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6.2/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.2/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Supernatural remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like old-school, weirdly dark pre-code movies, you’ll dig this. If you need your ghosts to have logical rules or high-end scares, skip it. It's for people who want to see Carole Lombard act like a complete nightmare.
Carole Lombard is the whole show here. She isn't playing the typical romantic lead, which is honestly a relief. Watching her embody this bitter, vengeful spirit inside another woman’s skin is genuinely unnerving.
The movie starts with an execution, which is a hell of a way to kick things off. It sets this grim tone that lingers even when the spiritualist stuff starts getting a little silly. 👻
The whole phony spiritualist angle feels like something you'd see in The Mysterious Rider, though way less cowboy-focused. It’s got that 1930s obsession with séances and seedy backrooms. The lighting is super moody, all shadows and heavy curtains.
There is this one moment where the medium is doing his act, and you can just tell the movie is itching to expose him. It’s not subtle. It’s not trying to be. It’s just blunt.
The pacing is a bit of a mess, honestly. It jumps around like it’s afraid you’re going to get bored if it explains the rules of the haunting for too long. Maybe it’s for the best.
You can tell the budget was tight. It feels like they shot most of this in about three rooms. Sometimes that claustrophobia helps, though. It makes the ghost feel like she’s trapped in the room with you.
It’s a short watch. If you find yourself hunting for something that isn't a typical polished studio flick, this hits the spot. It’s messy, it’s angry, and it’s surprisingly mean-spirited for its time. 💀