 Ryan Cracknell of Apollo Movie Guide , while echoing the praise for Holden 's performance , nonetheless found that the film " doesn 't hold up so well today " . Citing what he sees as slow pacing and " long bouts of over @-@ the @-@ top dialogue " , Cracknell compares the film to " reading a textbook – not the most exciting thing in the world , but it does provide insights into and perspectives on the foundation of early horror movies and how many similarities carry over into movies half a century and more later . " Michael W. Phillips , Jr. concurs , calling the film " a marked improvement on the original film [ but ] still a bit of a snooze , relying too much on forced comedy and not enough on suspense or fright . " Phillips again praises Holden 's performance and also Pichel 's portrayal of Sandor , but finds the rest of the cast weak . 
