While I was tempted to try another Roger Corman movie, I figured it was time to take a break and check out some of the other public domain horror. And thus, I came across Dead Men Walk, a vampire movie from 1943. The movie was directed by Fred Myton and, as is typical of the good old days, it pits the science-mind hero against supernatural forces. No wait, nothing has changed since then, has it?

Well, the plot is pretty basic, if you think about it. It follows the 'kill your evil twin and then suffer his undead wrath' pattern. Then again, this simplistic plot is still more in-depth, especially when you compare it to some of the modern remakes that have been haunting people. So, back to the movie. Here you find a good doctor, Lloyd Clayton, striving to live the good life. Except that it's not so easy: he has a evil, conniving twin brother, Elwyn, who dabbles in the dark arts. How bad can it be, you ask? Well, from the sounds of it, he has walked so far down the dusty path of undead loving that he might as well wear that 'I haz Necrophilia' shirt.

What's a good doctor to do? Of course, he snuffed the life out of him. Now, those who are familiar with all things undead – and by this I refer to the bookish gathering of knowledge in these matters as opposed to actual field work – will know that killing a man who drinks beer with the undead probably has quite a few friends in high places. Fortunately for Lloyd, Elwyn's backup plans involved a daft hunchback. Unfortunately, the Igor-like servant was handy with a shovel and wheelbarrow.

And thus, you find that Elwyn is promptly dug out of his grave, dusted off nicely and placed back in his study. You think that sounds a bit too Dracula-esque? That's not too far from the truth. Turns out, Mr Elwyn popped back with pointy fangs and other disturbing vampiric abilities (i.e. skulking behind doors, peering through windows and a thirst for blood). But he's no ordinary vampire; he doesn't go around biting everyone he finds. Rather, he plots vengeance by killing or attacking all those around his brother and making Lloyd look like the prime suspect. After all, what's the point of looking like him if you can't profit from it?

Well, folks are close to finding the truth. One of Llyod's nightly snacks included the rather ditzy niece. I am not sure exactly how this young lady was related to either of the men; let's just say, she was convenient as the blood-drained victim and added the 'family in danger' element. Her finance, another slow-on-the-intake man, contributed to solving the mystery, although I must admit most of his work involved panicked outbursts and poncey runs.

When I look back, it sounds like I really hated the movie. I didn't: it was not as bad as modern Mosquito man movie and nowhere as mind-numbing as Killer Klowns from Outer Space. The pace of this movie was excellent; the plot was not spoon-fed to you and the way the story unfolded was smooth. I mean, at no point did men n striped shirts get assaulted by a giant Cookie monster.

Furthermore, the story reiterated the importance of minion management. You've always got to hire smarter minions and retain the slightly slow one for grave-digging back-up plans. In other words, it reminds you that Igors never go out of style.