Showing posts with label ted v mikels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ted v mikels. Show all posts

Monday, October 21, 2024

More TV


 (imdb)

GIRL IN GOLD BOOTS-1968-Buz Nichols (Tom Pace), shady criminal type meets Michele (Leslie McRae), a waitress at a greasy spoon working with her drunk father (Victor Izay). They hit the road and go to Las Vegas where Buz says his dancer/sister Joanie (Bara Brynes) will get Michele a job. Along the way, they pick up Critter (Jody Daniels), a philosophical hippie, trying to escape the draft. A love triangle develops. Later they meet sis Joanie who works for the sleazy self-important club owner Leo McCabe (Mark Herron). He also supplies Joanie with pills and plans to replace her with Michele. Meanwhile, Buz pushes dope for McCabe and Critter washes floors. Buz gets involved in stealing drugs from a jail and then murder and Joanie has a breakdown. Critter brings all the sleazy thugs down, romances Michele and returns to be drafted while crooning a song. 

Funny low budget love story/crime drama from co-producer/director Ted V. Mikels who made the infamous ASTRO-ZOMBIES the same year (also with Pace). Mikels regular William Bagdad also has a role. Lead actress McRae was also in Mikels' BLOOD ORGY OF THE SHE DEVILS (1973) and HELL'S BLOODY DEVILS (1970) and THE FEMALE BUNCH (1971), both for Al Adamson, GUESS WHAT HAPPENED TO COUNT DRACULA (1971) and DEATHRACE 2000 (1975). Grimy bad guy Mark Herron was married to Judy Garland at the time.

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Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Last of The Astro-Zombies

 

 (abc news)

ASTRO-ZOMBIES M4-INVADERS FROM CYBER SPACE-2012-Apparently there is a planet of Astro-Zombies who are very disappointed they haven't destroyed Earth in their previous attempts. They decide to try again and start by causing death and destruction in Berlin. Then the Sydney Opera House is demolished. In Washington DC, a virus is released that allows the Astros to come through computers and fry people with their laser eyes. A woman in a gym is terrorized but escapes thanks to her boyfriend. Then a shrine in Osaka is burned up. In NYC a young girl is killed and weird newscasters warn of an alien invasion.

 At the Astro-Zombies meeting hall, the Astro leader talks about his plan to annihilate humans and replace them with Astro-Zombies. Then the Golden Gate Bridge and Big Ben in London are destroyed. Characters like a psychic and some pothead musicians are introduced and killed. The finale is pretty funny when it's found out using a mirror to deflect the laser beams back at the Astros is the only way to defeat them. 

Much more entertaining than the previous two and Ted V. Mikels best one in years. Beverly Washburn (SPIDER BABY) has a small role.

 (imdb)

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Thursday, October 27, 2022

Can't Keep A Good Astro-Zombie Down

 


ASTRO-ZOMBIES M3:CLONED-2010-They're back! First an Astro-Zombie kills a cat food eating old woman. Then a guy gives a talk about a book he wrote (there's only one person in the audience) claiming he has reptilian blood in him. He's visited by two strange men. Then in Area 51 an army general (co-writer/director Ted V. Mikels) orders the reopening of the "Astro Men” project. He wants to clone thousands of them to use as "expendable soldiers". His drunken twin brother (also Mikels) says he's discovered a way to control them. Meanwhile some Men In Black working for the government wander around. A dumb workaholic scientist thinks she's able to control the Astros. Tura Santan's image from the original film appears as a hologram and John Carradine's phony head also makes an appearance. A senator calls Serena (Francine York), leader of "The Doll Squad" to help. One girl is held captive in a cave while her busty companions fight the zombies with blow darts that can blow them up. I guess the intentionally comical ending was the only way to go. It kind of sets up a part 4 (which Mikels, who passed away on 2016 at the age of 87, made 2 years later). Most of this is undermined by long stretches of talk by bad actors. The best parts are when the astro-zombies attack.


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Friday, October 21, 2022

36 Years Later...

 


MARK OF THE ASTRO-ZOMBIES-2004-Reptillian like aliens come to Earth and release astro-zombies on the unsuspecting populace. In the opening bloody attack they use machetes to kill. Reporter Cindy Natale (Brink Stevens) investigates a second attack. She interviews some people running from the slaughter (they are very funny). After the president (Gene Paul Jones) has a meeting with his staff in a little conference room (the oval office was unavailable…??), Cindy meets her FBI boyfriend Jeff (Sean Morelli) and we meet mad scientist Dr. Mikacevich (director Ted V. Mikels himself) who has preserved the head of Dr. DeMarco (John Carradine's character in the first movie) and talks to it. It also talks. He wants the secret of the astro-zombies. He's barely introduced when Malvira, the sister of Santana (also from the first movie here played by the same actress, the one and only Tura Santana) bursts in with her dimwit henchman and shoots him. Then she stomps him with her high heel. The same thing happened to Mikels' character in 10 VIOLENT WOMAN! 

The president and his staff try to formulate a plan with 3 weird looking doctors but the aliens can hear all their communications.  A woman painter (Liz Renay) who claims to have been abducted by aliens doesn't seem to have anything to do with the main story. The zombies attack periodically with machetes through heads and necks and a motorcyclist is decapitated.They also kidnap some doctors and scientists.  Meanwhile Cindy tries to sell a phony astro-zombie to some foreign powers. Eventually some good aliens arrive and destroy the bad aliens and the zombies. 

This shot on video low budget craziness is very talky in spots but the bloody attacks by the astros is pretty funny! There's a lot of talk, bad acting and bad SFX leading up the the promise of a part 3. This is director/writer Mikels' first sequel (yes, he made 2 more!) to his notorious ASTRO ZOMBIES released in 1968! It features some gory deaths but when the zombies aren't around it drags.

Thanks for reading!