‘They only keep the ones they need’ The Emeryville Experiments is a 2016 American horror feature film written and directed by Indian-born Pritesh N. Chheda (For Sale By Owner). The movie stars Don Daro, Eric Reinholt and Deborah Abbott. Plot: When their car crashes, four college students seek help in Emeryville – a dilapidated village. Newcomers discover that place was once a...
The Emeryville Experiments – USA, 2016
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla – USA, 1952
‘A horror film that will stiffen you with laughter!’ Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla is a 1952 comedy horror science fiction feature film directed by William Beaudine from a screenplay by Tim Ryan with additional dialogue by ‘Ukie’ Sherin and Edmond G. Seward. The Realart Pictures production stars Bela Lugosi, Duke Mitchell, Sammy Petrillo (a duo that impersonated Dean...
Tender Dracula – France, 1974
Tender Dracula, or Confessions of a Blood Drinker – original title: Tendre Dracula or, alternately, La Grande Trouille “The Big Funk” – is a 1974 French comedy horror feature film directed by Pierre Grunstein. The movie stars Peter Cushing, Alida Valli, Miou-Miou, Bernard Menez and Nathalie Courval. Review: A frantic television executive dispatches two bungling writers...
The Curse of the Screaming Dead aka Curse of the Cannibal Confederates – USA, 1982
The Curse of the Screaming Dead is a 1982 American horror feature film directed by Tony Malanowski from a screenplay written by Lon Huber. It was picked up for distribution in 1987 by Troma Entertainment and retitled Curse of the Cannibal Confederates. The film follows six young friends who unwillingly raise the undead corpses of Confederate soldiers, resulting in what the video box promises as a &
Sharkenstein – USA, 2016 – reviews
‘Man’s greatest monster is back!’ Sharkenstein is a 2016 American horror feature film directed by Mark Polonia (Queen Crab; Amityville Death House; Bigfoot vs Zombies) from a screenplay by J.K. Farlew. It stars Greta Volkova, James Carolus and Titus Himmelberger. Polonia and Brett Piper (Queen Crab) handled the special effects. Plot: In the final days of World War II...
The Chill Factor aka Demon Possessed – USA, 1989
‘Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the slopes…’ The Chill Factor – aka Demon Possessed – is a 1989 American supernatural horror feature film produced and directed by Christopher Webster (producer of Severed Ties; Mindwarp; Children of the Night) from a screenplay written by Julian Weaver (The Inheritor; Trapped Alive). The movie stars Dawn Laurrie...
Zombex – USA, 2013 – reviews
8216;A revolutionary treatment guaranteed to ease your mind. Permanently.’ Zombex is a 2013 American science fiction horror feature film about an anti-depressant drug that turns the residents of New Orleans into zombies. Written and directed by musician-turned-filmmaker Jesse Dayton, the Baumant Entertainment production stars Lew Temple (Between the Darkness; Feral; The Endless)...
After School Lunch Special – USA, 2019 – preview
8216;A movie so good you’ll ask for seconds’ After School Lunch Special is 2019 American comedy horror anthology feature film written, produced and directed by Andrew J Chambers. “Eight gut-wrenching tales of terror to tickle your funny bone and leave your brain a rotting pile of steaming excrement.” Cast and characters: Alex Abate … Jerry Nick Allen ….
Monster a-Go Go – USA, 1965 – reviews of one of the worst films of all-time
Monster a-Go Go is a 1965 American science-fiction horror feature film directed by Bill Rebane (Blood Harvest; The Demons of Ludlow; The Capture of Bigfoot; The Giant Spider Invasion) and Herschell Gordon Lewis (uncredited). The movie stars Phil Morton and June Travis. It is generally considered to be one of the worst films ever.
The film had an unusual production history. Director Rebane ran out of money while making the film. Lewis, who needed a second film to show with his own feature, Moonshine Mountain, bought the existing footage, added a few extra scenes and some dialogue, and then released it, creating an odd, disjointed film with little continuity.
Rebane had abandoned his feature in 1961; Lewis did not finish his version until 1965 and so was unable to gather all of the original cast, resulting in almost half the characters disappearing midway through the movie to be replaced by other characters who fill most of the same roles.
Plot:
A spaceship is sent into orbit to investigate mysterious satellites. The ship returns to Earth but crashes in a remote field. The astronaut is missing and the helicopter pilot who investigates the crash landing scene is found dead.
Other victims are soon found, seemingly having been”cooked to death” in a horrible manner. It seems that the astronaut has metamorphosed into the enormous, strange mutated creature (played by real giant Henry Hite) responsible for the grisly deaths…
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“It takes a true connoisseur to find anything of the slightest interest in Monster a Go-Go. The casual viewer will see only an uncommonly inept example of a genre five years past its expiration date, an Amateur Night fiasco that makes even The Beast of Yucca Flats look accomplished in comparison. And of course, they’ll be right about that.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
“You would expect more from a movie that was directed by two people, one of which being the great H.G. Lewis, but it still sucks. Everything from the terribly recorded sound to the monster, who’s just a tall guy with some bad skin who hugs people to death.” Video Dead
“Monster A Go-Go is definitely not the worst movie of all time, that dubious distinction is better served with many of the fan films shot on VHS and phone cameras on the half dozen Pendulum Pictures 50 Movie Packs released from Mill Creek.” Oh, the Horror!
“For once, the hype is accurate, every bit of it. The Chicago-based Monster A-Go Go really is one of a kind — a movie so god-awful it’s almost “anti-art,” in a way that might appeal more to appreciators of David Lynch and underground art cinema than to fans of such entertaining “bad” cult movies as Plan 9 from Outer Space and Robot Monster.“ The Bloodshot Eye
Buy DVD: Amazon.com
” …the horrible sound quality that had me worried something was wrong with our new flat-screen TV and the crappy photography which has faces washed out of the scenes in a bright solarized glare or has all the action lost in darkness. The acting is non-existent and while there is a story here it is just too baffling to follow.” The Uranium Cafe
Buy DVD: Amazon.com
“It is undoubtedly a spectacle of how to do everything wrong in making a movie. From an academic perspective, that makes the movie kind of fascinating. On the other hand, it lacks much of the entertainment value that people expect from “good-bad” movies.” Misan[trope]y
Cast and characters:
- Philip Morton … Colonel Steve Connors (as Phil Morton)
- June Travis … Ruth
- George Perry
- Lois Brooks
- Rork Stevens
- Peter M. Thompson … Doctor Chris Manning (as Peter Thompson)
- Robert Simons
- Barry Hopkins
- J. Stewart Taylor … Truck Driver (as Stu Taylor)
- Lorri Perry … Girl at Dance
- Del Clark
- Art Scott
- Leonard Gelstein
- Aviva Crane … Convertible Driver
- Dean Tompis
Filming locations:
Chicago, Illinois
Technical details:
- 70 minutes
- Black and White
- Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
- Audio: Mono
More Herschell Gordon Lewis:
The post Monster a-Go Go – USA, 1965 – reviews of one of the worst films of all-time appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster – USA, 1964 – reviews
Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster – aka Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster – is a 1964 American science-fiction horror feature film directed by Robert Gaffney and starring Marilyn Hanold, James Karen (The Return of the Living Dead), Lou Cutell and Robert Reilly. It was filmed in Florida and Puerto Rico and released in 1965.
