THE
SINISTER URGE (1962)
Directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Admit One VHS
THE FILM
Sex crimes and juvenile delinquency?!
It’s all because of the smut
picture racket!
Along with The
Bride And The Beast, The
Sinister Urge was one of the
last known films directed by Edward
D. Wood Jr. that I had to track
down. Besides, of course, his later
forays into drunken softcore productions,
which, after viewing, may drive
you to complete abstinence for the
rest of your life. Anyway, back
on track...
There’s a teenage killer on
the loose. What drives him to commit
these heinous sex crimes? Why, it’s
the smut picture racket, of course!
Police Lieutenant Matt Carson and
his force are stuck. Although they’re
having success with breaking up
the smaller operations producing
these dirty films and photos, they
can’t find enough evidence
to bust the big cheese, Gloria Henderson.
Somehow, they begin to link the
killer’s crimes with her grimy
syndicate, and we’re off for
a good time.
The Sinister Urge is a
winner in the canon of lesser known
Ed Wood films. Every quirky and
appealing aspect of his filmmaking
is present, from the insane dialogue
(including several hundred references
to “the smut picture racket”)
to the wooden one room sets. We’ve
also got some classic performances
from the Ed Wood stock players --
Duke Moore, Kenne Duncan, and Harvey
Dunn. There’s a hilarious
scene featuring all three discussing
and viewing “dirty”
photographs. Ed himself even shows
up to duke it out for awhile with
Conrad Brooks at the local soda
shop. There’s some surprising
bits of nudity during the killings
and don’t miss the film-within-a-film
sleaze pictures themselves.
While not as charming as Bride
Of The Monster or Plan
9 From Outer Space, The
Sinister Urge can take its
place alongside Wood’s The
Violent Years as a second
rate classic.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Not too bad. While not on the fantastic
level of Image’s Wood reissue
DVDs, the picture and sound here
are very nice. Definitely above
gray market level, which makes sense
as this was purchased straight from
the discount shelf at Borders.
EXTRAS
I was hoping for a trailer or something,
but unfortunately, no. I guess you’ve
got to rent a tape circa ‘86
for that.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you’re a fan of Ed Wood’s
work, you can’t go wrong here.
Filled to the brim with perfect
Wood dialogue and completely unrealistic
situations, this film is a smorgasbord
of everything I like about this
era of weird 60s films.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 01.03.04 |
"Just like the rest of 'em."
In the act
Ed Vs. Conrad
The sinister urge
|
