Tormented (Blu-Ray)
**The Blu-Ray/DVD from Film Masters of “Tormented” will be available on April 23, 2024. This is a review of not just the feature, but the Blu-Ray edition. The grade for this will be for the main movie itself; the set grades will be featured in the body.
“Tormented” (1960)
The name Bert I. Gordon has meant something to me since I began watching “Mystery Science Theater 3000” in the mid-’90s. His work is best known for wooden acting and cheesy visual effects, two things that were very much in vogue in the ’50s and ’60s when it came to genre movies. The way he approached genre, however, was very sincere, and that is why- for all their faults- movies like “The Magic Sword” and “The Amazing Colossal Man,” to name two, are enormously charming to watch. His 1960 film, “Tormented,” is a bit on the cheesier side, but it’s got that Bert I. Gordon charm, all the same.
Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) is a musician whom is on an island with a tight-knit community. He is getting ready to marry Meg (Lugene Sanders) when an ex-girlfriend, Vi (Juli Reding), comes to visit. She wants him back, but as they are on a nearby lighthouse, an accident causes Vi to fall to her death. For the next week, Tom is haunted by the idea of Vi, of his guilt, and when a sailor who brought her over comes looking for some blackmail, he might be forced to do something truly unthinkable.
Gordon is essentially riffing on Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart in this story, except instead of a heartbeat from the floor, we get footprints in the sand, disembodied heads, voices tormenting Tom, and an array of visual effects that Gordon pulls off quite well. You can likely figure out where the film is going early on, and Gordon delivers. If it doesn’t really have the same entertainment value as the films I mentioned earlier, it’s because Gordon is working more as a technical director than a storyteller here. That said, “Tormented” is worth checking out if you’re a fan of B-movies.
Blu-Ray Presentation
Once again, the people at Film Masters have spared no expense in restoring and presenting this film. The 4k restoration is crisp and makes the film feel very new, both in picture and sound; it’s assured to stay around for a long time. Here, though, the extras is what fans will want this release for. In addition to the requisite color booklet with essays by Tom Weaver and John Wooley, we also get an interview with Gordon himself that is enlightening, as well as a 40-minute documentary called “Bigger Than Life: Bert I. Gordon in the 1950s and 1960s,” and a visual essay, “The Spirit is Willing: CineMagic and Social Discord in Bert I. Gordon’s ‘Tormented.'” We also get a commentary by Gary Rhodes and Larry Blamire, an unreleased TV pilot of “Famous Ghost Stories,” as well as two trailers for the film. The crown jewel, however, for me is that they have given us the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” episode of “Tormented,” as well. I cannot wait to see Joel and the Bots take it on.
Film Grade: B
Audio & Video: A-
Bonus Features: A
Chalk up another winner for Film Masters. They are asserting themselves greatly as a restoration label for older films.
