The Black Cat

The Black Cat (1934)

The Plot: Honeymooners get trapped in a weird mansion after an auto accident

  While on their honeymoon, Peter and Joan agree to share their train compartment with Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Bela Lugosi), a Hungarian psychiatrist. Which would be lesson #1 here. Never befriend a Hungarian psychiatrist in a train compartment, especially one played by Bela Lugosi!  They end up in the creepy art deco mansion of Hjalmar Poelzig (Boris Karloff) former commander in the army during WW I and now leader of a satanic death cult. Again,. i must stress this: Never stay the night in an art deco mansion run by a leader of a satanic death cult who also has a penchant for black cats. Nothing good will come of this!
When running your own Satanic Death Cult, it's good to have your own costume jewelry
  The Black Cat does feature both Lugosi and Karloff facing off against each other. They both rise to the occasion here but what do you expect, it's Lugosi and Karloff. Karloff is chilling. But despite his evil intentions of sacrificing women to his Satanic Death Cult during the new moon, he does bring a strong smoking jacket game to the proceedings. As a leader of a Satanic Death Cult, it's import to have both a relaxed and strong presence to command the respect of Satan.
Karloff bringing is smoking jacket "A" game
  The Black Cat does feature a riveting, (well as riveting as chess can be, chess game) between Lugosi and Karloff. Which in my imagination, i believe they would do in real life while sipping tea and exchanging stories. Despite the chess game, this movie is ends very darkly, even for a horror movie <SPOILER ALERT FOR AN 85 YEAR OLD MOVIE> Nearly every one ends up dead. Karloff's henchmen, Karloff himself, strung up and skinned alive by Lugosi, and finally Lugosi is shot then blows up the mansion killing himself and the Satanic Death cultists in the process.
How about a nice game of chess?
I give the Black Cat 8 Satanic Death Cultists



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