The Mystic

Not top shelf Browning, but the 'supernatural' scenes are very well done, heightened immensely by a new score by longtime Lynch collaborator Dean Hurley, which blends atmospheric and faux 'realistic' sounds in creative and evocative ways.

A tangle of motives and emotions makes for only a moderately interesting story, and most of the best imagery occurs in the first half of the film. But the addition (in the Criterion disc release) of sound effects and a score with a distinctly Lynchian flavour does help to keep the viewer paying attention.

A little known film with now-forgotten names, "The Mystic" is a long-unavailable gem of a movie and an obscure rarity. A sinister, stellar, very underrated performance by Aileen Pringle with costumes and special effects really well done for its time. Tod Browning explores familiar themes of reformation and unpunished crimes that is also related to the director's other sideshow shockers. Browning's morbid cinema of atmospheric chills is a spooky melodrama and thrilling tent show attraction.