The film was released in the UK as Duel of the Space Monsters. It is also known as Frankenstein Meets the Space Men, Mars Attacks Puerto Rico, Mars Invades Puerto Rico, and Operation San Juan.
In the United States, it was initially released by Futurama Entertainment Corp on a double-bill with British low-budgeter Curse of the Voodoo.
The film tells the story of a robot who combats alien invaders. Despite the title, neither Doctor Frankenstein nor Frankenstein’s Monster make an appearance.
Plot:
All of the women on the planet Mars have died in an atomic war, except for Martian Princess Marcuzan (Marilyn Hanold). Marcuzan and her right hand man, Dr. Nadir (Lou Cutell), decide they will travel to Earth and steal all of the women on the planet in order to continue the Martian race. The Martians shoot down a space capsule manned by the android Colonel Frank Saunders (Robert Reilly), causing it to crash in Puerto Rico.
Frankenstein’s electronic brain and the left half of his face are damaged after encountering a trigger-happy Martian and his ray gun. Frank, now “Frankenstein”, described by his creator as an “astro-robot without a control system” proceeds to terrorise the island. A subplot involves the Martians abducting bikini-clad women…
Review:
Portentous (and obviously post-synched) dialogue — two of the script-writers were poets — and repeated references to a ‘plan’ mark this camp trash masterpiece out to be in the realm of Ed Wood filmmaking, albeit with a bigger budget, despite the heavy use of stock footage. Highly recommended if you’re into cinematic sludge.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
Other reviews:
” … undoubtedly a slapdash effort, lacking any form of suspense, terror, coherency, or social or political commentary. However, the film does pack a number of unintentional laughs and a slew of performances that will have you blushing in embarrassment for the actor or actress. And if there are any other positives to be pointed out, the film has plenty of monster action to keep B-movie fans coming back for seconds and thirds” Anti-Film School
“It’s cheap and stupid, and the makeup and costumes are wonderfully way-out. A must-see.” Cult Flicks and Trash Pics
” … a thoroughly enjoyable relic that’s well-paced for its brief running time, despite the inclusion of mucho NASA and wartime stock footage. As unconventional a “Frankenstein” film as they come, the film is sort of a cheat in that respect, with the posters promising a more Karloffian figure than what’s delivered in the final product.” DVD Drive-In
” …it does just enough to instill a giddy smirk and a heap of schadenfreude. It’s hard not to laugh as aliens target half naked Puerto Rican women for procreation, only to be thwarted by a reanimated corpse astronaut and NASA employees riding around on Vespa scooters, all wrapped up in a groovy 1960′s soundtrack and stock footage from the space program.” The Droid You’re Looking For
“Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster is actually fairly well made if one can discount some wretched post-synched dialogue. The camerawork isn’t bad and the action cuts are pretty active. Just about all the director had to create space-age ray gun battles are some smoke pots and a few eager actors.” DVD Savant
We are grateful to The Deuce Grindhouse Cinema Database and Zombo’s Closet for images above.
Related:
The post Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster – USA, 1964 – reviews appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
The Giant Claw – USA, 1957 – reviews
‘Flying beast out of prehistoric skies!’
The Giant Claw is a 1957 American science fiction monster feature film directed by Fred F. Sears (The Werewolf) from a screenplay by Samuel Newman and Paul Gangelin. The Sam Katzman produced movie stars Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday. It was released by Columbia Pictures.
The Giant Claw is usually mocked for the quality of its special effects. The bird is obviously a marionette puppet with a very odd face. The movie includes copious stock footage, including clips of the explosion of the Los Angeles City Hall from War of the Worlds and collapse of the Washington Monument from Earth vs. the Flying Saucers during the bird’s attack on New York City.
Plot:
While engaged in a radar test flight, Mitch MacAfee (Jeff Morrow), spots an unidentified flying object. Jets are scrambled to pursue and identify the object but one goes missing. Officials are initially angry at MacAfee over the loss of a pilot and jet over what they believe to be a hoax but are forced to take his story seriously after several other planes disappear.
A gigantic bird “as big as a battleship”, purported to come from an antimatter galaxy (and then later from the year 17,000,000 B.C.), is responsible for all the incidents. Mitch, his mathematician girlfriend Sally Caldwell (Mara Corday), Doctor Karol Noymann (Edgar Barrier), General Considine (Morris Ankrum) and General Van Buskirk (Robert Shayne), work feverishly to develop a way to defeat the seemingly invincible enemy.
The climactic showdown takes place in New York City, with the bird attacking both the Empire State and United Nations buildings.
Buy Sci-Fi Creature Classics DVD – Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“This would have been an ordinarily bad movie of its type, with a good performance by Jeff Morrow, if the special effects had been industry standard for the time. That, however, is not what happened. The Claw is not just badly rendered, it is hilariously rendered, resembling nothing so much as Warner Bros. cartoon-character Beaky Buzzard.” AllMovie
“People love it because of its radioactive level of badness. How ironic that the cast treated the material with absolute professionalism only to later discover the cinematic turkey waddle they were ultimately appearing in. The picture is actually quite well made much of the time…” Cool Ass Cinema
“Of all the monsters I’ve ever seen, this snarling, nostril-flaring, ragged, hair-tufted excuse for a buzzard is the most knee-slappingly funny monster ever devised; too bad the movie wasn’t intended as a comedy. Apparently, Sam Katzman saved a bundle of money by having the special effects done by a company in Mexico.” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
“While watching The Giant Claw, fire back a shot of Scotch (or any other spirit of your choice, I ain’t fussy), every time someone in the movie refers to the huge-ass monster birdie as being/looking/acting like ‘a battleship’…. I guarantee by the end of the film you’ll either be in hospital for alcohol poisoning, dead, or signing up for the twelve steps to addiction recovery and finding Jesus.” The Horror Hotel
“The Giant Claw is a B-movie blast, a picture that delivers all the brainless monster mayhem you could hope for alongside some fun characters and some ridiculously goofy special effects.” Rock! Shock! Pop!
