User reviews

If you're looking for first-class or even second-class acting, this is not your movie. However, if you're familiar with and like other Allied Artists B-movie horror entries circa 1960, this one fits the bill. It's somewhat like a Beatnik version of the tell-tale heart.

Tom is a rising jazz pianist about to marry a girl from a prominent family. Unfortunately his ex-lover, buxom nightclub singer Vi, refuses to let go and threatens to show Tom's fianceé the letters he wrote her. Tom is afraid of exposure - I suppose his sheltered fiancé would be shocked! shocked I say! to find out that a 35 year old man is not a virgin! Vi leans against the railing of the old lighthouse they are arguing in and the railing breaks. Tom has a few seconds to save her as she clings to the railing screaming for help. However Tom was against saving her before he was for it and he lets her drop to her death. Now technically he has done nothing wrong - she did fall on her own - and if he went to the police now and said she fell he might get away with it. But he just walks away, leaves the lighthouse, leaves the body in the sea, and figures nobody will ever know... but his conscience knows.

So suddenly what should be a happy time in his life is filled with visions of his dead lover. Sometimes it's her hand trying on his fiancée's engagement ring, sometimes it's her head rebuking him, sometimes it's her whole body in a ghostly apparition popping up in engagement party photographs. However, only he sees these things - for awhile. As someone else said, at first you can somewhat sympathize with Tom, but as Vi's "head" predicts, he goes from bad to worse to cover up his crime, until at the end he is contemplating the most horrific act imaginable.

The acting here, except for Richard Carlson as Tom and Juli Redding as Vi, is so wooden you could build a bonfire out of the performances, but it all just fits in so well to the spartan Allied Artists early 60's horror atmosphere that I didn't mind. Even Ms. Redding has some weird Marilyn Monroe vibe going, but it's all part of the fun. The really weird part is the large section of the film dedicated to Tom's future sister-in-law - all of nine - doing her prepubescent best to win Tom away from her sister.

If you like films like "The Hypnotic Eye" and "Macabre" give this one a try, just realize it's much more camp and cheese than horror.

The first thing to notice is the photography of Ernest Laszlo, a veteran of film noir who shot the classic "D.O.A.", "Kiss Me Deadly" and Fritz Lang's "While the City Sleeps." (And the same year "Tormented" came out, he did "Inherit the Wind"!) He elevates this little ghost tale no end, with nice compositions such as the shots through broken lighthouse windows.

Classical ghost stories usually don't have very far to go, and that's probably why there aren't too many of them in American cinema. Someone's haunted, that's it. Such tales are atmosphere-heavy instead of plot-heavy, since motive and outcome are usually obvious. In this case, the atmosphere is a combination of spookiness (with some clumsy effects, and some smooth ones, like the pan shot across the room to reveal the missing LP which has somehow moved to the record player) and the neurotic paranoia of the hero, who reveals himself as trapped a sap as many a noir fool who blames his troubles on a dame. The plot delays and prolongs, but the last act juggles several nice twists. By the end, this cynical little flick has shown more style and imagination than several recent special-effects ghost movies.

Decent enough low budget effort. Good storyline and ending. Not what you'd call scary though.

A few eccentric touches here and there help. The best characters in this is the child and Nick the blackmailer. The other actors aren't bad, but it could have been a much better movie if they had been more engaging. For instance, the romance between Tom and his fiancé doesn't really work. Now maybe he's just marrying for the money, but her character is the most under-developed. If either she or the old girlfriend had been stronger characters, they could have brought some real drama to the proceedings.

There's a lot of optical effects, some better than others. Some of the ghost effects are unusual. In most composites of the lighthouse, the perspective doesn't line up correctly. Other than that, the production values are adequate for this sort of thing. Solid enough B-movie, but on the whole, nothing special.

Tormented is quite a scary ghost story from Mr Big. No giant insects in it though.

On a remote island,a musician's former lover falls to her death from a lighthouse even though he could have stopped her. He then tries to carry on with his life and prepare for his forthcoming wedding but she comes back to haunt him. This leads to many strange and creepy happenings including a record player playing on its own accord, the supposedly disused lighthouse working, footprints in the sand and the flowers wilting at his wedding. She also causes him to murder a young man. He then returns to the lighthouse to confront the ghost...

Despite reading bad reviews about this movie, I found it quite enjoyable and certainly scary at times.

The cast includes sci-fi/horror regular Richard Carlson (It Came From Outer Space, Creature From the Black Lagoon), Mr Big's daughter Susan Gorden, Lugene Sanders, Juli Reding, Joe Turkel and Gene Roth (Earth vs the Spider).

