HALLOWEEN HORRORFEST 2019: Voodoo Man (1944)

There’s no sponsor today, so I turned to the Randomizer.

And  The Randomizer, probably wanting to show me it has a sense of humor, chose the Monogram ‘Epic’ Voodoo Man, where three great horror actors debase themselves in a film I am convinced was not taken seriously.

Monogram, for those of you who are not familiar, was the big shot of ‘Poverty Row,’ whose purview was grinding out tons of cheap-ass genre pictures that served as ‘B’ features.  They range from okay to mediocre to wretched, and were known for being shot very quickly.  The closest to a superstar director Monogram had was one William Beaudine, nicknamed (maybe erroneously) ‘One Shot’ for his reputation for getting things done quickly...sometimes only doing one take of a scene.  There's plenty of evidence of Beaudine's rep here, with scenes where actors visibly flub lines (at one point John Carradine, playing Lugosi’s mentally-challenged servant, noticeably refers to Lugosi’s character by a different name) or visual continuity goes out the window.  Monogram was the embodiment of Not Caring ‘Bout Dat Quality, and they seemed proud of it.

So...Voodoo Man.  Dr. Marlowe (Lugosi) has been working for over two decades to bring his surprisingly well-preserved wife back from the dead.  He’s been working with voodoo priest and gas station owner Nicholas (George Zucco) to kidnap single girls so that they can attempt to transfer their psychic energy into the wife.  When one of those kidnapped girls turns out to be the cousin to the fiance’ of Ralph (Tod Andrews), a ‘Hollywood sap’ who works as a screenwriter for a movie studio, a dual investigation is launched--partially by Ralph, and partially by the Sheriff (Henry Hall), who is rather annoyed that he has to do his job.

I mention in the intro that I don’t think the film was meant to be a serious horror film, and the Sheriff and his ‘old lady’ obsessed Deputy is part of the reason I came to this conclusion.   The scenes between the two of them have a tone that seem to be played as comic relief--and there’s so much of them.  A scene of the Sheriff questioning Marlowe and bumming sherry off of him is at turns befuddling and surreal!  Plus there’s Nicholas’ assistant at the gas station and Toby (John Carradine), both of whom are played as ‘goofy’ idiots.  These characters take up the bulk of the film’s hour running time, and I can’t help but think the ‘Komedy’ that arises from them is one hundred percent intentional....which would be fine is said ‘Komedy’ wasn't so tone deaf.  And the fact that Ralph suggests to his boss in the coda that ‘that guy Bela Lugosi’ play the Voodoo Man indicates Beaudine and writer Ralph Charles are winking at us.

Truth of the matter is I started to feel sorry for the three ‘Horror Experts’ being trapped in this.  Lugosi plays the film relatively straight, but Zucco and Carradine appear actively depressed at being stuck in the roles they have.  The winge-worthiness of the actors surrounding them shore up that they’re out of place here.  They deserved better...and you know when I say George Zucco was embarrassed, that’s saying something.

Voodoo Man is indicative of the dying fortunes of horror in the wake of WWII.  Seeing these three actors struggling in this is depressing.  Obviously, I cannot recommend this film.

Tomorrow’s sponsor is the first of my Deja’s Domicile of Dread Patron, Damien Crawford.  Damien has chosen 2009's The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations, the second sequel to 2004‘s Anton Kutcher/Amy Smart thriller.  Why did he choose this over The Butterfly Effect 2, given that he recently assigned me the original?  We’ll find out together!

Just a reminder--there’s six slots open for this year’s Halloween Horrorfest.  Anyone who joins Damien as a Patreon at the $3 or more slot not only gets bits of writing and exclusive podcasts (like the upcoming Pacific Rim Rialto), but can sponsor one of those slots and choose the film I have to watch and report on!