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5.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. A Strange Adventure remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, if you like movies where people walk down long hallways with flashlights and look surprised every five minutes, you’ll dig this. It’s not for the folks who need fast cutting or a plot that makes total sense. It’s a comfort food mystery.
The whole thing feels like it was put together in a drafty garage. You’ve got the classic trope of a detective and a reporter teaming up, which is fine, but the real star is the house itself. It’s got that specific kind of dust-covered personality that you don’t see much anymore.
I swear they used the same corner of the parlor for three different scenes. The lighting changes, but the cobwebs stay exactly where they were. It’s kind of charming, in a 'we didn't have the budget to move the props' sort of way.
Dwight Frye shows up, and you know he’s going to be doing that nervous, twitchy thing he does so well. He almost steals the show just by standing in the background looking stressed. 🙄
It definitely lacks the polish you might see in something like The Tame Cat, but that’s fine. It feels honest. There’s a moment where a character tries to hide behind a curtain that clearly isn't long enough to cover them, and the movie just… keeps going. It doesn't even care.
If you’ve seen Desperate Trails, you know how these older films sometimes lean too hard into the melodrama. This one avoids that trap, mostly by just moving so fast you don't have time to notice the plot holes. They’re just sprinting from one spooky room to the next.
It’s not trying to change the world. It’s just trying to get you to jump once or twice before the credits roll. And you know what? It works. Even if the 'hooded killer' looks a bit like a bathrobe with a grudge. 👻