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Reviews
The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher (1979)
Very underrated film
After waiting nearly twenty years to see The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher, I was not disappointed. This is one of Ray Dennis Steckler's best films, rivaling his classic cheapies from the sixties.
A lot of people probably look at this one as a cheap slasher flick (emphasizing the cheap, since it was filmed without sound). I suppose the slasher film fans found it disappointed because the slasher aspect was pretty limited (and the blood was rather obviously fake), but I found it to be rather entrancing for some reason, maybe because of that. The cinematography was great, the choice of locations was excellent (seeing all those old porn shops and what not that you really don't have anymore to provide local color to an area was enjoyable). There's a surreal reality to it all, from the nearly-glowing red blood on the slasher's victims, to seeing all of the movie memorabilia in the used book store that Carolyn Brandt's character works in (that poster for Last of the Wild Horses is something I'd slash someone for too).
This has to be one of the quirkiest "love" stories you will ever watch. For some reason, about the only movie I can think of compare it to is Daughter of Horror (without all the Dali-esquire imagery, of course).
This film is definitely worth a viewing, whether you're a Ray Dennis Steckler fan or not.
La tumba de los muertos vivientes (1982)
Interesting make-up and not much else
There's not a whole lot to keep viewers enraptured with Oasis of the Zombies. A couple of girls in short shorts ... some interesting zombie make-up. That's about it.
The majority of the production comes across as a student film or a badly-staged Turkish action movie. There's a lot of day-for-night filming with no attempt to filter things to make it look even close to early evening. There's a tank running around with its turret spun so it is pointing at it's own troops while moving. And there are kids that are even more stupid then the dumbest kids in the cheapest American slasher flick.
The only thing to recommend in it is that there are some interesting make-up jobs on some of the Nazis. Other than that, and the cute girls that get killed early on, this movie's barely good for background noise if your radio's broken.
Il pianeta errante (1966)
Just plain boring
This movie commits the only cardinal sin, in my book at least, that makes a movie bad - it is boring.
The movie's basically a slow version of Gorath, using sets and equipment that appear to be culled from Battle of the Worlds or Assignment Space. The effects are pretty laughable compared to either of those two movies (which don't rate too high in the scheme of things themselves).
The acting's pretty bad, and I don't think the dubbing contributes to that ... everyone's performance looks as though they were phoned in.
Great film if you are an Italian Sci-Fi completist ... otherwise rent Battle of the Worlds or Day the Sky Exploded instead.
Die Nackte und der Satan (1959)
Much Much better than I thought it would be
The Head was a much more enjoyable movie than I would have thought, given the other user comments I have seen. I found it to be a very entertaining film, with some atmospheric photography and a fairly engaging storyline.
It kind of reminded me of a cross between The Brain That Wouldn't Die and Atom Age Vampire ... though just an idea from the former, coupled with the stylishness of the other film.
The film is a little disjointed in the beginning, as it takes a bit to decide whether its a Gothic horror film or a modern sci-fi mystery, but once things get going, the movie is fairly engrossing until the end.
Devil Monster (1946)
Not as bad as people say ... but still not all that great
My criteria for a true bad movie is one that is either just plain boring or just plain stupid. Highlander 2 is an example of the latter, while Devil Monster is a pretty good example of one that's just boring.
This cheapie is another movie that's basically ten minutes of story and fifty minutes of travelogue. Too much nature footage detracted from the already-scant story. The story that's there is pretty much just a minor melodrama, probably more at home in a silent movie (in which most of the principal actors would've also more at home). About the only really interesting bit is the fact that the hero doesn't get the girl at the end. Most of what passes for special effects are just crudely done opticals, but they don't really detract from the film as much as one would think.
I'd love to see The Sea Fiend (the movie from which this one was edited) to see if what they took out made things go any more interestingly.
The 27th Day (1957)
Excellent rarely-seen science fiction flick
The 27th Day is a rather well-written science fiction movie, and it is a shame that it isn't shown on television more often (or more readily available on some home video format).
