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The Mad Monster (1942)

 The Mad Monster (1942)


RELEASED May 15, 1942 RUNTIME 77 mins 

DIRECTOR Sam Newfield 

WRITER Fred Myton (screenplay) 

STARS Johnny Downs, George Zucco, Anne Nagel 

COUNTRY United States LANGUAGE English 

STUDIO Sigmund Neufeld Productions GENRES Horror

Streaming on: Amazon Prime, Epix, FlixFling, TubiTV, Sling TV, DIRECTV




The plot: A simple-minded handyman (who can only be described as "the obvious inspiration for Torgo") gets turned into a revenge exacting werewolf by a mad scientist.

Random observations:

  • After watching 1921's Destiny directed by Fritz Lang this morning, it's quite noticeable that the film quality of this movie has degraded greatly since the '40s and could do with a facelift. However, part of the charm of the early 40's b-movies of this budget lies in the imperfections themselves. 
  • If you watch this film on Amazon, please note that there are no closed captions available.
  • The soundscape of this film is akin to an arctic wolf sanctuary ASMR falling into a foley artist's collection of NYC rush hour traffic sounds and then pooping out John Phillip Sousa. 

There's something super unintimidating about a werewolf in overalls, yet here we are. This movie walks a fine line of being too serious to have fun with, yet too amateur to take seriously. 

I'm sure there are people in the world who dig this subgenre of horror, but I'm not one of them. I lose focus too easily with the slapdash dialogue and stagnant direction.



0/1 Directing
0/1 Cinematography
0/1 Visual design
0/1 Editing
0/1 Plot 
0/1 Dialogue
0/1 Acting
0/1 Soundtrack/Score/Sound
0/1 Originality
0/1 Rewatchability
Total: 0/10 Binge Bones


The verdict: Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

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