SHARKTOPUS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 3/3/11

 

"Dumb" has a new name, and that name is SHARKTOPUS (2010).  This highly-rated SyFy Original Movie, produced by legendary filmmaker Roger Corman and his wife Julie, will either make you giddy with bad-movie excitement or leave you utterly stupified.  Maybe even both.

After the success of DINOSHARK, SyFy contacted Corman about doing this film as a follow-up.  As he relates in the commentary, he initially turned it down because, while "dinosharks" might conceivably have existed in prehistoric times, the idea of a half-shark, half-octopus just seemed a little too farfetched.  (Unlike, say, giant crab monsters.)  He eventually gave in, on the condition that the creature be a product of genetic engineering rather than a freak of nature. 

Thus, we have scientist Nathan Sands (Eric Roberts) and his daughter Nicole (Sara Malakul Lane), whom he affectionately refers to as "Pumpkin", creating the dreaded Sharktopus for the military.  Pumpkin naively hopes Sharktopus will be used for good, but her sneaky dad has designed it to be a ruthless killing machine, which it demonstrates when its electronic restraints are damaged during a test and it starts eating people all up and down the coast of scenic Puerto Vallarta.  With the Navy breathing down his back, Sands hires fun-loving aquatic mercenary Andy Flynn (Kerem Bursin) to reel the big fish in and bring it back alive.
 


With this set-up quickly established, the film now treats us to an endless series of Sharktopus attacks with lots of tourists getting snared by the creature's tentacles right there on the shore and dragged into its toothy maw.  Several of these kills begin with an establishing montage of festive beach images and ample footage of bikini-clad babes cavorting around like monster appetizers.  When Sharktopus suddenly appears, the various bit players must then hop around screaming as the SPFX guys wrap bad-CGI tentacles around them and make with the spewing digital blood. 

The big, cartoony shark head which pops out of the water to chow down on them is highly effective--at generating laughs.  Seeing the entire mismatched monstrosity perched on a guardrail or the roof of a bamboo hut in all its writhing, snarling glory, treating the fleeing humans like a sushi buffet, is a sight you won't soon forget.  Special mention goes to the bunjee-jumping scene, which Corman tells us got the biggest response from audiences and is one of the movie's few genuinely effective moments.  (Roger and Julie's daughter guest-stars as the bouncing bait.)



With few exceptions, the performances range from awful to not-really-trying.  Mostly the actors just seem anxious to knock off their scenes and get back to partying in Puerta Vallarta.  Blake Lindsey isn't bad as Pez, a fisherman who leads TV newswoman Stacy Everheart (Liv Boughn) and her dopey cameraman Bones (Héctor Jiménez, who played Lonnie Donaho in GENTLEMEN BRONCOS) to wherever Sharktopus is likely to appear next.  As a pirate radio DJ, Ralph Garman of "The Joe Schmo Show" seems to be having fun.  Bursin and Lane make a dull main couple as Flynn and Pumpkin and could probably use a few more acting lessons. 

As for Eric Roberts, he's one of my favorite actors and I'd watch him in anything, which is fitting since these days it looks like he'll show up in anything.   Going from THE DARK KNIGHT to this must've been like falling out of a yacht into a swamp.  (Look for Roger Corman himself in a cameo as a beach bum.)



On a technical level, SHARKTOPUS is slapdash at best.  Things like camerawork, editing, and scene transitions are a dizzying jumble of ineptitude, while the subpar direction makes it hard to believe Declan O'Brien is the same guy who did such a solid job with WRONG TURN 3: LEFT FOR DEAD. 

The script, which seems to have been written on a Big Chief tablet, obviously doesn't take itself very seriously, as when Flynn offers this warning to the patrons of an open-air restaurant by the beach: "Excuse me, everyone.  There's a killer shark-octopus hybrid headed this way.  Please leave the marina in a timely fashion."  The thing is, movies like this are funnier when they aren't trying to be, so the scenes that actually mean to shock or excite us invariably provoke the most giggles. 

