Morgan!

 

 (imdb)

MORGAN-2016-A corporate investigator Lee (Kate Mara) goes to a secret facility to check up on their experiments with a bio-genetically created girl named Morgan (Anya Taylor Joy). The head scientist (Toby Jones) says they have things under control but Morgan is obviously a loose cannon who beats up another scientist (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and some of the staff and rips open the throat of a obnoxious visiting psychiatrist (Paul Giamatti). The only one with a level head is Chen (the actress who used to be Michelle Yeoh). When Lee wants to destroy Morgan, the idiotic staff make Lee and Morgan prisoners and Morgan starts killing everyone. Then Lee has to fight Morgan in the woods. Obviously, the wooden, emotionless Lee is not what she seems. Brian Cox has a brief cameo at the end. 

Director Luke Scott has worked mostly in TV.

The Title Is A Bit Over The Top

 

 (imdb)

THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING-1964-After a plane crash, a car crash, a train crash and people dying and then credits, American Jeff Nolan (NY born low-budget western star Williard Parker) drives through an English village and finds everyone dead. He sets up in a hotel and tries using a TV and shortwave radio. He meets Quint (Dennis Price) and Peggy (Virginia Field), a couple pretending to be married. Then meets Edgar (Thorley Waters) and Violet (Vanda Godsell). No sooner do they all get together when Violet is killed by some weird looking robots, who disappear as suddenly as they appeared. Another couple, Mel (David Spenser) and Nona (Anna Palk) (who's pregnant) show up. 

Later on, Violet turns up, obviously reanimated with white round eyes. Quint kills her and they all decide to leave. When Quint forces Peggy to leave with him, she's menaced by some zombies and Quint is killed. Jeff saves her but then Nora decides to have her baby. While Jeff and Mel search for the transmitter that controls the robots, dead Quint and the robots terrorize Peggy, Nona and her baby Fortunately, they destroy the transmitter. A drunken Edgar comes to his senses and kills Quint. The survivors leave by plane to find others. A full explanation to the invasion isn't given. 

This mysteriously dark, black and white science fiction film was directed by Terence Fisher the same year he made THE GORGON (with Lee & Cushing) and THE HORROR OF IT ALL (with Pat Boone and Dennis Price). It was written by Harry Spaulding who also penned WITCHCRAFT the same year. Robert Lippert was one of the producers.

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Preying Mantis?

 

 (imdb)

THE DEADLY MANTIS-1957-After a lot about radar and the creation of the Dew line, Col. Parkman (Craig Stevens) arrives at the North Pole just in time to hear about an isolated outpost being wrecked. When a plane is destroyed, a large claw is found. A panel of experts led by General Ford (Donald Randolph) is stunned. They call in Dr. Jackson (William Hopper) who's a fossil expert from the Museum of Natural History. He seems to think it is a giant insect on the loose. An old professor (Florenz Ames) thinks this theory is crazy but a giant praying mantis is alive and killing Greenland Eskimos. Jackson goes off to the North Pole but is kind of forced to take the female editor of the museum magazine, Margaret Blaine (Alix Talton) with him. All the men at the pole go ga-ga over seeing her. Parkman in particular. After the men dance with Marge (and each other) the mantis attacks the base. Jackson and Parkman address the situation on TV and the mantis tries to make its way to warmer climates. The Air Force engages it but fail to kill it. 

Later the mantis invades DC and climbs the Washington monument. It goes to NY and crawls into the Manhattan tunnel (Holland tunnel?). Parkman leads a group into the tunnel and they succeed in killing the now wounded mantis but Marge is almost killed. Parkman saves her (terrible final effect). Also with Pat Conway and Bing Russell.

THE DEADLY MANTIS was produced and co-written by William Alland who had previously produced all 3 “Creature From The Black Lagoon” movies. He got his start in Orson Welles' “Mercury Theater” and played the reporter trying to uncover the meaning of “rosebud” in CITIZEN KANE (1941). Director Nathan Juran (sometimes Hertz), who in 1941 won an Academy Award for art direction, also made 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH and THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS the same year. In 1958, he'd direct ATTACK OF THE 50-FOOT WOMAN!

