Just refamiliarized myself with the Japanese/American coproduction "The Green Slime" (1969), which I had not seen in many years. In this one, directed by Kinji Fukasaku, space station he-men Robert Horton and Richard Jaeckel, along with a few others, rocket off to an asteroid that is on a collision course with Earth and blow it to smithereens, but unfortunately, they also bring back to the space station traces of the titular slime. The slime somehow makes it through the decontamination process and quickly morphs into two-legged, one-eyed monsters that squeak and suck energy and electrocute with their flailing tentacles. The two men sure do have their hands full, when not bickering with each other and trying to impress redheaded hotty doctor Lucianna Paluzzi, who looks very fetching indeed. (Could this redheaded female head doctor have possibly been the inspiration for the Beverly Crusher character on "Star Trek: The Next Generation"?) Though deemed quite justifiably a camp classic today, the film yet has many fine aspects to commend itself to the viewer. It is as fun as can be, and the FX range from the hokey to the surprisingly effective. I love that shot of the flaming space station as it falls to Earth at the end; GREAT FX there! And although "The Blob" usually gets the award for the monster movie with the best theme song, the psychedelic number that plays during "The Green Slime"'s opening credits is at least as good, if not better. All in all, most entertaining, and the print that TCM showed recently was absolutely pristine looking and gorgeous to look at....
Review of The Green Slime
