Odd and ordinary seems a contradiction but it could explain the feeling of this first William Castle "gimmick" movie.
It is odd in plot and that is mostly because it is somewhat confusing, but is also odd because the audience spends the whole film with the idea that a little girl has been buried alive and only has a few hours to live. That is truly almost subliminal horror.
The on screen shocks are few but effective and the atmosphere is low budget slick. The ordinary comes from the overall movie presentation of talky and uninteresting characters. It is historically a worthwhile effort just don't expect a horror movie and maybe it will play better.
More of a thriller, it does have an ending that is both bizarre and once it is over you will find yourself going back over the movie in your head to try and put it all together. It's hardly worth the effort, but if this little sleeper can have the audience playing mental gymnastics it could be called successful and it was and it sent Castle on a long and winding road of better and more entertaining movies that became pop culture legends and baby boomer terror teething's.
It is odd in plot and that is mostly because it is somewhat confusing, but is also odd because the audience spends the whole film with the idea that a little girl has been buried alive and only has a few hours to live. That is truly almost subliminal horror.
The on screen shocks are few but effective and the atmosphere is low budget slick. The ordinary comes from the overall movie presentation of talky and uninteresting characters. It is historically a worthwhile effort just don't expect a horror movie and maybe it will play better.
More of a thriller, it does have an ending that is both bizarre and once it is over you will find yourself going back over the movie in your head to try and put it all together. It's hardly worth the effort, but if this little sleeper can have the audience playing mental gymnastics it could be called successful and it was and it sent Castle on a long and winding road of better and more entertaining movies that became pop culture legends and baby boomer terror teething's.