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No End

 

WORLD WITHOUT END-1956-4 astronauts on a spaceship probing Mars have trouble getting home. John Borden (Hugh Marlowe) is the kind of leader. There's also Dr. Galbraithe (Nelson Leigh), Ellis (Rod Taylor) and Jaffe (Christopher Dark). They crash land on an unknown planet that has gravity, oxygen and snow. After they encounter two giant spiders, they bed down for the evening and are attacked by disfigured caveman. Of course, they are actually on the future Earth (after an apocalypse). They retreat to a cave and meet the underground survivors of mankind. A bunch of male fuddy duddies and beautiful short-skirted women all led by Timmak (Everett Glass). The men wear bathing caps. The jealous Mories (Booth Colman) plots to destroy the astros when Borden falls in love with Garnet (Nancy Gates), the leader's daughter. Later they build a bazooka and fight the mutants. Borden then has to fight the mutants' one-eyed leader. Borden wins the fight and mutants and humans live together in harmony. 

This science fiction post-apocalyptic adventure is pretty funny with the astronauts conveniently landing on Earth (no spacesuits), travelling in regular hiking clothes with knapsacks and the weapons being guns and an axe. Still the premise is fairly interesting. 

Paul Brineger, Strother Martin, Mickey Thompson and Herb Vigran have uncredited roles. Sam Peckinpah was the dialogue director. Director/writer Edward Bernds was working on the “Bowery Boys” series around this time and later worked a lot with The Three Stooges.

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Alien DNA Monster

 

 (themoviedb.org)

SPECIES-1995-A kind of mad scientist (Ben Kingsley) puts alien DNA into a human fetus and winds up with an alien human female monster that kills and regenerates. He puts together a group to hunt it. An assassin (Michael Madsen), 2 scientists (Alfred Molina, Marg Helgenberger) and an empath (Forest Whitaker). Named Sil, she/it (Natasha Henstridge) is looking for a mate. After a lot of killing she gives birth and the climax takes place in an underground cave. It was ok and the cast is good. 

Director Roger Donaldson directed big-budgeted things like THE BOUNTY (1984) with Mel Gibson, NOW WAY OUT (1987) with Kevin Costner and COCKTAIL (1988) with Tom Cruise. After this he made the mad volcano hit DANTE'S PEAK (1996). Of course, they couldn't quit while they were ahead...

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Damned Kids!

 

CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED-1964-Two doctors, Neville (Alan Badel) & Llewelyn (Ian Hendry) try to figure out what do to about a young boy named Paul, who has phenomenally high intelligence. His mother says Paul (Clive Powell; also in the original film)) has no father and isn't human. A UNESCO doctor tells the two that there are 5 more just like Paul scattered around the world. They are from Russia, India, China, Nigeria, Moscow, USA and all seem to be fatherless and have mysterious powers. When Webster (Alfred Burke), a sneaky government worker tries to take Paul from his aunt Susan (Babara Ferris), Paul causes a small car crash. The kids get together and hold up in an abandoned building with Paul's aunt and use her as a conduit to talk. When the police kill their dog, the kids’ eyes glow and they make the shooter kill his partner and himself. When it's discovered they are not human, it's decided they must be destroyed but Lewelyn doesn't agree. Another scientist learns that the kids’ DNA is what mankind's will be like in a thousand years. Things go awry in the tragic finale. 

There doesn't seem any reason for this pointless sequel that offers no explanation for the children unless you accept it's the same as in the first (and much better) film. It's also interesting to note that the two doctors appear to be a gay couple (Homosexuality was still illegal in England at the time). This is only one of two feature films directed by American Anton Leader.

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Bava In Space

 

 (imdb)

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES-1965-A group of astronauts land on a mysterious planet looking for a missing spaceship. At first they act strangely. They find the spaceship they were looking for but the crew is dead. The captain, Mark Markary (Barry Sullivan) deduces some kind of force is trying to control them. They find giant dinosaur like skeletons, the remains of a dead civilization. But the inhabitants are still around possessing dead bodies and killing who's ever still alive. 

There's a twist ending in this well directed but slow-paced horror sci-fi from Mario Bava which was co-produced by AIP. Star Sullivan promoted this film on an episode of “Celebrity Password”. Susan Hart (AIP co-owner James Nicholson's wife) was originally supposed to play the female lead. Director Bava's future director son, Lamberto was the assistant director.

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God Save Us From Go Pro

 

 (imdb)

HARDCORE HENRY-2015-This dizzy violent sci-fi chase film is like a role playing video game. The whole story is the POV of some hybrid android thing called Henry trying to rescue his wife from an over-acting psycho in Moscow. 

It was shot with a Go-Pro using anything goes computer effects. Tim Roth plays Henry's father. The director, Ilya Naishuller threatens a sequel.

