INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER

Ghidorah, the 3-headed monster, on the loose!

INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER (aka Monster Zero; Godzilla vs. Monster Zero; Kaiju daisenso/1965). Director: Ishiro Honda. 

Earth has discovered a new planet, Planet X, beyond Jupiter and send astronauts Glenn (Nick Adams) and Fuji (Akira Takarada) to investigate. There they find seemingly friendly aliens of Oriental cast whose world is constantly besieged by Ghidorah, the flying three-headed monster. If Earth will permit them to transfer Godzilla and Rodan -- who battled and defeated Ghidorah previously -- to Planet X, the aliens will give them a serum that will eliminate all disease. Earth's famous monsters are taken to Planet X, but the world soon learns of the aliens' duplicity. Unless they agree to be ruled by them as a satellite of Planet X, they will destroy the earth with the aid of the three colossal monsters. Meanwhile Fuji's sweet sister Haruno (Keiko Sawai) learns that her nerdy boyfriend Tetsuo (Akira Kubo) may have come up with a way of defeating the aliens. 

Nick Adams and Akira Takarada

Well, one thing you have to say for Invasion of Astro-Monster is that it's certainly colorful, and not nearly as awful as most of the Japanese monster flicks (of which Rodan was one of the better ones). Nick Adams, herein billed as "Nikku Adamusu," (as if anyone would think he was Japanese!), actually gives a perfectly good performance, exhibiting his trademark intensity and grumpiness. Although Adams was born in Pennsylvania, his accent sounds like he was raised in Brooklyn, and it sounds funny hearing his real voice in this Nipponese movie. Adams has the best line, after Fuji voices concern that Rodan and Godzilla will be left behind on Planet X: "Hey, those two have caused us enough trouble! Don't worry -- they'll find their way!"

The aliens of Planet X

The other actors, including Kumi Mizuno as the mysterious Miss Namikawa and Yoshio Tsuchiya as the Controller of Planet X, are all good, and some of the FX work, including many miniatures, is decent. Godzilla, as usual, looks and acts pretty stupid, but the other two creatures are a bit better. They are basically kept in the background until they have an all-out battle towards the end of the movie. 

Verdict: Fun enough if you can tolerate sixties Japanese monster movies -- otherwise, avoid! **1/2. 

20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH

The little Ymir with Joan Taylor and Frank Puglia

20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957). Director: Nathan Juran. 

An expedition from Venus crash lands on earth off the coast of Sicily and dislodges a life form indigenous to that planet, a tiny lizard-like creature with claws and a tail, and a taste for sulfur. Exposed to our environment, the creature quickly grows larger and larger until it is captured, then escapes from a lab to wreak havoc in Rome. The expedition's only survivor, Colonel Robert Calder (William Hopper), sets out to re-capture or kill the beast, although he hopes it can be studied so that future astronauts can survive Venus' deadly environment. 

The Venusian beast advances ... 

20 Million Miles to Earth is special effects man Ray Harryhausen's show all the way, as the lively and well-animated stop-motion monster is the true star of the movie and gets a great deal of footage. Its battle with a dog and a farmer in a barn is notable, as is its escape from the lab in Rome, its fight with an angry elephant, and its exciting and destructive pathway through Rome. The film makes very good use of such locations as the Coliseum, which figures in the finale. 

The ymir gets real big 

While this doesn't diminish the film's entertainment value very much, one might wish it had a better score, and that William Hopper -- although he was fine as Paul Drake on Perry Mason -- was a bit more interesting and dramatic as the leading man. As the female lead, a budding lady doctor named Marisa, Joan Taylor is a bit more peppery. Perhaps the acting honors should go to Frank Puglia, who plays her zoologist grandfather, and to little Bart Braverman as Pepe, who finds the creature when it is still inside its gelatinous sheath, and gets enough money from Marisa's grandpop to buy himself a cowboy hat. Don Orlando also makes an impression as Pepe's father, Mondello. Thomas Browne Henry is on hand as a major-general. If you missed Arthur Space it's probably because he plays a doctor on the expedition who has a disfiguring disease and dies early on in the story. 

Ymir vs elephant

At one point a scientist explains that the beast from Venus has no heart or lungs, but there is no explanation for why it appears to be clearly breathing with its chest rising and falling. One supposes it has a completely different inner structure. Ray Harryhausen, who has a silent cameo in the film, always referred to the Venusian monster as a "ymir," although it is never referred to that way in the film. I watched the colorized, remastered version of the movie, and I must say it was a treat to see it in that format. 

Verdict: Monster vs Rome with the Army intervening. ***. 

THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X

Gaby Andre trapped by a big bug!

THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X (aka The Cosmic Monster/1958). Director: Gilbert Gunn. Colorized.  

