ferbs54 As most fans know, producer/director Bert I. Gordon didn't receive the pet nickname "Mr. Big" based on his acronym alone. From 1955 to '77, Gordon came out with a series of beloved films dealing with overgrown insects, reptiles, humans and other assorted nasties: "King Dinosaur" ('55); "Beginning of the End," "The Cyclops" and "The Amazing Colossal Man" ('57); "Attack of the Puppet People" (in which Mr. Big reversed directions and went small), "War of the Colossal Beast" and "Earth vs. the Spider" ('58); "Village of the Giants" ('65); "Food of the Gods" ('76); and Joan Collins' least favorite film of all those that she appeared in, "Empire of the Ants" ('77). In 1960, however, Gordon took a break from his outsized monstrosities and presented his fans with a decidedly different type of tale: a supernatural ghost story! The picture in question, "Tormented," was released on September 22 of that year and was one that Mr. Big not only directed, but also produced and co-wrote. And thanks to the DVD revolution, this near-forgotten piece of work may soon be getting some recognition for the entertaining (if minor) journey into the uncanny that it is.In the film, the viewer makes the acquaintance of a fairly well-known jazz pianist named Tom Stewart, well played by Richard Carlson. (A personal foible of this viewer is that I always have a hard time differentiating between Carlson and fellow actor Hugh Marlowe. Perhaps it is their similarity in looks and on-screen personae. Whatever the case, I have to keep reminding myself that Marlowe featured in "All About Eve" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still"; Carlson in "The Magnetic Monster," "It Came From Outer Space," "Creature From the Black Lagoon" and "Valley of Gwangi.") When we first encounter him, Stewart is having a heated argument with his ex-girlfriend, Vi Mason (saucily played by Juli Reding), about just whether or not she IS his ex or not. Stewart does his best to explain that he doesn't love her anymore and that he has a fiancée, Meg (played by an actress with the very strange handle of Lugene Sanders), to whom he is completely devoted. During their contretemps, Vi leans against the railing of the lighthouse where they stand; the railing collapses, and Tom does nothing to rescue her. Vi falls to her doom in the rocks and water below, and Tom feels himself guilt-free, and well rid of the clingy chanteuse. But as events in the coming days show, though Vi might well be dead, her angry ghost is very much "alive" and well, and hell-bent on doing everything in her power to wreck Tom's upcoming wedding and claim the pianist as her own. And Tom's plight is made even more complicated when the tug skipper who had ferried Vi over to the island (although a certain Wiki site avers that the film transpires on Cape Cod, an island off the coast of California is more likely, especially in light of the fact that Meg's folks have a house in Bel Air) gets wind of what happened and demands "five thou" for his silence, and when Tom's future sister-in-law, 9-year-old Sandy (the adorable child actress Susan Gordon, who had appeared in "Attack of the Puppet People" and would appear in father Gordon's "Picture Mommy Dead" in '66), also begins to grow troublesome....So, as a ghost story, does "Tormented" provide the requisite chills? Well, yes, there ARE any number of eerie scenes: Vi's drowned body turning into a mass of seaweed; Vi's footprints mysteriously appearing in the sand; the song "Tormented," which Vi once recorded, playing itself on Tom's phonograph; the ghostly hand of Vi appearing and later stealing Meg's wedding ring; Vi's perfume wafting through Meg's parents' house; another mess of seaweed befouling Meg's wedding gown; and Vi's face appearing in a photo of the betrothed couple. The film, compact as it is at a mere 75 minutes, yet features a number of memorable sequences, including one in which Vi's floating head appears to Tom, taunting him with the words "Tom Stewart killed me, Tom Stewart killed me," and the one in which Vi's ghost busts into the wedding ceremony of Tom and Meg, causing all the flowers to wilt and culminating in a bloodcurdling scream from the terrified bride. (Not for nothing did the trailer for the film urge the viewer to "Attend the Wedding of the Wicked...and the Weird!") And director Gordon even gives us one truly memorable final shot, with Vi's ringed hand resting on Tom's chest. All told, a wholly satisfying little ghost picture, which leaves the viewer with only one nagging question: Why has Tom chosen the comparatively mousy Meg over sexpot Vi, the latter being not only a better-looking woman, but a more talented (as evidenced by her singing) and passionate one as well? Guess there's no explaining taste! And, oh...just one word on the DVD itself. The one that I recently saw came from those notorious underachievers at Alpha Video, but happily, the print in question here features only minimal damage, and is, for the most part, sharp and clear enough for comfortable watching. All the better for discovering this small but likable picture from good ol' Mr. Big....

