Skip to main content

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.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Swamp Shark (2011)

  Swamp Shark (2011) RELEASED June 25, 2011 RUNTIME 85 mins  DIRECTOR Griff Furst  WRITERS Eric Miller (screenplay), Charles Bolon, Jennifer Iwen (screenplay)  STARS Christopher Berry, Wade Boggs, Marcus Lyle Brown COUNTRY United States LANGUAGE English  STUDIO Bullet Films GENRES Horror, Thriller Streaming on: TubiTV T he plot: An animal smuggling deal goes wrong resulting in a huge shark accidentally being let loose in a swamp. Random observations: Movie: "You're gonna need a bigger Band-Aid". Me: Hahahahahahahahahaha *laughcries* Why is this movie so green? Sharkapitation! Swamp Shark provides us with mindless b.s. human relationships as we wait for them all to meet unseemly demises. Peppered with obnoxious swamp rock, we are thrust directly into the world of animal smuggling as represented by the rejected auditioners of Real World: Nameless Bayou Town. 0.1/1 Directing 0.3/1 Cinematography 0.2/1 Visual design 0.3/1 Editing 0.1/1 Plot  0/1 Dialogue 0.3/1 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bicentennial Man (1999)

  Sci-fi September #Something Borrowed (h/t Amanda Andrews on Facebook) Bicentennial Man (1999) 131 minutes Director: Chris Columbus Writer: Isaac Asimov(short story "The Bicentennial Man"),  Robert Silverberg (novel),  Nicholas Kazan (screenplay) Stars: Robin Williams, Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill Streaming on: HBO Keywords: 23rd century, android, based on short story The plot: The "life" and times of Andrew the android, a robot purchased and programmed to perform menial household tasks. It soon becomes evident that the Martin Family has received much more than they paid for.  Random Observations: Pretty sure this is the first live-action Robin Williams film I've rewatched since his passing (not counting the fantastic 2018 documentary Come Inside My Mind).  A long time ago I was in a books-to-movie club and we read the short story "The Bicentennial Man" prior to watching the Chris Columbus film. I remember liking the movie better after having read the sh...
Post a Comment
Read more

Upcoming Movie Themes

  Welcome to Werewolf Week! Below is my watch schedule for 10/4-10/10. Feel free to watch along. Reviews will be hyperlinked throughout the week when possible. (I always watch all the films, but my chronic pain doesn't always let me have enough brainpower to write a mini-review.) At the bottom of the list is the upcoming genre schedule. If you have a film you'd like me to review (it MUST be available on at least one subscription streaming service), please leave a comment below! 4-Oct Blood (1973) TubiTV Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964) Amazon Chabelo and Pepito vs. the Monsters (1973) TubiTV The Mad Monster (1942) Amazon Howling VI: The Freaks (1991) TubiTV 5-Oct The Howling IV: The Original Nightmare (1988) TubiTV Monster Dog (1984) TubiTV Scream of the Wolf (1974) Amazon The Beast of the Yellow Night (1971) Amazon 6-Oct Wolfman (1979) Amazon The Werewolf of Washington (1973) TubiTV Moon of the Wolf (1972) Amazon Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horro...
Post a Comment
Read more