By Geno McGahee
“Go away. You’re dead. Leave me alone.” – Tom (Richard Carlson)
Tom (Richard Carlson) has a serious problem. He is ready to marry his fiancé, Meg (Lugene Sanders), but an unexpected guest arrives. Vi (Juli Reding) is obsessed with keeping Tom and will do everything to stop the wedding. With her on the island as the wedding approaches, things are not going to be pretty. Tom tries to reason with her and let her know that he is in love with Meg, not her, but it’s ignored and Vi makes her intentions known. She is not going anywhere.
They climb up to the top of the lighthouse and continue arguing. Vi leans against a railing that gives away and falls, holding on for dear life and reaching for her man. He lets her drop without attempting to save her. Problem solved. He can now go on with his life and marriage to Meg, but things begin to get strange.
Vi begins haunting her former love and still plans to disrupt the marriage. Tom cannot turn around without bumping into some reminder of that night and it’s weighing on him heavily. His future sister-in-law, young Sandy (Susan Gordon), is seeing the stress impact him and she becomes the person he confides in the most.
Things go from bad to worse when Nick (Joe Turkel) shows up looking for Vi and the money she owes him for sailing her over to the island. Tom pays up but it doesn’t get rid of him. He lingers around the island and begins to see what’s going on. He now wants more money and this leads Tom to only one solution. He’s going to end up with more blood on his hands.
This film wraps up where it began and we start to see just how much of a jerk our lead character is. One final attempted act at the end of the film is remarkably cold, but it’s thankfully interrupted, and justice is finally realized.
Written and directed by Bert I. Gordon, TORMENTED is a very cool ghost story with a focus on the anxiety of Tom. Richard Carlson plays the role so well. What he feels, the audience feels and despite him being a bad guy, you can’t help but to feel the anxiety that he has as his secrets come close to being revealed. The special effects aren’t very good, but this is 1960 and they were probably decent for the time. They don’t prove that much of a distraction with the story and overall uneasiness of the film keeping your interest.
TORMENTED is one of those films where you live the feeling with a character. It’s very easy to step into the shoes of Tom with this lingering problem hanging over his head. He just can’t get away from it. I found this a rather intense experience.
Rating: 7/10
