Movie Review - The Undying Monster

The Undying Monster
20th Century Fox
1942
Reviewed by William I. Lengeman III
(previously unpublished)

Very Short Review
A nifty little thriller with a slightly deceptive title.

Slightly Longer Review
If you come to The Undying Monster looking for scares, you're likely to be disappointed - unless you're exceptionally sensitive to that sort of thing.

If, however, you're looking for good cinematography and a creepy atmosphere - in the form of a grand and foreboding castle perched on the edge of a windswept ocean cliff - this one might be up your alley.

It all takes place at Hammond Hall, where the Hammond Monster has been wreaking havoc for quite some time. When it strikes again, injuring Oliver Hammond and killing a woman from the nearby village, an intrepid pair of Scotland Yard detectives turn up to sort things out.

No cowering dames in this one, by the way. Neither Oliver's sister Helga or Scotland Yard's Inspector Christopher are keen to stand around shrieking or wringing their hands.

Though it seems, for a good part of the short running time, that this will turn out to be a monsterless murder mystery, the plot takes a fairly nifty twist in the final stages. Perhaps I'm uncommonly dense, but I didn't see it coming.

Worth a look.

Copyright 2007, William I. Lengeman III