An underrated, black and white, horror classic. While this repeatedly commits an unforgivable sin - for me, at least - when it comes to horror; that is to say, it jams in comedy where it does not belong. I nevertheless enjoy it, and it does more right than wrong. The story is very simple: motorists are caught in a terrible storm and have to seek shelter at the only house on that path. Inside they find the Femms, all varying degrees of insane. That's basically the movie, but if you like classic horror, this is worth several viewings. What the movie gets right is the slow unraveling that our characters have found the worst place to take refuge from the storm. Also, this may be the first horror movie that had people as the "monsters," and not supernatural or otherwise twisted, sci-fi versions of humans. These are just people who are crazy. Yes, they exist. What the movie gets wrong is trying to shove in comedy and a love story. The acting is very indicative of the era: meaning people are being obnoxious or silly when the situation dictates they should, at the very least, be rattled, nervous or trying to hide how scared they are. Maybe it was because of the Depression, but I don't get why there needed to be so much optimism in horror from this time. Really, the scariest part is when two strangers can "fall in love" after a few minutes and propose marriage the next day. Perhaps that's the real horror!
Review by BronsonBlockedParent2023-10-26T04:43:22Z
An underrated, black and white, horror classic.
While this repeatedly commits an unforgivable sin - for me, at least - when it comes to horror; that is to say, it jams in comedy where it does not belong. I nevertheless enjoy it, and it does more right than wrong.
The story is very simple: motorists are caught in a terrible storm and have to seek shelter at the only house on that path. Inside they find the Femms, all varying degrees of insane.
That's basically the movie, but if you like classic horror, this is worth several viewings.
What the movie gets right is the slow unraveling that our characters have found the worst place to take refuge from the storm. Also, this may be the first horror movie that had people as the "monsters," and not supernatural or otherwise twisted, sci-fi versions of humans. These are just people who are crazy. Yes, they exist.
What the movie gets wrong is trying to shove in comedy and a love story. The acting is very indicative of the era: meaning people are being obnoxious or silly when the situation dictates they should, at the very least, be rattled, nervous or trying to hide how scared they are. Maybe it was because of the Depression, but I don't get why there needed to be so much optimism in horror from this time.
Really, the scariest part is when two strangers can "fall in love" after a few minutes and propose marriage the next day. Perhaps that's the real horror!