Produced and directed by Al Adamson, who also gave the universe several other no-budget classics like DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN and SATAN'S SADISTS, this film's convoluted plot involves scientist John Carradine implanting a device into a man suffering from brain death, transforming him into a crazed killer zombie. Sort of. There is also a jewel robbery, a kidnapping, several gory murders, and a daring police investigation headed by former Disney star Tommy Kirk (THE MONKEY'S UNCLE).
There are good reasons for the plot being convoluted. Adamson originally made the film as ECHO OF DEATH in 1964. The following year he shot additional scenes and changed the title to PSYCHO A GO GO. Apparently deciding he was definitely on to something really big, Adamson added still more footage in 1972 and released it under the GHASTLY title. The film has also been shown on television under the titles THE MAN WITH THE SYNTHETIC BRAIN and FIEND WITH THE ELECTRONIC BRAIN.
Whatever it's called, this movie is a total mess. Fun to watch? You bet. You can't possibly classify yourself as a horror buff and NOT watch a cult item like this at least once in your life. John Carradine gives another one of his Shakespearean mad doctor performances, while prolific B actor Kent Taylor and Adamson regular Regina Carroll recite their dialogue on cue and attempt to take all of this nonsense seriously. The cinematography (at least some of it) was by Vilmos Zsigmond, who got his start in the motion picture business with films like this. The "zombie" is undeniably creepy, and the film makes good use of a jazz oriented soundtrack.
And the whole experience is over in just 90 minutes, at which time you should feel less ghastly than you did when it started.
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