Zotz

Zotz! (1962)

If you can’t tell yet I’m a big fan of director William Castle. But I honestly never took the time to check out his forays into non-genre movies. That is at least until I got the William Castle Film Collection for review. Included in the set are some of his more famous efforts in the horror genre, like 13 Ghosts, The Tingler, and Homicidal. But for the first time I also got to check out a movie like Zotz! which is an interesting little movie.

Zotz! stars Tom Posten as Professor Jones, an expert in ancient languages. When the sweetheart of his niece sends her an ancient coin he recognizes it as having a very rare dead language on it. Translating the writing on the coin he unintentionally releases it’s power, which allows the holder of the coin to cause pain and kill by pointing and uttering a single word. After failing to convince the head of his department to the power of the coin he heads off to Washington to offer his services as a human weapon to the Pentagon. While the military ignores him, a Russian spy picks up on what is going on. This leads to him being kidnapped and much hilarity ensues.

And I actually did find this movie amusing. As I’ve already stated in my review for the Castle remake of The Old Dark House I think that Tom Posten is a very funny man. But unlike that movie Zotz! gives him far better material to work with. Professor Jones is a perfect sort of regular everyday schlub that Posten excelled at portraying throughout his brilliant career. His performance is also helped by a story that is very tight and gets him from one funny setup to the next without ever being slow. And Zotz! really is nothing more than a series of funny situations for Posten to play off of. As a fan of the silly Hollywood comedies of the 30s, 40s, and early 50s (think Abbott and Costello, the Bowery Boys, and the early Martin and Lewis stuff) I had a blast watching the movie. But I feel the need to add a caveat/warning that this might also not appeal to those not as enamored with the classics as I am. One more thing that I wanted to mention is the appearance of Jim Backus (Gilligan’s Island) in a small supporting role. He is another actor that never gets the credit he is due, though he is more of a straight man here for Posten to play off of.

Unlike some of the other movies on the William Castle Film Collection Zotz! doesn’t have any special features to mention. The only thing included on the DVD is the theatrical trailer for the movie. That is kind of a bummer, but then again this movie has been nearly impossible to find on home video for a very long time, so it is nice to finally see it get a DVD release. If you are a fan of Castle this movie alone is worth picking the set up. I recommend Zotz!

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer