El hombre y el monstruo

El Hombre y el Monstruo, known to English audiences as The Man and the Monster is a great little horror flick. Raphael Baledon was responsible for a few great horror films during this period and this is one of them although the makeup used on the monster is often criticized because of a lack luster job they did on it. All I can say is, if you can get passed the corny mask it's a very well made horror movie. See the monster for what he is and get into the whole faustian story of the film. I think it's very well directed, edited and photographed. THe Man and the Monster is very brooding, serious and morbid and contains all the great elements that Mexi-horror had to offer at this period. Enrique Rambal is a joy and gives a fantastic performance as the isolated, desperate and jaded man willing to sell his soul to the devil for a shot at greatness. If you like classic horror then El Hombre y el Monstruo is a perfect film for one of those evenings when your in the mood for something different.

"The Man and the Monster" is another supreme Mexican horror accomplishment from the vintage late 50's/early 60's era. It's not as brilliant as "The Black Pit of Dr. M" or as petrifying as "The Curse of the Crying Woman", but nonetheless this movie benefices from a compelling storyline as well as from terrific scenery and devoted acting performances. Reminiscent of the legendary "Faust" as well as "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" tales, the script revolves on a middle-aged pianist who sold his soul to the devil (extendedly explained during a fabulously macabre flashback) in order to become the greatest musician in the world. Of course, since all deals with Lucifer soon turn out to be fishy, Samuel quickly discovers his success comes at a high price. Whenever his finest composition of music is played, Samuel transforms into an aggressive werewolf-like monster that can only be tamed by his domineering mother. They conceal corpses in their house and attempt to break the curse by training a gifted female acolyte on the piano, but journalist Ricardo Souto comes close to uncovering the horrific secrets. The continuously uncanny atmosphere of "The Man and the Monster" is simply irresistible to avid fans of Gothic horror cinema and, even though many people criticize the make-up effects, I personally thought the monstrous effects were rather acceptable, especially considering the film's year of release. Several sequences are beautifully choreographed and almost artsy, like for example when Samuel literally begs his mother to play the piano and she eventually silently consents by handing him the key to the front door. "The Man and the Monster" is a beautiful, enchanting and immensely atmospheric period piece. Perhaps not intended for the nowadays horror-audiences, but undeniably a masterful film.

A friend of mine found this DVD at a flea market, and thought the cover looked pretty cool. He popped it in while I was there, and we prepared for a gorefest. What we didn't prepare for was a 50's mexican horror about someone selling their soul. Not bad, actually, except the dubbing sounds silly sometimes, and the monster is more laughable than frightening.

However, this film gets props as having the funniest methods of having a cat jump out of a womens arms. Three times throughout the movie, a woman is holding a cat, and instead of just letting it down, the filmmakers decided to tie some fishing line to the thing, and yank it out of her arms. The funniest thing had to be the noises that came from the cat. That alone made this movie more than worth it. If you can ever find it cheap, it's worth a good laugh.

Rafael Baledón's The Curse of the Crying Woman was practically unknown until it received a DVD release from the now defunct Casa Negra; and ever since has been considered something of a classic by the majority of horror fans that have seen it; myself included. I didn't go into his earlier film "The Man and the Monster" expecting anything near as good; and it's a good job really because while this film has its moments and is certainly a worthwhile slice of Mexican horror; it's also rather flawed and borrows from a lot of better films. The plot focuses on Samuel Magno; a failed pianist who, dismayed by his lack of talent, makes a pact with Satan himself. He gets to become the greatest pianist in the world; but the catch is that every time he plays the piano, he turns into a monster. With help from his mother (who is the only one that can tame him while he's a monster), he tries to break the curse by training a young girl in the art of the piano; but an enthusiastic journalist threatens to expose the whole thing.

The plot is fairly interesting and features enough different elements to ensure that there's always something going on. However, the film moves rather slowly and we're never really made to care about the central character, which can make plugging into his plight a problem. The central plot takes obvious influence from the classic 'Faust' story; but it doesn't work as well here. The fact that Satan makes the central character turn into a monster every time he plays the piano really just makes The Lord of Darkness seem petty since he's not actually getting any benefit from it (unlike Faust, whose soul he bought). The make up effects are not great and look rather like an over the top version of the monster effects in The Wolf Man; although I did actually find them rather easy to get on with. The film is rather artfully done and several sequences are really good; the all-explaining flashback sequence being among the best of them. Overall, this is still a decent horror film and one certainly worth seeing; but it's hardly among the best to come out of Mexico and I wouldn't give it high recommendations.

Man and the Monster, The (1958)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Mexican film about a concert pianist who sells his soul to Satan in exchange for him to become a great musician. The only downside is that he also turns into a hairy, murderous monster. I was somewhat letdown by this film but overall it was a pretty good movie but it takes way too long for the story to get started and the monster isn't used nearly enough. The screenplay does allow time for the relationship between the man and his mother to grow and this here is actually the best thing about the movie. I'm not sure if this film was meant to be a version of Jekyll and Hyde because it does share some of the same ideas even though the monster appears to be more of a werewolf with a rat's face. The monster make up is cheap but effective. Original title: Hombre y el monstruo, El.