The plot is interesting in that this time Earth is beset by a passive-aggressive alien who give five people the means to destroy all human life on the planet (since the aliens themselves are non-violent and non-aggressive) so that they can move to this planet from their own dying world. The alien then informs the entire planet of the five's identities and chaos ensues as both the people and their governments have to come to terms with this new escalation in the Cold War.
The movie is well-acted and the story is fairly solid, though I didn't really care for the way one of the protagonists was able to alter the way the alien's devices worked to bring about an end to "enemies of freedom" everywhere. Beyond that minor flaw, I would definitely recommend watching this movie when you get the chance, genre fan or not.
Piranha (1972)
Not a heckuva lot happens
Let's see: what are the advantages to watching Piranha, Piranha? Well, if you've never seen anything to do with Venezuela, there's a lot of travelogue footage of both Caracas and the countryside (and jungle-side), and of the various native peoples at work and play, as well as plenty of indigenous wildlife. If you like William Smith, he plays a bit of a git (as he has always been wont to do).
And that's about it. If it wasn't for William Smith, this could probably pass as a fund-raising film for Save the Children or some other organization that benefits the "third world". The only time you really see the fish of the title is during the opening credits. No mutant killer fish like in Roger Corman's singly-named Piranha. You'd figure with twice the fish in the title there would be twice as many monster fish preying on the characters, but alas, this is not the case.
The story starts with a photojournalist and her brother coming to Venezuela to do a story on one of the last untouched places on the planet, but their motivation quickly changes to one of wanting to find diamonds, which are apparently fairly plentiful there.
There's not a lot of real action or danger in this movie. What could've been an exciting motorcycle race is dulled by the mass of landscape and animal footage that is inserted in it to draw out the films running time. There's not a whole lot more action until the last fifteen minutes or so of the movie (which is probably about how long the movie would last without all the traveloguery).
In my view, the only ways that a movie can really be a BAD movie is to be boring or incredibly stupid. Piranha, Piranha certainly qualifies for that former badge, and is pretty damn close to the second. The only reason I won't rate it a "1" is that the added footage is more interesting than the rest of the movie.
El sonido de la muerte (1966)
Much better than I would've expected
Sound of Horror was a very pleasant surprise. I bought it as part of Mill Creek Entertainment's Tales of Terror boxed set, and was expected a bad seventies flick along the lines of the Legend of Bigfoot. Instead, I get what has to be one of the better Spanish sci-fi/horror flicks that I've ever seen.
True, the fact that the monster is an invisible dinosaur is, to say the least, somewhat lame. But it is carried off fairly well here, as there is a lot of suspense maintained in the film when it really counts. There are few real special effects, with only about three actual optical process shots. The cast is excellent, though the characterizations are pretty stereotypical for the time period.
I think that Sound of Horror most reminded me of a Mexican horror movie from the sixties ... but a good one without the expository narration to explain what's happened in the last three films. I enjoyed this movie, and would recommend any genre fans to give it a look.
Night of the Blood Beast (1958)
Makes a tad more sense than a lot of Corman's Sci-Fi Flicks
For a Roger Corman movie, Night of the Blood Beast had somewhat higher production values than most. Maybe that was because Corman was just Executive Producer on this one. The special effects were actually pretty good, and the monster costume wasn't all that bad. The story also seemed a bit more believable than a lot of his oeuvre. The acting was fairly good for a genre pic, and the cast was very believable.
The only thing that really annoyed me about the movie was a number of scenes in which the characters were able to get a blood pressure reading off of a presumed-dead body (with no heartbeat) ... those elicited a definite groan from me.
This was one of about ten sci-fi movies from the fifties that I hadn't seen until it showed up in the "Tales of Terror" boxed set from Mill Creek Entertainment.
If you're a fan of the genre, definitely give it a look if you get the chance ... its no Quatermass, but its also no UFO: Target Earth, either.
End of the World (1977)
If you like watching people do a lot of nothing, this is the film for you
This film had a great cast going for it: Christopher Lee, Dean Jagger, Macdonald Carey, Lew Ayres -- solid b-movie actors all. But this downer of a movie didn't use any of them to any sort of advantage, with none of their characters even meeting on screen (though Christopher Lee does get to play opposite himself in several scenes).