“Mainly, when not foolhardily taking to the skies for the umpteenth time, the characters spend their hours snapping at each other, then apologising and comforting one other, which can get repetitive. It’s the Claw you’ll be watching for though, its awkwardness hilarious and guaranteed to cheer you up – who says this is a bad movie? It’s great fun.” The Spinning Image
“The Giant Claw is not the worst film ever made, and it is pretty bad, but it is actually watchable and there are moments of suspense to be had though horror is understandably missing. Worth watching for the novelty that it is and nothing more.” The Telltale Mind
“Every time the goofy looking monster shows up, it’s damn good times, but unfortunately everything involving Morrow and the lamebrain scientists is boring as all get out. The movie is also padded with tons of stock footage and gratuitous narration (“It was a feathered nightmare with wings!”)” The Video Vacuum
Cast and characters:
- Jeff Morrow … Mitch MacAfee
- Mara Corday … Sally Caldwell
- Morris Ankrum … Lt. General Edward Considine
- Louis Merrill … Pierre Broussard (as Louis D. Merrill)
- Edgar Barrier … Doctor Karol Noymann
- Robert Shayne … General Van Buskirk
- Frank Griffin … Pete – Pilot (as Ruell Shayne)
- Clark Howat … Major Bergen
- Morgan Jones … Lieutenant, Radar Officer
- Benjie Bancroft … Civil Aeronautics Board (uncredited)
- Brad Brown … Pool Party Diver (uncredited)
- George Cisar … Admonishing Man on Airliner (uncredited)
- Bud Cokes … Civil Aeronautics Board (uncredited)
- Leonard P. Geer … Paramedic (uncredited)
- Dabbs Greer … Fighter Pilot, in clips from ‘Mission Over Korea’ (uncredited)
- Sol Murgi … Civil Aeronautics Board (uncredited)
- Fred F. Sears … Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- Robert B. Williams … First State Trooper (uncredited)
Release:
The Giant Claw had only two official VHS releases – one in the USA through Goodtimes Home Video and the other through Screamtime in the United Kingdom. Columbia Pictures finally released it on DVD in October 2007 as part of the two-disc four-film set Icons of Horror Collection – Sam Katzman.
Trivia:
The working title was Mark of the Claw
The post The Giant Claw – USA, 1957 – reviews appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Plan 9 from Outer Space – USA, 1958 – reviews
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1958 American science fiction horror feature film [released 1959] written, produced and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr.
The movie features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson (The Beast of Yucca Flats; The Unearthly; The Black Sleep) and Maila “Vampira” Nurmi. The Reynolds Pictures production bills Bela Lugosi posthumously as a star, although silent footage of the actor had been shot by Wood for other, unfinished projects just before Lugosi’s death in 1956.
Plot:
Extraterrestrial beings are seeking to stop humans from creating a doomsday weapon that would destroy the universe. In the course of doing so, the aliens implement “Plan 9”, a scheme to resurrect Earth’s dead as what modern audiences would consider zombies (called “ghouls” in the film itself) to get the planet’s attention, causing chaos.
In San Fernando, California, two gravediggers are filling the grave of the young wife of an unnamed old man. Hearing a strange noise, they decide to leave the cemetery but are attacked and killed by the resurrected corpse of the young woman. Meanwhile, in the skies nearby, a pilot named Jeff Trent and his co-pilot Danny encounter a flying saucer.
Absorbed in his grief over his wife’s death, the old man walks into the path of an oncoming automobile. At his funeral, mourners discover the bodies of the gravediggers. Inspector Daniel Clay and other police officers come to the cemetery to investigate. While searching the graveyard, Clay encounters the female zombie, now joined by the reanimated corpse of the old man, and is killed.
Jeff Trent is watching the cemetery with his wife, Paula, and tells her about his flying saucer encounter, stating that the Army has sworn him to secrecy. He suspects the events at the cemetery are related to his encounter with the UFO. A powerful wind knocks everyone to the ground, and a spaceship lands nearby.
In the weeks that follow, newspaper headlines report other flying saucer sightings. The military, under the command of Col. Thomas Edwards, Chief of Saucer Operations, attacks the alien spaceships, which flee Earth. Edwards reveals that the government has been covering up the flying saucers, and wonders if the aliens are connected to other disasters on Earth…
Review:
It’s debatable whether or not Plan 9 from Outer Space can actually be called a horror film. For one thing, it’s scary like not at all. If you actually pay attention to the film, it’s obvious that director Ed Wood was actually trying to deliver a heartfelt plea for world peace (as well as finding a use for a minute of footage featuring the late Bela Lugosi). Of course, a lot of others claim that all Wood did was create the worst film ever made.
Now, at the risk of being branded a heretic, Plan 9 from Outer Space is hardly the worst film ever made. First off, lead actor Gregory Walcott actually gives a pretty good performance as Jeff, the confused pilot who is accused of having a “stupid, stupid mind.” And secondly … well, that’s really the only traditional praise that the film can be given.
Still, Plan 9 from Outer Space is way too much fun to be truly bad. Yes, you may sit there and wonder, “How was this movie made?” but the fact of the matter is this: it was made and we’re all better off for it. No, Plan 9 is not your standard “horror” film despite the presence of zombies and grave robbers from outer space. However, in its own silly “Look we made a movie!” sort of way, it’s the perfect film for Halloween.
Lisa Marie Bowman, guest reviewer via Through the Shattered Lens
Other reviews:
“Long considered one of the worst movies ever made, Plan 9 from Outer Space has nonetheless risen to cult status, a shining example of the art of film-making at its most hilariously incompetent.” 2,500 Movies Challenge
“Without a doubt, this is Ed Wood’s all-star picture, the height of his career and the ultimate expression of his dubious abilities. By their own admission, even the actors choked on Wood’s dialogue, which is often absurd enough to qualify as Beat poetry. “It’s been absolutely impossible to work with these earth creatures. Their souls are too controlled.” And You Thought It Was Safe(?)