The DVD from Anchor Bay is in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and subtitles in English and Spanish.  Extras include a commentary with Roger and Julie Corman plus the film's trailer. 

Any movie containing Eric Roberts, bikini babes, extras doing the imaginary-tentacle-tango, the guy who played Lonnie Donaho in GENTLEMEN BRONCOS, and one of the dumbest monsters in film history can't be all bad.  And SHARKTOPUS doesn't let up for a minute--it keeps assaulting us with undiluted stupid during its entire running time.  That's a claim some of this year's Best Picture nominees can't even make.

SHARKTOPUS -- DVD Review by Porfle

What Kind Of Boots Did Frankenstein's Monster Wear? (video)

In "Frankenstein" (1931), Boris Karloff wore special boots for greater height.

They were a modified pair of knee-high "asphalt spreader" boots with the soles greatly enlarged.
Each boot is said to have weighed 13 pounds.  This added to the Monster's lumbering gait.

There have been conflicting accounts over the years...
...as to how the construction and weight of the boots vary in subsequent sequels.
They do seem smoother and more custom crafted in later films.

The Monster has been caught without his trademark boots only once...
...at the end of "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1944).

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it!

Thanks to Joro Gaming for the music.

What Kind Of Boots Did Frankenstein's Monster Wear? (video)

Strangest & Most Violent Mummy Film? "The Mummy's Curse" (1944) (video)

(spoilers)

"The Mummy's Curse" is the final film in Universal's "Mummy" series.

And despite some lighter moments than the two previous films...
...it may also be the most violent, if judging by body count alone.

The Mummy (Lon Chaney) makes the most of his ample screen time in this one.

The film also contains perhaps the single strangest scene in any "Mummy" movie...
...the mud-caked resurrection of Kharis' beloved Princess Ananka (Virginia Christine).

Ananka struggles stiffly out of her earthen tomb, then staggers toward the light.

The film is a lively swan song for Kharis--one of vintage horror's weirdest monsters.  


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Strangest & Most Violent Mummy Film? "The Mummy's Curse" (1944) (video)

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN" (1974) (video)

Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder scored a major success with this brilliant spoof...

...of Universal's classic "Frankenstein" movies of the 30s and 40s.

How much do you remember about it?


Question: Frederick declares his grandfather's work to be...what?

A. Horse pucky
B. Ca-ca
C. Pook-up
D. Doo-doo
E. Crapola

Question: Igor misinterprets the word "sedative" as what word?

A. Medative
B. Sedagive
C. Sedalive
D. Megagive
E. Serative

Question: Frau Blucher says that Victor Frankenstein was her...what?

A. Beau hunk
B. Boyfriend
C. Fiance'
D. Sweetheart
E. Love muffin

Question: The blind hermit tells the Monster, "Wait! I was gonna make..." What?

A. Coffee cake
B. Eggnog
C. Cocktails
D. Espresso
E. Martinis

Question: What frightens the Monster during "Puttin' On The Ritz"?

A. Falling backdrop
B. Camera flash
C. Faulty lightbulb
D. Car backfiring
E. Loud laughter


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN" (1974) (video)

Porfle's Trivia Quiz #14: "KING KONG" (1933) (video)

KING KONG (1933) is arguably the greatest giant monster movie of all time.

Question #1: What does Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) call the ship's monkey?

A. Ziggy
B. Iggy
C. Wiggy
D. Biggy
E. Izzy

Question #2: What does Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) say is "scarce" on the island?

A. Booze
B. Dames
C. Jazz
D. Blondes
E. Crooners

Question #3: What does Kong do with the first woman he grabs in New York?

A. Eats her
B. Steps on her
C. Puts her down
D. Drops her
E. Carries her away

Question #4: What does Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) say "killed the Beast"?