In a small British town, the egocentric Dr. Laird (Alec Mango) -- aided by the American Gil Graham (Forrest Tucker of The Crawling Eye) -- is using a machine to transform the properties of elements, a machine that produces a magnetic field that may be expanding far beyond the confines of the laboratory. The beautiful new French assistant, Michelle (Gaby Andre),  seemingly falls in love with the gruff, barely-attractive Gil within five minutes, and vice versa. An outer space visitor who calls himself "Smith" (Martin Benson) warns the both of them that the machine has caused a rift in the ionosphere that has let in cosmic rays that will not only drive some men crazy, but negatively effect the fast breeders, such as insects. On this he is quite correct, as it isn't long before the nearby Briarly Woods is full of giant, hungry, chomping, voracious bugs of all kinds!

Hugh Latimer, Martin Benson, Forrest Tucker

The Strange World of Planet X (Planet X actually turns out to be Earth, as our visitor tells us) is a riot of gruesome close-up bug footage, UFOs, maniacs wandering in the woods, little girls finding huge insect eggs and being told to "boil" them, and a great climax where both Michelle and the new school teacher, Helen (Patricia Sinclair) are trapped in the woods at the same time by huge insects, with Michelle caught in a spider's web and waiting her turn as the arachnid devours a writhing beetle, and Helen caught inside the school house as bugs try to crash through the door and windows. 

Andre and Tucker

At the halfway point, Strange World transforms from a talky if interesting look at a dangerous scientific experiment into, I believe, England's only entry in the big bug sweepstakes that was begun with Them. The actors are all quite professional, spouting the pseudo-scientific talk with utter conviction, and even Tucker sounds as if he has a brain. Others in the cast include Hugh Latimer and Geoffrey Chater as officials who are concerned about Laird's experiments and his lack of concern over what could -- and does -- go wrong. The movie was very loosely based on a novel by Rene Ray (it was also turned into a British TV serial that is now lost) that apparently did not have any giant insects in it. The movie is crude and low-budget, but effective, and the big bugs are even more disgusting in color. You can read about this film and others like it in my tome Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: Perhaps the most gruesome of the giant insect movies. ***. 

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON

Mark Forest as Goliath

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON (aka La vendetta di ercole/1960). Director: Vittorio Cattafavi.

King Eurystheus (Broderick Crawford of Adventures of Nick Carter) covets the kingdom of Thebes and hopes to get it away from the heroic Emilius, who is popularly known as Goliath (Mark Forest of Goliath and the Sins of Babylon). Goliath objects to his brother Illo's (Sandro Moretti) romantic relationship with Thea (Federica Ranchi) because he believes her parents murdered his own. But Illo is convined that Goliath is in love with Thea despite the fact that the muscle man is  married to Dejanira (Leonora Ruffo). In Eurystheus' court there is a sinisterly conspiring courtier, Tindaro (Giancarlo Sbragia), and an equally conspiratorial slave girl named Alcinoe (Wandisa Guida). Before the soap opera can get too thick, there are brief appearances by a phony, fire-breathing three-headed dog, a kind of winged bat-creature in a costume, and a pitiful stuffed bear that doesn't even appear to be alive. And more.

Broderick Crawford and Giancarlo Sbragia

Goliath must enter the Cave of Horror on two occasions: to get back a blood diamond given to him by the Gods, and to rescue his wife from a dragon. This pathetic dragon, which appears on two occasions, is strictly of the Beanie and Cecil variety, with a couple of brief, crude stop-motion shots that would have had Ray Harryhausen crying "foul!" and a big mock-up of its cranium with limited mobility. An interesting sequence has the king using elephants to crush the heads of his enemies (not shown graphically) and Goliath arriving not only to save his brother -- the next victim -- but to lift up the elephant's leg and topple it to the ground (this actually seems to be done by the muscular Forest without the aid of camera trickery). It's hard to judge the acting in this due to the dubbing -- we don't get to hear Crawford's trademark gravelly voice, nor Forest's Brooklyn-born intonations (he looks great in a beard) -- but everyone seems enthusiastic enough, especially Sbragia. The score for the American version is a real hodge-podge. Gaby Andre of The Strange World of Planet X has a very small role. The original title for this was Hercules' Revenge. 

Verdict: If you're looking for decent monsters in this peplum film, look elsewhere. **. 

PHANTOMS

Ben Affleck as the sheriff

PHANTOMS (1998). Director: Joe Chappelle.  

Dr. Jennifer Pailey (Joanna Going) and her younger sister, Lisa (Rose McGowan), arrive in Snowfield where Jennifer has her practice, and discover that the residents are either dead or missing. Sheriff Hammond (Ben Affleck), Deputy Wargle (Liev Schreiber), and others come to investigate, and eventually there are a team of scientists, military personnel, and Timothy Flyte (Peter O'Toole), a writer for a supermarket tabloid who has also penned a tome entitled "The Ancient Enemy." Flyte's theory, which increasingly seems to be true, is that a centuries-old intelligent being that periodically ingests vanished colonies and even civilizations (like the Mayans), has devoured most of the town and is now sadistically playing with those who remain, pretending to be Satan. 

Rose McGowan and Joanna Going

Dean Koontz adapted his own novel, and had to scrap some characters and notions (although the movie could have used another half hour or worked better as a mini-series). Viewers who have never read the chilling novel may like this better, but those familiar with the book will probably be disappointed. Although there are some well-handled scenes, the movie actually becomes a bit boring. The climax lacks the impact of the book, and the movie has even more of a problem than the novel disguising the fact that this is just another variation on The Blob, Caltiki, the Immortal Monster, and -- especially true of the cinematic adaptation -- John Carpenter's version of The Thing. Affleck does okay as the sheriff, while the ladies aren't always convincing trying to react with fear or shock to the variety of horrors. Schreiber probably comes off best as the sleazy deputy who comes back from the dead. O'Toole does what he can with the material. 

Verdict: Has good moments, but the ultimate result is ... meh. **1/2. 

NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST

The scene with the hanging corpse

NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST (1958). Director: Bernard L. Kowalski. Produced by Gene and Roger Corman. Colorized.

An astronaut named John (Michael Emmet) returns to earth in his capsule and appears to be dead. However, he eventually comes to life and blood tests reveal that certain creatures are gestating inside his body. This is, of course, unnerving to his fiancee, Dr. Julie Benson (Angela Greene), as well as colleagues Steve (John Baer), Donna (Georgianna Carter), Dave (Ed Nelson, of T-Bird Gang), and Dr. Wyman (Tyler McVey of Teenage Thunder). An equally disquieting development is that an extraterrestrial creature somehow managed to make it to Earth, a huge thing with a parrot-like head that invades the lab and causes death and havoc. John is convinced the creature is nevertheless benevolent, but the others aren't so sure. 

Concerned trio: Nelson, Emmet, and Baer

Night of the Blood Beast resembles a gruesome horror comic book. Although we now know that spaceship launchings employ hundreds if not thousands of technicians and scientists, this space trip is handled by just this very small group of people. If you can simply accept that this aspect is a convenience of (very) low-budget filmmaking, you might enjoy this rather creepy movie which grows on me each time I see it. Although the reaction to a dead, mutilated corpse might not be as intense as one would have expected, the acting is generally credible. The influences on the later Alien are obvious. Emmet and McVey appeared together in Attack of the Giant Leeches, which was also directed by Kowalksi. Alexander Laszlo reuses the score for that film for Blood Beast. 

Verdict: Color, as usual, adds a new dimension to the horror. ***. 

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019)

Kyle Chandler

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019). Director: Michael Dougherty. 

Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), whose son was killed in the war between Godzilla and other creatures (called MUTOs), wants all of these gigantic monsters destroyed. His nutty ex-wife, Emma (Vera Farmiga), believes that humans have become an infestation in the planet and that these ancient creatures will restore a natural balance -- both humans and MUTOs can live in supposed harmony. Emma forms an alliance with eco-terrorist Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) that even has Emma's young daughter, Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), gagging. 

Ghidorah

Meanwhile Russell and the military do their best to deal with the re-emergence of several major MUTOs (aka "Titans"), including Mothra, a big insectoid creature; Rodan, a pterodactyl-type monster; and an extraterrestrial three-headed dragon known as Ghidorah or Monster Zero. An organization called MONARCH tries to monitor all of them. Will Godzilla prove to be the savior of the human race by defeating these creatures or is he just as terrible a menace as the others?

Godzilla and little people on submarine

Once upon a time monster movies were generally looked down upon by the critical establishment. They were also a lot more fun. Whereas the 1998 Godzilla was a little too humorous (although it had stunning FX work), this Godzilla is way too serious and ponderous, with an inappropriate musical score that tries to make you think you're watching something moving and profound. It isn't. 

Godzilla emerges from the sea

I must admit that all of these Japanese monsters have never looked better, and the CGI in this is marvelous. Unfortunately, much of the time the battles are fought against misty, cluttered and foggy backgrounds, often making the action difficult to follow. However, there is a lively battle between Mothra and Rodan, which the former wins, and Rodan's attack on a fighter squadron is effective. (One poor pilot ejects from his plane only to fly right up into Rodan's mouth!) 

Ken Watanabe

The trouble with Godzilla is that after awhile it's just plain tedious. You don't care about the characters or what happens to them, and you don't give a damn about the big lizard, either. Say what you will about the 1998 Godzilla, that had some thrilling sequences in it (baby Godzillas hatch out of eggs in Madison Square Garden; big Godzilla chases the heroes down Manhattan streets) and there's nothing as exciting as those sequences in this movie. 

