"TWICE THE THRILLS! TWICE THE CHILLS!"

"TWICE THE THRILLS! TWICE THE CHILLS!" Horror and Science Fiction Double Features, 1955 - 1974. Bryan Senn. McFarland; 2019. 

In this genuinely thrilling and well-written -- and humongous -- tome, author Senn covers all of the famous and infamous double-bills from various production companies (including AIP and Hammer Studios) throughout the fifties, sixties and early seventies. Senn writes with flair and intelligence about these mostly "B" horror/sci-fi/exploitation flicks, and it may make you want to revisit some of these gems or search out any movies that you have yet to see. They're all here, starting with Revenge of the Creature and Cult of the Cobra, continuing on with The Wasp Woman and Beast from Haunted Cave as well as Joan Crawford in Berserk and Torture Garden and winding up with Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell and Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter. Senn doesn't condescend to these movies, no matter how low the budget, and thank goodness he sticks to accurate and informative analysis instead of pretentious psycho-twaddle. Of course you're not going to agree with his estimation of every movie, some of which he likes way better than I do (and vice versa), but that's just part of the fun. A minor complaint is that Senn perhaps spends too much space on those atrocious Andy Milligan films -- even reading about them is a bit tiresome -- but he is nothing if not complete. Oversized trade paperback that is packed with illustrations. 

Verdict: If you love these kinds of movies, this book is a rare treat! ***1/2.

JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET

Carl Ottosen and John Agar

JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET (1961). Producer/Director: Sidney Pink. 

In the year 2001 humankind has solved all of its problems and there is no war or fear of annihilation; the United Nations is the "sole governing body" of the planet. Spaceship Explorer 12, which has an international, if all-male, team of astronauts, is sent on a mission to explore Uranus, the seventh planet of our solar system. Landing on Uranus, the men expect to find a frozen wasteland, but instead they see lush forest land -- and babes! Is this yet another "Space Babes on the Moon" type fantasy a la Missile to the Moon? Not exactly. 

Just what the captain expects to find on Uranus

We learn early on that some kind of unseen presence has entered the minds of the astronauts and gleaned all of their secrets --  their hopes and dreams as well as their fears and nightmares. Lover boy and captain Don Graham (John Agar) runs into some of the beautiful women he knew back home, including Greta (Greta Thyssen). Commander Eric (Carl Ottosen) encounters the one woman he ever loved and lost years ago, Ingrid (Ann Smyrner). Svend (Louis Miehe-Renard) was always scared of rats, so he faces a giant materialization of a kind of rodent-monster. Meanwhile the evil presence that has overtaken Uranus -- a big brain with a glowing eye -- has taken up residence in frigid caverns below the surface where the team will have to try and destroy it. The ladies, of course, are just manifestations of this same creature, but it takes the guys awhile to realize this, and the Commander never does, wanting to bring the malevolent presence back to earth in the form of Ingrid!

pathetic rodent-monster

Journey to the Seventh Planet is a Danish science-fiction film released in the U.S. after some fiddling by AIP. When the nasty alien conjures up a giant arachnid to bedevil the men, the footage is actually from Bert I. Gordon's Earth vs the Spider, albeit tinted. The film's other monster is a pathetic, one-eyed clawed alleged rodent monster that is brought to life by fifth-rate stop-motion animation. Strangely, in the early sections as the men wander around wondering what on Uranus is going on, the film comes off like a Twilight Zone episode, and then seems more like early Star Trek, with similar shenanigans (aliens casting illusions and so on) and cheap production values. Despite its many flaws, Seventh Planet does work up a bit of suspense and holds the attention, although it wears out its welcome after about an hour with more than a quarter hour to go. The music is effective and there's a pleasant enough theme song at the end. 

Verdict: Watchable enough if not that memorable. **1/2.