Badly written and badly directed, this film is only of historical interest, perhaps as an early example of the Old Dark House genre, or of the racial stereotyping of blacks as fearful, as superstitious, and as otherwise stupid. (There is also a stereotypical Chinaman in this movie.) There is relatively little story here: A Young Man has been informed by a Lawyer that the Young Man is an heir to an estate that includes an Old Dark House. He and various persons arrive, for various reasons yet all on the same day, for his first night there. One of them is a Young Woman who is subsequently menaced by a Cloaked Figure who makes use of secret passages within and to the house. Eventually the Cloaked Figure seizes the Young Woman, and he is pursued. During this pursuit and the fight that erupts, the respective roles of the other characters are revealed.
The internal logic of the story fails repeatedly. For example, early in the story the audience sees the Cloaked Figure climbing in and out of windows of the Old Dark House, but there doesn't seem to have been a good reason at that point for him not to have simply used the hallways within the house. The Cloaked Figure has, as it turns out, a good reason to menace the Young Woman; but he also menaces the Black Servant for no good reason. Twice the Young Man responds to cries for help as if wondering just what "Help!" might mean. His initial response to the Cloaked Figure is as if such things are merely a nuisance to be expected in one's home. After the Cloaked Figure has seized the Young Woman, it eventually dawns on the Young Man that her situation might be urgent, but his subsequent search for her is rather desultory, and includes a pause during which he and another white fellow mock the Black Servant as a foolish braggart. None of the ostensible Good Guys are inclined to dash when they could walk briskly, and one is lucky if they do even that. During the final conflict between the Young Man and the Cloaked figure, the other Good Guys essentially mill-about, as if having joined the audience (albeit with a greater level of interest than the audience must now feel).
The internal logic of the story fails repeatedly. For example, early in the story the audience sees the Cloaked Figure climbing in and out of windows of the Old Dark House, but there doesn't seem to have been a good reason at that point for him not to have simply used the hallways within the house. The Cloaked Figure has, as it turns out, a good reason to menace the Young Woman; but he also menaces the Black Servant for no good reason. Twice the Young Man responds to cries for help as if wondering just what "Help!" might mean. His initial response to the Cloaked Figure is as if such things are merely a nuisance to be expected in one's home. After the Cloaked Figure has seized the Young Woman, it eventually dawns on the Young Man that her situation might be urgent, but his subsequent search for her is rather desultory, and includes a pause during which he and another white fellow mock the Black Servant as a foolish braggart. None of the ostensible Good Guys are inclined to dash when they could walk briskly, and one is lucky if they do even that. During the final conflict between the Young Man and the Cloaked figure, the other Good Guys essentially mill-about, as if having joined the audience (albeit with a greater level of interest than the audience must now feel).