Ghidorah

Godzilla: King of the Monsters drags in everything from Edgar Rice Burroughs to H. P. Lovecraft, with talk of a hollow earth (which enables Godzilla to get around the world unseen) and intimating that the Titan monsters are "old gods" who once ruled over the earth. There are also some nods to the original fifties Godzilla (Gojira) in this film. Just as an Asian scientist sacrificed his life to kill Godzilla in the original movie, in this Dr. Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) sacrifices himself to re-energize the monster. The martial music that plays over these and other scenes sounds very similar to the music at the end of Gojira. 

This is a sequel to the 2014 Godzilla and to Kong: Skull Island. Needless to say, Godzilla vs. Kong comes out next year. 

Verdict: Despite some good FX work, even monster geeks may find this a waste of time. **. 

JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH

A T Rex on the attack!

JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH (2025). Director: Gareth Edwards. 

A new expedition goes to the island where the genetically-engineered dinosaurs roam, as blood samples are needed for a drug to prevent heart disease. Naturally millions of dollars are at stake, and some would love to get these samples for major financial gain. Meanwhile, the people in the party -- played by Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, etc. -- have to dodge attacks by various gigantic predators. Complicating matters is a family that has ventured too close to the island and winds up stranded there.  

One big effin fish!

JWR is a perfectly acceptable dino movie with the usual stunning FX work and exciting scenes. The highlights include the attack on the boat by a huge aquatic creature, a scene when a T-Rex goes after the aforementioned family, and a rampage by a huge, flying Quetzelcoatus in a mountain cave. If there's any problem with the movie is that it's too long, with the somewhat annoying family padding out the running time. 

Verdict: One more Jurassic go-round. **3/4. 

THEM!

Joan Weldon about to face a humongous man-eating ant!

THEM! (1954). Director: Gordon Douglas. Colorized. 

Gigantic mutant ants, due to radiation from the first atomic test, have come into being in the deserts of New Mexico. These creatures are not only humongous, but are man-eaters. Sgt. Ben Peterson (James Whitmore), who came across a traumatized little girl (Sandy Drescher), and FBI agent Robert Graham (James Arness), team up with two professors from the Department of Agriculture: Dr. Medford (Edmund Gwenn); and his daughter, Pat (Joan Weldon). They find the nest in New Mexico but then discover that two flying queens have escaped and may have started new nests -- but where? Humankind is facing extinction if they don't find out -- and soon!

Edmund Gwenn and James Whitmore

Despite the fact that their previous monster movie, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, was a tremendous hit, Warner Brothers was nervous about Them! and canceled plans to have it released in color and 3-D. It is still an extremely effective picture, and nowadays it's easy to forget that this was a completely fresh idea back in the day -- Them! ushered in a flood of movies about outsized insects and arachnids of varying quality. The film is bolstered by the performances of James Whitmore and Edmund Gwenn, and Arness and Weldon are professional enough, if a cut below. Other cast members include Onslow Stevens [The Couch], Ann Doran [It, The Terror from Beyond Space], Leonard Nimoy (in a bit), Olin Howland [The Blob], and Sean McClory [Valley of the Dragons]. 

Stevens, Gwenn, Weldon, Arness

When Whitmore notes at the opening that the walls of both a trailer and general store were not pushed inward, a viewer might wonder how the giant ants could get inside these places to push the walls outward. But Whitmore says that the walls were pulled out -- by the giant ants' pincers. However, it's less easy to explain why it's made clear in New Mexico that the ants leave the nest at night to forage, but are inside the storm drains of Los Angeles at night during the climax. One could explain the inconsistencies away by saying these big bugs are mutations, so who knows what they may be up to. One has to assume there were lots of missing persons in L.A. after the ants moved in. The citizenry of Los Angeles certainly take it comparatively calmly -- and accept much too readily -- that the ants exist and are on the loose. No mass exodus? In any case, the Internet Archive has a beautifully  colorized print of Them! As usual, the color adds a new and exciting dimension to the picture. The second half of the film seems a little dragged out, but the climax is eerie and suspenseful. NOTE: You can read more about this movie and others in my book Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies. 

Verdict: Excellent big bug movie is chilling and very effective as both horror and science fiction. ***1/2. 

THE PRIMEVALS

The Yeti on the rampage!

THE PRIMEVALS (1994/2023). Director: David Allen. 

A team which includes Matt Connor (Richard Joseph Paul), guide Siku (Tai Thai), and Dr. Claire Collier (Juliet Mills) goes to the Himalayas to see if they can catch a living yeti (or abominable snowman) after a dead one is exhibited on a college campus. They eventually find themselves in a lush hidden valley where there is not only an alien spaceship, but a race of lizard men who try to pit intruders against the yeti in an arena. The yeti, who is the size of King Kong, seems to be controlled by the nasty lizards ... 

