The Unknown (1927) - Tod Browning

This is a fantastic horror film with a great star sprinkled cast including Joan Crawford and the always entertaining Lon Chaney. It is directed by veteran, Tod Browning. This is widely considered to be one of the greatest of the silents and I would have to agree. It has shades of The Penalty, which also starred Chaney. I really enjoyed this, mostly the great looking sets and amazing plot.

Alonzo the Armless is a fugitive who poses as a circus freak. He pretends to be an arm-less knife thrower by tying his arms down to his sides. Oh, and he has two thumbs on his left hand? Joan Crawford plays his beautiful assistant and love interest, her father is the circus owner. One evening the circus owner notices that Alonzo has arms and he is faking his circus freakish-ness. This creates a problem. The owner wants Alonzo out. But he wont leave with out a fight.

The acting is really heavy in this movie. However, it doesn't feel too heavy. Lon Chaney does his usual job of holding the audience. His character is chaotic and bad, however, his character is also one to be sympathized with. Usually this kind of thing doesn't drag me in. Lon Chaney works in mysterious ways. Joan Crawford is fantastic as well. Believe me, I have seen a thousand of these movies. This acting is where its at. In this movie and in The Penalty.

The suspense in the movie is where the scares come from. By today's standards this movie would be a thriller at best. Back in the day, however, this movie could have been on par with something like Halloween or Paranormal Activity. Something like that. Times have changed and this movie isn't compelling for the fear inducing story, it is more compelling for the actors and story telling. None the less, check this movie out. Learn about what was scary in times or yore.

Director: Tod Browning
Country: USA
Style: Dramatic Thriller

Did you know...

Joan Crawford looked at this a turning point for her career. This film has been pieced together from other releases. Found through personal collections or the Black Market. Tod Browning based this on his time spent with a traveling circus.

Comments

The Human Monster (1939) - Walter Summers

Bela Lugosi turns in a fantastic performance. It is right on par with the exact same films that had made him famous like Dracula . My personal favorite being The Black Cat . Like the latter, this film suffered from poor circulation and lack of advertisement. Either that or the public wasn't interested in seeing Lugosi in anything else other than his famous bloodsucker. This film has a broad and well acted plot that was rich with detail. Lugosi has two sides in this picture. His well loved and compassionate side. The other is a strict, brutal lone shark that acts as a sinister villain to blind and handicapped people. He really brutalizes his victims. It's a macabre message to pay your bills. The film is slow moving and plagued by the usual setbacks from its time. Most of the nation wasn't really that concerned with horror at the time. But studios knew that they would always have an audience. This film is a prime example of that. It's sad because it's

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Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

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Inseminoid (1981) - Norman J. Warren

What can be said for mindless schlock pictures like this one. They were pumped out in droves during the eighties. Inseminoid !? give me a break! It sounds like some pre-pubescent teenage boys came up with the title. On the plus side the movie isn't horrible to look at and it has a decent amount of gore. If you can separate yourself from the political incorrectness, then you might have a perfectly decent Sci-Fi Monster Feature. A research team exploring caves on Jupiter accidentally awakens an ancient alien that rapes and impregnates one of the team members. She suffers from terrible shock and trauma, leading to a complete mental breakdown as her pregnancy accelerates faster and faster. Feeling threatened she decides to kill anyone she deems a threat. Can the rest of the research team survive or will they all become victims of INSEMINOID! Apparently this movie had a million dollar budget. That's really shocking considering the outcome of the picture. The acting

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