Tag Archives: monster movie

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“Chernobyl Diaries” (2012) – People Shouldn’t Play with Radioactive Things

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I am divided on this movie. It has a cool premise: a group of kids decides to charter a guide to take them to the restricted site of Chernobyl, Ukraine, where a nuclear reactor plant experienced a meltdown and rendered the surrounding countryside exposed to high levels of radiation. Definitely a place that the local government has made unavailable to public access because of health concerns. Well, our group gets through the blockaded area and explores the abandoned ruins of the town left behind. The guide notices that there is evidence of activity in the supposedly dead place and urges the group to return to their Jeep and exit the premises before night falls. Surprise, surprise! The Jeep conks out with darkness descending. Before long, strange sounds are heard and the apprehensive tour guide goes to investigate. You should all know that nothing good can come of all this and sure enough, the guide doesn’t return to the vehicle and it is decided to go find out where he ended up. Suffice it to say that radiation has played a very nasty trick on the animals and humans who have been exposed to it. It appears that a league of zombies inhabit the surrounding area.

The movie soon devolves into a story we have seen many times before. The group numbers dwindle as they are systematically picked off by the radiation mutants and die in various horrible ways. This may sound like your cup of tea but I can say I have seen it done much more effectively elsewhere.

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“Reptilicus” (1961) – Regenerated Dinosaur Hand Puppet Destroys Denmark!

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Miners uncover a piece of preserved dinosaur tail that ends up thawing in a scientific research facility. That ends up being an awful turn of events. The small bit of flesh soon grows and regenerates a complete dinosaur! The resilient reptile. Very soon, a full-fledged rampaging beast is on the loose and begins laying waste to the Denmark countryside where the tale takes place.

There are bits of this fantasy film that I find actually enjoyable. There is a travelogue of sorts that appears near the middle of the film that highlights some of the festive night spots and activities available for our heroes to partake in. Nicely done! The creature, Reptilicus, often spits out a neon green slimy mist at the Army fighting it off. The mist has the effect of dissolving the offending Army and its tanks, artillery and other weapons of war.

Budgetary and special effects limitations prevented not much more than a long neck attached to a vulture like dinosaur hand puppet head to represent the prehistoric beast, Reptilicus. We also see a wing-like appendage attached to the monster’s side but we never glimpse any limbs providing mobility. The beast appears to effortlessly glide over the landscape.

And, most importantly, what the heck is with the church bell sound effect that gets mixed in as part of the mighty monster’s roar? Unknown.

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“Dracula vs. Frankenstein” (1971) – Shit Sideshow of Monsters and Mayhem

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Schlock director Al Adamson resurrected some classic Universal monsters for this low grade monster epic. Some tall cat named Zandor Vorkov plays Dracula with his voice heavily processed with reverb. Interesting effect but probably not necessary. Dracula pays a visit to Dr. Durea who runs a carnival monster exhibit upstairs but has a fully equipped laboratory in the basement to carry out his experiments. In fact, Durea is a direct descendant of the infamous Dr. Frankenstein. And we all know that the Franken-family has that overreaching desire to resurrect the dead coursing through their veins! Dracula wants Durea to perfect an elixir that will make the vampire king nearly invincible. Dracula has also recovered the original Frankenstein monster and wants it revived as well to join his legion of monsters who will bring Mankind to its knees. Vorkov plays Dracula with a psuedo-sophistication based on Adamson’s script and I can tell you that Lugosi has no reason to be concerned that his performance of the vampire is in any danger of being surpassed. Vorkov’s ring that he wears shoots lightening bolts. That’s new! The Frankenstein monster is a hulking dude who has a face that looks like a pool of dried oatmeal. Not impressive.

