Not a horror movie at all, but a real old-fashioned Gothic with all the trimmings, including a mute servant (Chaney), torture chambers and crocodile pits. Rather fun if you like this sort of thing. Karloff plays it both ways as a red herring evil doctor, who ends up offering the same services as the monk in Romeo and Juliet.

More of a terror-tinged period suspenser than an all-out fright film, this manages to entertain more often than not. A near live-burial sequence, an alligator pit, creepy castle accoutrements, and Boris and Lon's lurking presence comprise its prime horror elements.