The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Return of Doctor X
Science Fiction · Horror · Mystery · 1939
When news reporter Walter Garrett arrives at the hotel room of bombshell actress Angela Merrova to conduct an interview, he finds her dead from multiple stab wounds. He returns with the police to find the hotel empty and the body vanished. Garrett writes about the incident but is fired when Merrova, alive and well, goes to the paper to complain. Now his only chance to get his job back is to find the truth, which involves the grisly scheme of a madman.
Movie details
The Return of Doctor X
“HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD...TO HAUNT THE LIVING!!!”
1939 Science Fiction · Horror · Mystery 1h 2m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
5.7 / 10
2.6K votes
TMDB
6.0 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
When news reporter Walter Garrett arrives at the hotel room of bombshell actress Angela Merrova to conduct an interview, he finds her dead from multiple stab wounds. He returns with the police to find the hotel empty and the body vanished. Garrett writes about the incident but is fired when Merrova, alive and well, goes to the paper to complain. Now his only chance to get his job back is to find the truth, which involves the grisly scheme of a madman.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Return of Doctor X?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Outbreak
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Time Lapse
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The Medusa Touch
Horror · 1978
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Vincent Sherman
Written by
Lee Katz
Humphrey Bogart
Dr. Maurice Xavier
Rosemary Lane
Joan Vance
Wayne Morris
Walter Wichita Garrett
Dennis Morgan
Dr. Rhodes
John Litel
Dr. Flegg
Lya Lys
Angela
Huntz Hall
Pinky
Court is in session
Put The Return of Doctor X on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.