A. Desire
B. Bullets
C. Beauty
D. Heartbreak
E. Greed


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Porfle's Trivia Quiz #14: "KING KONG" (1933) (video)

THE MUMMY (1932) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 3/5/17

 

THE MUMMY (1932) stars Boris Karloff, receiving sole over-the-title billing here only a year after FRANKENSTEIN plucked him from relative obscurity.

He plays Im-ho-tep, an Egyptian high priest who was mummified alive for the sacrilege of trying to use the Scroll of Thoth to bring his dead Princess Ankh-es-en-amon back to life.

Thousands of years later his tomb is discovered by archeologists led by Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron), and when a junior member of the team reads aloud from the Scroll of Thoth, the mummified Im-ho-tep returns to life in one of the creepiest and coolest scenes in the Golden Age of Horror. 

The poor assistant is driven stark raving mad when the crumbling corpse emerges from his sarcophagus, grabs the scroll, and shuffles off to Buffalo (or its Egyptian equivalent, anyway), bestowing screen immortality upon the actor, Bramwell Fletcher, playing the unfortunate lad who would later die laughing in an insane asylum.

Jack Pierce's makeup job on Karloff here is magnificent, but after one really great close-up (a dummy is used in the wide shots), we never get to see it again.

For the rest of the film Karloff appears sans wrappings (but with another fine, densely-wrinkled makeup job by Pierce) under the guise of the fez-headed Ardeth Bay, a mysterious Egyptian who shows up years later to lead the archeological team of Whemple's son Frank (David Manners) straight to the tomb of Princess Ankh-es-en-amon.

With the recovery of her mummy and the Scroll of Thoth, Ardeth Bay plans to bring his ancient princess back to life--until he discovers that her soul has been reincarnated in the body of young Helen Grosvenor (the fascinatingly-eccentric actress Zita Johann), whom he now begins to lure into his sinister clutches.

Sir Joseph Whemple and his son Frank discover Bay's intentions and try to foil them, with the help of a wise old expert in the Egyptian occult named Dr. Muller (Edward Van Sloan).

Unlike FRANKENSTEIN and THE WOLF MAN, there was no basis in literature or folklore for the character of the living mummy. In fact, the original script by Nina Wilcox Putnam was based on the life of French mystic Cagliostro, who claimed to have been several centuries old.

But due to the sensation caused by the discovery of King Tut's tomb, the script was changed to take advantage of the public's mummy-mania at the time and present Karloff as the undying Im-ho-tep.

It was also heavily influenced by the previous year's DRACULA with Bela Lugosi, containing many of the same story elements right down to the almost-identical characters played by Edward Van Sloan and David Manners, and the replacement of the crucifix with an Egyptian ankh as a talisman against evil.

The cinematographer on DRACULA and a major influence on its look (especially in the early scenes in Dracula's castle) was German filmmaker Karl Freund, and THE MUMMY marked his first official stint in the director's chair.

He gave the film its beautifully somber, almost expressionistic look and a deliberately-paced restraint that make it--as it has been called--a "tone poem" of horror as opposed to the more lurid and over-the-top offerings in the genre.

Today, unfortunately, many viewers find it too slow and boring to sit through. But those whose attention spans encompass an old-style form of storytelling that offers a wealth of exquisite subtlety and mood over visceral sensation, not to mention a great performance by Karloff, will most likely find THE MUMMY to be one of the finest horror films ever made.


Read our overview of the entire original Universal Mummy series

THE MUMMY (1932)
http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-mummy-1932-movie-review-by-porfle.html

THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940)
http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-mummys-hand-1940-movie-review-by.html

THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1942)
http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-mummys-tomb-1942-movie-review-by.html

THE MUMMY'S GHOST (1944)
http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-mummys-ghost-1944-movie-review-by.html

THE MUMMY'S CURSE (1944)
http://hkfilmnews.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-mummys-curse-1944-movie-review-by.html

THE MUMMY (1932) -- Movie Review by Porfle

Dual Roles in George Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead" (1968) (video)

After entering the abandoned farmhouse, Barbra discovers...

