The Body Snatcher (1945)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Tim S

  
  A pretty interesting little flick that ends extremely well. Odd seeing Bela Lugosi in such a tiny role, but also it's nice to see Boris Karloff being so evil and relishing it.

• AJ V

  
  My favourite corpse snatching movie, it stars both Karloff and Lugosi, how could you not like it? It's exciting and creepy.

• Michael G

  
  One of many from Val Lewton's stable of low budget horror masterpieces, a young Robert Wise masterfully directs Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of a doctor willing to cross the line in search of knowledge and the man who torments him. The Body Snatcher is proof positive that… More
  One of many from Val Lewton's stable of low budget horror masterpieces, a young Robert Wise masterfully directs Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of a doctor willing to cross the line in search of knowledge and the man who torments him. The Body Snatcher is proof positive that Boris Karloff was a great actor as any scene he's in legitimately has the ability to make your skin crawl. Don't get too excited about Bela Lugosi's (I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be a retarded Spaniard) role as he's got very little screen time but his final scene with Karloff is superb. Wise does so much with so little and that final carriage scene came close to freaking me out.

• Stephen M

  
  Sinister goings on in 19th century Edinburrow as a young medical student, presumably on exchange from America, is initiated into the art of grave robbing. Based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson and directed by Robert Wise, <i>The Body Snatcher</i> is not actually… More
  Sinister goings on in 19th century Edinburrow as a young medical student, presumably on exchange from America, is initiated into the art of grave robbing. Based on a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson and directed by Robert Wise, <i>The Body Snatcher</i> is not actually one of the better Val Lewton horror movies. The atmosphere is potent enough but the story doesn't really catch fire until the very end and, for such a short film, it tends to drag. Henry Daniell and Boris Karloff, as an anatomist and his resurrectionist respectively, are terrific; Bela Lugosi, on the other hand, is such a waste of space I'd forgotten he was even in the picture.

• Anthony L

  
  A fantastic horror classic! Daniell & Karloff go head to head but its Karloff who wins with an effortless but outstanding performance! Robert Wise's direction is also fantastic, he is another brilliant director who didn't make enough films in his life time. All in all,… More
  A fantastic horror classic! Daniell & Karloff go head to head but its Karloff who wins with an effortless but outstanding performance! Robert Wise's direction is also fantastic, he is another brilliant director who didn't make enough films in his life time. All in all, another Val Lewton classic well worth seeking out!

• Drew S

  
  I dunno, this one didn't really catch me. I probably should have given it more of a shot but it wasn't sticking. Not quite as unique or refreshing as its DVD double-feature, I Walked With a Zombie.

• Greg S

  
  Karloff is hypnotically evil as Gray, a carriage driver who sidelines in grave robbing and blackmailing the local medical school dean, in this eerie adaptation of a Robert Louis Stevenson story. Gray may be Karloff's most sinister performance, but with the notable exceptions of… More
  Karloff is hypnotically evil as Gray, a carriage driver who sidelines in grave robbing and blackmailing the local medical school dean, in this eerie adaptation of a Robert Louis Stevenson story. Gray may be Karloff's most sinister performance, but with the notable exceptions of Henry Daniell's Dr. MacFarlane, and a very good if too small bit by Bela Lugosi, the supporting performances aren't up to snuff in this horror/drama. Still, a minor horror classic from legendary producer Val Lewton and future Oscar winning director Robert Wise.

• Cindy I

  
  One of Val Lewton's best known (with good reason)productions, this spooky tale is the story of a doctor in a medical school in 19th century London (Henry Daniell - was he in EVERYTHING in the 30's and 40's?!) who uses a gloulish cabdriver (Boris Karloff) to deliver… More
  One of Val Lewton's best known (with good reason)productions, this spooky tale is the story of a doctor in a medical school in 19th century London (Henry Daniell - was he in EVERYTHING in the 30's and 40's?!) who uses a gloulish cabdriver (Boris Karloff) to deliver bodies for his students to dissect. And he's not too picky about where they come from. One of several films that Karloff and Bela Lugosi did together, although Lugosi's role was much smaller than Karloff's in this case. Lots of eerie scenes courtesy of director Robert Wise, who will later direct the best haunted house film ever "The Haunting". The way horror used to be before torture porn. more's the pity.

