Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

sddavis63 No, this is not the comic book or TV series, and there are no zombies to be seen. In this case, "The Walking Dead" is the story of John Ellman - an ex-con who just two weeks after his release from prison is wrongfully convicted of the murder of the judge who originally sentenced him for his earlier crime. Ellman is the victim of a conspiracy among a group of rackateers who wanted the judge dead - a conspiracy that included his own lawyer. But Ellman's "good fortune" (maybe) is that Dr. Beaumont has been doing experiments involving bringing the dead back to life. Convinced by two of his associates (who know Ellman is innocent) to try his procedure on Ellman, Beaumont succeeds in raising him from the dead - and becomes fixated on what Ellman experienced while dead (although that really isn't a particularly well developed sidebar to the story.) Ultimately, Ellman takes revenge on those who framed him - although his revenge seems to be somewhat supernatural, and he never actually touches anyone.There's a "Frankenstein-ish" quality to this very short movie - which includes Boris Karloff (famous, of course, as Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 movie and the later "Bride of Frankenstein" in 1935.) In fact, Karloff apparently expressed some concerns that in the original script, Ellman was too much like the monster - especially because of his inability to speak - and the script was rewritten to accommodate Karloff's concerns. Even Beaumont's process of reviving Ellman resembled Dr. Frankenstein's experiment just a little bit - with bolts of lightning involved. To me, Karloff seemed to put on a ho hum performance. It wasn't especially riveting, although director Michael Curtiz made good use of close ups of Karloff's eyes. But this movie really wasn't at all frightening, and Ellman was no monster, although, again, there's a similarity to "Frankenstein" in the fact that both Ellman and the monster Karloff portrayed in the earlier movies were both objects of sympathy, not really responsible for anything that happened. Aside from the lack of any real fear factor, the movie may have tried to pack a little bit too much into 66 minutes. There are a lot of characters and a somewhat convoluted plot.Aside from Karloff, I immediately recognized Edmund Gwenn. Still more than a decade away from his famous turn as Kris Kringle in "Miracle on 34th Street, Gwenn here was Dr. Beaumont. He was all right in the role, but I honestly didn't feel that any of the cast were particular standouts, and the story is, for my taste, too much of a rehash of some of the basic plot of "Frankenstein." (3/10)

karen5778 This is one of those B movies that grade A character actors make to satisfy their own souls. Basically, a bunch of familiar faces, some with familiar names, do variations on their standard personae in service of a moral fable. Each character illustrates a moral attitude or dilemma, with their ends illustrating the logical outcome of their choices. Most get a chance to explicate their character's world view, and most seem to relish the opportunity.If you can believe one of these other reviews, Karloff's character was radically re-written at his behest, and it gives him a chance to play the Monster as himself. If you know something about Karloff's early career, or lack thereof, you can see he draws on his own experience for his character's early demeanor. First, he is an educated man suffering from bad luck and PTSD, then he has to struggle back from a traumatic brain injury. If you like watching Karloff use those big old eyes of his,this movie is for you.

LeonLouisRicci Five Time Oscar Nominee Michael Curtiz Directed this Horror/Supernatural/Sci-Fi/Gangster Film. That's quite an Amalgamation You might say, and a Hard Thing to Pull Off. Against All Odds it Delivers on all Counts. Boris Karloff, a Good Cast, and a Moody Atmosphere are all on Display.This is a Unique Movie for its Odd Take on the Resurrected and is More Spiritual Leaning than Most. Also, here the Walking Dead is a Very Sympathetic, almost Pathetic Soul Reluctantly Roaming the Earth in Search of Questions and not Out for Revenge. The Movie Looks Great and is a Class Act all the Way. With a Short Running Time it Moves at an Incredible Pace. The Scientist and His Myopia is also shown to be Less than Empathetic beneath the Surface where His Quest for the Truth is Counter Intuitive and Unethical.It is one Worth Searching Out for its Rich and Deep Undercurrents. It does have a Code-Enforced Ending that has a One-Sided, Heavy-Handed, Bible-Quoting Necessity to get a Pass and a Seal of Approval.

dougdoepke Seems almost like a "metaphysical" horror movie instead of the more limited supernatural type. Back-from-the-dead Karloff seeks to confront those who framed and got him executed on a murder charge. However, it's pretty clear he seeks no more than peaceable reproach, and that the accidents befalling the culprits as he confronts them come from an unseen hand instead of Karloff's. Ellman (Karloff) is, throughout, an innocent party who only wants to make good music, an ultimately tragic figure caught up in a strange universe.Now, there may be a cosmic sense of justice in the unseen hand that punishes those responsible for Karloff's execution. Nonetheless, I wonder where that cosmic hand was when Karloff was unjustly framed, in the first place. Perhaps, that has something to do with the "jealous god" referred to at the end. If so, the god would be better described as a fickle one.Metaphysics aside, Karloff delivers what amounts to a soulful performance, showing those traits that made even his heavily made-up Frankenstein something of a sympathetic monster. And catch that recital scene where a ghoulish-looking Karloff throws the fear of retribution into the depths of his tormentors. It's a dramatic high point. The movie itself combines Warner's trademark gangster fare with Universal's horror specialty , as one reviewer perceptively observes. Note too, the fast-moving tabloid approach to the trial proceedings, also a Warner's specialty.All in all, the movie amounts to an interesting variation on the familiar theme of the undead, made more so by Karloff's unusually sensitive performance. And that final scene that inquires into the secrets of the universe is both consistent with the movie's theme and moodily well handled. (In passing— Karloff's John Ellman is shown as a passionate devotee of classical music. Perhaps, the character was named after the Ukrainian musician Mischa Elman, then making a name for himself as a concert violinist.)