“Plan 9 from Outer Space is definitely not one of the worst films of all time, it has way too much charm and fun to it to ever become a film deserving that type of title, although it is possible to see why others would say that about the film. It is a campy and cheesy sci-fi film that fans of so-called bad films will have fun with and genre fans do owe themselves to give this a go at least once during their lifetime.” Cinema Terror
“ … not the worst movie ever made, just one of the most technically and aesthetically clumsy. But that clumsiness has earned it a large, loyal legion of fans that enjoy its incompetence, making it an unintentional comedy classic.” HomeTheaterForum.com
” …this grade Z 1956 home movie masquerading as a theatrical film is an unalloyed delight, raising rank amateurism to the level of high comic art.” Castle of Frankenstein
“Beyond the ultra-cheesy dialogue, the wobbling sets and insane script lies an enthusiasm that very few other directors have been able to reproduce. Imagine you have no money at all, you have hardly any sets and actors who – some of them at least – can’t act, but still… you’re working hard, doing your best, never giving up. Wood did that, up to a certain point.” Ninja Dixon
” …although it’s certainly bad, it’s not quite that bad—or maybe it is, and we’re just willing to forgive because it’s also quite charming. It’s just a nothing of a movie, practically plotless and featuring some of Wood’s most nonsensical dialog.” Paste magazine
“It seems unfair to call Plan 9 the worst movie ever made, because, although it’s inept in every department, it does what it sets out to do – entertain. It may look like a filmed play intercut with as much stock footage as Wood could get his hands on, but its sheer incompetence makes it oddly lovable and it’s packed with incident.” The Spinning Image
Offline reading:
Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary Don Rhodes
Ed Wood: Mad Genius by Rob Craig
Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood by Rudolph Grey
Buy The Ed Wood Box DVD set from Amazon.com

Cast and characters:
- Gregory Walcott … Jeff Trent
- Mona McKinnon … Paula Trent
- Duke Moore … Lieutenant Harper
- Tom Keene … Colonel Edwards
- Carl Anthony … Patrolman Larry
- Paul Marco … Patrolman Kelton
- Tor Johnson … Inspector Clay
- Dudley Manlove … Eros
- Joanna Lee … Tanna
- John Breckinridge … Ruler
- Lyle Talbot … General Roberts
- David De Mering … Danny
- Norma McCarty … Edith
- Bill Ash … Captain
- Lynn Lemon … Reverend (as Reverend Lynn Lemon)
Technical details:
- 79 minutes
- Audio: Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
- Black and White
- Aspect ratio: 1.33: 1
Trivia:
The movie was originally titled Grave Robbers from Outer Space
The post Plan 9 from Outer Space – USA, 1958 – reviews appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Cat-Women of the Moon – USA, 1953 – reviews
‘They’re fiery… fearless… ferocious!’
Cat-Women of the Moon is a 1953 American science fiction monster film, produced by Jack Rabin and Al Zimbalist, directed by Arthur Hilton. The musical score was composed by Elmer Bernstein. The 3-D film was released by Astor Pictures and, bizarrely, remade five years later (1958) as Missile to the Moon. It stars Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory and Marie Windsor.
Having been attacked by giant spiders, an expedition to the moon encounters a race of “Cat-Women”, the last eight survivors of a two million year-old civilisation, deep within a cave where they have managed to maintain the remnants of a breathable atmosphere that once covered the Moon. The remaining air will soon be gone, and they must escape if they are to survive. They plan to steal the expedition’s spaceship and migrate to Earth.
Through the use of their telepathic ability, the Cat-Women have been subliminally controlling Helen Salinger (Marie Windsor) so she can win the navigator slot on the expedition and lead the crew to their location. Once Helen and the male members of the crew arrive on the moon, the Cat-Women take complete control of her mind.
They are unable to control the men’s minds, but they work around this obstacle, with Helen’s help, and the use of their superior abilities and feminine wiles…
Buy DVD: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
Reviews [click links to read more]:
” … seems more dull than it ever does awful. Its effects are cheap but mostly passable – the Moon’s surface consists of several limited but adequately convincing painted backdrops and the model rocket shots are okay. On the other hand, the wires can be seen on the giant spider and there is one hilarious shot where the Moon outside the rocketship window is seen as a topographical map of the Moon replete with meridian lines.” Moria
“Cat-Women of the Moon lie more in its absolute and exquisite poverty – poverty, that is, not merely of budget, but of concept and execution. There is a sense of – of lack about this film that grows increasingly surreal. How is one to react to a film shot in 3-D that makes no attempt whatsoever to exploit the process? To a film about Cat-Women that has no Cat-Women?” And You Call Yourself a Scientist?
“This film is pretty bad. The naivety regarding space travel (sticky meteors), and lunar conditions (“natural decompression chamber”) are breathtaking. The dialog is most often corny and occasionally downright incomprehensible (Zeta to Helen: “Remember, our generation predates yours by centuries!”…huh?) I certainly don’t need to reiterate how bad the special effects were, do I?” The Monster Shack
“Unlike most of its ’50s contemporaries, the film has no scary monster and the attempt to supply one is more inept and humorous than anything else … a neglected camp classic.” Gary D. Rhodes, Horror at the Drive-In
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
“Hilton’s direction and Hamilton’s screenplay are never dull but as a combination they are very bad.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction
” … so unconvincing and stodgy it isn’t even so-bad-it’s-good. It’s just so-bad-it’s-unbearable. See it if you must but don’t believe that baloney about it rivalling Plan 9 from Outer Space for sheer ineptitude. Some schlock has it, some doesn’t.” John Stanley, Creature Features

“Even the bad acting, appalling special effects and extraterrestrials who look as though they are auditioning for a minor girlie show do not prevent the film from being perversely enjoyable.” Alan Frank, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Handbook, Batsford, 1982
Choice dialogue:
“It’s whoey! You can’t turn love on and off like a faucet.”
“Helen, they speak English!”
‘You’re too smart for me baby, I like ’em stupid!”
