In an abandoned swampland manor, a deranged and scorned
scientist experiments with the notion that the mixing of human blood with that
of animals can result in the creation of strong and primal ‘super soldiers’.
His experiments turn his strong but sweet and simple gardener Petro into a
vicious man-wolf that kills for the love of killing. Spurred by the success of
the experiment, the scientist sets the Petro man-wolf on his fellow scientists
who scorned and called him ‘crazy’, but soon his control over the monster
starts to waver as the primal characteristics of the wolf threaten to take over
Petro’s human side completely.
I can’t honestly say that there is anything
particularly great about this movie. It’s basically just another generic
B-grade horror flick that explores the fragility of humanity: his need to
control, need for validation, and fear that things can go beyond the realms of
control. Essentially a little bit Frankenstein
and a little endeavour into Jekyll and
Hyde, The Mad Monster is a flick
that is not inherently bad, just predictable and without any real cinematic
love or technique, and ultimately a bit boring.
In an abandoned swampland
manor, a deranged and scorned scientist experiments with the notion that the
mixing of human blood with that of animals can result in the creation of strong
and primal ‘super soldiers’. His experiments turn his strong but sweet and
simple gardener Petro into a vicious man-wolf that kills for the love of
killing. Spurred by the success of the experiment, the scientist sets the Petro
man-wolf on his fellow scientists who scorned and called him ‘crazy’, but soon
his control over the monster starts to waver as the primal characteristics of
the wolf threaten to take over Petro’s human side completely.
The one thing that
I would like to stand up for with this movie is the paradox that the title
creates. Who exactly is the mad monster? Is it the genetically altered human or
the scientist who created him? The title itself is a bit deceptive and Frankenstein-esque in that it’s literal
and dualistic because it’s describing one true thing but at the same time
referring to something else. I’m not sure if that actually makes any sense…
Take the title Frankenstein. Many
people mistake and refer to the monster as Frankenstein, when in fact it’s the
doctor. There’s a similar thing going on here in that the title seems to refer
to the literal monster roaming about killing people, but in fact it truly
describes the scientist who creates him.
As far as the rest of the film goes
there’s not a whole lot to report on. The prosthetics and makeup are good but
relatively dated, the performances are generic and sometimes rather wooden, and
the unfolding of events are so predictable that it’s a wonder I just didn’t
have the whole thing on mute and make a silent flick out of it.
Starring George
Zucco, Johnny Downs, Anne Nagel, Glenn Strange (who was really sweet as Petro),
Sarah Padden, Gordon De Main, Mae Busch, Reginald Barlow, Robert Strange, Henry
Hall, Ed Cassidy, Eddie Holden, and John Elliott, The Mad Monster is yet another predictable horror movie that makes
up a formidable part of the genre’s cinematic repertoire in the 1940s. Filled
with action, science, madness, drama, and ‘romance’, the idea to turn it off
never fully came to fruition in my mind so I guess that’s something positive to
report… I made it to the end and more or less enjoyed it fine.
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