mark.waltz Extremely poor quality photography and a tinny sound make this barely watchable, saved by the content going on rather than what was going on with the technicians. The film really starts with a thud (literally) when a beautiful woman falls to her death with a shattering scream from a lighthouse and isn't helped by the man she's involved in an argument with. This sequence is ultra disturbing because you know this woman is terrified for an extended period of time and knows she's on the verge of an accidental death. She may not be murdered, but the man who could have saved her (Richard Carlson, a minor matinée idol from the late 30's/early 40's) seems thrilled by her sudden departure from his life. She doesn't leave him alone, however, and when he's suddenly engaged to another woman, she begins haunting him, although whether or not it is her ghost or just his conscience is never determined.There are some genuinely spooky moments here, and if you can get past the cheap look, you might find it thrilling. The special effects aren't extraordinary, although what they do use actually might bring shivers down your spine. This doomed young beauty's ghost is a frightening presence, and as her "visits" to Carlson continue, they get more and more threatening, setting up for a conclusion which proves to be both horrific and even slightly profound. The cast tries to do what they can to overshadow the weak camera work and poor sound equipment, but they seem a bit amateurish under the circumstances. Still, there's some genuine frights to be found here, and some of them might bring on a few nightmares of your own.

cshep Bert I. Gordon strikes again, or is that strikes out...What could have been a fairly entertaining spooky film, becomes a noisy over-bearing attempt at creepiness. Tom Stewart(Richard Carlson) a would be jazz musician and entertainer of multiple female relationships, is about to be blackmailed by Vi Mason(Juli Reding) of all places an abandoned lighthouse. When the railing gives way, and she is left hanging for her life, Tom gets cold feet, uh, cold hands and decides to let gravity take over, bye bye Vi...but only for awhile, as her ghost returns to haunt the guilt-ridden Tom. The sound is scratchy and grating. The dialog childish and goofy, which makes the movie more fun. Is this a terrible film, no, but it is disappointing. 2 stars out of 10, for Actors Richard Carlson,Susan Gordon, Joe Turkel,Gene Roth, as they try and make the film work, but Mr. BIG has already sealed that fate. Beware of the Floating Fake Head...silly...

Scarecrow-88 From director Bert I Gordon, I was surprised to find in TORMENTED a rather competently made little thriller about a troubled jazz pianist whose lover falls to her death from the top of a lighthouse accidentally..hanging for dear life from the lantern room's Astral bars, Vi calls for Tom Stewart to help, and yet he allows her to fall, crashing to the rocks below. Tom's actions were out of fear that she'll do as she threatened, informing his fiancé of their affair. This act will be quite a burden as Vi returns as a tormenting spirit, haunting him(..could it be his guilty conscience or was Vi so determined to have him, her vengeful spirit would rise from the watery depths to stake her claim at owning him?). Tom's life grows even more complicated when a blackmailer, Nick(Joe Turkel, most know him as Lloyd, the bartender in Kubrick's THE SHINING), who boated Vi to his location, wants compensation due to her never paying him for his services. When Tom makes a decision regarding Nick, his fiancé Meg's(Lugene Sanders) little sister, Sandy(Susan Gordon)catches him in the act only adding to an already difficult situation. The planned wedding could be in danger as Tom's pressures at concealing a secret slowly lead him down a dark path to no return..You know director Gordon is known as a schlock filmmaker, but I think this is one of those times where the story is told in a rather effective way, although his special effects featuring Vi, the ghost, might induce chuckles, such as when her disembodied head and hand appear to him, when her ghostly apparition often pops up unannounced at inopportune times, or a photo taken featuring her face along with Tom and Meg. Unlike other films, though, they aren't as corny(..or, at least I didn't think so, but you be the judge) and the story regarding a man's sins returning to him over and over, never letting go, due to his own mistakes, isn't a bad one. Bottom line..this kind of film has a concept that could work if the filmmakers had the kind of effects which exist today. But, Gordon didn't, so many will have a bit of fun at his expense. I actually liked the movie if just for the finale when a wedding service is actually interrupted by the slamming opening of the church doors accompanied by withering roses, leading up to a disturbing close as Tom contemplates murdering young Sandy because of seeing too much. The final image is a dandy, probably one of Gordon's most compelling closings to any film he's made..a wedding ring lost, and found, with a proclamation actually coming true. Understandably, movies like FOOD OF THE GODS & EARTH VS THE SPIDER would almost make any film look like a masterpiece, but still those didn't feature a story with some merit to it and Carlson is the anchor holding the dramatic elements together. Plus, Carlson's character is quite a noirish archetype..the kind of flawed victim of circumstances, most his own making, who, instead of coming clean to the woman he loves, continues to create a worsening situation for himself. By the end, he's quite scary, especially if you take into count his willingness to possibly throw Sandy from the top of the lighthouse..also his end is quite tragic, but Gordon allows the character to suffer for his bad decisions.