Cast and characters:
- Sonny Tufts as Laird Grainger
- Victor Jory as Kip Reissner – The Man Who Turned to Stone; Kolchak: The Night Stalker; Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell
- Marie Windsor as Helen Salinger – Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy; Salem’s Lot; Tales from the Darkside
- William Phipps as Doug Smith
- Douglas Fowley as Walt Walters
- Carol Brewster as Alpha
- Suzanne Alexander as Beta
- Susan Morrow as Lambda
- Bette Arlen as Cat-Woman
- Roxann Delman as Cat-Woman
- Ellye Marshall as Cat-Woman
- Judy Walsh as Cat-Woman
The post Cat-Women of the Moon – USA, 1953 – reviews appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Assignment Terror aka Dracula vs. Frankenstein – 1969 – reviews
‘The ultimate in horror!’
Assignment Terror aka Dracula vs. Frankenstein is a 1969 – released 1970 – Spanish-German-Italian horror feature film directed by Tulio Demicheli, Hugo Fregonese and Eberhard Meichsner (the latter two were uncredited in the film’s original print). The original Spanish title is Los Monstruos del Terror
This movie was the third in a series of movies featuring the werewolf Waldemar Daninsky, played by Paul Naschy, who also provided the screenplay. It was apparently originally slated to be titled The Man Who Came From Ummo, referring to the alien character played by Michael Rennie (The Day the Earth Stood Still). The film remains very obscure, being — to our knowledge — without an official English language DVD release and only available online in poor quality versions.
Plot:
Aliens, running a travelling circus as a cover, revive a vampire, a werewolf, a mummy and Frankenstein’s monster with a plan to use them to take over the world. They want to discover the reason that these monsters are so frightening to Earthlings. They then plan to create an army of such monsters using their findings.
The werewolf they revive (Waldemar Daninsky) saves the world by destroying the other monsters in hand-to-hand combat and ultimately blowing up the aliens’ underground base, although he is shot to death in the process by a woman (Karin Dor) who loves him enough to end his torment.
Reviews [click links to read more]:
Assignment Terror is weak on every level. A bored-looking Michael Rennie goes through the motions as a supreme being alien but this excuse to revive all the classic movie monsters is a sadly wasted opportunity.
There is a sexist sub-text about men holding power over women yet the film is so ineffectual it hardly matters. ‘Plodding’ is the best one-word description for this incompetently presented production and not even Paul Naschy’s presence can save it.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
Buy Human Beasts: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
‘Despite its charming idea, alien invaders led by Rennie set about terrorizing mankind by reviving the monsters of the popular imagination, Dracula, the Werewolf, the Mummy, the Reptile and Frankenstein’s Monster, this is a mediocre film. Even the witty idea of having the aliens in monster form succumb to the emotions of their bodies’ previous owners falls flat.’ The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction
Buy from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
Buy Paul Naschy: Memoirs of a Wolfman from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
Download from Internet Archive
Image credits: Destination Nightmare | Vampyres Online
The post Assignment Terror aka Dracula vs. Frankenstein – 1969 – reviews appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Robot Monster – USA, 1953 – overview and reviews
‘Moon monsters launch attack against Earth!’
Robot Monster is a 1953 American science fiction feature film made in 3-D. It was produced by Al Zimbalist and directed by Phil Tucker from a screenplay by Wyott Ordung (Monster from the Ocean Floor, First Man into Space). The Three Dimension Pictures production stars George Nader and Claudia Barrett. It is frequently cited as one of the worst films ever made although this is always open to debate.
Buy DVD: Amazon.com
The evil alien Ro-Man Extension XJ-2 – called “Ro-Man” by the humans – has destroyed all life on Earth, except for eight humans, using the “Calcinator Death Ray”.
The survivors include an elderly scientist, his wife, two daughters and son, his young assistant and two pilots taking a spacecraft to an orbiting space platform. All eight have developed an immunity to the death ray since receiving an experimental antibiotic serum developed by the scientist.
Ro-Man must complete the destruction of all humans, even if it means physically killing them one by one, before his mission to subjugate the Earth is complete. After fruitless negotiations, he destroys the rocket ship headed for the orbiting platform with a laser. He later strangles the youngest daughter, Carla, off-screen and tosses the assistant scientist Roy over a cliff.
His mission is waylaid, though, after he develops illogical attraction for Alice, the eldest daughter. He refuses to eliminate her, forcing the alien leader, “The Great Guidance”, to personally finish the genocide by killing Ro-Man right after he kills Johnny, the young son. He then releases prehistoric dinosaurs and a massive earthquake. After all of that the scientist, his wife and Alice are the only humans left. However…
Review:
Neither as unremittingly terrible or as entertainingly trashy as its been made out to be, Robot Monster is a definite 1950’s curio, up there with ‘what were they thinking?’ flicks such as The Beast of Yucca Flats for sheer oddball outsider cinema appeal.
Robot Monster is certainly worth seeing, especially with a crowd and the assistance of alcohol. There are enough fun parts to make the slow pace acceptable, and while not the howlingly funny movie it’s been hyped as, it’s definitely unique!
David Flint, MOVIES & MANIA
Other reviews:
“On the technical front— acting, continuity, sets, special effects, etc.— there is almost literally nothing about Robot Monster that does work. Elmer Bernstein’s score (that’s right, folks— Elmer F*cking Bernstein wrote the score to this turkey) is much, much better than the movie deserves, but it represents about the one little glimmer of quality that made it into the finished product intact.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
“When you’ve only got $16,000 to make a movie and you’ve already spent the majority of it on dinosaur stock footage, it probably seems perfectly reasonable to hire an actor who already owns a gorilla costume (as Barrows did) and then put an old diving helmet on his head. Robot Monster may not necessarily be a good movie but it certainly is a lot of fun!” Horror Critic
“It is right up there in terms of ineptitude along with Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) and has as much in terms of hilarious gaffes, bad acting, bad special effects and bad dialogue as Plan 9 does. It has not gained the same cult appeal, probably because its behind-the-scenes story and the lives of its creative personnel lack the same freakish fascination.” Moria
“Shot in only four days, this is pretty much the ultimate in zero-budget 1950s sci-fi. Don’t have a real monster costume? No problem, just slap a space helmet on a gorilla suit—that’s basically an alien, right? And yet, despite its cheapness, Robot Monster is a surprisingly coherent movie.” Paste magazine
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
“Basically yet another guy in a monkey suit, but this time with the added touch of a silver-spray-painted diving helmet, topped with a sagging TV antenna, Ro-Man is a certainly a finalist in the Worst Movie Monster of All Time sweepstakes.” John Wilson, The Official Razzie Movie Guide
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca
“One of the genuine legends of Hollywood: embarrassingly, hilariously awful!” Leonard Maltin’s Movie & Video Guide
Buy Sci-Fi Classics DVD: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com
Cast and characters:
- George Nader … Roy
- Claudia Barrett … Alice
- Selena Royle … Mother (as Selena Royale)
- John Mylong … The Professor
- Gregory Moffett … Johnny
- Pamela Paulson … Carla
- George Barrows … Ro-Man the Monster / Great Guidance
- John Brown … Ro-Man / Great Guidance (voice)
Technical details:
- 66 minutes
- Audio: Mono (Western Electric Recording)
- Black and White
- Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
Budget:
$16,000 (estimated)
Trivia:
Includes stock footage from One Million B.C. (1940) and Flight to Mars (1951).
