Okay, here's another one of those films I'll have to list in my "underrated" category. I'd call it a "guilty pleasure" if I didn't think that term is ridiculous in general; for I enjoy this always-maligned monster-on-the-loose movie, and I don't feel in the least ashamed of that. It's customary to tear it to shreds, though, and I believe that's mainly because people cannot fathom the idea of Hollywood Legend Joan Crawford "lowering" herself to star in what most would consider to be "such stupid trash". Besides which, TROG was her last movie.
How seriously can you take a movie about a prehistoric missing link that pops up in the 20th Century and has Mommie Dearest caring for it? Well, Crawford is actually quite good and takes her part seriously; if there was any regret in her mind doing this type of movie, it doesn't show on the screen. She plays a doctor who takes an interest in the primitive half-ape, half-man (she names him Trog, short for troglodyte) who is prone to savagery when provoked, but who can be tamed with love and care. Michael Gough, England's always over-ripe bad guy, is deliciously sinister as a selfish Realtor who wants to destroy the misplaced creature, and he's got some good villainous dialogue at times (for example, when Crawford says she wants to study Trog, he rants: "Kill it first... THEN study its hide!!").
There are actually some pretty graphic "kill" scenes for this type of film (the butcher shop scene comes to mind, long before there was a certain CHAIN SAW MASSACRE flick), and Trog himself is capable of being not only fearsome, but also a pitiable victim at times. His simian face is enhanced by an electronic muzzle that manages to move and twitch much like an actual ape's, and that's something not even the exceptional PLANET OF THE APES makeups did during this same period. I also like the visual look of the movie, as directed by Freddie Francis (himself often underrated in this genre), and this includes one really cool "jump shock" sequence featuring Gough's nightly encounter with the beast ... but I won't spoil it. High cinematic art? No, of course not -- but a fun way to enjoy a campy monster film one night when you're in the mood for one. That is all this movie needs to be. ^^1/2 out of ****
How seriously can you take a movie about a prehistoric missing link that pops up in the 20th Century and has Mommie Dearest caring for it? Well, Crawford is actually quite good and takes her part seriously; if there was any regret in her mind doing this type of movie, it doesn't show on the screen. She plays a doctor who takes an interest in the primitive half-ape, half-man (she names him Trog, short for troglodyte) who is prone to savagery when provoked, but who can be tamed with love and care. Michael Gough, England's always over-ripe bad guy, is deliciously sinister as a selfish Realtor who wants to destroy the misplaced creature, and he's got some good villainous dialogue at times (for example, when Crawford says she wants to study Trog, he rants: "Kill it first... THEN study its hide!!").
There are actually some pretty graphic "kill" scenes for this type of film (the butcher shop scene comes to mind, long before there was a certain CHAIN SAW MASSACRE flick), and Trog himself is capable of being not only fearsome, but also a pitiable victim at times. His simian face is enhanced by an electronic muzzle that manages to move and twitch much like an actual ape's, and that's something not even the exceptional PLANET OF THE APES makeups did during this same period. I also like the visual look of the movie, as directed by Freddie Francis (himself often underrated in this genre), and this includes one really cool "jump shock" sequence featuring Gough's nightly encounter with the beast ... but I won't spoil it. High cinematic art? No, of course not -- but a fun way to enjoy a campy monster film one night when you're in the mood for one. That is all this movie needs to be. ^^1/2 out of ****