Thirteen Women (1932)
Thirteen women are marked for death, the revenge of one woman they denied entrance into their sorority and drove from the school. Armed with the mystic powers of her Asian ancestry, she uses the esoteric power of hypnotism and suggestion to drive her enemies to their deaths, stooping to mundane methods of poison and explosives when those methods fail.
Myrna Loy as Ursula Georgi
Though some critics consider this is a staple of Slasher cinema but this is a kinda odd and mysterious film revolving around a woman 'Ursula Georgi' (played by strangely exotic Myrna Loy) described as a "Hindu half breed" who seeks revenge on sorority sisters who snubbed her at a former girls school. Using the guise of attendant to a Swami, she procures the addresses of all twelve women from her former school. She sends them letters, under the name of the Swami, telling them of their impending death and how it will come about. "The power of suggestion" here is so strong and one woman's total belief in the Swami's predictions, which leads to influence the other women, that they begin to die, one by one. She ultimately knocks off the swami and turns her sights on the disbeliever of the group, played by Irene Dunne.
According to different online sources, the film is best remembered for being the only surviving footage of legend Peg Entwistle,
The Hollywood Sign Girl. Two days after the premiere of the film she climbed up on the "H" of the Hollywood sign (then reading was "Hollywoodland") and jumped to her death.
The film was everything but a box-office hit. Moreover, Irene Dunne had just made success at another studio at the time of its release, and by cutting some scenes the studio tried to focus more on her character. And thus the film was supposed to have been 73 minutes long, but was cut to 59 minutes.
>>: B+
The Woman Who Came Back (1945)
Ever since the bus accident, nothing has been the same for Lorna Webster. She returns to the New England hometown where her family has lived for centuries. But no happy reunion waits. She is convinced that she has become a witch, the target of a 300-year-old curse, and strange happenings soon persuade the townsfolk that she�s right. As desperately as she tries, she cannot shake the evil that seems to follow her everywhere. Caught up in a wave of hysteria, the entire town is driven to extremes.
This is a very fine supernatural horror thriller that somewhat comes with a Val Lewton flavor all over with plenty of eerie & atmospheric set pieces. I don't want to spoil you anything but the problem is the story falls bit of balance between supernatural vs psychological horror aspects which makes some of the earlier scenes questionable at the end. But overall this is a required watch for any classic horror lover.
Screenshots
>>: A-