(1940)
Dir - Jean Yarbrough
Overall: MEH
The first horror film of many that was produced by P.R.C., (Producers Releasing Company), was The Devil Bat, which kick-started a series of low-budget, cheapies for the Poverty Row studio. Bela Lugosi is on board as of course a mad scientist, this time Dr. Paul Carruthers who unleashes a very silly scheme to get back at a bunch of people who he does business with that he feels screwed him out of money. So for all of you Breaking Bad fans, it is basically as if Walter White decided to mutate a bunch of bats to kill Elliot and Gretchen after he sold his share of Gray Matter Tech instead of going into the meth business. There are a few character actors who are pretty ludicrous here, but Lugosi is solid and smoothly diabolical as usual, calmly saying "goodbye" instead of "good night" once he marks his targets. He tones down any cackling, crazy bad guy behavior, preferring to smirk at people and talk to his pet bats instead. At sixty-eight minutes, the movie is exactly as long as it should be and it represents the type of typical, small scale production that Lugosi would make a living appearing in for the rest of his career.
(1941)
Dir - Joseph H. Lewis
Overall: MEH
The first of nine films that Bela Lugosi made with Monogram Pictures under producer Sam Katzman, Invisible Ghost is ruined by implausible plot holes and a pretty dull pace. Spoilers, but for absolutely no logical reason whatsoever, a woman who was thought to be either dead or missing depending on the dialog is in fact living right next door to her husband's house for some undisclosed amount of time where a groundskeeper and his wife have been hiding her because, well exactly. Instead of keeping her locked up though, she wanders out only at night to wait around until Bela Lugosi stares at her, at which point he begins killing people. Why she only does this at utterly random times and primarily ones that are convenient to the plot, (like when other details can flimsily place Lugosi's murders on other people who happen to be around), and how the police never once suspect Lugosi when it is his house that people keep getting killed at with no explanation shows that the bare minimal effort was made in scripting this one. Lugosi is fine of course, but the movie is just way too dumb and boring.
(1942)
Dir - Ford Beebe
Overall: MEH
An unofficial remake to 1932's Doctor X, Night Monster is not the most memorable of Universal's horror films from the era. It is also deceitful in that both Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill are barely in it though each received upper billing. A typical whodunit where a bunch of doctors, scared women, servants, and a police captain are all cooped up in a house simultaneously getting picked off and trying to find the murderer, who is of course the last person you would expect, in this case meaning the only person you expect the entire time. While it is assuredly lacking in any true suspense or mystery, Ford Beebe, (who also acted as producer), does in fact stage the murders in an eerie manner, utilizing shadows and keeping his killer off screen until the last possible second. Most of the cast are stereotypes, (the police chief is an old idiot who seems annoyed that he has to get up out of his chair and follow up on any clues, there is a chauffeur who acts inappropriately towards women, a cryptic house staff, a mystic, a paralyzed, wealthy doctor, a woman who everyone assumes is just hysterical and insane, a dashing hero and lady he wants to protect, etc), and especially with Lugosi left with only a few scenes and lines, Night Monster is not really worth ones time.
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