Lugosi once again gets to try to instill sincerity into a ridiculous plot. He's a seemingly kindly doctor who becomes a psychotic killer (committing the deeds while in a trance) when he spots his insane missing wife (Betty Compson) whom he adored, but in denial over the fact that she abandoned him for another man. In the meantime, boring daughter deals with a dull romantic subplot involving fiancee (John McGuire) who is accused of killing the possessive maid Terry Walker who became Lugosi's first victim.
One of his duller Monogram programmers, Lugosi couldn't add life to this by adding his own plasma. Obviously cheap sets (that look like they are about to collapse), a script that even lacks camp, and a dull supporting cast (lead by Young as his unfortunate daughter given a dull romance for a secondary story line) are other flaws. Young highly resembles her more popular sister (Loretta) but doesn't have her acting chops. McGuire has the oddest twist in the plot, suddenly coming back moments after the execution, as the twin nobody knew he had. Lugosi's performance is fine until he has to go into his sudden trance, but that seems to be a fault of the direction, not his choices.
Veteran black character actor Clarence Muse fortunately avoids stereotypes as the loyal butler who is actually the smartest person in Lugosi's household. Compson, a star of the early 30's, would have been better to have skipped this one, looking as if time had not been kind, and photographed in an unflattering light. The circumstances surrounding her character make absolutely no sense. The eerie musical score was also heard in Lugosi's 1932 horror classic, "White Zombie", but seems strangely inappropriate here. The painfully slow pacing destroys this even further.
One of his duller Monogram programmers, Lugosi couldn't add life to this by adding his own plasma. Obviously cheap sets (that look like they are about to collapse), a script that even lacks camp, and a dull supporting cast (lead by Young as his unfortunate daughter given a dull romance for a secondary story line) are other flaws. Young highly resembles her more popular sister (Loretta) but doesn't have her acting chops. McGuire has the oddest twist in the plot, suddenly coming back moments after the execution, as the twin nobody knew he had. Lugosi's performance is fine until he has to go into his sudden trance, but that seems to be a fault of the direction, not his choices.
Veteran black character actor Clarence Muse fortunately avoids stereotypes as the loyal butler who is actually the smartest person in Lugosi's household. Compson, a star of the early 30's, would have been better to have skipped this one, looking as if time had not been kind, and photographed in an unflattering light. The circumstances surrounding her character make absolutely no sense. The eerie musical score was also heard in Lugosi's 1932 horror classic, "White Zombie", but seems strangely inappropriate here. The painfully slow pacing destroys this even further.