planktonrules Review of The Mad Monster

The Mad Monster (1942)

Very familiar territory for Zucco but still not bad

[5/10 · 20 February 2007]

This is a very low-budget film starring one of the kings of low-budget horror films, George Zucco (the other, of course, being Bela Lugosi). Here he is in VERY familiar territory--he's a mad scientist working on a formula to transform people into monsters AND he is bent on revenge. While this is a rather worn out premise, WHY he originally wants to create his own version of a wolf-man is truly unique!!! He actually wants to do this as an aid to America's war with the Nazis! He reasons that these insane killing machines CAN be dropped into enemy territory and allowed to run amok! Why didn't Roosevelt think about this?! Assisted in what later turns into a mad scheme for revenge is a nice but simple-minded man played by Glenn Strange (who also played Frankenstein in the later Universal horror films of the 1940s). Strange is strangely compelling since he is a good person who thinks everything is being done to help his country. Too bad he really is running around killing people when he is transformed into the wolf-man! If you are a fan of B-horror films, then this one is sure to please despite its tiny budget. However, if you aren't a horror fan, I doubt if you'll find much to interest you here--especially since there are many better horror films out there already.