The post Robot Monster – USA, 1953 – overview and reviews appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Bride of the Monster – USA, 1955 – reviews
‘The screen’s master of the weird… in his newest and most daring shocker!’
Bride of the Monster is a 1955 American science fiction horror film produced, directed and co-written by Edward D. Wood, Jr. (Plan 9 from Outer Space; Orgy of the Dead; Necromania)
The film stars Bela Lugosi, along with Tor Johnson (The Black Sleep; The Unearthly; The Beast of Yucca Flats), Tony McCoy and Loretta King Hadler.
The first incarnation of the film was a 1953 script by Alex Gordon titled The Atomic Monster, but a lack of financing prevented any production. Later, Ed Wood revived the project as The Monster of the Marshes.
Shooting began in October 1954 at the Ted Allan Studios, but further money problems quickly halted the production. The required funds were supplied by a rancher named Donald McCoy, who became the film’s producer. He also provided his son to star as the film’s hero.
Production resumed in 1955 at Centaur Studios and the film finally premiered at Hollywood’s Paramount theater in May 1955, under the title Bride of the Atom.
Plot:
Doctor Eric Vornoff (Bela Lugosi), is experimenting with nuclear power with the help of his mute assistant, Lobo (Tor Johnson). His goal is to eventually create an army of superpowered soldiers that he will use to conquer the earth.
Their residence, an old mansion, is guarded by a giant octopus of Doctor Vornoff’s own creation which lives in the surrounding swamp. The octopus (referred to as simply “the monster”) has been responsible for the deaths of local townspeople.
Buy DVD: Amazon.com
Newspaper reporter Janet Lawton (Loretta King Hadler investigates further, becoming a prisoner of Doctor Vornoff in the process. The police eventually follow, led by lieutenant Dick Craig (Tony McCoy), who is also Lawton’s boyfriend.
Meanwhile, an official from Doctor Vornoff’s home country, Professor Strowksi (George Becwar), arrives and tries to persuade him to return to their homeland in hopes that his research will benefit their nation. However, Strowski is killed and Lobo unwittingly turns Doctor Vornoff into an atomic-powered superhuman being…
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“It’s fast-paced and has an entertaining performance by Bela Lugosi. The film is also full of Ed Wood “weirdness” to hold your interest: Where else can you see a police chief playing with a parakeet while discussing a murder case? Or see a Bela Lugosi stunt “double” wearing platform shoes fight it out ala ‘World Wrestling Federation’ style with the Super Swedish Angel in a laboratory made of cardboard?” Monster Shack
“Not to deny that several amusing Wood-ian low-budget gaffes do exist but the film does appear to have been made to a formulaic competence that makes it no different from the numerous low-budget mad scientist films that Bela Lugosi was appearing in at Monogram and PRC during the previous decade.” Moria
” … there is much to poke fun at here, but this is clearly one of Wood’s most mature, most competent efforts. One wonders what Wood’s legacy might have been had he continued collaborating with Alex Gordon. Instead of being remembered as one of the worst filmmakers in history, he might have been forgotten as just another of many boringly competent B-movie directors.” The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood by Andrew J. Rausch, Charles e. Pratt, Jr.

“Tor Johnson, the obligatory brainless brute, makes a grab for Lugosi in one of the most pathetic fights ever photographed. And dig those amateurs, Tony McCoy and Loretta King. You have to see it to believe it.” John Stanley, Creature Features
” … this fatuous flop nearly matches Plan 9 in the category of fascinating loveable camp.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers
Offline reading:
Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary Don Rhodes
The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood by Andrew J. Rausch, Charles e. Pratt, Jr.
Ed Wood: Mad Genius by Rob Craig
Nightmare of Ecstasy by Rudolph Grey
The post Bride of the Monster – USA, 1955 – reviews appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks – Italy, 1973 – overview and reviews
‘Weird creatures return to life in…’
Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks is a 1973 Italian horror feature film produced and directed by Dick Randall [as Robert H. Oliver] from a screenplay co-written by Mark Smith, Roberto Spano and Mario Francini. The movie stars Rossano Brazzi, Michael Dunn, Edmund Purdom and Gordon Mitchell.
The film is also known as Doctor Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks (American video title), Frankenstein’s Castle (British video title), Monsters of Frankenstein, Terror, Terror Castle, The House of Freaks and The Monsters of Doctor Frankenstein. The original Italian title is Terror! Il castello delle donne maledette [“Terror! The Castle of Cursed Women”]
In a non-specified time in an undisclosed European country, neanderthals roam the countryside, upsetting the local villagers. Seeing an opportunity to rid themselves of their tormentors, the villagers corner one of the brutes (Goliath, Loren Ewing from Devil in the Flesh), evading the tree trunks and rocks he hurls, to bash him over the head and kill him.
Leaving his corpse, this is soon collected by some shadowy individuals and taken to the castle laboratory of Count Frankenstein (Rossano Brazzi, slumming it somewhat post-The Barefoot Contessa and The Italian Job) so that he can continue to conduct his unholy experiments. The Count is most disappointed that the other (female) cadaver collected up has been tampered with by his death-obsessed dwarf assistant, Genz (Michael Dunn, The Mutations, The Werewolf of Washington).
The locals are becoming alarmed – they’re suspicious as to what is going on at the castle and also a tad unhappy that the graves of their loved ones are being robbed. Not for the first time in the film, they are told to go away and stop being silly by the hopelessly inept head of police, played by familiar trash movie face, Edmund Purdom (The Fifth Cord; Absurd; Pieces) in fairness it’s a very sparse mob with a touch of Monty Python about it.