...a horribly mutilated dead body upstairs.
Ben later drags the body into a back bedroom. But who plays the corpse?

Answer: it's Kyra Schon, who's also Harry and Helen Cooper's ailing daughter, Karen.

Later, a female ghoul plucks an insect from a tree and eats it.
She's played by Marilyn Eastman, who is also...

...Karen's mother, Helen Cooper.

Those Coopers really get around, don't they?

Originally posted on 12/3/18

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Dual Roles in George Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead" (1968) (video)

Near-Identical Scenes In "The Killer Shrews" (1959) and "Night of the Living Dead" (1968)(video)

"The Killer Shrews" (1959) has certain elements that showed up again later in "The Birds" (1963) and "Night of the Living Dead" (1968).

The latter film in particular features a scene that's almost a replay of one from "The Killer Shrews", right down to the music.

In "Night of the Living Dead", the scene ends with Ben (Duane Jones) saying: "I ought to drag you out there and feed you to those things!"

In "The Killer Shrews", Thorn (James Best) doesn't just say it--he almost does it!


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Near-Identical Scenes In "The Killer Shrews" (1959) and "Night of the Living Dead" (1968)(video)

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD" (1968) (video)

George Romero's ground-breaking horror epic...

...of reanimated corpses feasting on the flesh of the living...

...remains one of the most horrifying films ever made.

But how much do you remember about it?


Question: Barbara says the day the time changes should be the first day of...?

A. Spring
B. Summer
C. Autumn
D. Winter
E. August

Question: The first person Barbara encounters in the farmhouse is...?

A. Harry
B. Ben
C. Judy
D. Tom
E. Helen

Question: Tom fumbles their escape attempt by doing what?

A. Forgetting the rifle
B. Running over Ben
C. Shooting out a truck tire
D. Driving into a tree
E. Setting fire to the truck

Question: The police chief says of the ghouls, "Well, they're dead--they're... " What?

A. "Beyond our help"
B. "All messed up"
C. "Out to lunch"
D. "Good for nothing"
E. "Dumb as a doorknob"

Question: Who kills Helen Cooper?

A. Her husband
B. Her daughter
C. The cemetery ghoul
D. Johnny
E. Ben

Question: What happens to Ben?

A. Escapes to a rescue station
B. Survives the night, then joins posse
C. Survives the night, is then killed by posse
D. Killed trying to save Barbara
E. Shot by Harry Cooper


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD" (1968) (video)

CARNIVOROUS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 4/8/09

 

A little boy named Alan Cade steals a magic "Kulev" stick from an old Cajun witch doctor, pops a crayon in one end, and draws a picture of a giant alligator-headed snake monster killing his abusive stepdad. Voila--one giant alligator-headed snake monster comin' up, and before you know it, bad stepdad is toast.

CARNIVOROUS, aka "Lockjaw: Rise of the Kulev Serpent" (2008), then whisks us ahead several years to find grown-up Alan (Louis Herthum) blissfully married to his childhood sweetheart Becky. But when a truckload of pesky teenagers on their way to a secluded cabin for the weekend run over Alan's beloved without even looking back to see what that "thump" was, a heartbroken Alan whips out the old magic stick again and starts drawing. In no time, the teens start getting dragged one by one into the sugar cane field surrounding their cabin by a big, mean you-know-what.

I tend to lower my expectations when it comes to low-budget horror flicks, so I'm often pleasantly surprised when they turn out to be pretty good. Unfortunately, the only way to not be disappointed by this totally blah film is to expect not to be entertained in any way, shape, or form. Aside from Alan and Becky, the characters are doggedly uninteresting and painfully unlikable, which is only made worse by some really bad performances. 