Juliet Mills and Richard Joseph Paul

Most of The Primevals was actually shot in 1994 but not completed for decades. The director, a stop-motion specialist named David Allen, died in 1999 and the rest of the animated footage was done years later. The problem with the movie is that despite all of the fantastic elements, it has no real atmosphere and comes off like a cheap made-for-cable production. The FX work is good, however, the performances are more than adequate, and Richard Band's musical score is a plus. 

Verdict: For fans of stop-motion animation who have always wanted to see this film. **1/2.

THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH

THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH (`964). Produced and directed by Del Tenney. 

After a ship wreck, some dumped atomic waste combines with skeletal remains to form bloodthirsty radioactive creatures that resemble sea horses and attack humans. The first victim is Tina (Marilyn Clarke), the plain girl who acts sluttish to get attention. Her boyfriend, Hank Green (John Lyon), works with Dr. Gavin (Allan Laurel), to come up with a way to defeat the monsters while drawing closer to Gavin's daughter, Elaine (Alice Lyon, John's sister). Meanwhile the attacks continue, including a "slumber party massacre" in which twenty young women are slaughtered. A trio of women are attacked at the quarry where the monsters have relocated, and two drunk men become victims as well. Gavin's housekeeper Eulabelle (Eulabelle Moore) -- simple-minded perhaps but feisty -- is gently mocked by the doctor for suggesting "zombies" are responsible, but as the creatures are, in a sense, living dead men, (giant protozoas) she's more on target than she realizes. 

The Horror of Party Beach combines a creature feature with a typical beach party movie, with scenes of bathing belles, lame jokes, and songs by a group called the Del-Aires. There's also a brief rumble on the beach and other stock elements of the Beach Party genre. Actually the idea for the monsters and some of the sequences are interesting enough that this might have worked much better as a straight horror picture -- it's the beach scenes and music that give it that campy, schlocky aspect. Another problem is that the mimes who play the monsters in their costumes walk more like dancers than a new species of creature. Still, you might get a bit of a frisson when the monsters creep out of their quarry at night and prowl through the forest. A gangling score and sound FX also help. Del Tenny also directed The Curse of the Living Corpse. 

Verdict: Atomic skulls on the rampage! **1/2. 

THE FLESH EATERS

Martin Kosleck, Barbara Wilkin, Rita Morley 

THE FLESH EATERS (1964). Director: Jack Curtis. Written by Arnold Drake. Colorized version.  

Drunken actress Laura Winters (Rita Morley) simply must get to Provincetown to perform, and she hires pilot Grant Murdoch (Byron Sanders) to get her there, dragging along her secretary Jan Letterman (Barbara Wilkin). Unfortunately engine trouble forces them down on a deserted island inhabited by former Nazi scientist Peter Bartell (Martin Kosleck of Agent for H.A.R.M), who is still experimenting with a microscopic lifeform he refers to as "flesh eaters." And he ain't kidding! For unspecified reasons Bartell wants to use electricity to super-energize the little darlings, but this has an unexpected result, causing the creatures to form a conglomerate that is positively huge. 

Byron Sanders and Martin Kosleck

The Flesh Eaters is a wild, gruesome, uninhibited horror story that may not have much internal logic but provides ample opportunity for thrills, amusement and horror. The cast, led by the sinisterly charming Kosleck, is certainly game, and Rita Morley scores as the somewhat overbearing dipsomaniac actress. Although at first he's quite irritating, Ray Tudor is notable as the ill-fated beatnik Omar, whose death figures in the movie's grisliest sequences. There's a splendid scene when Murdoch helps Laura -- trying to grab a suitcase of booze where it got caught in some rocks -- make her way over a pool of sizzling flesh-eaters on a treacherous jetty. The giant flesh eater has mottled, bumpy skin as well as humongous pincers. The score by Julian Stein is not very impressive initially, but eventually it becomes quite effective. Aside from Kosleck, most of the actors had few credits, although Sanders and Morley did work in soap operas. 

Verdict: A clever and inventive monster flick. ***

IT CONQUERED THE WORLD

Graves, Garland, Van Cleef

IT CONQUERED THE WORLD (1956). Produced and directed by Roger Corman. Colorized version. 

Scientist Paul Nelson (Peter Graves of Killers from Space) helped put a satellite in orbit, and when it briefly disappears, his best friend and fellow scientist Tom Anderson (Lee Van Cleef of Machete) insists that a creature from Venus is now aboard it and heading for Earth. Anderson is convinced that the alien is benevolent and will bring about a golden age where foolish emotions are unnecessary. Tom's wife, Claire (Beverly Garland of Gunslinger), thinks her husband is nuts, and Paul argues about the alien's alleged good intentions. Especially when after landing and taking refuge in a cave, the creature blocks all energy and electricity and sends out flying, bat-like animals that briefly attach themselves to certain people's necks and sap their free will -- one of the victims is Paul's wife, Joan (Sally Fraser). Claire finally gets a rifle and decides to take matters into her own hands ...  

