Review #26: Curse of the Faceless Man (1958) - Feature film

Curse of the Faceless Man is a late 1950's snooze-fest. The movie itself is not terrible, but it's quite a dull film to watch, even with the short running time. The film had promise, I feel, but it didn't quite live up to expectations, which is a real shame.

Source: Dailymotion
Length: 1 hour, 6 minutes
Number of Ratings from IMDb: 332
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Edward L. Cahn [Creature with the Atom Brain, The She-Creature, Zombies of Mora Tau, Voodoo Woman, Invasion of the Saucer Men, It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Curse of the Faceless Man, Invisible Invaders, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake]

The very first thing about this film that stands out in this film is the narrator - he explains the history of Pompeii, of how the civilization was wiped out by a volcano, and how countless people died. In present-day Italy, workers are excavating the area, looking for artifacts of the past. One worker finds a gold jewel box.

Along with something else.

A body encrusted in stone, which is then carefully removed from the ground.

We then cut to this place - a museum, in which Dr. Paul Mallon and Dr. Carlo Fiorillo meet up with each other.

From left to right: Mallon and Fiorillo

Fiorillo tells him about the events of the previous day: during an acquaintance's (Dr. Emanual) expedition, a 2,000-year old body is found. He also states to Mallon than he's "not even sure the body is dead," which Paul immediately questions, as it is such a ludicrous claim to make. Fiorillo saw the body earlier that day in Emanual's lab, and states he cannot tell if he (the body) is really dead.

Fiorillo called Paul because as Paul's expertise is tissue culture, Fiorillo wants him to test the substance found on the body (a rocky residue). Dr. Fiorillo also tells Paul that his daughter, Maria, will also be assisting him.

And speaking of the Devil...

Dr. Maria Fiorillo and Dr. Enricco Ricci arrive. Before entering the museum, it is two things are made clear: (1) Maria had a past relationship with Paul, and (2) Enricco is not happy Paul was called in (jealousy, I'd wager). Once inside, Dr. Carl Fiorillo explains that along with a body, a small box was found, containing valuables, such as jewels, and more mysteriously, a bronze medallion.

Maria stated that she noticed Etruscan writing on the medallion, to which Paul claims the Etruscans died out by the time of the Roman Empire. Carlo corrects this: Some survived, and the bloodline lived on into the Roman Empire.

Meanwhile, whilst the four are conversing on the Etruscans and the Romans, the body, or faceless man, is being transported via truck to the museum. Apparently, the body got rather bored during the drive, and decided to strangle the driver, leading him to crash.

At the museum, Dr. Ricci asks if the medallion can to translated, to which Carlo replied that Dr. Emanual is currently doing so, and once he's done, he'll turn over the contents of the box to the museum. A call then comes through, informing Carlo that his driver, Tony, has been in a crash and died.

At the crash scene, Maria laments the death of Tony, who's always been a reliable driver. Paul vocally wonders about the wound on the back of the head, causing the death. Paul also informs Maria that he is now engaged, surprising her, as she had not heard.

Dr. Emanual then comes onto the scene, meeting up with them all.

He wishes to discuss the medallion, but only in private, out of earshot of the Italian police. They then depart back to the museum. Once there, Dr. Emanual claims that the reason for his secrecy is due to the fact that one man is dead already, and more will perhaps join him. He then reveals what the medallion said.

As you can see (and hopefully read), it is a letter written by one Quintillus Aurelius (whom throughout the remainder of this review, I will refer to as the more terrifying Faceless Man), stating something about a curse, and how he will come back to life once the Romans are no more (he's late). Paul's skeptical that this had anything to do with the death of Tony. Ominously, Emanual states that he believes the body is still alive. Cue suspenseful music as Ricci then brings the Faceless Man in.

After a quick examination of the body, Paul notices blood on the right hand of the creature. Emanual believes the blood to be from Tony's would, annoying Paul, who doesn't believe in any curse, and chalks it up to possibly the immobile body striking Tony after the crash.

Paul swings by his fiancee, Tina Enright, and we meet one of the last important characters of the film.

She's an artist - a painter. And during the day, she painted a most peculiar image.

After telling her about his day, Tina confides in him that she had a dream last night: a body was found in an excavation, explaining in detail about the box found with it, and later how the stone body killed a driver of a truck. Most troubling, in Tina's nightmare, the Faceless Man was trying to get to her. After hearing a truck driver died much the same way she saw in her dream, she demands to go back to the museum with Paul, where he has to be anyway to be questioned by the police.

At the museum, Inspector Renaldi informs them all that it's conclusively been proven that the death of Tony was not an accident.

