It seems the media plus these "eminent doctors, sociologists and other assorted eggheads" might have a field day blaming movies on the troubles of the world today. The Korean movie OLDBOY took some heat in part for the murderous actions of Cho Seung-Hui at Virginia Tech. It was only a matter of time. Heavy metal music, a violent video game or a movie. That's their answer. It scares them I guess because no one really knows what set Cho off besides the fact that he was insane. They do a lot of talking about it after the fact. It's all bullshit. Movies don't kill people. It's just excuse....
Anyway, back to the movies!
THE CREEPING TERROR-1964-This unbelievable mess is the product of a guy who usually worked as a film editor on big budget Hollywood films and TV shows. At least I have read something to that effect. I remain unconvinced.
You won’t believe the alien “terror” of the title usually referred to by bad movie fans as “The Carpet Monster”. It’s rubbery, lumbering and so laughable it seems impossible that the director was being serious but apparently he was! But what else could you expect from a guy who lost the film’s dialogue track! So instead a narrator pops in once in while to tell us what the heck is going on and how the characters feel and why they are doing what they are doing. Some characters do talk occasionally but most of that is dubbed in. The giant monster (who has weird dubbed in roar) arrives in a very small space ship and somehow gets out and munches the local populace. Several “victims” seem to be actually pushing themselves into the monster’s maw. It attacks people in a park, at the local lovers lane and in the strangest scene it crashes a bizarre dance party. One victim defends himself with a guitar and there’s a bit of gore.
The star our featured epic!
TERROR falls into a kind of “gray area” of bad films that includes THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS, BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL and mostly everything Jerry Warren ever made. They are very bad but not really that entertaining yet should be seen at least once to be believed!
The director, Arthur “AJ” Nelson plays the lead (under the name Vic Savage), a local deputy just back from his honeymoon. Norman Boone who later on changed his first name to Brendan and co-starred in the short-lived TV show GARRISON’S GORILLAS plays his partner.
A fat fisherman/victim is played by Jack King who was also in the adults only features ONE MILLION YEARS AC/DC (written by Ed Wood) and MRS STONE’S THING (co-starring Ed Wood)! William Thourlby plays a government agent. He was in other movies (including THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) and later wrote the best seller “Passport To Power”!
Co-scripter Robert Silliphant wrote Ray Dennis Steckler’s THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED UP ZOMBIES! I’m told do-it all Nelson passed away several years ago without ever making another film. He reminds me of another “one film wonder” mystery man Tom Graeff, who made TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE in 1959 and dropped off the face of the Earth!
Thanks for reading!
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