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The Original Invaders

 

 (imdb)

INVADERS FROM MARS-1953-Little David (Jimmy Hunt) who's interested in astronomy sees a UFO land near his house at night. When his scientist dad (Leif Erickson) goes to investigate, he disappears. David's mom (Hillary Brooke) calls the police. Two cops investigate (one is Douglas Kennedy) and seem to fall into a hole made in the sand. Later dad shows up, now a cold, mean zombie with a strange wound on the back of his head. After dad hits David, the cops show up also zombified. Later David sees his young neighbor fall in one of the sand holes. She comes back mesmerized and sets her house on fire. David goes to the chief of police (Bert Freed) but he's already been taken over and has Sgt. Finley (Walter Sande) put him in detention. Finley calls in Dr. Pat Blake (Helena Carter, who retired from acting after this) to examine David. She seems concerned. Mom comes to get David but it's obvious she's now “one of them”. Fortunately, Dr. Blake rescues him and takes him to see Dr. Kelston (Arthur Franz), an astronomer who believes David saw Martian invaders. Kelston contacts Col. Fielding (Morris Ankrum) and Capt. Roth (Milburn Stone). The taken over people start sabotaging things. When Pat & David are captured, we finally see the aliens, tall green guys with bulging eyes who obey a weird golden head (Luce Potter) who speaks telepathically. 

I won't reveal the “shock ending” although everyone probably knows it already! Also with (mostly all uncredited) William Phipps, Fay Baker, Peter Brocco, Richard Deacon, John Eldredge, Tod Karns, Robert Shayne, Frank Wilcox and Lock Martin. 

This science fiction film released by 20^th Century-Fox was filmed in SuperCineColor, a three-color process invented in 1948 but only used till around 1954. Despite a fairly low budget, director John Cameron Menzies uses unusual camera angles and almost surreal set pieces.

 (imdb)

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Who Got The Power?

 

 (imdb)

THE POWER-1968-A space project on human endurance to test how much pain future astronauts can endure is run by Dr. Tanner (George Hamilton). Washington representative Arthur Nordland (Michael Rennie) comes to check things out. He meets the whole team: Prof. Melnicker (Nehemiah Persoff), biologist Prof. Scott (Earl Holliman), genetics Prof. Margery Lansing (Suzanne Pleshette) and eccentric anthropologist Prof. Hallson (Arthur O'Connor), headed by Prof. Van Zandt (Richard Carlson}. Hallson says that based on his findings someone in the committee has an extraordinary power. They really don't believe him but later he's killed by some invisible force. His wife (Yvonne DeCarlo) is pretty upset. Detective Corlane (Gary Merrill) investigates. 

Almost immediately Tanner suspects someone on their committee is responsible. But suddenly Tanner is fired because his background appears to be phony. After having a bad time on a merry go round, he goes to the hometown of Prof. Hallson to discover who the mysterious Adam Hart is. Along the way he meets gas station attendant Bruce (Aldo Ray) and a waitress (Barbara Nichols) and Hallson's parents (Celia Lovsky and Vaughan Taylor). Then Bruce gives him a ride and strands him in the desert. Things get worse when he seeks shelter where the Air Force does target practice. Later he visits Mrs. Hallson, now a drunken floozy who can't remember what Hart looked like. When he goes to visit Margery, he's attacked by Prof. Melnicker, who knows someone is trying to kill them. They are invited to a party by a guy (Ken Murray) and after much useless partying Melnicker dies. They visit Norland who seems to be attacked but lives. Now Tanner suspects Van Zandt. While snooping at Van Zandt's house, a force tries to kill him. After Scott is killed by the police, Tanner has a showdown with the real killer, Nordland, where it's revealed who has the real power. Forrest J. Ackerman has a cameo as a hotel clerk. 

THE POWER is an interesting Sci-Fi movie that keeps you guessing for a while and features a good cast. It was the penultimate film produced by George Pal (WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS) and the last directed by Byron Haskin (WAR OF THE WORLDS, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON). According to Haskin MGM “sabotaged the film” because they wanted to be done with Pal.