Even standard good girl Sam (Lauren Fain) and standard sensitive guy Kelly (Wes Brown) are annoying stiffs whom we would dearly love to see get eaten alive. Their moronic party-hearty cohorts are even worse, although slutty blonde Ashley (Victoria Vodar) tends to strip down to her red satin undies a lot and has an endearing snort when she laughs.

The film looks kind of like an episode of "Friday the 13th: The Series" only not as good or anywhere near as exciting. Amir Valinia's bland direction and a groan-filled script don't help much. The kill scenes are few and far between, and generate zero suspense. A couple of them, however, are amusing--one guy gets skewered while mounting his horny girlfriend, with the tip of the creature's wiggling tail sticking out of his chest. He deserves it. 

Another character gets summarily decapitated by said tail at such an odd moment that it isn't scary or shocking, but just sorta unexpectedly funny. As for the creature itself, it's passable, and certainly isn't the worst CGI I've ever seen in a low-budget flick. With more imaginative direction the creature scenes might've been somewhat exciting, but as it is they have little effect at all.

Rapper DMX, who's billed over the title, makes a halfhearted appearance toward the end. He's the grown-up son of the old Cajun from whom Alan stole the magic stick way back when, and now he's the only hope our heroes have of destroying the monster. I seem to remember DMX doing okay in EXIT WOUNDS alongside Steven Seagal, but here he barely registers. He's also one of the executive producers, which makes me wonder why he can't find something better than this to get involved with.

Bad horror flicks can be fun to watch if they aren't totally boring and you can laugh at them. It also helps if the filmmakers were obviously trying to make a good movie and failed in an entertaining way. Unfortunately, none of these conditions apply to CARNIVOROUS. In a word, it's simply--indigestible.

 

CARNIVOROUS -- DVD Review by Porfle

WAR OF THE PLANETS -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

(NOTE: Since this review was first posted at Bumscorner.com in 2005, the film has undergone more name changes--from its original title of TERRARIUM to WAR OF THE PLANETS and, in the U.K., LOST VOYAGER and EXODUS.)


"What's it doing?  WHAT'S IT DOING?"
"It's devouring her, Robert."

After crash-landing on an unknown planet, a crew of space colonists awaken from suspended animation to find that a hairy, carniverous beast has entered the crippled ship and is breaking into their cryo-chambers one by one, dragging them away.  Unable to move until their bodies overcome the effects of their 15-year sleep, they are little more than a human buffet.  Or, as one of the characters aptly puts it:  "We're the goodies behind the glass."

Thus begins WAR OF THE PLANETS (2004), an extremely low-budget thriller (shot on 16mm) written and directed by Mike Conway, who also photographed, edited, and scored in addition to playing one of the astronauts.  The credits are filled with various other Conways and also reveal that several of the lead actors took part in set construction, camerawork, still photography, etc.  Sheila Conway, who plays "Nicole", doubled as one of the mysterious aliens that also inhabit the planet.

The beast, who resembles a man in a Halloween gorilla costume, returns every five hours or so for a fresh victim.  The helpless astronauts struggle to revitalize their long-dormant bodies between attacks by doing isometric exercises as each character takes advantage of the opportunity to fill us in on their backstories, which are pretty standard -- the captain lost his family while gaining the stars, Nicole's dreams were the ticket out of her small hometown, Kim entered the space program after "an overdose, a suicide attempt, and a stint in the psyche ward..."  (Okay, maybe they're not all that standard.) 

During these scenes the cast gets to act from the neck up a la Richard Dreyfuss in WHOSE LIFE IS IT, ANYWAY?, with varying degrees of skill.  None of them are really bad, though -- the performances range from passable to pretty good, and the characters are likable enough to sustain interest.

When the creature inevitably returns, there is a fair amount of suspense as the crew waits to see who is next on the menu.  Noticing that the first three victims have been women, and figuring that a colony bereft of females might be at a bit of a disadvantage in the procreation department, some of the men valiantly start thrashing around and hollering to attract attention to themselves.  