Catch this if you get the chance. Excellent despite the low budget.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

Barely feasible ghost story about a guy who lets his girlfriend (a self-described "second-rate singer") fall from a lighthouse to her death in the sea. Her spirit returns to try to prevent his marriage to another girl, and even conducts full length dialogue scenes as a disembodied head on his bedside table! Good child actor. Poor photography, music, but still a pleasingly grotesque atmosphere helped along by the fact that the "hero" in question is himself a second-rate man, who we would love to see get his own.

Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) is about to marry sweet Meg Hubbard (Legene Sanders). So, a week before the wedding he decides to break it off with big-breasted girlfriend Vi (Juli Reding). A WEEK BEFORE the wedding??!!!??? Hey, why so soon Tom? Why not do it on your honeymoon? She threatens to blackmail him with love letters. She tells him this while they're on top of a deserted lighthouse on a remote island. Great timing Vi. She falls to her death--Tom could have saved her, but doesn't. Next thing you know her ghost is tormenting him--parts of her body appear to him (but no one else), he hears her voice, sees her in pictures and begins going crazy. But is she really come back from the dead or is he out of his mind?

Silly, but I enjoyed it. I was never really bored and the story throws every ghost story cliché at you with blaring music and amusing special effects. There were even a few very creepy moments in there and Richard Carlson gives an excellent performance.

Even the crappy video transfer I saw didn't hurt--it was also 5 minutes shorter than it's reported running time and there were obvious bits missing and scratches all throughout the print. Purportedly, Something Weird Video said this was a new transfer. Oh really? I find that hard to believe.

Still, it's a cheesy, fun, little horror film. Take it for what it is--don't go in expecting some classic.

I thought this movie had a cool story, although a bit over done many times since and before.

The scenario goes a little something like this, A man kills his wife and she comes back piece by piece to Torment him.

The movie's most memorable scene is when his wife's head comes back to haunt him, taunting him to craziness. Bert I. Gordon, (who in the past Directed films like The Cyclops, Amazing Colossal Man) wrote the story and even worked on some of the special effects, which were not to bad I might say.

With the obvious low-budget, it's amazing what Gordon did. Mind you one cannot go into watching this film expecting Oscar worthy Performances. Expect the worst, that way you won't think it's too bad.

A taste for Bert I. Gordon is as personal a thing as the approach he takes to his modest little movies, and this his contribution to the early 60s supernatural craze is gourmet stuff. No subtlety, and who expects it, in this 19th century style tale of ghostly revenge as a modern day jazz musician is hounded to insanity by the ghost of a scorned lover whose death he deliberately failed to prevent. How this angry barfly manifests herself is alternately hilarious (the floating head) and downright creepy (the footprints in the sand, the wilting wedding bouquets) but, in the climax-focused tradition of Mr. B.I.G.'s best size meditations, especially the first COLOSSAL with its javelin-syringe, these moments imprint themselves on the viewer's memory and meet the standards of pure cinema, however unassumingly. There's a certain period loveliness to the lazy California beach town locale (many of the sets reused in the charming but perverse BOY AND THE PIRATES) and the pace has a leisureliness to match, but what grips one is the sheer moral ambiguity of the not quite anti-hero Richard Carlson. He's really not such a bad guy but who knows what extremes he'll be driven to, especially concerning the little girl who finds herself in the middle of things. A lot of Gordon flicks, in fact, have this melancholiac uncurrent of the aggressor's turmoil between human decency and the urge, circumstance-driven, to destroy. I'll leave analysis of this to the academically inclined, but I do wish true lovers of B-films would get past that "Mystery-Science" whatever nerd-need to express one's imagined sophistication with shrieking assaults on another era's conventions and technical primitiveness, and simply go with the flow and reap the rewards that films like TORMENTED offer. The finale, involving sea weed and the mind's eye, is really quite brilliant.

Bert I. Gordon - cleverly shortened as B.I.G - is a notorious director/producer/writer whose films are too often automatically categorized as 'awful' and textbook material for spoof-shows as MST3K. Even 'Tormented' featured in the legendary show and I, for one, think this was really unjustified. Underneath all the cheapness and inferior production values of this project homes a modestly grim and slick thriller. The plot handles about a successful piano player (Tom) who lives on a remote island community. He's all set to wed a rich high society girl but first he has to get rid of his Marilyn Monroe-like mistress Vi. Things seem to turn out fine when she falls off the lighthouse but Vi comes back to haunt Tom; body part by body part. This thriller with obvious Freudian influences is quite atmospheric and features interesting sub-plots and a few genuine frights. It only suffers from too many scenes in which the protagonist (Richard Carlson) wanders around the beach talking to himself. It's not a bad film at all and most people probably just refer to it as a turkey because Gordon directed it. Whether his films feature giant fake mutated animals (Empire of the Ants, Food of the Gods) or not, they all get labeled the same way. Cinema is a hypocrite industry, my friends. It's up to you to give this 'Tormented' a look and realize it should be rated slightly higher.

