The Phantom Creeps!

I get it!

I've known about this vintage serial for quite a few years, but I always thought the title was "The Phantom Creeps" with "Phantom" being an adjective and "Creeps" being a noun. It never seemed like much of a title to me before, but suddenly while watching the feature-length version, it flashed on me that it's "The Phantom CREEPS" with "Creeps" being a verb like in "The Shadow Strikes". Sheesh! I'm a maroon.

I like this title much better, and as it turns out I really enjoyed this movie much more. It must be my mindset, because I watched this same flick several years ago and I was much less impressed. This time, I viewed it as part of a little Bela Lugosi festival and it hit me much better. Lugosi's vintage mad scientist is a hoot. I've now seen the full-length serial version and it makes a bit more sense, but it's not necessarily more exciting.

Inspired by seeing The Return of Chandu, so far I've seen The Ape Man, The Gorilla, The Devil Bat, The Human Monster, The Invisible Ghost, The Return of the Vampire, The Black Dragons, The Corpse Vanishes, and finally The Phantom Creeps. It's been a real eye-opener on Bela. I've always liked his hammy style, but I'm beginning to gain a real empathy for his madmen, something I've never felt before. Whatever you think of Bela, he's magnetic on the screen, a presence you can't ignore. It's amazing in a flick like The Gorilla filled with Ritz Brothers romp and goofiness, Bela just has to show his mug and there's instant tension. And a movie like The Invisible Ghost which makes no sense narratively, still works mostly because of his compelling presence.

I'll have to combine The Phantom Creeps serial with Gene Autry's The Phantom Empire and Ray Corrigan's Undersea Kingdom for a mini "Outlandish Robot Festival"!

Rip Off