Tormented

1960

Action / Drama / Horror / Thriller

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 22% · 4 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 22% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 4.9/10 10 3215 3.2K

island california beach blackmail ex-lover jazz singer or musician

Plot summary

A jazz pianist is haunted by his dead ex-lover's crawling hand and floating head.

Director

Bert I. Gordon Photo
Bert I. Gordon

Top cast

Harry Fleer Photo
Harry Fleer as Frank Hubbard
Gene Roth Photo
Gene Roth as Mr. Nelson - Lunch Stand Operator
Joe Turkel Photo
Joe Turkel as Nick - The Blackmailer
Vera Marshe Photo
Vera Marshe as Mrs. Hubbard
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
687 MB
1168*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 14 min
Seeds ...
1.25 GB
1752*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 14 min
Seeds 3

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by michael.e.barrett

low-budget cross of Twilight Zone and film noir

The first thing to notice is the photography of Ernest Laszlo, a veteran of film noir who shot the classic "D.O.A.", "Kiss Me Deadly" and Fritz Lang's "While the City Sleeps." (And the same year "Tormented" came out, he did "Inherit the Wind"!) He elevates this little ghost tale no end, with nice compositions such as the shots through broken lighthouse windows. Classical ghost stories usually don't have very far to go, and that's probably why there aren't too many of them in American cinema. Someone's haunted, that's it. Such tales are atmosphere-heavy instead of plot-heavy, since motive and outcome are usually obvious. In this case, the atmosphere is a combination of spookiness (with some clumsy effects, and some smooth ones, like the pan shot across the room to reveal the missing LP which has somehow moved to the record player) and the neurotic paranoia of the hero, who reveals himself as trapped a sap as many a noir fool who blames his troubles on a dame. The plot delays and prolongs, but the last act juggles several nice twists. By the end, this cynical little flick has shown more style and imagination than several recent special-effects ghost movies.
Reviewed by ClioRickman 5 / 10

Hokey but somehow also creepy

A creepy little film even though it's hokey. The story line is engaging, the island setting is very atmospheric, and the acting isn't too bad (I enjoyed the relatively young Lillian Adams as Mrs. Ellis). And there are some eerie touches, such as the wilting flowers and drooping candles in the church scene. But the movie suffers from all the campiness (e.g., Vi's floating head) and a terrible, discordant early-1960's jazz score. Oddly, even though Mrs. Ellis is an interesting character, it's not made clear why she's even in the story or what her blindness has to do with anything. (Ostensibly, her blindness renders her more perceptive, more attuned to things others cannot see, more willing to believe in the supernatural than others in the household, but this angle isn't taken up in a satisfying way.)Not worth purchasing, but if it shows up on late-night TV, give it a shot!
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