Strange IllusionRating:
Release Date: 16 January, 2001 Retail Price: $9.98 OUR Price: $8.99 You SAVE: $0.99! Cast: Complete Cast (6 total) |
Strange Illusion Reviews
Solid B-Movie Thriller from a Master of Shoestring Budgets.
"Strange Illusion" was directed by the great B-movie director Edgar G. Ulmer, sometimes called "The Poet of Poverty Row" -meaning independent film and small studios, who is perhaps best known for making the famous and famously low-budget film noir "Detour" in 1946. "Strange Illusion" is more a classic thriller than film noir, as it lacks film noir's introversion, alienation, and cynicism. It's a creepy but optimistic crime film that's well-conceived despite its shoestring budget and overstated acting. Ulmer's background in production design is evident in the thoughtful set design.
Paul Cartwright (James Lyndon) is a college student haunted by a dream in which an impostor, posing as Paul's deceased father, fools his mother and sister into accepting him into the family. Paul's father, an eminent criminologist, was killed in an unexplained car accident 2 years before, and left letters with his estate to be sent to Paul every few months. When Paul receives a letter from his father asking that he guard his mother and sister against unscrupulous associates, shortly after his troubling dream, Paul heads for home anxious as to what he might find. Paul's mother (Sally Eilers) is being romanced by a slick middle-aged bachelor named Brett Curtis (Warren William). When Curtis' words and actions recall his dream, and Curtis resembles a notorious criminal in his father's files, Paul becomes intent on finding out more about his mother's suitor.
"Strange Illusion" isn't subtle or multi-layered. It pretty much hits you over the head with these characters and their story. But this is a B-picture, probably part of a double bill, and it works as enjoyable, creepy, occasionally licentious entertainment. The film's flaw, looking at it from 60 years hence, is the character of Paul. He's an 18-20 year old man who has the speech and manners of a 12-year-old. In other words, he's annoying. Audiences at the time may have liked his boyish...um...charm. And he does contrast sharply with Curtis. As for me, I got used to Paul's demeanor and enjoyed the film in spite of it.
The DVD (This refers to the 2001 Roan Group DVD only.): During the opening titles, the picture quivers, and the sound quality is poor. Once the film starts, the picture is steady and sound is ok. About an hour into the film, the volume drops off, though, and I had to turn it up. The picture is watchable but has some white specks and scratches. Bonus features are a "film background" essay about director Edgar Ulmer and a list of credits for the DVD. No subtitles on the Roan Group DVD.
Low budget, high style
Ulmer's ambitious, cockeyed update of "Hamlet" is one of his best Poverty Row films. Cheesy sets, half-baked scripts, and overwrought acting are to be expected from these ultra low-budget productions, and they're all in abundance here. But because Ulmer brought his screwy artistry to even the seamiest Z-grade projects, this film is shot through with a grimy gutter poetry. _Strange Illusion_ isn't a cult masterpiece like _Detour_, but it's still worth seeing.
For my money, this film's treatment of psychoanalysis, exploitative though it may be, is still superior to Hitchcock's _Spellbound_.
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