The Phantom of Soho is another Krimi film based on a novel by the son of the great Edgar Wallace, Bryan Edgar Wallace. I can't say it's one of the best of the genre, but it features a decent plot that flows fairly well and kept my interest for most of the duration. As the title suggests; the film once again takes place in London and this allows director Franz Josef Gottlieb to build a dark and foreboding atmosphere to compliment his plot which chiefly involves murder. The plot focuses on a murder named 'The Phantom' who is going round London bumping various people off. The victims are all important men and seem to have something to do with Sansibar; a seedy nightclub owned by a crippled woman. Naturally it's not long before Scotland Yard is called in to investigate and they receive help from a mystery writer who is fascinated by the crimes. As they dig deeper into the murders, they find out that many of the victims have more in common than was first thought.
Naturally the film is not particularly graphic; but the murder scenes are rather memorable thanks to the way they are shown - usually we see the victim looking surprised while a pair of gloved hands (one holding a knife) is shown on either side of the screen. This is amusing the first time it's seen and while it does at least make the film somewhat memorable; I have to say that it does lack variety. The plot is more than a little bit sketchy and the film only really features memorable scenes, rather than a memorable narrative. The nightclub setting is good as it allows the director to show plenty of half naked women along with a sordid atmosphere. The film gets less interesting as it goes along and by the end I didn't really care too much about the mystery behind the murders, and that's a bit of a shame as there's a decent enough plot here to spawn a good thriller. The ending is something of a surprise, however, so anyone that makes it that far at least shouldn't be too disappointed. Overall, this is a Krimi worth seeing for genre fans; but it won't hold much interest for anyone else.
