THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL (REVIEW)

Dir. Stuart Heisler

Reviewer. Dan Cook

It’s all a load of monkey business in THE MONSTER AND THE GIRL, a very strange horror crime thriller from director Stuart Heisler that tries to blend courtroom room drama, gangster noir intrigue and the classic creature feature together - with expectedly messy results. While distributed by Paramount, this odd story of a gorilla who goes on a killing spree after his brain is replaced with that of a wrongly executed man is usually lumped in with the rest of the Universal horror canon.

However, it’s quality is far beneath that of the franchise it is erroneously associated, lacking the performances, the atmosphere or writing that many would expect from the Universal series. At times, the giant ape costume convinces better than one would expect and actor Philip Terry does a pretty good job as the guy desperately trying to prove his innocence.

But apart from these choice highlights, there is little reason to watch this bizarre and mostly unremarkable slice of silly schlock.