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I Have A Gift For Disaster

 

 

 (themoviedb.org)

THE MEDUSA TOUCH-1978-A French police inspector Brunel (Lino Ventura; A PAIN IN THE ASS (1973)) investigates the burgeoning almost death of a famous writer, John Morlar (Richard Burton). Brunel tries to put together a motive. Morlar's psychiatrist (Lee Remick) says Morlar was a paranoiac who said he killed an evil nanny and his unloving parents. An assistant commissioner (Harry Andrews) puts pressure on Brunel to find the culprit. Morlar's publisher (Derek Jacobi) relates a flashback involving a tramp. In fact, most of this film is told in flashback by people who knew him. It seems everyone who wronged him dies. A lawyer (Alan Badel), a fortune teller (Michael Hordern), a judge (THE HORRIBLE DR. HITCHCOCK's Robert Flemyng), his wife Patricia (Marie-Christine Barrault) and her lover (Jeremy Brett). According to his cynical doctor (Gordon Jackson), Morlar's own mind is keeping him alive.

 Great disastrous climax with a twist ending. Unheralded all-star horror mystery directed by Jack Gold (THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT (1975)). The year before this, Burton had made the almost unwatchable THE EXORCIST 2 but was also nominated for a best actor Oscar for EQUUS.

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To The Moon

 

 (themoviedatabase)

FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON-1958-Florida 1868: The International Armament Club, a group whose members profited by making weapons for both sides during the Civil War are about listen to Victor Barbicane (Joseph Cotton) explain that he's invented Power X, an explosive so devastating it's too powerful to detonate on Earth! He plans to shoot a projectile to the moon and test it. Meanwhile industrialist and southern sympathizer Nicholl (George Sanders) wants to stop Barbicane from destroying the world. He has created a metal that could be used to send the explosive to the moon. He agrees to build a casing only because he thinks it will fail. President Grant (Morris Ankrum) tells Barbicane he must not send a charge to the moon because 22 nations see it as an act of war. He gives up Power X and everyone hates him. He breaks with his colleagues (Henry Daniel, Patrick Knowles and Ludwig Stossel) but his assistants (Carl Esmond and Don Dubbins) stand by him. With Nicholl's help, Barbicane wants to go to the moon and back. To slow things down, Ben (Don Dubbins) romances Nicholl's daughter, Virginia (Debra Paget). With Nicholl's help, he, Barbicane and Ben man a rocket into space with Virginia as a stowaway but the flight seems doomed as Nicholl's has sabotaged it. 

Melville Cooper is also in it as well as the voices of Robert Clarke (same year as THE HIDEOUS SUN DEMON) and Les Tremayne. This Technicolor science fiction is based on a novel by Jules Verne. It was originally produced by RKO but they went out of business and it was picked up and released by Warner Brothers. It's a farfetched but enjoyable tale with the two leads great when they butt heads. Byron Haskin (THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)) directed. This would be his last S.F. movie until 1964's ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS.

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Low Budget Slaves

 

 (imdb)

SLAVE GIRLS FROM BEYOND INFINITY-1987-On a distant planet, some survivors of spaceship crash (Elizabeth Kaitan, Cindy Beal, Brinke Stevens and lone male Cal Horner) are rescued by smooth talking Zed (Don Scribner) who lives in a castle with a bunch of robot servants. After not much happens, the story turns into a "The Most Dangerous Game” rip-off with Zed hunting the bikini clad trio in a phony forest. 

Typical '80's "tease" film, promising a lot and delivering nothing. Writer/director Ken Dixon also made THE EROTIC ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CURSOE (1976). His first film was the interesting short SHADOW HOUSE made in 1973. Richard Band was an executive producer.

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Bud and Lou and Me and You

 

 

 (wikipedia)

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN-1951-Bud Alexander (Bud Abbott) and Lou Francis (Lou Costello), new graduates of the Dugan Detective School, take on the case of Tommy Nelson (Arthur Franz; in THE SNIPER the next year)), a boxer accused of killing his manager. Nelson goes to his girlfriend Helen's (Nancy Guild; CAGLIOSTRO (1949)) house where her uncle, Dr. Gray (Gavin Muir) is working on the invisibility formula originally invented by John Griffin. Gray won't inject Tommy with the formula because it will drive him crazy. When no one is looking Tommy injects himself. Lou sees him fade away but no one believes him. Detective Roberts (William Frawley; just starting TV's "I Love Lucy") thinks Lou is crazy and takes him to a psychiatrist but Lou makes him fall asleep. Later they help Tommy clear his name. Lou becomes Louie the Looper, a boxer and challenges Rocky Hanlon (John Day), the boxer owned by gangster Morgan (Sheldon Leonard; also in the team's HIT THE ICE (1943)) who sends his moll Boots (Adele Jurgens; later in Corman's THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED (1955)) to set Lou up for a dive. Lou fights Hanlon with invisible Tommy helping him. Lou has some trouble when Tommy is knock unconscious. Syd Saylor, Bobby Barber, Milt Bronson and Herb Vigran have bit roles. 