Paul and Tina arrive, and Tina's introduced to everyone. Tina acts strangely upon seeing the body, prompting Inspector Renaldi to question her, but before he can ask too much, Paul interrupts, and informs Renaldi about the blood found on the hand of the body. Renaldi, however, believes the killer to be younger than 2,000 years old.

He then hypothesizes that whomever the killer may be is after the contents of the box found with the body. Renaldi then asks that the museum remain closed to the public until the killer is apprehended. As soon as he leaves, Tina recites to everyone what she told her fiance earlier.

She then asks permission from Carlo to continue sketching the subject from the museum, but he declines, unsure if it would be safe or not. It doesn't make a difference, because later that night, after awakening from another nightmare, Tina, while in a trance-like state, goes over to the museum and begins sketching (evidently, despite the fact their closed to the public, and it's very late at night, the museum doors were not locked).

She's so engaged in her cathartic sketching to notice the stone man becoming a bit more lively, beginning with his head turning to the side. Before to long, he decides he's been still long enough, and wants to stretch his legs by going after Tina.

Tina then screams and faints. A night watchman rushes in, and tries to stop the Faceless Man, but gets knocked aside. Grabbing a broach from the same chest the medallion came from, the Faceless Man places it on Tina's chest, and then becomes immobile once more, just before Dr. Fiorillo and Dr. Fiorillo (Carlo and Maria), who live in the museum) can make it to the room.

Maria announces the watchman dead, and Tina in shock. Before Maria can telephone Paul, Carlo laments the deaths, and the curse as a whole. Maria believes what the Inspector believes, though - thieves are after the contents of the box found with the body. Unconvincingly, Carlo concedes that his daughter may be correct. Paul is then telephoned. 

As Carlo is studying books, looking for information about the broach placed on Tina, Tina is "laying between the vague twilight of the past and the present," unaware of what is going on in her surroundings. 

Maria and Paul wonder about what put Tina into shock - Paul states once she snaps out of it, they'll find out. One thing is for certain, though: At the moment, Tina is out of commission, and she stays that way for the next 15 minutes or so.

A heated discussion between Paul and Carlo follows, and once Tina is taken back to her apartment, still in shock, the movie begins to pick up a little.

But not by much. I've found this film extremely hard to review. Exactly why, I'm not sure, but I just could not get into the mood to fully review this. The movie itself is not bad, though the downsides do overcome the positives. I apologize for my lack of a fuller synopsis (I generally like to review up to the last 10-20 minutes of the film; I just got halfway through this one), and I will work hard to ensure it doesn't happen again.

This film is much like The Mummy - it's a slower pace, deals with content of historical nature, and only have one or two scenes which stand out. The pace, I feel, killed this film. The plot is not an uninteresting one, but when little happens until halfway through the film, and what happens even then is tepid and dry, the plot sort of falls short of saving the film.

I am in college at the moment, and one of my minors is history. I say this to show that I have no disdain for the subject. I feel it's important to look back at past events, to ensure lessons have been learned and mistakes will not be made twice. The problem with bringing the subject into a horror film is that it can leave the film feeling dry. If they had toned down on the history just a bit (and the damn narration, which I'll get to currently), it would have been far more palatable. 

The aforementioned narration gets really old really quick. I'm not sure why the filmmakers decided to use that tactic, but I don't deem it an attractive one. If it was used only in the beginning and the end, it would have been corny, but still okay. It was used throughout the film, though, and rarely brought any relevant points to the table.

The film was not without it's positives. I felt the cast of characters was strong (albeit a bit cliche). Carlo, Paul, Maria, Enricco, Emanual, Tina, and the Inspector all played a role of some importance in the film, although I felt that Enricco should have had a few more scenes. Seven characters is not a bad amount, and better, I feel, to the mundane and typical "man and woman" character types in older films. At least to me, it stood out.

The Faceless Man was not a terrible monster. Sure, it's a bit of a ripoff of the Mummy (and I'm sure the creators knew that), but it's not a bad attempt whatsoever. A bit laughable, nowadays, but arguably, the monster is at least unique. 

I cannot, in good faith, defend this for much longer, though. In all regards, this is no worse than many pre-1960 films. I do have to say, though, in terms of 1958 and 1959, this would be quite low on my list. 

Now, the director of this, Mr. Cahn, did direct two movies I've seen and enjoyed, those being It! The Terror from Beyond Space, and Zombies of Mora Tau. If this film had more of the feeling that those films shared, it would have been a far less excruciating time for me.

Maybe I am being unfair. Maybe this particular viewing experience was hampered by other factors I am unaware of. Due to that possibility, I will rate this film with generosity in mind, and in the future perhaps, this will be in need of a re-watch.

My rating: 5.5/10 

IMDb page

Another blog written on the same film. Far more detail, but be prepared for a longer reading time. I'd recommend it, though.

Hope this finds all well,

Michael