Sunday, April 20, 2008

The Horror!? 42: Atom Age Vampire (1960)

An exotic dancer is disfigured in an accident. Since nobody can restore her face, she lets herself be used as a guinea pig by a mad scientist. His treatment is partly successful. Her face is restored for a certain time, but afterwards her disfigurement returns. Without her knowing the scientist, who has fallen madly in love with her, starts to murder women for their treasured glands and treats her with them. But murder isn't that easy, so he transforms himself through the wonders of radiation into a hilarious hideous beast. He even finds a scapegoat for his deeds in the form of an escaped ape. But the police and the dancer's (semi-ex-)boyfriend can not be fooled forever...
This American cut of an Italian movie is full eighteen minutes shorter than the original, so its grinding stupidity and mindboggling cutting could very well not be the movies fault alone. But I highly doubt that eighteen more minutes of boredom could make it a better film. The plot is more a less a relapse to the horror style of the 30s and 40s, only without Lugosi, Zucco, Naish or Karloff and with a much longer running time.
Atom Age Vampire's real problem is of course a simple one: It is just plain boring.

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