Elsewhere, Genz has befriended the other marauding caveman, Ook (the brilliant character actor Salvatore Baccaro, aka Sal Boris but here under the worst pseudonym ever, Boris Lugosi) and… if you’ve made it this far, it probably doesn’t matter.
Some female nudity, comedy caveman grunting, some pervy dwarf action and some endless experiments with the world’s smallest lab set-up, the ending can’t come quickly enough – indeed, rather like the opening scene, when it does come it seems out of place.
Directed by Dick Randall (here as Robert H. Oliver), best known as a producer of low-budget schlock and horror (The Mad Butcher; Pieces; The Urge to Kill), the film was made in Italy and features many bit-art actors from genre of the time – or more correctly, slightly before the time, many of them clearly having fallen on bad times – also along for the ride are the likes of German stunner Christiane Rücker (Castle of the Walking Dead), buff strongman Gordon Mitchell (Frankenstein ’80), Xiro Papas (The Devil’s Wedding Night; The Beast in Heat) and Luciano Pigozzi (Blood and Black Lace, Baron Blood, All the Colours of the Dark).
The real wonder of Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks is that it conspires against the odds so wilfully to become one of the most painful horror films to watch. As the script is at pains to clarify, the story is broadly speaking that of Frankenstein and so one might assume the hard work has been done… but no, endless, pointless twists, cut-aways, a breathtakingly slow operation (Frankenstein spends longer shaving Goliath’s head than Colin Clive did making two monsters come alive) and some mild hanky panky spiced up with the inclusion of a dwarf and a caveman who communicates through grunts, only serve to make this a harrowing mess.
Worse still, bad enough that the likes of Brazzi are disgracing themselves but that the film is so bad that even aforementioned Dunn and Baccaro (also seen in The Beast in Heat and briefly in Dario Argento’s Deep Red), usually arresting and air-punchingly fun in their performances are unable to save this is alarming.
The squelchy, grimy score is by Marcello Gigante, better known, and suited, for his work on Italian Westerns. The settings are meagre and rather harbour the feeling that if the camera moved slightly to the left they’d get a decent shot of the car park; as it goes, the gothic flavour is one of the few nearly-ticks.
Picked up by Harry Novak‘s Boxoffice International Pictures and unleashed in cinemas during 1974, the film has not improved with age and is so ponderous it’s difficult to even reappraise it as kitsch. The film found its way onto the home market initially through the likes of Magnum Video and later seen alongside Randall’s far more accomplished production, The Mad Butcher, through masters of lo-fi Something Weird.
Daz Lawrence, MOVIES & MANIA
Other reviews:
“One of the trashiest horror movies produced in Italy in the 1970s […] The cast is every trash connoisseur’s delight. Randall and Oscar Brazzi assembled a mixture of has-beens, exploitation regulars and out-and-out freaks that must be seen to be believed.” Roberto Curti, Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970 – 1979 [In this well-researched book, Curti mulls over director Robert H. Oliver’s true identity at length and comes to the conclusion that it was probably Dick Randall].
Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca
Cast and characters:
- Rossano Brazzi … Count Frankenstein
- Michael Dunn … Genz
- Edmund Purdom … Prefect
- Gordon Mitchell … Igor
- Loren Ewing … Goliath
- Luciano Pigozzi … Hans (as Alan Collins)
- Xiro Papas … Kreegin
- Salvatore Baccaro … Ook (as Boris Lugosi)
- Simonetta Vitelli … Maria (as Simone Blondell)
- Eric Mann … Eric
- Laura De Benedittis … Valda
- Robert Marx … Koerner
- Christiane Rücker … Krista (as Christiane Royce)
- Margaret Oliver … Paisan Woman
- Alessandro Perrella … Doctor (as Perrella Alessandro)
- Roberto Fizz … Paisan (as Bob Fiz)
- Annamaria Tornello … Assaulted Girl (as Tornello Annamaria)
- Aristide Caporale … Grave-Digger
- Nicola Palumbo … Agent (as Palumbo Nicola)
- Mike Monty … Paisan
- Rossella Ferrero … Paisan Woman
- Ozzie Raghet … Almut
- Walter Saxer … Warner
Filming:
According to the Italian Public Cinematographic Register filming began on 18 December 1972. It was granted a visa by the Italian censors on 17th November 1973.
Technical details:
- 89 minutes
- Technicolor
- Aspect ratio: 1.66: 1
- Audio: Mono
Release:
Released in Italy by Nettunia Film on 19 February 1974. The film was released in the United States by Aquarius Releasing and Box-Office International Pictures in January 1975.
The post Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks – Italy, 1973 – overview and reviews appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Cajun Fried Werewolf – USA, 2019 – review
Cajun Fried Werewolf is a 2019 American comedy horror feature film about werewolves in Louisiana. And Bigfoot.
The film’s website declares that it is “the epitome of what makes every great B-Movie “so bad it’s good,” right down to the cheesy dialog. With an authentic film grain look and rubber monsters characteristic of old school creature features, Cajun Fried Werewolf is sure to attract fans of cult movies around the world.
This full-length feature film was inspired by the legend of the loup-garou or rougarou werewolf, a creature said to reside deep in the swamps of south Louisiana. The film also pits the Louisiana werewolf against the Florida Skunk Ape, better known as Bigfoot.”
Review:
Horror fans are infamously tolerant of whatever low-budget nonsense is foisted upon them, we often return sheepishly, faithfully and optimistically to see the latest Hollywood no-brainer remakes and sequels that offer little beyond jump scares and now there’s a new phenomenon to test our patience even further: movies released directly to streaming online. And they often aren’t even real movies per se, what we are often presented with are filmmaker’s home movies with friends and family onscreen. There are sometimes dogs that bark in the background and then aren’t even edited from the final soundtrack.
As regards Cajun Fried Werewolf, we also get static camera shots, zero production values such as gunshots that sound like kids’ pop guns and ‘actors’ that have often clearly forgotten their lines or interrupt each other, despite the camera keepin’ on rollin’ and no attempt to edit the resulting melee. Special effects are hilariously inept although it must be said that the lycanthropic lights for eyes are compellingly daft. Otherwise, this is a Cajun Fried Werewolf no-Happening. An extended training sequence during the middle of the movie makes even Ted V.Mikels late-period efforts seem like masterpieces.