The crazed Venusian creature on a rampage

There are an awful lot of things you could quibble about with It Conquered the World, but while the movie is often absurd it is also absorbing. As usual Beverly Garland walks off with the acting honors, although Lee Van Cleef isn't too far behind her with his intense portrayal of a rather naive and delusional scientist. Graves and Fraser are a cut below them, but are adequate. (They have hardly any reaction to a plane crash that occurs virtually on top of them.) Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze are cast as comic relief soldiers and add nothing to the picture, unfortunately. Roger Corman keeps things moving at a brisk pace although the climax is a little dragged out. The Venusian creature may look a little silly and has very limited movement, but Corman manages to get across its malevolence and homicidal intent anyway. The highlight of the film is Garland's impassioned verbal and physical attack on the alien. An uncredited remake was Zontar, the Thing from Venus. 

Verdict: Whatever its flaws, this is a creepy Corman classic. ***.

EARTH VS. THE SPIDER

EARTH VS. THE SPIDER (aka The Spider/1958). Director: Bert I. Gordon. Colorized. 

For inexplicable reasons a gargantuan bird spider which has been snacking on luckless spelunkers decides to come out of its cave and kill the father of high school student Carol Flynn (June Kenney). Science teacher Art Kingman (Ed Kemmer) instructs the authorities, including laconic Sheriff Cagle (Gene Roth), to fill the cavern with gas. Thinking the huge arachnid is dead, the group takes the creature to the high school, where it  is put on display and wakes up during band practice! As it goes on a rampage, Carol and her boyfriend Mike (Eugene Persson) go into the cave to see if they can find a gift that Carol's late father bought for her birthday. Naturally the monster comes back. Now it's a question if the teens, lost in the cave, will die of starvation or become instant bug food! 

There's something oddly likable about The Spider, Bert I. Gordon's imitation of the superior Tarantula, although one could certainly point to plenty of dumb moments and glaring imperfections. The movie could have been a nail-biter but never achieves that level of tension. The cast generally plays it straight, which always helps, and June Kenney is rather good as Carol. Still the actors have to take a back seat to that spider. Its rampage is quite limited, and the last quarter of the film is a bit on the slower side, but the flick is still entertaining if you like creature features. The color, as usual, adds a new dimension. Albert Glasser's score is effective as well. 

Verdict: A fun big bug movie. **3/4.

BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE

pitiful victims of Beast from Haunted Cave

BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE (1959). Directed by Monte Hellman. Produced by Roger Corman.

Handsome ski instructor Gil Jackson (Michael Forest) is unaware that a certain bunch who require his services are actually a gang that needs a place to hide out after stealing gold bars from an office. The head of the gang is Alex (Frank Wolff), who gets increasingly jealous over his girlfriend Gypsy's (Sheila Noonan) attention to Gil. The other thieves are nervous Marty (Richard Sinatra) and the nerdy Byron (Wally Campo). To cause a distraction during the robbery, Byron plants some charges in a nearby mine, inadvertently killing an old man. As the gang hide out in Gil's cabin with his Native housekeeper Small Dove (Kay Jennings), a bizarre, barely seen creature with snagging tentacles comes out of the mine ... 

Michael Forest

Beast from Haunted Cave might have been a more memorable picture if Roger Corman had not just produced but directed, as the film lacks the snappy tension of, say, Attack of the Crab Monsters (which also had a better premise). Charles Griffith's screenplay serves up some moderately interesting but half-baked characters, but it's the acting that makes them come alive, with each member of the cast giving more than the picture is worth. An amusing aspect is that Byron goes into the cave to see if he can save Small Dove after she is carried off by the tentacles, but hero Gil just sort of forgets about her as he tries to run off with Gypsy. Andrew M. Costikyan has contributed some moody and atmospheric photography of the cave and the woods, while Alexander Laszlo's score (Attack of the Giant Leeches) is typically strange but effective. 

Frank Wolff and Sheila Noonan

The squeals of the monster were lifted from Burt Gordon's Earth vs the Spider, and are the sounds of the giant spider. The monster in this, played by Chris Robinson, resembles a hulking, amorphous thingamajig covered in seaweed and webbing and with skinny, pincer-like appendages. It wraps its still-living victims in flimsy cocoons and apparently wants to suck their blood. An unintentionally hilarious scene has Gypsy telling Gil that the gang members are going to kill him, then adding that she intends to "stick around with him" (after he's dead, perhaps?) This movie might have been better if there was more of the monster and less of the gang. Michael Forest, a hunk with talent, appeared in many subsequent productions, as did Wolff. Noonan was also in The Incredible Petrified World but only had a few other credits. 

