Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Michael O'Keefe Universal pictures presents a real creepy winner among the B horror movie genre. And a genuine star in Rondo Hatton, The Creeper! Struggling sculptor Marcel De Lange (Martin Kosleck) is the victim of scathing reviews by the New York art critics. The distraught artist goes to the river to drown himself...that is where he discovers the half-drowned notorious serial killer, the Creeper (Hatton). De Lange decides the best way to get back at all of his critics is to have them meet the Creeper, personally.Jean Yarbrough directs the George Bricker screenplay from Dwight Babcock's original story. Rondo, of course, is the real star. Other cast members are strong: Bill Goodwin, Robert Lowrey, Virginia Grey, Alan Napier and Joan Fulton.

xnet95 I watched "Pearl of Death" and "The Brute Man", and I was really looking forward to "House of Horrors" because the first two movies were so enjoyable. Well...all I can say is "what a letdown!". I absolutely loved the parts of the movie that the sculptor and The Creeper were in, but the parts they weren't in sucked so bad that they ruined the whole movie. I'm totally serious. First, we have the most annoying woman I've ever seen on screen. Her name is Virginia Grey and she plays the character, Joan Medford. This woman constantly is spewing snappy, clever, horrendously annoying witticisms out of her hole. It's like she's not even human. I can't believe people ever acted like this, not even in the 1940's. I kept wanting the The Creeper to grab her and give her a big bunny hug that would make her spine snap so loud they'd hear in Frisco, but I knew that would never happen because she was too important. I don't know if the director forced her to act like this or what, but I could NEVER watch this movie again because of this stupid ____.Second, we have Medford's boyfriend, Steven Morrow. He's almost as bad as his sweetie, but he actually acts like a human a few times. The big problem is when he is with Medford because they both try to out duel each other with the clever quips - absolutely nauseating!Last, but not least is Bill Goodwin as Lt. Larry Brooks. He's full of wise-cracks and stupidity, but thankfully he has less screen time than Medford and Morrow. This guy is an unlikable loser, but as soon as he walks into Morrow's studio where a beautiful model is being painted, he manages to worm his way into her heart. This is sooooo unbelievable that it's sickening. There is no way any woman would like this nobody, especially not a gorgeous model!If you have the ability to edit, take this movie and remove any scene without The Creeper or the sculptor. Trust me, you won't miss anything, and you will enjoy this flick about a billion times more.Long live Rondo Hatton!!! To all of you apologists out there that like to smugly write about how poor, poor Rondo was exploited - you sicken me! Rondo Hatton was a citizen of the USA. If Rondo Hatton was exploited and he hated it, then why did he CHOOSE to act in these films? If there is a record of him saying that he felt exploited, then he only has himself to blame. I humbly request that the next reviewer that wants to write about Hatton being exploited, please include some quotes and or a link to your source for this opinion. Until I see some concrete proof that Rondo Hatton felt exploited, I will continue to enjoy the films of this man who brought so much joy into all our lives. Long live Rondo Hatton!!!

insomniac_rod I'm talking about the famous cliché of trying to open the door but the doorknob gets stuck and the female lead cannot escape from the villain. This time it happened when the great Rondo tried to capture her!This isn't the generic monster-chasing the heroine. In fact, there's an interesting plot that deals with a mad sculptor gone evil because his work isn't "understood". So he is aided by the infamous Creeper who almost died in the previous film.The acting is solid and the fact that most of the situations center around The Creeper, demonstrate it that exploitation towards "strange" looking people has happened since "Freaks". Now, in the 40's it was considered as something "entertaining", "freak circus entertaining". Today it would be considered as something against good behaviors or something like that.Rondo delivers a fine performance and I truly enjoyed his evil lurking and walking. For example, the way we see his shadow slowly moving was creepy. The Direction is fine and classy. The low point of the movie happens when the events get kind of dull and hard to believe. Some corny dialogs and situations make it less entertaining and affect the suspense factor. Nevertheless, this is an interesting Universalesque feature that if not considered as a monster feature, it has all the characteristics to make us believe that Rondo was the main reason to watch this movie.The ending was very good. I liked how the bullet cracked the window and reached Rondo. Well, you have to watch it to believe it.

mlraymond The peculiar charisma of Martin Kosleck brings a certain believability to his character of the frustrated artist. He imbues his dialog with an odd sense of realism, making the sculptor Marcel a convincing individual. The character manages to come across as a real person and not so much a typical B movie villain.The story line is nothing to write home about, and many scenes are dull. What makes it work is the strange chemistry between Kosleck and Rondo Hatton as the Creeper. Kosleck's talkative, philosophical character is contrasted with Hatton's low key, monosyllabic approach. The character of the Creeper isn't developed much beyond a basic monster level, but Hatton suggests undeveloped possibilities and makes you wonder about his back story.This movie was on Shock Theater a lot when I was a kid, so I have a certain nostalgic fondness for it. It's worth seeing once, anyway, for those who enjoy Forties horror movies.