And yet, this reviewer was obviously tempted by a title that suggested some form of knowing amusement: it’s a Cajun Fried Werewolf after all. Please don’t be suckered in too. ‘Auteur’ John Derrick Cooper – he wrote, directed, photographed, edited and stars in it – should be ashamed to put his name to this amateurish insult even when it masquerades as a fun ‘bad movie’. There is simply no reason to watch Cajun Fried Werewolf. It’s just bad. And jeez, those dogs in the background seem to bark forever.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES & MANIA
The post Cajun Fried Werewolf – USA, 2019 – review appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Slash Dance – USA, 1989 – overview and reviews
‘Save the last dance… for Hell!’
Slash Dance – aka Slashdance – is a 1989 American horror thriller feature film written and directed by James Shyman (Hollywood’s New Blood). The movie stars Cindy Ferda, James Carroll Jordan and J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner.
Plot:
In Hollywood, a female cop goes undercover as a dancer at an old theatre to catch a serial killer who has been murdering women auditioning for a musical…
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“There are a lot of red herrings tossed around, along with a lot of big hair, acid-washed denim, horrible acting and downright retarded storytelling. This movie also tries to inject a lot of really unfunny, inappropriate humor throughout, which gives it a schizophrenic feel as it switches back and forth from wacky high jinks to musical montages to serious violence, all without batting an eyelash.” CHUD.com
“Slashdance is an utterly avoidable effort that fails to deliver as a slasher, as a comedy or even as a dance movie. There’s really nothing to recommend here and its best avoided.” A Slash Above…
“Slash Dance is very bad, and I don’t really think it’s even much of a curiosity for slasher fans unless you really want to see shoot guns on a firing range, deliver dropkicks, and show off her high-heel throwing prowess. No matter how cool that sounds, it really isn’t. Trash it!” Oh, the Horror!
“The intentional humor is so not funny that it totally travels full-circle and becomes funny again, which is very rare … Look, if you want a decent slasher set in the world of theatre, try Stage Fright or Curtains. But if you just want some fabulously bad direct-to-VHS ’80s-cheesy-style fun, I highly recommend Slash Dance, some friends, and a six-pack.” Final Girl
“Lots of dancing. Few thrills.” John Stanley, Creature Features
Main cast:
- Cindy Ferda
- James Carroll Jordan
- J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner
- Jay Richardson – The Unliving; The Wasp Woman; Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers; et al
- William Kerr
- John Bluto
- Dee Booher [as Queen Kong]
- Kelle Favara
Choice dialogue:
“Ok, but if I end up looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame from sleeping on your couch, it’s your fault.”
“It’d like to tap dance, on his head.”
Donate to MOVIES & MANIA
$5.00
The post Slash Dance – USA, 1989 – overview and reviews appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.
Monster a-Go Go – USA, 1965 – reviews of one of the worst films of all-time
Monster a-Go Go is a 1965 American science-fiction horror feature film directed by Bill Rebane (Blood Harvest; The Demons of Ludlow; The Capture of Bigfoot; The Giant Spider Invasion) and Herschell Gordon Lewis (uncredited). The movie stars Phil Morton and June Travis. It is generally considered to be one of the worst films ever.
The film had an unusual production history. Director Rebane ran out of money while making the film. Lewis, who needed a second film to show with his own feature, Moonshine Mountain, bought the existing footage, added a few extra scenes and some dialogue, and then released it, creating an odd, disjointed film with little continuity.
Rebane had abandoned his feature in 1961; Lewis did not finish his version until 1965 and so was unable to gather all of the original cast, resulting in almost half the characters disappearing midway through the movie to be replaced by other characters who fill most of the same roles.
Plot:
A spaceship is sent into orbit to investigate mysterious satellites. The ship returns to Earth but crashes in a remote field. The astronaut is missing and the helicopter pilot who investigates the crash landing scene is found dead.
Other victims are soon found, seemingly having been”cooked to death” in a horrible manner. It seems that the astronaut has metamorphosed into the enormous, strange mutated creature (played by real giant Henry Hite) responsible for the grisly deaths…
Reviews [click links to read more]:
“It takes a true connoisseur to find anything of the slightest interest in Monster a Go-Go. The casual viewer will see only an uncommonly inept example of a genre five years past its expiration date, an Amateur Night fiasco that makes even The Beast of Yucca Flats look accomplished in comparison. And of course, they’ll be right about that.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting
“You would expect more from a movie that was directed by two people, one of which being the great H.G. Lewis, but it still sucks. Everything from the terribly recorded sound to the monster, who’s just a tall guy with some bad skin who hugs people to death.” Video Dead
“Monster A Go-Go is definitely not the worst movie of all time, that dubious distinction is better served with many of the fan films shot on VHS and phone cameras on the half dozen Pendulum Pictures 50 Movie Packs released from Mill Creek.” Oh, the Horror!
“For once, the hype is accurate, every bit of it. The Chicago-based Monster A-Go Go really is one of a kind — a movie so god-awful it’s almost “anti-art,” in a way that might appeal more to appreciators of David Lynch and underground art cinema than to fans of such entertaining “bad” cult movies as Plan 9 from Outer Space and Robot Monster.“ The Bloodshot Eye
Buy DVD: Amazon.com
” …the horrible sound quality that had me worried something was wrong with our new flat-screen TV and the crappy photography which has faces washed out of the scenes in a bright solarized glare or has all the action lost in darkness. The acting is non-existent and while there is a story here it is just too baffling to follow.” The Uranium Cafe
Buy DVD: Amazon.com
“It is undoubtedly a spectacle of how to do everything wrong in making a movie. From an academic perspective, that makes the movie kind of fascinating. On the other hand, it lacks much of the entertainment value that people expect from “good-bad” movies.” Misan[trope]y
Cast and characters:
- Philip Morton … Colonel Steve Connors (as Phil Morton)
- June Travis … Ruth
- George Perry
- Lois Brooks
- Rork Stevens
- Peter M. Thompson … Doctor Chris Manning (as Peter Thompson)
- Robert Simons
- Barry Hopkins
- J. Stewart Taylor … Truck Driver (as Stu Taylor)
- Lorri Perry … Girl at Dance
- Del Clark
- Art Scott
- Leonard Gelstein
- Aviva Crane … Convertible Driver
- Dean Tompis
Filming locations:
Chicago, Illinois
Technical details:
- 70 minutes
- Black and White
- Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
- Audio: Mono
More Herschell Gordon Lewis:
The post Monster a-Go Go – USA, 1965 – reviews of one of the worst films of all-time appeared first on MOVIES and MANIA.