Verdict: With Corman at the helm this might have been more memorable. **1/4.

DEVIL FISH

Michael Sopkiw, Dino Conti, Valentine Monnier

DEVIL FISH (aka Rosso nell'oceano/1984). Director: Lamberto Bava.  

In Florida a very strange creature -- a forty-foot combination of shark and octopus with the intelligence of a dolphin, a six-foot fanged maw, and which reproduces asexually -- is attacking ships and people. Dr. Hogan (Dino Conti) and his associate Stella (Valentine Monnier) team up with shop owner and diver Peter (Michael Sopkiw) and biologist Dr. Janet Bates (Darla M. Warner) to track and capture the beast. Sheriff Gordon (Gianna Garko) quite sensibly wants to destroy the sucker. An added complication is that there's skulduggery at the West Ocean Institute where Dr. West (William Berger of The Murder Clinic), his faithless wife, Sonja (Dagmar Lassander), and her psychotic lover, Davis (Lawrence Morgant), are keeping secrets about the monster, secrets that get several people murdered. 

Gianni Garko

A low-budget dubbed Italian production with an international cast all speaking their own languages with no CGI or great FX shouldn't work at all, but somehow Devil Fish has enough plot and suspense to keep you watching. Some of the mechanical FX, such as those large wriggling tentacles, are well-done, and at least one attack on a boat and its occupants is somewhat exciting. It isn't quite clear if the creature is a "living fossil" as suggested, or something created to, as one character puts it, "protect an exploitable area," although there's no further explanation -- or motivation -- for this. The actors all seem competent, playing some interesting characters. Possibly due to the editing of the film, important characters who are killed go unmourned by their colleagues and bedmates. You never get a really clear view of the monster, although it is along the lines of a whale with a big, grotesque head and trailing tentacles. 

Verdict: Sadly, there have been much worse Jaws-inspired movies. **1/2. 

KING DINOSAUR

King Dinosaur licks his chops

KING DINOSAUR (1955). Director: Bert I. Gordon.

A new planet named Nova is orbiting around the sun, closer to the Earth than any other planet. A team of four scientists are sent by rocket ship to explore this new world. They are Ralph Martin (William Bryant), his fiancee Pat Bennett (Wanda Curtis), Nora Pierce (Patti Gallagher) and Richard Gordon (Douglas Henderson of Invasion of the Saucer Men). On Nova they discover that the planet is very Earth-like, but as Earth was during the prehistoric era. After encounters with an alligator and a giant ant -- which none of the four even remark upon -- they decide to explore an island and discover it is full of carnivorous monsters! A particularly hungry lizard, referred to improbably as a T-Rex -- hence "King" Dinosaur --  is hell bent on having them for a snack! 

Bryant, Curtis, Gallagher, Henderson

King Dinosaur was the directorial debut for Bert I. Gordon, Mr. BIG, who came out with several movies starring outsized monsters, such as Beginning of the End with its huge grasshoppers. King Dinosaur is not an auspicious debut by any means, but the movie has a certain zero budget charm to it. Although some of the musical score reminds one of a poor man's "Bolero," it whips up some suspense and excitement during the climax on the island. The sound FX are excellent, as they generally are in giant monster flicks. The actions of our heroes are at times inexplicable, and it's also hard to believe that an iguana -- I believe that's what King D actually is -- could beat a crocodile in a fair fight! Both Bryant and Henderson had a long list of credits. Patti Gallagher did only a few films, and Curtis, who was basically a singer, appeared only in this movie. 

     

Verdict: Low-grade monster flick is of interest to Mr. BIG fans. **1/4. 

GODZILLA MINUS ONE

Godzilla

GODZILLA MINUS ONE (2024). Director: Takashi Yamasaki. 

At the very end of WW2 Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is a Japanese kamikaze pilot who hasn't quite got the stuff. Landing on Odo Island where there is a regiment of mechanics, he and the others encounter Godzilla. Koichi is too scared to use his plane's arms to fire at the monster, and everyone but him and engineer Sosaku (Munetaka Aoki) dies. Returning to civilization and a shattered Japan, he hooks up with a young woman, Noriko (Minami Hamabe), who has rescued a little orphaned baby. Wracked with guilt over his cowardice, Koichi resists having a real relationship with Noriko, but they have much bigger problems when Godzilla -- now grown even larger and with an atomic-irradiated body that can shoot out devasting heat beams -- stomps through Tokyo. With no aid coming from any other country and a shattered government, survivors band together to come up with a way to destroy the monster, a plan in which Koichi will play a major role. 