A lot of the trappings of the old Universal monster movies appear. Durea has a laboratory that is full of flashing lights, electrodes and sparking equipment just like Dr. Frankenstein had down in his lab. Some of the footage of lights is leftover film of the sex machine from “Horror of the Blood Monsters” (1970), another Adamson turkey. Nice. Lon Chaney Jr. is onboard and even dons a werewolf mask for a second just like he did in “The Wolfman” (1941). Otherwise, he plays a drug-induced, axe-wielding, homicidal manic who procures fresh bodies for Durea’s experiments. J. Carrol Naish plays Durea who happens to be confined to a wheelchair. He and Chaney Jr. acted together 25+ years earlier in “House of Frankenstein” (1944).

So much for Dracula reviving the Frankenstein monster, though. They have a falling out over a club singer and start brawling. Take note: This monumental confrontation happens in the LAST 10 minutes of the movie. What a rip-off! Dracula pulls the monster apart but realizes too late that the Sun is about to rise. Bad timing!

Have a go at a viewing of this generally shoddy effort. But beware that the You Tube video available is heavily pixelated and difficult to watch.

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“Monster of Piedras Blancas” (1959) – Pretty B&W Cinematography, Ugly Story

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This is another one of those flicks I watched in my youth, 10,000 years ago, that frightened me. Watching it now, I am struck by the loveliness of some of the black and white film cinematography but bored by the dull goings on and the lumbering, costumed monster.

I now remember what creeped me out all those years ago and it has to do with the beast’s predilection to behead his victims. Never pleasant in any era. So, we have a giant sea monster that walks on two legs and apparently lives in a cave near a lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper feeds the beast, thus keeping it at bay from sampling the culinary delights of Humankind. Well, that effort falls short somewhere along the line and we have a rash of mysterious deaths in the area.

The ending of this thing is a doozy. I think a young Steven Spielberg must have taken some inspiration from the proceedings. When presented with an opportunity to kill the monster before it does in the cornered lighthouse keeper, the posse armed with rifles, refuses to take a shot at the creature until it has succeeding in capturing its prey. Brings to mind some of the latter day scenes from “Jurassic Park” where the dinosaurs are somehow more cunning and noble than their human counterparts and are able to admirably fend off puny Man. A digression, yes.

Still, it is a fun Saturday afternoon/evening horror viewing.

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The Monster That Challenged The World (1957) – Salton Sea Monsters

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I just viewed this science fiction film from the 1950’s a few days ago. I admit that I was mostly entertained by this movie which eluded viewing until just recently but coincided with some articles I saw that illustrated the decline and fall of the Salton Sea recreational area located in the southern most part of the state of California, USA. Seems that this area was once a thriving vacation and resort spot before things got a little disgusting with the receding of this (basically) unnatural lake. The lake resulted as a collection of runoff of high water from the Colorado River in essentially a desert environment and was sustained for a time from diverted waters from agricultural water usage to form a massive, though reasonably shallow body of water. In its heyday, people bought property here and enjoyed the lakeside life but eventually, as the waters evaporated, the fish in the lake died, the smell of rot ballooned and the dust which kicked up had a very negative effect on the health of local residents. An exodus followed and relatively small numbers of people still occupy the area. Anyway, those notes aside, let’s talk about this movie!

A military base located at one end of the Salton Sea experiences a sizeable earthquake. The event triggers the uncovering of prehistoric mollusk eggs which become exposed to water and subsequently mature into beasties on the attack for food. This comes in the form of unsuspecting humans who become prey. It is the job of the military to neutralize the threat and ensure that said monstrosities do not encroach on nearby and outlying human food sources.

Nice stretches of the military and scientists combining to track and contain the problem. Also some very horrific moments where multiple female cast members are shown to have suffered similar losses of significant others and the devastating impact it has on their lives. These moments definitely caught me off guard. An interesting, mature touch not generally seen in these types of movies! Wow. This movie was very ahead of its time. Worth checking out!

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“Horror of Dracula” (1958) – A Different (S)Take on Bram Stoker’s Novel, “Dracula”.

