Shock Corridor

I have a soft spot for Sam Fuller, but as I get older I have less of a soft spot for some of his films. Consider Shock Corridor: made with almost no budget, Fuller found a way to make a film that attacked a subject he was passionate about (abuses in mental institutions) but again his pulp writing career does not translate to pulp excellence in film. He merely recreates the basics of the B movie. The film was timely for attacking taboo subjects, but only in a few inane sequences. The positive is that the film manages to capture intense performances and create some gritty film sequences. But that's all. The fact we have James Ellroy and others now bleeding excellence into the pulp world does not show evolution, but examples of men who did a lot better work. Sam Fuller always maintained story was most important in film, but Shock Corridor is very limited. I'm glad he was making films though.