Review of The Devil Commands (1941) by Kevin R — 06 Dec 2009

Terrific mad-scientist flick economically directed by master of all genres Dmytryk. The setup takes up a good bit of the running time, but proves well worth it.

Karloff's debunking of a fake seance pays off enormously when his technological seance table is revealed. This features seated, robotic corpses sporting enormous headpieces that resemble an iron maiden fitted with neon electrodes and glowing tubes. His romantic obsession drives him to seek beyond the grave, and even imperil his own daughter.