Night Of The Ghouls; Revenge Of The Dead

2748. NIGHT OF THE GHOULS (Revenge Of The Dead) (1960-USA). With CRISWELL, TOR JOHNSON, VAMPIRA. Directed, produced and written by EDWARD D. WOOD, JR. Connoisseurs of ultra-bad cinema will not want to miss this astonishingly awful, yet mind-boggingly funny latter-career effort from the one and only Edward D. Wood, Jr. just for openers, it is introduced and narrated by Wood regular, Criswell from inside a coffin! He explains that the scenario he is about to relate is “so astonishing that some of you may faint.” It is the story of strange creatures who were “once human,” but now are “monsters in a world between the living and the dead. Monsters to be pitied. Monsters to be despised.” He adds that the “major horror of our time” is neither juvenile delinquency nor highway fatalities, but the existence of ghost-like creatures who have been brought back from the dead. Furthermore, he declares that the authorities and media have entered into a conspiracy to keep this information from the public! As the story unfolds and these monsters are seen wreaking hilarious havoc, a life-and-death question arises: Could they be the creations of the infamous Dr. Acula, who conducts seances in which the voices of the dead are resurrected so that they may relate their afterlife experiences to the living? Detective Lieutenant Daniel Bradford, in charge of “special investigations,” sets out to find the answer. His subordinate is comically inept, Patrolman Paul Kelton. Wood means to have you shivering in your seat as you hear “the scream of the white ghost.” Instead, you will be shaking with laughter. Add to the mix some unintentionally funny performances, beginning with the one offered by the actress cast as the elderly lady in the police station who utters, “Oh, that horrible thing…and those long fingers.” Wrestler-turned-actor, Tor Johnson is a riot as Lobo, a hulking creature. Plus, Wood even makes a cameo appearance as a corpse! The off-screen story of this film is equally amazing. It remained unseen for almost a quarter of a century after it was filmed because poor Ed Wood was unable to fork up sufficient funds to have his footage processed! The lab that developed the prints protected its own reputation with the credit “Developed as directed by Film Service Laboratory.” Finally, one of the film’s credits has to be among the strangest in screen history. It is that of the executive producer: “Major J.C. Foxworthy, U.S.M.C.R., RET.” 70 minutes. Horror