attempts to be a leading man, narrates the film simply. This is actually quite eerie in spots, especially the shot of Werbisek placing poisonous leaves on the eyes of the deceased Cavanaugh as she vows her vengeance on Burr. Don't expect the usually one-dimensional villain performance from Burr; The motives are understandable and as the tensions arise in the early scenes between Burr and Cavanaugh, you know that evil is afoot more in just the monstrous character Burr eventually becomes. Burr actually looks more like a romantic leading man here than normal, his handsome face very distinguished even if he shows a hefty build in a few shots. Payton is very appealing as the bleach-blonde femme fatal and also gets much dimension in her characterization of the younger wife who comes to resent her older husband (Cavanaugh) for spending more time reading the bible than with her.
Although obviously made on the cheap, the photography actually is pretty good and the dialog (at least not until the end) never so over the top that you laugh at it. Perhaps this gets more of a ribbing because of its rather campy title, the presence of Burr in a romantic lead, film noir vixen Payton as a mostly noble woman and the hideously evil woman which Gisela Werbisek plays, glaring through her giant bush baby like eyes with the evil of a Disney villainess.
In watching this science fiction film of the voodoo kind, I was actually very surprised how much I enjoyed it after not having seen it in over 10 years. I got past my film snobbishness and upped the rating from "2" to "5" because even though one capsule book on film reviews called it one of the top films to be on everybody's worst list, I found it extremely enjoyable. The critic referred to it as a plethora of non-actors at their worst, but even ones I sometimes sneer at myself (Lon Chaney Jr.) gave sincere performances here that surprised me with their simplicity and believability.
The Maria Ouspenskaya like Gisela Werbisek is the servant to plantation owner Paul Cavanaugh and when she witnesses his foreman Raymond Burr arrange his "accidental" death, she plots her revenge which takes place on the day Burr marries Cavanaugh's beautiful younger widow, Barbara Payton. This turns him into a feared monster who in the form of a gorilla terrifies the natives as it brutally kills other wild animals and makes them wonder if human beings will be next. As this creature takes over Burr's personality, his marriage to Payton crumbles with his desire to remain in the jungle as she longs to escape it. Lawman Chaney and Cavanaugh's doctor (Tom Conway) suspect something is amiss with Burr, and in short order, all is revealed.
Chaney, who in his Universal leading roles bothered me with his attempts to be a leading man, narrates the film simply. This is actually quite eerie in spots, especially the shot of Werbisek placing poisonous leaves on the eyes of the deceased Cavanaugh as she vows her vengeance on Burr. Don't expect the usually one-dimensional villain performance from Burr; The motives are understandable and as the tensions arise in the early scenes between Burr and Cavanaugh, you know that evil is afoot more in just the monstrous character Burr eventually becomes. Burr actually looks more like a romantic leading man here than normal, his handsome face very distinguished even if he shows a hefty build in a few shots. Payton is very appealing as the bleach-blonde femme fatal and also gets much dimension in her characterization of the younger wife who comes to resent her older husband (Cavanaugh) for spending more time reading the bible than with her.
Although obviously made on the cheap, the photography actually is pretty good and the dialog (at least not until the end) never so over the top that you laugh at it. Perhaps this gets more of a ribbing because of its rather campy title, the presence of Burr in a romantic lead, film noir vixen Payton as a mostly noble woman and the hideously evil woman which Gisela Werbisek plays, glaring through her giant bush baby like eyes with the evil of a Disney villainess.