THE WASP WOMAN

Susan Cabot

THE WASP WOMAN (1959). Produced and directed by Roger Corman. 

Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot), the head of a once-flourishing cosmetics company, has a problem. Now hitting forty, she uses younger models in her ad campaigns, but now the sales are falling off because these models don't have an image that registers with consumers as she does. She realizes that she might not only save her company but look young again when she is contacted by Dr. Zinthrop (Michael Mark), who tells her he's developed an enzyme from wasps that has remarkable properties. Alas, it also has a deadly side effect, and before long people in the building start disappearing. A hideous woman with a freakish wasp-like face is on the loose! 

The Wasp Woman on the rampage!

The wasp paralyzes and devours her victims while they're still alive. This last aspect is sort of glossed over (one can imagine it would take Janice quite some time to completely consume the hefty watchman played by Bruno Ve Sota), and there isn't much real on-screen bloodshed in the movie. The pic isn't that well-paced, either, but its last quarter has some exciting sequences, such as when the Wasp Woman attacks a nurse and drags her off for dinner. Susan Cabot is very good in the lead, although one never knows exactly how much she remembers of her exploits once she's turned into the buzzing, hungry horror. Barboura (sic) Morris is a secretary, and the board members include Anthony Eisley, Roy Gordon [Attack of the 50 Foot Woman], and William Roerick. Leo Gordon's screenplay has its amusing elements and some good dialogue to go with it. Fred Katz's brassy score is unusual, but I'm not certain it's the best kind of score for this kind of horror flick. This is one of those movies that you can't take seriously but nevertheless has its depressing aspects because the characters are in such an utterly hopeless situation. 

Verdict: Cute little Corman horror film. **1/2.