TORMENTED is Director Bert I. Gordon's shot at a low-low-budget version of a Hitchcock-like suspense thriller / ghost story. It starts off great, with jealousy, blackmail, and murder. This all takes place in a wonderful, ocean lighthouse setting, overlooking jagged rocks!

Tom Stewart (Richard Carlson) has done the deed, leaving his scorned girlfriend, Vi Mason (Juli Reding) at the bottom of the briny deep. Of course, this is a B.I.G. production, so, subtlety is nowhere to be found. Tom is haunted almost immediately, by everything from supernatural seaweed to accusatory seagulls! Ghostly footprints appear on the beach, while Tom's new flame, Meg Hubbard (Lugene Sanders), wonders what's wrong with him.

The spook-o-thon has just begun, as Tom is TORMENTED at every turn, reminded of Vi through -very- noisy nightmares and apparitions. Gordon throws in the paranormal kitchen sink with this movie, using every possible gimmick to show... just! how! scary! it all is. Actually, as B.I.G. movies go, this one isn't godawful, it's simply overblown.

Another director might have stuck to the basic tale, only implying the more otherworldly goings-on. Gordon can't help himself, and must "terrify" with disembodied hands, a head, etc. Still, it is fun to watch, and Carlson is quite good in his bedeviled role. Also good is Lillian Adams as Mrs. Ellis. Schlock god, Gene Roth, makes a nice cameo as Mr. Nelson, the lunch counter man!...

This movie is another could have been tolerable flick with a few less talking scenes and more spook action that did not come off as a bit lame. Or perhaps an even shorter running time could have helped too. There were quite a few shots of the beach that did remind me too of one of those album commercials. The story, a man apparently has moved to an island to get away from some things in his life, unfortunately one of those things finds him in the form of an ex lover who still has a thing for him. Well they argue for a bit on a lighthouse and then her fat butt breaks the lighthouse railing and before Tom can make up his mind to save her, she plunges to her death. Fine by me, she seemed to be a controlling harpy and quite frankly isn't saving someone merely an option. So suffice to say she haunts poor Tom for the rest of the movie, making him question his own sanity at times. Though she is clearly there and not merely a byproduct of his imagination cause she sure caused a stir at the wedding. Well for most of the picture I felt rather sorry for Tom, until the end where he screws up big time and becomes a dumb jerk for what he was thinking about doing. So that is about the sum of the plot, throw in a blind woman with another tale of haunting and a crazy boats man who will go to the ends of the earth for five bucks and you have your movie.

Tom Stewart, the "best jazz pianist in the world," is getting married to a young, rich beauty in a week...but not if his clingy, shapely ex-girlfriend can stop it. Vi Mason, a smoky singer with a body to rival Jayne Mansfield's, confronts Tom in an abandoned lighthouse and begs him not to marry his intended, Meg. When begging doesn't work, she tries blackmail instead. Seems she has some incriminating love letters that Tom may have written to her while he was dating both women. When he still refuses to call off his impending marriage, curvy Vi swears that no one will ever have him but her...and then she backs her big butt up against the loose lighthouse railing and falls to her death to the rocky ocean below. Tom, who could have saved her but hesitated, is now a guilt ridden mess, desperately trying to cover up his "crime." But Vi is not so easily gotten ridden of. Is it her ghost following him around and tormenting him, or is it his own guilty conscience?

The plot of "Tormented" is about as shaky and unstable as the lighthouse railing was. Tom acts like a murderer through the whole film, when in fact he's just a stupid dope who let a fatally attracted harpy fall to her death. He could have called the police and told them anything he wanted to at that point, including the truth without fear of prosecution, but instead he drags himself through the film with a constipated look on his face, seemingly eager to accept his own guilt. His shrill-voiced fiancée Meg, in a nice twist, seems more attracted to the idea of marrying a famous musician than spending her life with a man she truly loves and her annoying 9 year old little sister Sandy is nearly as obsessed with Tom as Vi was, following him around and pestering him constantly. When she witnesses the murder of a nosy hepcat ferryman at the hands of Tom, she becomes as plodding and listless as Tom himself, keeping the truth to herself instead of reporting the crime to anyone. No one is very believable here, and their motives (with the exception of the hepcat, who suspects the truth and just wants money) are ridiculous. There's a nice moment when Vi's ghost, who has by now been established as very real and not at all the product of a guilty conscience, invades the wedding of Tom and Meg, wilting the flowers and snuffing out the candles with her cold presence and effectively destroying the nuptials before they can take place. But other than that, this is a pretty weak film which seemed far too long for the threadbare story it had to tell and suffering from over-dramatic voice-overs by Tom himself, as though he thought this film would be his Sunset Boulevard.

