Castle Sinister

CASTLE SINISTER opens with the murder of a military man, by a hooded, cloaked figure. An agent from the war office is dispatched to investigate the incident, leading him to the castle of the title. It is said that it contains a "phantom". There have also been other murders, allegedly committed by this mysterious entity.

The mystery is solved in an unexpected way.

The story seems cut up and stitched back together in places, like some pieces are missing, and others were added in. In spite of this, it's enjoyable enough. Especially, at only 49 minutes in length. It's not long enough to become overly tiresome!...

Yes, this was an amateurish item, but perhaps the plot could be copied and used to better effect. The awful acting totally destroyed this film for me. I got the impression it was a Scottish production and there was probably no film industry in that country at the time. As another reviewer pointed out, the Talking Pictures channel should be praised for bringing these old films to us.

Castle Sinister (1948)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Rather boring mix of horror and WWII melodrama has a man murdered and then it's rumored that his spirit haunts the castle. A government man is sent to investigate and soon the mystery surrounding the murders are revealed.

This British film is pretty much unknown to most viewers today and it's easy to see why. The film was obviously shot on a very low- budget and there's really not much going on in the film. Even at just forty-six minutes the film seems to last twice as long and there's just not enough happening to make you interested in it.

The biggest problem is certainly the screenplay that starts off with a good murder but from here it's just basically a bunch of people talking. It's really too bad the horror elements weren't played up more because there is a nice atmosphere to the castle and as I said, the opening sequence works nicely.

The performances are all rather bland in their own way and there's no question that none of the actors really add any spice to the material. The direction is decent but there's no style to the film and it just has an overall cheap and bland feel to it.

The UK TV channel Talking Pictures TV seem to do a fantastic job in trawling the archives for rare or forgotten movies; CASTLE SINISTER is a case in point. This is a cheap, long-forgotten mystery thriller with a few mild horror aspects, although it's firmly rooted in the post-WW2 era with talk of spies and Nazis on the prowl.

The action is set in and around the titular Scottish castle, where military officials have been murdered and a mysterious hooded skeleton is seen prowling the ruins. Is a ghost really responsible, or is human evil at work? Characters investigate, and there are a few twists and turns in the very short (49 minute!) running time.

Sadly, CASTLE SINISTER is let down by the extreme cheapness of the production, which manifests itself in below par acting from the no-name cast and direction which is strictly pedestrian. I was chiefly interested in the horror aspects of the plot but these are handled in as much a mundane way as the rest of this lacklustre film.

This is probably the worst movie I've ever seen. Having said that I recommend anyone interested in making films to watch it. The acting is really amateurish, the pace of it is excruciatingly slow, the direction is weak.