But suicidal Kim will have none of that, and screams:  "Leave him alone, Sasquatch!  Come and get me, you hairy bastard!" and "It's me you want, you son of a bitch!"  I won't reveal what happens next, but let's face it -- if you find yourself in a monster movie, perhaps those are not the best things to say to the monster.

Eventually, however, the survivors finally regain their motor skills and manage to put a locked door between themselves and the voracious beast.  Later they are able to subdue him as well, at the cost of more lives -- but an autopsy reveals that he hasn't been eating them after all.  So why did he abduct them one by one?  Where has he been taking them? 

The mystery deepens when the astronauts venture from the ship to discover that it is surrounded by an impenetrable glasslike barrier, and their night-vision goggles reveal strange alien beings creeping around in the darkness beyond.  The most likely conclusion reached by the captain and what's left of his crew is that they are the subjects of some ghastly experiment -- but at this point, the only thing they know for sure is that they must somehow escape from the barrier and strike back at the aliens with whatever means they have available. 

Obviously, it's reasonable to assume that a movie called WAR OF THE PLANETS might contain elements similar to films like WAR OF THE WORLDS or BATTLE OF THE PLANETS, with entire civilizations waging spectacular war against one another, but what it all boils down to in the end is this small skirmish between the space colonists and the aliens in a remote location near Las Vegas.  (The original title was TERRARIUM.) 

The filmmakers do their best with a very low budget (originally $27,000, but with added special effects reportedly donated free of charge by former STAR TREK:VOYAGER and BABYLON 5 visual effects artists who became fans of the movie during a two-week run at a Las Vegas theater!), and despite the cardboard sets, videogame-level special effects, an uneven cast of volunteer actors, and some unintentionally amusing dialogue ("Your hair looks the same whether it has cryo-fluid in it or not" "That's what they tell me"), it's sort of a fun movie to watch if you're in the right mood. But I'd suggest renting WAR OF THE PLANETS before adding it to your permanent DVD collection or presenting it to that special someone on their birthday.  It's no ROCKETSHIP XM.

Buy it at Amazon.com

Here's our two-part interview with Mike Conway:
Part One
Part Two

 

WAR OF THE PLANETS -- Movie Review by Porfle

Was "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Inspired By "Lost In Space"? (video)

Star Trek's "V'ger" and Lost In Space's "Mr. Nobody" aren't that different.

In both stories, an all-powerful being yearning to evolve...

...achieves transcendence through love.

Both are reborn as newly self-aware space-dwelling energy beings.


("Lost In Space" Season 1 Episode 7 "My Friend Mr. Nobody", 1965)

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Was "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Inspired By "Lost In Space"? (video)

"FRANKENSTEIN" (1931): The Infamous Censored Scenes (video)

In 1931, individual state censor boards demanded various cuts to "Frankenstein."

But two passages in particular were universally condemned.

One was a quote by Henry Frankenstein at the end of the creation scene.

The second occurs when the Monster meets little Maria.

The confused Monster believes that Maria will float like the flowers.
The censored version ends with him reaching for her, and...

The two censored scenes were finally rediscovered and restored in the 1980s.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

"FRANKENSTEIN" (1931): The Infamous Censored Scenes (video)

Bela Lugosi At His Most Unhinged! "The Raven" (1935) (video)

In this bizarre thriller, Bela plays Poe-obsessed Dr. Vollin…

...the only surgeon who can save the life of Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware).

He also operates on an escaped convict named Bateman (Boris Karloff).

But instead of giving him a handsome new face, Bela makes him hideous.

Bela relishes gaining an advantage over others...
...and then torturing them mercilessly.

Bela's performance becomes more and more unhinged as the film progresses.

He pulls out all the stops in this one, and the result is glorious.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Bela Lugosi At His Most Unhinged! "The Raven" (1935) (video)

When Universal's "Dracula" Was Reflected In A Mirror (video)

A key element in Universal Pictures' "Dracula" lore is that the vampire's reflection can never be seen in a mirror...