Ryunosuke Kamiki

The original Godzilla film -- the 1954 Gojira -- was much more serious than the almost comical films featuring the monster that followed. This film follows in that tradition, and creates a host of interesting and generally well-developed characters for the viewer to get involved with. The film is too long, unfortunately, and the scenes with these characters may make some people impatient to see Godzilla in action. There aren't enough sequences starring the big guy but they are fairly exciting. This movie uses some of the martial music from the original film as well as Godzilla's classic metallic roar. 

Godzilla on the move!

Godzilla Minus One isn't campy like the American Godzilla with Matthew Broderick, but that film, despite its many flaws, was more entertaining and thrilling, with better FX work. (The FX for Godzilla Minus One won an Oscar!) Godzilla himself looks a little lumpy at times. Still, I have to agree that this flick is probably the best Godzilla film in years and is a vast improvement over a more recent American version and the dreadful Shin Godzilla. The movie also tackles Japanese attitudes towards death and dying. Oddly, the ending when certain principals are reunited may leave a lump in your throat!

Verdict: By reimagining the original Gojira, they have come up with something different. **3/4.  

NIGHT OF THE LEPUS

Carnivorous rabbit on the rampage!

NIGHT OF THE LEPUS (1972). Director: William F. Claxton. 

Husband and wife scientist team Roy (Stuart Whitman of Tender Flesh) and Gerry (Janet Leigh) Bennett are called in to see what they can do about the population explosion of hungry rabbits that are destroying crops in Arizona. Rancher Cole Hillman (Rory Calhoun of Thunder in Carolina) is hoping the couple can come up with something that is ecologically sound. A test bunny escapes from the lab and before you know it there is a new breed of outsized, carnivorous, vicious and very hungry rabbits munching down on horses, cattle -- and people. Oops!

Inept scientists? Leigh and Whitman

Night of the Lepus is played perfectly straight, which is why I've always found it rather charming. There is no attempt to turn the rabbits into monstrously mutated horrors with gigantic fangs and claws -- they just look like bunnies -- but in spite of that the clever editing, close-up photography, and especially the eerie sound FX with squeals and the thumps of heavy footfalls give the rabbits a genuinely menacing aura at times and there are some creepy and suspenseful sequences. There are also hilarious scenes, such as when a cop tells a crowd at a drive-in theater that "there is a herd of killer rabbits heading your way."

Really big bunnies take after pitiful victim

The rabbits are described as being the size of wolves, but in most process shots they appear to be much bigger, at least man-sized, and more often as big as horses or even baby elephants. There are also a lot of shots employing miniature buildings, cars and trucks for the little darlings to play around in. DeForest Kelley of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country plays a friend of the Bennetts. Jimmie Haskell's score is spookily effective. While I can well understand why many people feel this is a terrible movie, I have to say I've always gotten a kick out of it! William F. Claxton also directed Rockabilly Baby.

Verdict: Bugs Bunny's least favorite movie. ***. 

THE CRAWLING EYE

The alien eye creatures go on the attack!

THE CRAWLING EYE (aka The Trollenberg Terror/1958). Director: Quentin Lawrence. Colorized.

Alan Brooks (Forrest Tucker of The Strange World of Planet X) travels to the Trollenberg mountain in Switzerland at the behest of scientist Crevett (Warren Mitchell), whose observatory is studying cosmic rays. Crevett feels that something weird that happened years ago in the Andes is now happening on the Trollenberg. There are strange deaths of climbers, some of whom wind up decapitated, and a radioactive cloud that is able to move independently. All of this is disturbing to Anne Pilgrim (Janet Munro), who is one half of a telepathic act with her sister Sarah (Jennifer Jayne), and who picks up "thoughts" from whatever it is on top of the Trollenberg. Brooks and the sisters, along with reporter Philip Truscott (Laurence Payne of The Tell-Tale Heart), try not to panic when the cloud starts moving downwards towards the village and they finally see what's inside ...

Telepathic: Janet Munro picks up signals from the mountain

Based on a British mini-series, The Crawling Eye is a highly creepy and suspenseful horror show with more than competent acting, an eerie premise, and several memorable sequences. The FX work is crude and low-budget, but nevertheless effective, and there's a good score by Stanley Black (there's an especially nice passage during a scary sequence at a cabin which is slowly being enveloped by a freezing mist). A particularly tense scene occurs when the cable on the car taking frightened passengers up to the observatory begins to freeze ... As usual in films of this nature, there is plenty of illogic. When one little girl leaves her mother's side near the lower landing of the cable car to look for her ball in the inn below, one can't imagine this toddler being able to make it such a distance in so short a time. (This could have been corrected if the shot of the inn made it seem much closer.) The sequence in the cabin as shot also seems a bit impossible. But the movie is such gruesome fun that it scarcely matters. The color definitely adds a new dimension. 

Verdict: Giant eyeballs with tentacles, severed heads -- what more can you ask for? ***.