Killer Monster Alien Thing

 

 (imdb)

DEEP SPACE-1989-Two police detectives McLemore (Charles Napier) & Merris (Ron Glass) run afoul of a government created monster on a killing spree. Their hard-nosed captain (Bo Swenson) is always on their asses. A police coroner (Anthony Eisley discovers an organic rock at a crash site and later while studying it an "Alien" like creature emerges and kills him. The duo takes two rocks from the site too. Meanwhile a group of scientists led by Forsyth (James Booth) and a general (Norman Burton) debate on what to do. The Alien type monster with big teeth kills a wino. The government tries to cover it up but the cops are persistent. Meanwhile a psychic (Julie Newmar) warns Napier about the killings but he's too busy romancing Clara (Ann Turkel). After Merris is killed, McLemore goes after the monster. 

A bloody finale featuring a chainsaw caps this typical '80's monster horror movie that's better than most at the time thanks to enthusiastic competent direction of Fred Olen Ray.

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Anime Short

 

 (myfreewallpapers.com)

NEGADON:THE MONSTER FROM MARS-2005-In the overpopulated world of 2025, the globalization of Mars is a success. However, a returning spaceship brings back a monster that proceeds to destroy everything. A professor haunted by the death of his only daughter uses a giant robot he created years ago to battle the creature and save Earth. Impressive computer-generated Japanese anime short (21 minutes) by Jun Awazu.

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Foghorn

 

 (imdb)

THE ROCKET MAN-1954-Timmy (George “Foghorn” Winslow), an imaginative little orphan is given a special space gun by a weird looking alien. When he shoots it, it makes moving things stop. It also makes people tell the truth. He's taken in by Amelia Brown (Spring Byington), the local judge and her daughter June (Anne Francis two years before FORBIDDEN PLANET). Amelia wants to put the local corrupt politico Big Bill Watkins (Emory Parnell) in jail. Mayor Ed Johnson (Charles Colburn) is sweet on Amelia but he's in Big Bill's pocket. Enter Tom Baxter (John Agar; in Hugo Haas' BAIT the same year), a parolee sent by a warden to get reformed under the Judge's wing. A couple Bob (future “Bowery Boy” Stanley Clements) and Ludine (Beverly Garland) come to get married, and it turns out Bob is the parolee not Tom. In fact, Tom is actually a lawyer hired by Watkins to close the orphanage. Timmy uses the gun to save the orphanage and help June and Tom fall in love. 

This is a whimsical little love story comedy with a great cast but a so-so script dripping with sentimentality. It was co-written by future comedian Lenny Bruce. 

Director Oscar Rudolph worked mainly in TV but he also made the features TWIST AROUND THE CLOCK (1961) and DON'T KNOCK THE TWIST (1962). He was the father of future director Alan Rudolph. Child actor George Winslow was also known for his earlier in the musical comedy GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) (also with Charles Coburn) and made his last movie in 1958.

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Cohen Returns

 

 (imdb)

GOD TOLD ME TO-1976-This opens with a sniper on a water tower killing people in NYC. Police officer Peter Nichols (Tony Lo Bianco) tries to take him down but the sniper jumps to his death after saying “God told me to”. Later Nichols visits a guy in the hospital who randomly stabbed a bunch of people. When asked why, he replies “God told me to”. At the St. Patrick's Day parade, a cop (Andy Kaufman) goes crazy and shoots several people. Before getting fatally shot he yells “God told me to”. The religious cop has a hard time coping while investigating and is eventually suspended. People riot when it seems 'God's own hand” is driving the murders. A drug dealer kills a cop and this too is blame on God. Meanwhile a cartel of businessmen worships a “living” God. Actually, a glowing, sexless offspring of an alien (Richard Lynch) and an Earth woman (Sylvia Miles in the present). Later the alien seems to take over Nichols and he makes a pimp kill some other thugs then himself. The alien/God wants a kid of his own but Nichols causes its destruction in the freaked-out finale, ending with Nichols arrested for murder and committed to a mental hospital. Some of the plot also involves Nichols' ex-wife (Sandy Dennis) and his new girlfriend (Deborah Raffin). 

This quirky, even strange, story was the concoction of writer/director Larry Cohen (two years after IT'S ALIVE) and as usual features weird dialogue and characters but some of the scenes seem out of place, not part of the story.

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Ed Wood: Adviser

 

 (bleeding skull)

THE ASTOUNDING SHE MONSTER-1957-Wealthy socialite Margaret Chaffee (Marilyn Harvey) is kidnapped and taken to a hideout in the San Gabriel mountains. A "visitor beyond imagination" lands on Earth around the same time the two kidnappers (one is Keene Duncan) along with their "moll" (Jeanne Tatum), a drunken floozy and Chaffee, hold up in the isolated cabin of a geologist (Robert Clarke). The rather voluptuous radioactive alien (Shirley Kilpatrick) walks around the forest, kills a dog and later a bear. She kills one kidnapper then terrorizes the rest who flee into the woods. They try to set her on fire but that fails. They run back to the cabin. They do this several times. 

