Baledon's hugely enjoyable combination of Jekyll, Hyde and Faust centres on Samuel (Rambal), a pianist of average ability who sells his soul in return for advancement to the top of his profession. Enter one Richard Sandro (Salazar) who encounters a mutilated woman at the point of death, and endeavours to track down the beast responsible for her demise.
Clocking in at just under the 80 minute mark, The Man And The Monster makes good use of a neat, well structured plot and features several splendid performances which convey the tragic elements of a familiar premise. Granted, the makeup and transformation scenes aren't exactly out the top drawer, but it's easily understood and even easier to forgive when there's so much else to enthuse over: the scene where Samuel waits as a pupil - a young girl - plays a tune that will change him from man to monster is supremely difficult to watch, while the presence of a corpse sat upright in a chair listening to her music from years earlier, has all the macabre overtones of prime Italian gothic. There's a stunning final act, too, as Samuel's protege (the excellent Roth) performs a public recital of Tchaikovsky's Concerto # 2 with Sandro in the audience, willing her to hit the notes that may bring an end to the nightmare - think the 'crash of the cymbals' scene from The Man Who Knew Too Much.
One of the very best offerings from the weird world of Mexican horror, and therefore worthy of wider recognition.
