The Devil Commands

The Devil Commands (1941)

Dir Edward Dmytryk

Written by Robert Hardy Andrews, Milton Gunzburg based on a story by William Sloane

Starring Boris Karloff, Richard Fiske, Anne Revere, Ralph Penny

What we got here is a simple, elegant mad scientists tale with Karloff as a guy whose hope that he can somehow bring his wife back from the dead gradually turns him into a madman. Unlike a lot of mad scientists from this era, Karloff’s Julian Blair is actually a real nice guy, not an egomaniacal monster or a cold, amoral egghead. He genuinely loved his wife and is really destroyed by losing her, and understandably instantly obsessed when he gets even a faint bit of evidence that he may still be able to communicate with her somehow. Alas, just like poor Frankenstein, his colleagues inexplicably don’t approve of his work or seem to care at all that he genuinely seems to have stumbled upon a possible method for communicating with the dead. Seems like that would be the kind of thing other scientists would be interested in, but I guess not. So he has to take his enterprise underground, where things turn a little shadier when a self-serving phony medium (Academy-award-winner Anne Revere, GENTLEMEN’S AGREEMENT) decides to become his partner.

The feel is maybe macabre more than outright horrifying, since Karloff remains fundamentally a nice guy who is just blinded by his desire to see his wife again. Revere is a much better antagonist in the Lady Macbeth role, egging him on and pushing him to darker places. But she’s kind of underdeveloped, and despite a great performance the character doesn’t really go anywhere. That kind of defines the problem with the movie: it’s technically quite well-made, and boasts a few strikingly designed images, but it isn’t structured very well. Karloff is off the deep end pretty quickly, and there aren’t really any other major characters so there isn’t much conflict or anything which could really be called an arc. The second half of the movie is mostly about Karloff trying to avoid detection from (rightfully) suspicious locals, which creates some tension I suppose, but not really enough of a story to hang the whole narrative on.

This is all very scientific, look, they got lightbulbs and everything.

That having been said, everything else about this movie is pretty nifty. It boasts a great classic horror look, with low, harsh lighting everywhere and Karloff giving a classic romantic madman performance, both sympathetic and dangerous. The film has a kind of unique hook, the idea that Karloff really legitimately is on the edge of being able to use science to speak to the dead, with all that implies (and, with the light but intriguing suggestion that he may actually be talking with someone very different than he assumes). His final machine, which incorporates five dead bodies sitting in spacesuits (because, science), is a genuinely creepy, surreal image, in fact it’s hard to believe it hasn’t been ripped off yet by Rob Zombie or somebody. Plus, the whole thing is admirably short and to the point -- a slim 65 minutes, barely enough time for a Michael Bay movie to get past the credits. It’s not exactly a lost classic; the vague structure holds it back from being entirely satisfying, but it still deserves to be better remembered than it is today. I don’t know if the devil commands it, but I certainly do!

CHAINSAWNUKAH 2014 CHECKLIST!

The Hunt For Dread October

• LITERARY ADAPTATION: Yes, of William Sloane's The Edge of Running Water
• SEQUEL: None
• REMAKE: None, could be an interesting one, though.
• FOREIGNER: Nope
• FOUND-FOOTAGE CLUSTERFUCK: No
• SLUMMING A-LISTER: None, exactly, though a strong cast
• BELOVED HORROR ICON: Karloff
• BOOBIES: Didn't exist in 1941
• SEXUAL ASSAULT: No
• DISMEMBERMENT PLAN: No.
• HAUNTED HOUSE: None.
• MONSTER: No
• THE UNDEAD: Arguably talking with the dead, I guess that counts.
• POSSESSION: No
• SLASHER/GIALLO: No
• PSYCHO KILLERS (Non-slasher variety): Nah
• EVIL CULT: No
• (UNCANNY) VALLEY OF THE DOLLS: No
• TRANSMOGRIFICATION: None
• OBSCURITY LEVEL: High, little seen Karloff effort
• MORAL OF THE STORY: If you find evidence that you can connect to love ones from beyond the grave, don't try to pursue it using science, because no one gives a shit and you'll have to work in secret and gradually go insane.
• TITLE ACCURACY: No devil, no commands. 0%
• ALEX MADE IT THROUGH AWAKE: N/A