This black and white cheapie was made by Ronnie Ashcroft who had been assistant director on Ed Wood's NIGHT OF THE GHOULS (which starred Duncan). It's said Wood was the movie's “adviser” and his influence is all over it. Loud out of place music, more talk than action, characters spouting quasi-philosophical dialogue. Soon after this Ashcroft produced the short “Trick Shooting with Keene Duncan”.

 “She Monster” Shirley Kilpatrick had a successful career as a model but her only movie after this was an un-uncredited role in THE GENE KRUPA STORY in 1959. After several troubled marriages, she became a psychic! Unfortunately, at age 38 she died of a drug overdose in 1971.

 

Shirley with Jack LaLane

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George Gobel College Professor

 

 (imdb)

THE DAY IT CAME TO EARTH-1977-This starts off with two hit men killing a guy in witness protection. Later some college guys ask some girls on a date. At night a skull faced alien crashes and roams around. It kills the two hit men and goes for a rest in the lake where the guys take the girls the next day. One of the guys finds a strange rock and they show it to their professor (George Gobel). Later the monster terrorizes some girls who have to stay in a haunted house.

 With the presence of comedian Gobel, the weird dialogue and bad acting, I'm lead to believe this Arkansas shot mess was supposed to be a comedy but at the last minute they tried to play it straight. Rita Wilson (future wife of Tom Hanks) is also in it. Director Harry Thomason also made ENCOUNTER WITH THE UNKNOWN (1972), SO SAD ABOUT GLORIA (1973) and REVENGE OF BIGFOOT (1979) and later went into TV, working on the show “Designing Women”.

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Not Relevant

 

 (imdb)

AGENT REVELATION-2021-This amateurish sci-fi film is actually a sequel. A sinister alien dust called "Ash" threatens Earth. A rich guy (Michael Dorn) runs an institute to combat the invasion. An Asian American dude named Jim Yung (Director/writer Derek Ting) seems to have some powers but this is just some stupid video game influenced junk.

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Mummy From Outer Space

 

 (imdb)

TIME WALKER-1982-In King Tut's tomb college professor McCadden (Ben Murphy) finds the mysterious sarcophagus of Akhn Venharis (Jack Olson). He brings it back to LA where he and his students examine it. Stupid student Sharpe (Kevin Brophy) accidentally gives the mummy too much radiation while x-raying it. He also steals some crystals in a secret compartment. McCadden and his girlfriend/student Susie (Nina Axelrod) also discover a green fungus which Dr. Melrose (Austin Stoker) can't figure out. Dean Rossmore (James Karen) and his ass kissing assistant (Gregory Prendergast) want to show it off but the mummy disappears. They think it's a college frat joke. Meanwhile the mummy wanders around killing people (mostly shown in POV shots). When a student is burned by the fungus his arm has to be amputated by a doctor (Antoinette Bower). Shari Belafonte Harper is a college DJ/photographer. Idiot Sharpe starts spreading the crystals all over town and Venharis wants them back. It seems he's not Egyptian but an alien from outer space.

This is low budget nonsense that's pretty boring and dumb and ends with the words " to be continued". Unfortunately there was no sequel as this was the only film directed by Tom Kennedy who co-wrote the story with co-producer Jason Williams, star of FLESH GORDON.

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Vampiro

 

 (imdb)

VAMPIRO: WARRIOR OF THE NIGHT-1993-Pro wrestler Vampiro (the real life wrestler aka Ian Hodgkinson) is captured by a cartoonish mad would be ruler of the world. He's after some-thing called "the nitro weapons". La Rosa, a masked alien wrestling woman and her Ewok like pet, also search for them. The atrocious dubbed dialogue makes it hard to tell if it's supposed to be a straight forward comedy or not. Vamp (who's voice is dubbed) disappears during the final battle but shows up at the end to lament La Rosa's departure. 

Crazy low budget action tjing made to cash in on Vampiro's popularity in Mexico (where this was filmed). The '80's synth soundtrack doesn't help. Some real life wrestlers also appear: King Haku, Norman Smiley, Ultimo Dragon and Negro Casas among them.