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I have always enjoyed Hammer Films’ “Horror Of Dracula” starring Peter Cushing as Dr. Van Helsing, vampire authority, and Christopher Lee as the undead blood sucker, Dracula. I thought the movie was a very well done horror thriller. Lee is menacing and frightening as a very strong but cold parasitic beast bent on his own survival. Cushing is magnificent as the determined and brilliant expert on folklore and the Supernatural bent on ending the vampire’s reign of terror.

With the current pandemic raging on and being newly unemployed, I found time to finally finish Bram Stoker’s novel, “Dracula”. Now, comparing Hammers’ “Horror” with Stoker’s work, I found definite narrative differences. The Hammer film follows its own logic and twist on the story and is satisfying enough in its own right. Stoker’s work is of course The Source Material and being a 300 page novel having to be adapted by a scriptwriter for a 90 to 120 minute movie, many choice and not so choice bits are left out of the screen treatment for “Horror of Dracula”. I think these are two different visions sharing the same title character and some of the supporting players. Both versions are interesting and entertaining and it is worth investing time in reading the novel and getting a look at the original vision of author Stoker.

halloween, Horror, horror movie, monster movie, unexplained phenomena

BLACULA – 1972- VAMPIRES RUN AMOK!

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African prince is “converted” to blood thirsty, undead vampire by Dracula.  The Prince becomes a vampire and progresses through the centuries turning others in to vampires in his passing.  Very entertaining vampire flick from the 1970’s that follows Blacula’s modern day wake of death and destruction as he feeds his hunger for blood.  Naturally, a lot of the film takes place at night which lends a creepy air and some of the surprise vampire attacks are startling.   Some of the action is clumsy and dumb but William Marshall as Blacula lends a sinister, menacing presence.  Fantasy movie veteran Elisha Cook Jr. turns up as a hospital attendant. (See “The Night Stalker”, “House on Haunted Hill”).  As I have said many times before, they don’t make them like this anymore.  This movie has a look that is ALL 1970’s.

haunted places, monster movie

GRAVEYARD SHIFT (1990) – CALL SEVERAL EXTERMINATORS!

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A mildly amusing Saturday afternoon diversion, “Graveyard Shift” was based on a Stephen King short story.  Here it is fleshed out into movie length and a large part of that filling is loaded with oozing, despicable caricatures.  A bunch of people you could care less about are tasked with cleaning up the lower level area of a mill located somewhere on the east coast.  Maybe the extraction of all the crap which has accumulated down there over the years will alleviate some of the rat problem that infests the place.  What is not known is that the mother of all rodents resides in the shadowy depths and it is ALWAYS hungry for human flesh.  Not the worst way to waste 90 minutes but stay tuned for some heavy gore scenes between the warring factions of vermin, human and rat.  The King story is quite different in that it involves one man trapped in a collapsing underground labyrinth with a gigantic rodent in hot pursuit.  Yuck!

Check out this link below which recounts graveyard shift workers’ sometimes scary working conditions.  A few good chills will be had:

https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-night-shift-stories/rosa-pasquarella

action, end of the world, monster movie, mysterious places, science fiction, science fiction films, suspense

THEM – (1954) – Regular Ants Are Bad Enough!

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A real creepy premise in this flick:  giant, mutated ants are on the loose and stalking victims in isolated areas of the God forsaken desert!

I bring you this cinematic, sci-fi gem because of a recent summer time invasion of the small variety of ants in our house in pursuit of the cat’s food.  These little beasts are annoying enough in their present miniature state as they scamper in all directions as you try to eradicate their presence inside your home.  In addition to the trouble of getting them picked up and removed, you get the sinister feeling that the insects are crawling all over you!  Imagine how you’d feel if the ants in question were 10 or more feet in length?

This is a classic science fiction film from the 1950’s that postulates that exposure to radiation could mutate a small ant into a formidable, potentially man destroying monster.  And what if there were a nest of these giants?

