WOMANEATER (1958) **1/2 There's this member of the Explorer's Club, and he brings back a hallowed tree with arms from the Amazon, and figures if he feeds scantily-clad women to the tree that it will generate serum that will enable him to bring dead people back to life. Not that there's anyone he particularly wants to bring back to life or anything, more like he's doing it because he figures it's important. If that's not enough of a plot for you, there's probably a character deconstruction of Vanity Fair on the Literature Channel, or something. I feel kind of sorry for George Coulouris, he's just sitting around the manor trying to be a Mad Scientist and everyone keeps dropping by asking irritating questions, and the phone keeps ringing...how's he supposed to accomplish anything? Edwin Astley's music is wonderfully eerie and spooky and recalcitrant and morose, but couldn't be half so effective without having bizzarros like Joyce Gregg and Jimmy Vaughn to set up. Doesn't take more than a few minutes to figure out where it's going and how it'll get there, and so a powerful afternoon nap or drive-in feature selection.
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