The Dead Talk Back: Merle S. Gould

I did not find Merle S. Gould's The Dead Talk Back to be a very pleasant experience. And yet, I know for a FACT that if I had seen this film as a small child it would have haunted my nightmares for years. See, what really scared me as a child was the fear of the unknown. The idea of ghosts, demons, and what happened after death cost me many a night's sleep. The Dead Talk Back bills itself to be a film that explores a radio that can supposedly communicate with the dead. There's a scene near the end where a group of people huddle around the aforementioned radio in a dark room and a raspy voice can be heard from the beyond!! If I had seen that as a kid, I would have needed therapy. But I'm not a child anymore. The only thing that scares me now is my bank account and the slew of college loan payments on my horizon. But I digress: The Dead Talk Back isn't very good. The afterlife radio is used as part of a police investigation to identify a murderer. Unfortunately, the film doesn't have the courtesy to choose one narrator or point of view. The film jumps around from one situation to the next so erratically that it makes you wonder if the projectionist switched to the wrong reel. One scene near the beginning where the inventor of the afterlife radio explains its functions seems ripped out of a 50s instructional video, albeit one with terrible lighting. Apparently The Dead Talk Back was filmed in 1957 but not actually released until 1993! In my opinion, it should have stayed in the vault.

3/10