The Seventh Vicim (1943) - Mark Robson 

   Low budgets, dark lighting, sinister music, and cheap psychology have long since been hallmarks of the horror genre. Val Lewtons nine horror films all seem to fit the description above. Acting is passable at best in these pictures, and the low key lighting is more a way to cover up cheap sets than it is a tactic of great filmmaking. Yet every so often amongst his rubble there is a film of particular interest, which may or may not be particularly good but at least interesting. The Seventh Victim, the first of Mark Robsons Lewton pictures is one of these. The film is a somewhat simple tale of a girl looking for her lost sister, but theres of course darkness up ahead. The tale of a search for a missing person is easily the subject of film noir, and with the lighting scheme, it would seem particularly self evident that this picture could fall into that land of private eyes and femme fatales. Perhaps the biggest difference comes from the chronology, the fact that The Seventh Victim was made before film noir was a particular style, but in many ways it is a direct prediction of the style to come.
   The line between horror and noir in these days was defined by one particular thing, the element of the supernatural. In a horror story the killer was a monster, particularly inhuman, and there is always some easy psychological explanation to justify the monster. The fact that there is no real supernatural element in this film makes it even harder to make the distinction. There is a cult of Satanists, but theyre pledged to non-violence, hows that for hypocrisy? Now you can also point out the fact that the film isnt scary, but that is hardly enough justification considering who past the age of 8 really gets scared by films? 
   I have seen at least one source site The Seventh Victim as Lewtons masterpiece. I wouldnt say that is an overstatement. The film is exquisite in many ways. The performances might not be great, but certainly great for a Lewton film. Kim Hunter makes a positive debut as the young sister looking for her older, rich, and missing sister, played with considerable mystique by Jean Brooks. Her look is a cross between Ida Lupino and Louise Brooks. She walks around half hypnotized and makes the most of her limited screen time. Her character is ironic, she has a fixation about death, and dreams of killing herself, even keeps a room with a chair and noose. Yet when her cult requests her to kill herself shes unable to.
   Some of the details are a little murky. The nature of the subject makes it difficult for the filmmakers to get too descriptive. The horror of the story, that is the cult makes its appearance dreadfully late. When they do it immediately picks up the story. After all, it gets a little old just seeing some dumb young girl wandering around looking for her sister, theres got to be a good reason why shes in hiding. What better reason than being psychologically damaged and having a mysterious group of devil worshippers after her?
   Now there needs to be complications in a love affair in any story, particularly in noir. Kim Hunters character is the object of affection for two men here. One happens to be married to her sister, the other is a romantic poet who seems a much better match for her, but well sometimes the movies dont do things completely right. It is a bit of a twist to have the married man win out, encouraging the infidelity, even if his wife happens to be crazy. The poet naturally likens his predicament to that of Cyrano, and you cant help but feel cheapened by the parallelism. 
   There is mystery, there is suspense, and there is one particularly creepy scene where Jean Brooks is being pursued down a dark alley. It is a clear highlight in the film, and perhaps the only really jumpy moment in the lot. The image of her against a brick wall with just a flash of light on her face, with everything else enshrouded in darkness is truly an image to remember. Flawed as any Lewton film may be, The Seventh Victim still remains one of the best of the bunch.

Grade B