Oof. Not a good one, even for the camp value. The premise is interesting enough: a "Moon Killer" is on the loose, murdering and surgically cutting off portions of his victims. This leads police to Dr. Xavier and his assistants, all of whom become suspects, and the laboratories these men use have all the requisite special effects circa 1932. The biggest problem with the film is Lee Tracy, who plays a snooping newspaper reporter who clowns around, makes lame jokes, and repeatedly uses an asinine hand buzzer. The film is quite tedious to sit through, and several scenes seem elongated or 'filler' even for a total run time of 77 minutes. Another issue is that despite the use of darkness, shadows, and ominous faces, there really is no tension. The film is predictable and character motivations are absurd, so that even if you suspend disbelief and accept Dr. Xavier's theory about detecting the killer through an elaborate experiment measuring anatomical reaction, you still end up thinking, man, this is so stupid. At least I did anyway. I'm surprised others find it 'creepy' - even the slathering on of "synthetic flesh" does not produce a reaction of horror, as other great films in this genre will. Silly and annoying right up to that last scene at the end.
Review of Doctor X