You get the idea.  Arm your self with a flame thrower and an automatic weapon and you may stand a chance of survival against these denizens from some unnamed Hell!  Give it a look and drink up the lovely desert studio set ups!  Some definitely scary set pieces crop up in this engaging science fiction thriller.

horror tv, monster movie, mysterious places, paranormal, scary tv

DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK – TRAILER – 1973

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1970’s TV movies offered up a plethora of weird subject matter the net result being that it left deep psychological wounds on young, impressionable viewers which I am sure, myself included, they carry with them to this day.  I remember the exhilaration of braving some of this creepy TV material and then spending sleepless nights terrified by the experience.  This unpleasant little story included these hideous, shriveled up, doll sized demons you see here.  You see, there is a lady, actress Kim Darby, who spends quite a lot of time in a dark house filled with these beasts.  They only want her to join their infernal ranks.  Let the drama begin!

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KING OF THE LOST WORLD – 2005

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With a lot of attention being placed on the upcoming theatrical release of “Jurassic World”, it might interest you to take a look at this lovely little lost world ditty.  A plan crashes on an isolated island that is rife with primordial life forms.  But the really beautiful beastie present is the “King” of this place.  Look familiar?  A man in a terrible ape suit runs wild at times through this thing.  This movie is a great diversion.  Seek it out and have a few cheap thrills!

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THE RELIC – 1997

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I have never really liked this movie.  On recent viewing, I can see why.  The entire production is revolting.  It starts with the fact that this is a big budgeted movie based on a best selling book, “Relic”.  Don’t expect to watch this and think it reliably follows the novel.  There have been many editorial liberties taken.  (So what else is new, you ask?)  This movie is awash in guts and gore being spewed in all directions.  There are generous helpings of entrail ripping, blood splatterings and heads being severed.  Ugh.  I don’t think I found one likeable character in the entire story.  Maybe that helps ease the pain of having to add to the body count.  So what the whole sick mess is about purports to be a genetically altered human, reptile, insect hybrid monster that lurks in a sewer below a Natural History Museum.  A cop is investigating some deaths at the museum and stumbles upon this menace.  Too many dimly lit scenes, screaming, fleeing people, body mutilations, and crude special effects for my tastes.  Should have been left under lock and key.

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“FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY” – 2013

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I stumbled upon this movie late at night and was instantly appalled!  What a horrific, nightmarish spectacle it all is.  A unit of Russian soldiers during World War II are unfortunate enough to wander into the Hell of a den of nearly unstoppable human/robot hybrids.  The soldiers’ mission is to apprehend a latter day descendant of the evil Dr. Frankenstein himself and put a stop to his hideous killer creations.  They should have gone AWOL and fled the mission.  The creatures featured in this lovely gore fest are pieced together from dead bodies and curious mechanical parts the good doctor has lying around his lab.  I’ll let you discover their grotesque makeup on your own.  I guess this is one of the charms the film could boast.  What insane mash up of corpse and metal might be coming next?  It is possible for the entire concept of “Frankenstein’s Army”  to build up a loyal fan base and a new horror franchise could be born.  Plenty of gunplay, unrelenting action, explosions, freakish creatures, severed limbs, exposed brains, bloodshed and insane ranting to please even the most jaded horror movie fan.  Truly sickening!!!

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THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS (1957) TRAILER

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An enjoyable time filler fantasy picture that follows a team that captures a live abominable snowman or yeti.  Forrest Tucker plays a sham naturalist who talks of sharing the capture of a yeti to the world as a scientific wonder.  As the movie progresses, we find out that he is in fact a P.T. Barnum in the making who wants to parade the beast around the world at fair and make a killing at the box office.  Peter Cushing is a more traditional scientist who comes to detest the intentions of Tucker.  Very atmospheric music and sets when the team actually manages to catch one of the elusive beasties.  Dread, then sets in for the human party.