MovieChat Forums > Murders in the Zoo (1933) Discussion > One of my all-time favourite classic hor...

One of my all-time favourite classic horrors!

posted 14 years ago by plo_kn
4 replies | jump to latest

I just simply love this film, it's one of my favourite horror films of all time and Lionel Atwill is legendary in this role, truly one of his best in my opinion. For a film from 1933, it's very daring for it's day, along with its chilling counterpart Island of Lost Souls (another firm favourite of mine). This film is not without it's flaws however, for me alot of the classic horror films are let down by just too much slapstick....I mean, Charlie Ruggles is great and all, but there were times in this movie where slapstick just ruined the atmosphere of the film. Overall, this film deserves to be a classic as Atwill is at his sadistic best as Eric, plus the finale really kept me glued to my seat, and the way Atwill gets it at the end....what an awesome way to go, lol.
I remember when I first saw the poster art to this film and I just fell in love with it...and when I finally tracked down the film itself I wasn't let down at all, what a great cast, great story and an overall great film!

Thanks for stopping by folks and best wishes!

The legend that is Lionel Atwill will never die.

[–] xnet95 14 years ago

I hated this film, but I do agree that Atwill does a superb job. Without him, I never could've sat through the whole thing. I don't understand why you call this a horror film. There was no horror. It was kind of a murder mystery with no mystery to solve.
The performance by Ruggles was truly one of the lowest points in the history of cinema - completely unwatchable.

[–] Bloodfordracula 12 years ago

When these films were made there was no such thing as a horror movie. They were called mystery pictures and/or thrillers. Horror is a post 1960s term created long after.

Everyone has to label everything something...hence the horror category which Universal Studios uses to market the film today on home video/DVD.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 12 years ago

I tried to watch this about five years ago, and I thought that it was the most evil movie I've ever seen...and yes, I've seen a bunch of the Karloff-Lugosi horror movies. I couldn't watch more than about 20 minutes of this movie.

Some of the scenes in this movie have convinced me that CGI animals do have their place in movies, as long as they aren't overused. No real animals should have been used in this movie.

-------------------

Ellery Queen(Jim Hutton) == G E O R G E O U S

[–] babybates 10 years ago

I love it too!