• Veronique K

  
  "body snatcher" is boris karloff's another classic directed by robert wise (born to kill, sand pebbles)...a deranged story of thieving corpses from graveyard for the sake of medical research, and this time karloff transcends beyond the monstrous skin, reincarnating… More
  "body snatcher" is boris karloff's another classic directed by robert wise (born to kill, sand pebbles)...a deranged story of thieving corpses from graveyard for the sake of medical research, and this time karloff transcends beyond the monstrous skin, reincarnating himself into another authentic form of pure evil. british stage actor henry daniell plays the avid doctor with superb medical talent who accumulates his success by dissecting the stolen dead bodies provided by karloff's sinister body-snatcher who would resort to murder for his mercenary avarice, but body-snatcher has another more profound motive which is far beyond greed, he pupeteers the soul of this anxious doctor by taunting him with scornful manipulation and haunting him with parasite-alike possessiveness, further the pride of enabling to bridle this prestigious doctor as karloff's character asserts himself. body-snatch lashes out the angst of his low birth which compulses him into lots of degenerated deals for suvival, and the mere sadistic pleasure which keeps him moving forward is to afflict the doctor whose higher status and genius he enviously resents. this calculated pervert drive is evil itself which dominates the whole feature without any involvement of supernatural form of power, and the darkness of a twisted mind is even more horridly chilling. eventually the doctor's soul is bereft by the body-snatcher's contagious vileness in a psychological perspective. another well-acted archetyped story of human corruptness, and karloff delivers another tour-de-farce performance without the shield of frankenstein monstrous cosmetics that is a proper showcase to exuberate his brilliant acting talent, and henry daniell obtains a chance to play some character who is not utterly objectionable as his typecasted villain roles. before the ingredients of alien subplots, the body snatcher was a simplistic gothic tale with the potentiality to doctrine on the respect of the humanity: to deem life as something sacred and not to be violated.

• Dr Blood  

  
  Certainly this is one of Boris Karloff's best and most villainous acting roles apart from "The Black Room" (which isn't in the database yet). The atmosphere and historical accuracy in this film is incredible but is no less than you'd expect from Robert Wise… More
  Certainly this is one of Boris Karloff's best and most villainous acting roles apart from "The Black Room" (which isn't in the database yet). The atmosphere and historical accuracy in this film is incredible but is no less than you'd expect from Robert Wise who also went on to create the scariest ghost story of all time with "The Haunting".

• Sarah P

  
  I didn't not like it, but I probably wouldn't watch it again.

• Patrick D

  
  Although a B-picture for sure, this is still a great Val Lewton production. Boris Karloff really is great in it.

• Eduardo C

  
  I watched this film expecting a Universal shocker, as it starred Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, perhaps a retelling of Burke and Hare. As an unabashed fan of the period this made me giddy. The film wound up being something entirely different, however, and I am not complaining one bit.… More
  I watched this film expecting a Universal shocker, as it starred Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, perhaps a retelling of Burke and Hare. As an unabashed fan of the period this made me giddy. The film wound up being something entirely different, however, and I am not complaining one bit. Produced by Val Lewton for RKO, this is an intensely atmospheric character study about a man who simply wants to forget and the man who will never let him. It features what is easily one of Boris Karloff's finest performances as the charming, menacing, wounded Mr. Gray. It is tasteful, beautiful to look at and certainly a standout picture from a period I adore.

• Barry L

  
  Superb original horror played with Karloff's usual grace.

Read all 14 featured audience ratings