The Devil Commands (1941)
This is a gem of a b-movie with a great performance from Boris Karloff and a lot of interesting visuals. Edward Dmytryk sets the mood perfectly with the opening shot of a creepy house during a thunder storm. The film is narrated by Amanda Duff who plays Karloff's daughter. Karloff plays a scientist who invents a machine that records human brain waves. After his wife is killed he discovers her brain waves are still being recorded and becomes obsessed with making contact with the dead. He comes under the influence of a shady fortune teller and accidentally injures his servant Karl. When his housekeeper discovers the truth about his experiments she is accidentally killed which attracts the attention of the local sheriff. The film climaxes when an angry mob storms his home during an experiment involving his own daughter.
