| Voodoo Man |
| You would think that a 1940's horror movie starring three of the most well known horror actors of the time would be a classic.You've got Bela Lugosi, George Zucco and John Carradine together.Zombie women,a voodoo god named Ramboona and life after death should add up to sure fire entertainment.Don't bet the mortgage payment. Dr Marlowe (Lugosi) has been trying to restore life to his zombie like wife for the past 22 years.She looks pretty good as she hasn't aged, decomposed or any of the other things 22 years of being dead can do to a person. Anyway with the help of gas station owner Nicholas(Zucco) and his pet moron Tobey(Carradine in a demeaning role),they kidnap women along a lonely stretch of road.The women are brought back to Marlowe's basement for a ritual to restore life to his dead wife. Ahh the ritual.Lugosi and Zucco wear flowing robes that have all of the Lucky Charms cereal crunchies on them.You know, stars, moons and four leaf clovers.Poor Zucco has to wear face paint and the funkiest headdress this side of Tom Conway's in Voodoo Woman in 1957.Hmm maybe there is a real connection here. Lugosi uses some sort of Vulcan mind meld to transfer life from the kidnapped girls to his bride.Zucco is in the background choking a chicken or having some sort of fit.He's waving his arms and chanting to Ramboona the all powerful.Two pieces of rope tie themselves together and that has some sort of significance.Two become one?The guy who wrote the screenplay is a knothead?Carradine beats on a bongo while all of this goes on.You'll be beating your head on the floor but at least that will quit hurting when you stop. The transference only works for a few moments.Lugosi's wife reverts to normal but only long enough to get his hopes up (and probably something else up too).All of the women slip back into catatonia.The subjects are blamed as not being the right ones and Ramboona skates off free. We're introduced to Sheriff Stoopid.He gripes that his job isn't cushy anymore since all of these women have disappeared.Now he has to actually work instead of sitting around the office playing pocket pool.He is so disagreeable you wish his colon would explode just so you could see that look on his face. There you have the umm plot.To go into any more detail would either spoil it for some of you or send the rest of ya fleeing to the exits screaming.While Lugosi escapes with some dignity intact, Carradine and Zucco sadly do not.Ramboona obviously is not all powerful or he could have saved this movie. |
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