Coventry Review of The Undying Monster

The Undying Monster (1942)

Familiar plot, but great style and what a feisty leading lady!

[6/10 · 19 July 2015]

"The Undying Monster" is basically a very routine and derivative '40s horror flick, but there are a couple of aspects that undeniably bring this film to a much higher league. The delightfully sinister title, for one, but more importantly - of course - the skillful directing talents of John Brahm and a couple of extremely progressive footnotes in the script! This was one of 20th Century Fox' first attempts to imitate the tremendously successful horror movies from Universal and it more specifically became a combination between a typical old-dark-house chiller and a classic monster fable. For centuries already, the rich aristocratic Hammond family is plagued by a curse and far too many ancestors died in the claws of a hideous lycanthrope monster. The horror returns to the final heirs, siblings Helga and Oliver, when a young girl is found ripped to pieces on the large Hammond estate. The plot, set-up and particularly the denouement may be clichéd and predictable, but the power of "The Undying Monster" lies in minor plot details and stylistic highlights. The opening sequence, for example, is brilliantly misleading as the camera soberly ventures through the dark interior of the mansion and passes next to a seemingly lifeless dog and motionless female hand. But then the doorbell rings and both the dog and the female rudely awake. What an incredibly imaginative and unexpected scene to feature in a routine horror low-budgeter like this! John Brahm, a director who emigrated from Germany before WWII, here demonstrates a lot of his visionary talents and he would later make a couple of shamefully underrated horror classics like "The Lodger", "Hangover Square" (both starring George Sanders and Laird Cregar) and "The Mad Magician (starring the almighty Vincent Price). Little moments of brilliance in the script include some very progressive theories about lycanthropy AND a very early but powerful manifestation of girl-power and feminism! Female lead Helga Hammond is one feisty lady, to say the least. When she hears fearful screams from within the dark woods surrounding her estate, she unhesitatingly jumps into a carriage and forays into the night to investigate. What a woman! Helga is depicted by an actress named Heather Angel, which is an artist name that would only be chosen by adult film stars nowadays. "The Undying Monster" definitely isn't fundamental viewing, but warmly recommended to fans of spooky black- and-white horror. With a running time of barely 63 minutes, it won't even cost you too much precious time.