Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Lee Eisenberg I first read about the golem in a list of all the monsters from popular culture. The main ones were the likes of Dracula and Frankenstein (as well as title characters from 1950s sci-fi/horror flicks), but it included the golem, and listed the golem's origin as Prague. I later learned the story of the golem from a book about how a rabbi supposedly animated one to protect the Jews from pogroms in Central and Eastern Europe. A "Simpsons" Halloween episode even had a segment about a golem.Well, it should come as no surprise that there have been a couple of movies about golems. The first one that I've seen is the corny but enjoyable "It!". Roddy McDowall - with his name misspelled in the credits - plays an assistant to a museum curator in London. When they find a mysterious statue, the assistant realizes that he can animate it and make it obey him. But power has a price.Mostly a silly movie with one element ripped off from "Psycho", it's nonetheless fun. And damned if Jill Haworth isn't a babe! Basically, it's a nice way to spend an hour and a half. I suspect that they had fun making it.

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- IT! (Golem) 1967 In England, a museum gets a large like- size medieval era statue. A corrupt young and aggressive museum clerk finds the statue's amazing secret power. the clerk uses it to murder his supervisor's to gain a higher position. Tragic endings occur to all involved.*Special Stars- Roddy McDowell*Theme- Dark occult magic should not be played with to further selfish ends.*Trivia/location/goofs- B & W, British, European. a remake of a many re- made film from the silent era.*Emotion- I wonderfully watchable and intriguing plot. Very spooky and memorable scenes showing the magic stature in all it's evilness. The leads performers play their parts very well. And McDowell's museum clerk has a 'Hitchockian' death mother's 'twist' ala Hitchcock's 'Psycho' in this film. Good and entertaining film and would like to own a copy of it. *Based On- The Hebrew Golem Medieval legends.

Wuchak THE PLOT: A London museum acquires a Golem, an indestructible Hebrew statue originally created to protect the community. The assistant curator (Roddy McDowall) discovers how to control the thing but uses it for selfish, destructive purposes. You know what they say: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.I've seen a few illustrations of Golems over the years where it looks very block-like (see Wikipedia), but none look like the Golem depicted in this film. Here it's pretty hideous and not block-like at all.I couldn't help thinking of "The Terminator" while watching, but "It!" isn't nearly as successful in giving the impression of an unstoppable force, which is likely due to budget constraints and lack of imagination.Jill Haworth is easy on the eyes, albeit nothing exceptional, and the rest of the main cast are good.BOTTOM LINE: The build-up is well-done and interesting but the filmmakers badly fumble the ball in the final act (it's not even remotely believable that this slow, cumbersome statue could hold off a platoon, let alone an entire battalion. Why don't they just storm around the stone creature since they ridiculously outnumber it?). Still, "It!" is worthwhile for a number of reasons, especially if you like Hammer films since it has a strong Hammer-esque vibe.RUNTIME: 96 minutes GRADE: C+

Estelle Edwards I saw this movie only once. For those who might be wondering about the creature itself, I'd like to add some background. This British horror movie uses the concept of a being from Jewish folklore, really. The Golem is a creature that is not really alive - the Jewish equivalent to the zombie. However, it usually appears on the scene with some sort of mission: to help somebody living wrap up unfinished business, or to act as a protector, avenger, whatever. According to Jewish folklore, the creature is made out of mud or stone and is controlled by placing a tiny sacred scroll in its mouth (if the person controlling it is brave enough!) The movie was interesting to watch, but it could have been better. It only stands as a period piece from that decade when all sorts of low-budget horror flicks were being made.