| In this British thriller, Roddy McDowall is Arthur Primm, a museum assistant who brings an ancient Golem statue to life in order to kill his rivals after he’s been passed over for a promotion.
The somewhat slight story is made watchable almost single handedly by McDowall's lead performance.
As the unbalanced Primm, Roddy is sympathetic and underplays in a way that someone like, say Anthony Perkins, would be unable to convey.
(Really, with that voice and those mannerisms, Roddy could read the phone book and we’d be pleased.)
Admittedly, there are some crazy plot loopholes, including the fact that nutty Arthur keeps his mother’s corpse for company (a la PSYCHO), which - strangely enough - is not connected in any way to his acts of revenge, except to make his character even weirder.
And the outrageous ending is decidedly overdone, as the military and all its nuclear might is called in to destroy the stone menace.
The silly climax does a bit of damage to an otherwise solid effort, but just suspend your disbelief and go with it.
Also known as Anger of the Golem.
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