Stick with the MST3K treatment of this lame Bert I. Gordon effort, if you absolutely have to see it at all.

Of course, I was ten years old in 1960 and back then disembodied talking heads, mysterious winds that attack weddings and kill all the flowers, and a white-ish, translucent ghost woman who swoops directly at you was pretty decent entertainment. Us kids ate this stuff up during the matinée; then, all the teens and adults arrived in the evening and I was captured by that delicious shared experience of shouted-out banter, witticisms and wise-cracks to appreciative audience laughter. Now and again a scene was intense enough to elicit some girl screams and the whole place would crack up.

See, this is the problem with writing 'dated' b-horror commentary. We're talking about the olden days here. Ya kinda had to be there. Just try recommending this to the average young adult of today! I can imagine how he'd be looking at you if he actually watched it - I'm laughing my ass off already. Yep, most of the people in this world are gonna rate this melodramatic dinosaur pretty darn low.......and yet, recently viewed, the final scene - the final 'movement' of the scorned woman was still chilling to me. Okay, so I'm a total melvin.

Anyway, if you've got the right eyes, this is a kitschy, 'modern' haunting in glorious black and white, complete with the very middest level of late fifties' special effs. If that encourages you to watch it, you are a kindred spirit, no matter your age

Bert Gordon brought us such wonderful movies dealing with giants in the late 50's & early 60's.Giant men, giant grasshoppers,dinosaurs etc.This time he tries giant breasts. Nice try but a failure.

Tom Stewart, a jazz pianist is going to marry a little rich girl.But Tom's lady on the side,enormous breasted Vi has come to the lighthouse where Tom hangs out.She wants Tom all to herself.She threatens to tell his fiancee' about them and has his love letters.(Too bad she doesn't have photos of herself in the buff.Yowsah!).

Somehow a railing gives way and Vi is hanging on for dear life over the rocky ocean.She begs Tom to help her.He figures she has natural abundant buoyancy up top and lets her fall.She doesn't bob back up to the surface.Oops!

Well Vi shows up everywhere to "torment" Tom. He's the only one to see her.Is she a product of his fevered imagination?Or is she really a ghost back to haunt him?Will the marriage go through?Will Tom ever play the piano again?

You won't care.The only reason to watch this flick is for Vi. So if you're into self torment by all means watch this flick.

On a small island community lives a pianist Tom Stewart who's planning to marry his wealthy girlfriend Meg Hubbard. Although after having a confrontation with his old squeeze Vi Mason on a lighthouse, Tom standbys and watches her take a fall from a loose railing. Although, Tom could have saved her, but since she said that she wouldn't let him go and marry his new girlfriend. He saw this as opportunity to get rid of her, so he could get on with his new life. But that wasn't quite the case, as now a vengeful spirit in the shape of Vi has returned to constantly interrupt Tom's plans and new life.

Poor Tom, as he has got a lot on his plate to comprehend and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I guess he'll learn the hard way. Bert I. Gordon's "Tormented" is a pleasant surprise that sets-up a mature, atmospheric ghost story that handles itself rather sincerely, despite it's obtrusively dodgy special effects. But this factor of the film only heightens its charm and burly nature. The B-grade production might show it's cheap origins, but it makes up for it with its strangely spooky atmosphere and interestingly glum story that builds up the anxiety levels and offers up a few surprises. While, the off-coloured plot is filled with inconsistencies and slows down in spots, but I never found it boring and a change in character (and events) makes it immensely gripping. When it comes to the film's conclusion it's fairly far-fetched, but it's definitely a striking note to finish out on. I was expecting something really leaden from the cast, but to my surprise everyone was acceptably fine in their roles. Richard Carlson plays the neurotic Tom whose guilt slowly overwhelms his mind with Juli Reding's beauty turned nagging ghost Viv both turning in splendid performances. Sandy Gordon's performance is that of high quality as the innocent little girl Sandy Hubbard who gets caught up in this ordeal. Mr B.I.G.'s direction is adequate enough and makes the most out of the moody setting with the ear-splitting score managing to channel out an eerie cloud that smothers the flick. Watching this, I see that restless spirits don't make great companions and will totally drive you up the wall… that's if you have treated them unfairly though.

"Tormented" is a tolerable minor entry that does deserve more credit.

Yet another one of several Bert I. Gordon flicks lampooned on MST3K, this is one of his most professional looking attempts, mostly because there are no fake looking oversized animals or teenagers. The plot is actually intriguing, centering around a soon to be married bachelor Tom Stewart who is haunted by visions of his dead lover trying to stop his marriage. It sounds like a good movie, but for 90% of the time is taken up by Stewart walking around on a beach and looking worried or frightened. In other words, it's not very exciting or watchable. Fans of Gordon will probably enjoy, whoever that may be. 4/10