Post a Comment On: Horrorthon

(1956) ****

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Indestructible movie is more like it.

I honestly don’t have a bad thing to say about this tale of revenge from beyond the grave. Lon Chaney Jr. plays "The Butcher", a remorseless gangster on his way to the electric chair. Before he gets zapped, he vows vengeance against the thugs who double-crossed him including “Squeamy” Ellis and Joe Marcelli. He gets his chance when a cutting edge doctor experiments on his corpse in an attempt to find a breakthrough cure for cancer. Apparently the cure has something to do with lots and lots of electricity. The Butcher returns to from the dead by the same means that killed him. How ironic.

The Butcher’s brain is understandably fried but he still instinctively feels the need to kill those bastards. The good news for him is that he is now both super strong and bullet proof. He demonstrates his strength in a terrific scene where he strangles two scientists at the same time.

I suppose I should devote at least one sentence to the fact that there is a subplot involving his blonde burlesque girl love interest. Don't worry though, it's relatively harmless. The important thing is that he goes on his kick-ass rampage and throws two guys off the top of a building before going into hiding in the sewer.

The entire movie is narrated by Detective Dick Chasen. (I swear I’m not making this up.) He has a great Dragnet-like narrator voice. What’s confusing (and amusing) is that a detective is capable of narrating omnisciently but still has trouble locating the Butcher's whereabouts.

(Insert brief closing sentence that reaffirms how super-awesome movie is here.)