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'50's Corman

IT CONQUERED THE WORLD-1956-AIP low budget S.F. classic from Roger Corman! When a government satellite disappears and then crash lands in the town of Beachwood California, a disgraced scientist Tom Anderson (Lee Van Cleef) claims that a visitor from Venus has landed and is preparing to take over the world. He tries to convince his friend Dr. Paul Nelson (Peter Graves) that this is a good thing ("That superior intelligence happens to be a personal friend of mine"). One way it hopes to accomplish a takeover is by sending out weird pulsating flying creatures that turn humans into emotionless zombies who herd the local populace into the desert for "protective custody" (we never see this however). Beverley Garland plays Claire, Anderson's hard nose wife who tries desperately to convince him of his folly despite being in love with him. Sally Fraser is Paul's cheery wife Joan who Paul is forced to shoot after she's taken over.

The script by AIP vet Lou Rusoff (DAY THE WORLD ENDED) provides a lot of great dialogue (Graves' speech at the climax is particularly memorable). The rubbery "inverted ice cream cone" monster/invader (created and operated by Paul Blaisdell) is usually a target of much ridicule and his demise (involving a blowtorch) is wacky but it hardly takes away from the enjoyment of the story which is really put over by the acting ans script. Also added is a small army patrol led by Dick Miller and his comical phony Hispanic sidekick (Jonathan Haze), Russ Bender as a general and usual screenwriter Charles B. Griffith as a scientist.

This is the only sci-fi/horror film Roger Corman made in 1956 but the next year he made the ultra cool NOT OF THIS EARTH! (which also features Garland)

One last note: Frank Zappa talks about IT CONQUERED THE WORLD at the beginning of the song "Cheepnis" on the album/CD "Roxy and Elsewhere".

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What Thing?

THE THING-2011-A biologist, Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins a team in the Arctic to investigate a UFO and it's frozen occupant in this prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 version. The pompous scientist (Ulrich Thomsen) leading the expedition decides to get a tissue sample by drilling through the block of ice. While everyone is partying "the thing" breaks out. They burn it after it kills a guy and dissect the body. Unfortunately they learn too late that the alien can turn into other people. Since nearly every horror movie today has disgusting SFX there's nothing new here (and the SFX in Carpenter's version were better....).

Joel Edgerton and Adewade Akinnuoye-Agbaje are also in it.

Once again Hollywood takes an untested director, in this case a Dutch director of TV commercials Mattijs van Heijningen to helm a big budgeted remake. Do they really care?

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Aliens & Vikings

OUTLANDER-2008-An alien named Kainan (Jim Caviezel; Jesus in Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST) crash lands on Earth during the time of The Vikings, who are lead by the old Hrothgar (John Hurt, acting a little John Carradine-ish at times). He thinks Kainan is a spy. Unfortunately for the violent unkempt barbarians Kainan has brought along a little extra company in the form of something called a Moorwen, sort of an ALIEN inspired monster that likes to eat people and animals. The Moorwen was a stowaway on Kainan's space ship when it crashed landed. Even though The Vikings believe in Norse gods, frost giants, Valhalla and such they have a problem with Kainan's story even after they are attacked and several warriors are killed. Later a search party kills a giant bear and they all think the trouble is over and Kainen becomes "one of them".

Zack Huston plays Wulfric, the rival to Kainan for the affections of Freya (Sophia Myles who was in the first two UNDERWORLD movies). Ron Perlman is Gunnar the leader of an enemy tribe who winds up teaming up with them to stop the still living Moorwen. Together they devise a trap to kill the creature but it doesn't exactly work.

Although this derivative nonsense was inspired by PATHFINDER and THE LORD OF THE RINGS it also owes props to Roger Corman's ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES! Director Howard McCain wrote the sequel UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS.

Thanks again to Tony and to anyone reading this!

Time Travel From TV to Movies

ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE-1967-This is two (or three) episodes of the short-lived TV show TIME TUNNEL edited together for a phony feature length release. Both feature the time traveling regulars James Darren and Robert Colbert.

In the first half Robert Duvall guest stars as a time traveling spy who plants a bomb in the Tunnel headquarters and escapes into the future. Whit Bissell and Lee Meriwether try to help in the present as the duo chase the future Oscar winning actor into the far future where silver and gold-faced humanoids with no feelings are building their own time machine. It all ends in a beehive in prehistoric times!

The second half also features sliver-skinned aliens. They are planning an invasion of Earth. It takes place in The Old West. Darren winds up in jail and Colbert becomes a zombie. Stock footage from another movie is also used. There are no real “name guests” but some familiar character actors like Tris Coffin, John Hoyt and Byron Foulger appear!

The Time Tunnel was the least successful of Executive Producer Irwin Allens’s four Sci-Fi TV shows. It only lasted one season and it was apparent that before the season was even half over they were running out of ideas! Many of the sets, props, SFX and even the monsters seem to be “borrowed” from some of the earlier shows (like Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea and Lost in Space).

Allen of course went on to produce disaster films like TOWERING INFERNO and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE.

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