I didn't know what to expect out of "The Amazing Mr. X." The concept sounded like it could easily cross into the badly corny, but I found myself drawn into it. I'll even go so far to say that some of the moments are among the creepiest I've seen in a black-and-white horror movie which alone is enough to get some attention out of me.

Chris is a young widow on the verge of getting engaged. But what's this? Is the voice of her dead husband calling out from the sea? Is he jealous even in death of her new relationship? She meets a mysterious psychic, Alexis, who wants to help her unlock the mysteries of the other world while her sister and fiancé look on with worry. When they decide it's time to interfere and hire a detective Alexis finds a way to become entangled with the family. A mighty crafty man this one. What are his true intentions? In the end they are all in store for some life changing shocks.

I like virtually everything about this movie. The characters are engaging, the story is fairly complex and unpredictable without feeling forcibly so, and even the effects aren't bad for their age. My only major complaint is that the girl playing Janet is occasionally annoying and unrealistic. I think part of it is her thick accent when her sister Chris has none. Wouldn't it be more consistent for them to have at least similar accents? (I mean my radio experience has stripped me of most of my accent, but I specifically trained for that yet I still don’t sound like I came from a different state than my sister). The director must have liked the way she pronounced her sister's name because the most common word spoken in the whole movie her saying “Chris” sometimes over and over. I found myself wishing she’s shut up on a few occasions. Don’t misunderstand, though, I don’t dislike the character of Janet nor the actress. She has a delightful quality about her that plays well off of Chris’s older sister personality. Janet is trying to watch out for Chris yet proves to not have the wisdom to be completely effectual.

Another minor complaint is that the beach scenes look glaringly like a set, at least the close up shots do. For the most part, though everything looks good. In fact, a lot of it looks notably better than the average black and white horror movie. And the ghostly scenes, particularly the ones of the late husband’s voice calling from the sea, are impressively done considering their age.