Not exactly a crime movie, although it seems to start off that way. It's more a horror outing, designed to show off some really startling 3-D effects. Actually, there are really three versions of the movie. The 3-D, the flat, and the flat with censor cuts including a severely truncated climax. Directed and designed by the fabulous William Cameron Menzies, it must be admitted straight off that the 3-D effects lose much of their impact in 2-D. In fact, in the censored flat version the horror element is pretty tame, but the plot of course seems even more wildly and ridiculously implausible. If this were not bad enough, the sets look quite ordinary and give the appearance of being constructed on an extremely limited budget. In 3-D, however, not only do the sets look grimly menacing but there are some quite ingenious tricks to startle us and keep our eyes glued to the screen. Also the photography now seems quite slick with some really effective atmospheric shots, e.g. the motionless silhouette of the late baronet slumped in a high-backed chair, and the tense climax with our super-attractive heroine lost in the maze. In fact, 3-D proves such a wonderful distraction that we don't notice the holes in the plot or any gaps in continuity.
Review of The Maze
