The Brute Man

An irredeemably dark and dreary production, crushed not simply by the weight of the impending death of lead Rondo Hatton and the exploitation of his likeness, but also the unrelenting awfulness of almost every character. It could be said to bridge horror to noir, but there's not even a moral high ground to trample on. It's just nasty for it's own sake.

In a way it was Rondo Hatton's misfortune that was his only appeal for the big screen. That deformed face and body was frightening in a horror setting. They almost went with the sentimental monster with the blind girl here, but decided to go straight on with the murdering spree. Probable for the best, for Hatton wasn't a good enough actor to pull something like that off. So what we get is a evil psycho killer stalking his pray and killing them. No sympathy either way, and that's The Brute Man.

Rondo seemed to be playing a different character than the script called for, yet was strangely empathetic none the less. A psychotic? No. A man caught way over his head? Yes.

Although parts of this prequel are dumber than its predecessor (the blind woman's level of trust is laughably inexplicable) & Hatton's inability to act is highlighted more since he's asked to do more, I liked this more. First, the police commissioner playing politics is different; second: it finally offers an origin & backstory, which makes the Creeper more interesting. They still, bizarrely, keep him from being sympathetic though as his first kill is once again, that of a complete innocent.

Featuring perhaps the grumpiest grocery store owner you'll ever see (indeed, there's a lotta grumps in this one). But Dorothy, the kid boogie-woogie player, was cute ("I'm gonna be in the groove"...lol). Neal is remarkably free from remorse (or even awareness) regarding his culpability in the Creeper's face...er, fate. Oh yeah, and one more thing: if only it was as easy to cure blindness in real life as it is in the movies...

Mst3k: 8/10

It's all about Rondo Hatton, Universal Studio's monster that didn't need the make-up. As story goes after Hatton died studio bosses felt embarrassed and sold the right to the movie to some B-movie company. Film is the variation of the beauty and the beast theme. Acting is bad, it's especially hard to watch how Hatton struggles with his dialog lines. It's clear, that this movie would have been completely forgotten if not for the story of its star.