Good sfx with a comical if kind of weird ending. One of 9 Abbott & Costello movies directed by Charles Lamont, who also started doing The Ma & Pa Kettle series around this time. The comedy duo made COMIN' 'ROUND THE MOUNTAIN (also directed by Lamont) the same year.

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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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Harryhausen

  (imdb)

EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS-1956-Dr. Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) and his wife Carol (Joan Taylor) have a UFO encounter. Later while overseeing Project Sky Hook, Marvin's father-in-law General Hanley (Morris Ankrum) advises him to cancel a scheduled rocket take off. Aliens land and metal robots cause some destruction. It seems their original message was misunderstood so they attacked, Later Martin and Carol, Major Huglin (Donald Curtis) and a police officer (Larry Blake) are taken aboard a saucer. There they see Hanley has been abducted, his brain scanned (weird effect) and has become the aliens' unwilling spokesman. They want to make Earth their new home as their world is dying. Martin and Prof. Kanter (John Zaremba) invent a sonic gun to kill the aliens. While it's being built, the aliens create some explosions on the moon and saucers attack DC. One is shot down and crashes into The Potomac. The Washington Monument and The Capital are among the buildings destroyed, mostly caused by the shot down UFOs. A bunch of generals and eggheads are portrayed by Frank Wilcox, Grandon Rhodes, Thomas B. Henry and Clark Howatt.

The SFX (by the master Ray Harryhausen, who goes uncredited!) are the real highlight of this black and white science fiction film directed by the unheralded super-fast Fred Sears who made 8 other movies in 1956 including ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK and THE WEREWOLF. Thomas B. Henry is an admiral and Paul Frees is the voice of an alien. One of the screenwriters was Curt Siodmak.

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Silence Please!

 

 (imdb)

A QUIET PLACE-2018-A family must make little or no sound otherwise they will be detected by the blind alien invaders who attack whenever they hear sound. The family talk mostly in sign language except in certain areas. They all have a bit of angst over the death of their family member and a newborn baby causes some problems late in the story. There are some good suspense scenes but I don't think this was so great as to garner the tremendous reviews it received.

A QUIET PLACE was directed by a guy named John Krasinski who played Reed Richards in DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADDNESS (2022). He made a part 2 in 2020.

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Remake Mars

 

 (wikipedia)

INVADERS FROM MARS-1986-In this remake, David (Hunter Carson), a young boy sees a UFO land behind his house. When his father (Timothy Bottoms) goes to investigate he comes back acting very strange with a bruise on the back of his neck. Later his mom (Laraine Newman) and everyone else in town have become weird, possessed zombies including David's crabby teacher Mrs. McKeltch (Louise Fletcher) and the police. After he sees the teacher eat a frog, David convinces the school nurse Linda (Karen Black; Carson's real-life mom) that something is going on. Grotesque slimy aliens are planning to conquer Earth. The duo run around town being chased by the police and McKeltch in a yellow school bus. When it seems the whole town have been turned into slaves by the aliens, David and Linda convince Gen. Wilson (James Karen) of the truth and he brings in the army. One scientist (Bud Cort) tries to talk to the invaders and is killed. Eventually the invasion is crushed but….

This so-so remake of the notorious 1957 original succeeds more than it fails though pretty unnecessary as most remakes are. Original little kid star Jimmy Hunt appears as a policeman. Dan O'Bannon is one of the the credited screenwriters. Director Tobe Hooper made this the same year as the disappointing TEAXS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2.

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Ava

 

 (wikipedia)

EX MACHINA-2014-Computer nerd Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) meets some jerky scientist Nathan (Oscar Isaac) at his secluded lab where he's invented a computerized female robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander). He wants Caleb to administer "The Turing Test"on Ava to see if she is as smart as a human being. 

This independently made psychological sci-fi drama was a big box office and critical success even picking up some Academy Award noms but for me personally it's a sleep inducer with quirky annoying acting and dialog. Interesting finale and good use of sfx and sound though some of the original music sounds like it came from a Lucio Fulci movie. 

Personally I'd rather watch DEMON SEED. Writer/director Alex Garland wrote 28 DAYS LATER...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test

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Shut Up

 

SILENCIO-2018-This science fiction mystery involves a weird stone from outer space, a scientist (John Noble) with Alzheimer's, a turtle and flashbacks. It's partially in English and partially in Spanish but a totally stupid incoherent disaster from Mexican director Lorena Villarreal.

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