The motivations for the aliens in this movie seem to change at the drop of a hat. First, they just want to repair their ship and leave, then they turn on the main character by killing most of his friends and not releasing his wife after he gets them the crucial part they need. Then, out of nowhere, this "peaceful" race decides they have to destroy the planet because it causes too many "diseases" (though they do offer the main character and his wife a spot in their society).
Most of the film is spent watching the man and wife drive or walk or stand around or sit at desks doing nothing. You almost wish they had gotten taken out with the rest of the planet at the end, just in vengeance for boring us to death.
Unless you really like Chris Lee or seventies low-budget sci-fi, I'd give this one a miss. It falls into that narrow range of wasted celluloid between Star Odyssey and UFO: Target Earth.
Invasion from Inner Earth (1974)
Just like every other Bill Rebane Sci-Fi movie ...
in that the ending makes no sense whatsoever.
This film is parsecs away better than, say, Highlander 2 or UFO: Target Earth, but it doesn't have the naive charm of Rebane's Monster A Go-Go. It was just a mediocre SF film until the ending ... very seventies in characterization ... but with no real hints as to the real motivations of the "invaders", the ending makes no sense. If an invading force is killing everyone, why create (and I assume the invaders created them) a new Adam & Eve from the last two survivors from the lodge? I liked the claustrophobic feel of the lodge, and the presentation of the story came close to having the same feel of something like Night of the Living Dead or Invisible Invaders. But on the theme and story as a whole, it really wasn't pulled off right ... we the audience just didn't get the information we needed to figure things out either before or with the characters.
UFO: Target Earth (1974)
One of the worst movies I've ever seen ...
... and I've seen everything Phil Tucker and Ed Wood directed.
UFO Target Earth is, quite simply, the single most boring movie I've ever seen. It tries to be artsy, but falls flat on its face. It tries to be a mini-2001 A Space Odyssey, but fails again. It tries to be slow and tedious and tries to go nowhere, which is succeeds in spectacularly.
The story is somewhat indecipherable (becoming more so at the end) and the acting is leaden - particularly the star.
The special effects are limited to some lame colors and shapes appearing on a video monitor, a 2001-esque ride to the "beyond" ala a planetarium laser light show, one cartoony spaceship at the end.
I can almost always find something to recommend about a movie, particularly a sci-fi movie, but this one just left me sleepy. Don't waste your time with UFO Target Earth ... and if you had the misfortune to purchase a copy, do your best to get your money back.
Doomsday Machine (1976)
Worth a watch if you like the genre
The Doomsday Machine immediately brings to mind such films as Journey to the Seventh Planet, The Wizard of Mars, and Space Probe Taurus, in terms of the film's quality of execution and special effects. Having seen many a "bad" sci-fi film in my day, I recognized most of the SFX as coming from other movies (Gorath and Robinson Crusoe on Mars, predominately) or NASA launch/separation footage, and a lot of repetition of those as well. The only new effects seem to be the ending, and they don't fit in well with the rest of the picture (well, the end just doesn't fit at all, since it was made about six or seven years after the rest of the picture). The La-Z-Boy launch couches are pretty funny when you first see them, and I swear some of the equipment in the spaceship has been cannibalized from other movies I've seen.
The storyline is mildly interesting, but it just isn't followed through on properly, and things degrade to a somewhat barbaric level on the spaceship far too quickly (with Grant Williams' character going psycho speedily and with no real foreshadowing, at least for me, since my experience with Williams has been limited to basically just his Everyman character from The Incredible Shrinking Man).
I'm a fan of this genre and I enjoy the cheapie movies better than most of the big budget escapades, since its always enjoyable to try and determine the creators' rationale for what he's doing (and its always fun to riff along to the movie on my own). If you like film science fiction, rent this one if you can find it.
I remember seeing this one as a Sinister Cinema offering back in the late eighties/early nineties, but never got around to getting it. The copy I watched is in the Nightmare Worlds collection from Mill Creek Entertainment (along with a mess of other good/bad movies from around the same time period), making it a fairly good purchase for the price (less than $20 on eBay).