dcole-2 Review of The Soul of a Monster

The Soul of a Monster (1944)

Beautiful little Lewtonesque "B" horror film

[10/10 · 23 January 2005]

This movie is a treat: a beautifully-shot, well-acted little horror film in the tradition of Val Lewton. Admittedly, it's very preachy and didactic with a load of pretentious spiritual dialogue, but it's far more advanced than any of the "Monsters jumping out at you" brand of horror that most studios were doing in the 40's. George Macready (always great) is a dying surgeon whose wife pleads with the forces of darkness, or any forces, to save him. Enter Rose Hobart, a mysterious woman who somehow brings him back from death's door. But Macready is now a changed man: moody, vicious, mean, distracted. He eventually leaves his wife and goes to live with Hobart. His friends try to save him, but he nearly kills one of them, then allows another to die when he could easily have saved him. This is all shot in a dreamlike style that takes place in a nightmarish night-world where every action seems to be a choice between life and death, every thought is about salvation and damnation. It's not perfect, but it's very unusual and very worth catching. Wish it were out on DVD.