This was quite a controversial film for it's time, I have it on video, bought it right after seeing it on TCM. What a picture! The ending is creepy, let me tell you! It will shock the hell out of you, for those who never saw this. Definitely not for those with a weak stomach. This was directed by Todd Browning, who did many other horror films in the 30s. As a big fan of the old scray movies, this one was a suprise to me.

I have never seen it but I am aware that it exist. I think I first heard about it back in the 80s. For many years I didn't want to see it because I thought that the film exploited these people with "abnormalities" but after watching a program on them-they basically say that is their livelyhood (i.e. freakshows and such). After knowing that, I felt ok to watch the film-just haven't done it yet.



Cat

It's an interesting movie, and I guess explotative in a way, if you want to be politically correct. I think it tells a story too, about those who live the life in a traveling circus, how they cope with their abnormalities, dealing with acceptance. If you ever get around to watching it, you'll see it's more than a horror film.

If you ever get around to watching it, you'll see it's more than a horror film.


Yes, much more than, and also arguably to actually still be a horror film in 2006. We are no longer

I got this on DVD from moviesunlimited.com last month.  My roommate had never seen the movie.  It was his belief that it was more "unsettling" than any movies currently being made.  I think we're more, not less, horrified by human abnormalities, as these aren't seen any more.  Sideshows have gone the way of the dodo.  Still, the actors in this movie are not the exploited ones.  The storyline makes clear that the villains in this piece are all "normal," at least in outward appearance.

If you like this movie, you should also like "Island of Lost Souls."