A very low budgeted entry here, reportedly costing $3,500.00 back in the early 1970’s, this is an ambitious if very flawed work but enough about that.
There are three aliens on display terrorizing the countryside and a lot of interesting special effects work including stop motion animated creatures and pulsing prisms of color that are kind of cool.
Another gnarly attraction is the appearance of a rock power trio named “Atlantis” playing a tune in a bar. An awesome moment!
I also am a fan of the grating electronic soundtrack for this flick. Check it out. You can get a copy on green vinyl through ebay. I’m there!
The Beast Unleashed in question is the unknown impact and power of the Atomic Bomb. It was on July 16th, 1945 that the United States detonated its first atomic bomb in a desert region near Alamogordo, New Mexico. This was a new weapon in the arsenal of US military forces. What destructive powers could be released by this furious weapon?
We get a partial answer to this conundrum in “Beast From 20,000 Fathoms” (1953). An atomic bomb is being tested in the Arctic Circle region. Its explosive power frees a frozen dinosaur embedded in ice. The creature is revived and finds an ocean route to New York City! There, havoc is naturally wrought as The Beast spreads death and destruction in its wake.
This movie is notable for allowing the talents of writer Ray Bradbury and stop motion animator Ray Harryhausen to share the screen.
Great Saturday afternoon fare!
I had memories of watching this movie at a much younger age and decided to check it out again. Luckily, You Tube has the complete movie available for viewing. I must say that it is much better watching this time from what I previously remembered.
A geologist comes across a forbidden text which carries within it a demonic lineage and an evil spirit in human form is trying to recover said text at whatever cost. Friends of the geologist become involved in the struggle for ownership of what is probably the Book of Tobin and must deal with the evil machinations of the demon Asmodeous.
There are a lot of nice special effects in this film such as scenes of Purgatory, reality being literally and visually warped and stop motion animation of some the Infernal nightmare monsters of Hell by Jim Danforth and Daevid Allen.
Fantastic Saturday afternoon viewing fare!
This picture was made on a small budget and sports some Ray Harryhausen style stop motion animation effects. Pretty good effects at that. Sometimes the figures and models look out of scale with their background but the motion achieved is more than adequate. This is a good flick for a lazy Saturday afternoon: enough thrills to keep you occupied but nothing spectacular either. Kid finds blaster in the desert which allows him to blow things to smithereens. Cool! The unfortunate side effect of the weapon is that it turns the kid into a hideous green- hued monster. The alien owners of the weapon show up and reclaim it from the kid but not without a fight. I suppose it is a cautionary tale: don’t mess with what you don’t understand. An otherwise innocent youth not even in his prime is corrupted by the awesome force he uncovers and is corrupted absolutely. Sounds like too much TV, movies, and Internet usage.
A varied collection of unusual movie and music video clips.
