East Side Kids: Ghosts on the Loose 2002 Horror Movie Review

The black and white Monogram picture was also known as, “The East Side Kids Meet Bela Lugosi,” a cumbersome title at best! It’s the 1943 follow-up to “Spooks Run Wild,” another Bowery Boys/Lugosi romp which was popular two years earlier.


East Side Kids - Spooks Run Wild


This one begins a little slow but gets much better as it moves along. Leo Gorcey’s sister, (played by Ava Gardner!), is getting married to a guy who has bought a fixer-upper home for the two to live in. Leo’s gang goes over to decorate but they stumble into the wrong house, next door, which is bulging with Nazis (“The New Order”), who are, of course, up to no good. From there on, there’s a lot of spooky peeping through wall picture eye-holes, shouting, and other buffoonery, but it’s all great fun.


While not nearly as good as “Spooks,” this is still a great Lugosi entry. If you’re not a Lugosiite, you probably ought to pass on this one. However, fans should consider it as the five star flick that I dubbed it.