Of Gods and Monsters:
A Critical Guide to Universal Studios' Science Fiction, Horror and Mystery Films, 1929-1939
By John T. Soister
McFarland & Company Inc., 2005
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(First published in Apex Digest)

For sheer entertainment value, most film criticism ranks somewhere between a C-Span marathon and a whittling contest. Then there is that rare volume like John Soister's Of Gods and Monsters, a work which would probably be enjoyable even if you'd never seen any of the 43 films the author discourses upon (I hang my head in shame to admit that I've only seen four).

I'd have to think hard to remember the last time I laughed out loud while reading a work of film criticism, something that happened fairly often as I read this book. Soister doesn't pull any punches and tackles his topics like the passionate, opinionated (and well-informed) film critic – and fan - that he obviously is.

Soister acknowledges a debt to the other authors who have already written extensively about some of the better known movies in his book and confesses, right up front, that one of the main reasons for writing it was to allow him a chance to get his two cents in.

The works covered here start with a fairly obscure thriller - The Last Warning, from 1929 - and wind up with 1939's Tower of London. Of course, the best-known films Soister examines are Dracula and Frankenstein, both from 1931, and their assorted and sundry sequels. Soister is typically opinionated here. He's obviously no fan of the former flick or its director, Tod Browning, whom he christens "the original Man with His Head up His Ass." He goes a little easier in the Spanish language version of the film, which was filmed at the same time, and Dracula's Daughter, which hit theaters in 1936. Soister speaks more highly of Frankenstein and joins a host of critics in ranking its first sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, as one of the better cinematic works of horror.

The author also takes a look at several other well-known works of Universal horror, including The Mummy, The Invisible Man and WereWolf of London, as well as slightly more obscure titles as The Old Dark House, The Black Cat, The Raven and Murders in the Rue Morgue.

The rest of the book is given over to examining various chillers, thrillers and "twisted" mysteries of varying degrees of effectiveness and obscurity. This might have been something of a drudge for all but the most avid archivists - and the synopses do tend to drag on in places - but Soister's engaging style generally keeps things moving along. One almost suspects, in many cases, that his essays on certain films are more entertaining than the films themselves.

Among Soister's more notable zingers are his jabs at Arthur Byron's apparent hairpiece and whistling dentures in The Mummy, his observation that Lugosi's "predatory grimace" in Dracula could be mistaken for "some gastrointestinal condition" and his conclusion that "the hallmark of science fiction films was chemical glassware."

Ultimately Soister's book found me wishing for a way to see more of these films - whether good, bad or ugly - without having to go into hock. Why, it's enough to make one wish that Turner Classic Movies would do an MTV2-type spin-off devoted solely to old genre flicks.

Copyright 2007 – William I. Lengeman III