...as in "Dracula" (1931) with Bela Lugosi...
...and "House of Dracula" (1945) with John Carradine.

But on at least two occasions, the filmmakers slipped up. 

In "Son of Dracula" (1943), Lon Chaney's vampire performs the screen's first bat-to-man transformation.

But in doing so, his image is captured in the hallway mirror.

In 1948's "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein", Lugosi is once again in the role.

And once again, his image is reflected in a mirror.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

When Universal's "Dracula" Was Reflected In A Mirror (video)

The Three Undead Brides Of "Dracula" (Bela Lugosi, 1931) (video)

One of the eeriest aspects of the 1931 "Dracula"...

...is the sight of his three ghostly, cadaverous brides.

Dorothy Tree
Geraldine Dvorak
Cornelia Thaw 

And with the Spanish version of the film...

...comes yet another ghostly trio.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

The Three Undead Brides Of "Dracula" (Bela Lugosi, 1931) (video)

SON OF DRACULA (1943) -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 3/10/17

 

Universal's belated follow-up to DRACULA (1931) and DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (1936) is the richly atmospheric horror tale SON OF DRACULA (1943), one of the studio's finest supernatural films of the 40s. 

At first, Lon Chaney, Jr. may seem a bit beefy for the role of Dracula's son (some believe the title to be a misnomer and that this is actually Dracula, Sr. himself) but he gives the Count an aggressive physicality that predates Christopher Lee's similar portrayal in the later Hammer films.

Chaney's Count, however, augments Lee's aloofness with a manic emotionalism.  Having settled in the American South due to a shortage of "fresh blood" in his own little corner of Transylvania, Dracula falls in with the native tendency toward steamy melodrama (in fiction, at least) and surrenders to passions of both the flesh and the spirit when choosing tempestuous, raven-haired Southern belle Kay Caldwell (Louise Allbritton) as his bride.

 

Kay, it turns out, is more of a "monster" here than the Count, seducing and then manipulating him into vampirizing her so that she can then eliminate him and put the bite on her real love, Frank Stanley (Robert Paige, looking remarkably like Gomer Pyle in some shots), allowing them to flitter off into eternity together.

This, in fact, has been her plan all along, with the aid of an old gypsy woman who lives in a wagon beside a nearby swamp. It's during one of the old hag's crystal ball readings that she delivers one of my favorite (and most unabashedly morbid) lines from any Universal horror movie in foretelling Kay's future:  "I see you...marrying a corpse!  Living in a grave!"

With the doomed Count falling prey to the devious machinations of the conniving Kay, this atmospheric black and white film has a distinct noirish quality.  We see that the lovestruck Drac is definitely unprepared for someone like her, even giving in to such a romantic film trope as rousting the town's justice of the peace out of bed for a hasty wedding that will make the Count master of Kay's inherited estate.

 

Frank, naturally, is crushed, especially when his futile attack on undead alpha-male Dracula--in the mansion that he now owns--results in Kay's (temporary) death.  But in this uniquely offbeat vampire tale, this is just when things start to heat up for the unholy love triangle. 

Thanks to John P. Fulton's special effects, this is the first film to actually show a man turning into a bat and vice versa.  We also get to see Dracula seep under a doorway as a wisp of smoke and then rematerialize before the astonished eyes of Dr. Brewster (Frank Craven) and Prof. Lazlo (J. Edward Bromberg), a Van Helsing-like vampire expert summoned by Brewster to help combat the evil that has come to their humble burg.

The first chilling close-up of Chaney, in which he looks over his shoulder and glares directly at us, is giddy-cool.  I also like it when he shows up at the front door of the Caldwell estate that night but is refused entrance by a mournful butler since the master of the house has just died under mysterious circumstances.  "ANNOUNCE ME!" Dracula barks menacingly at the poor guy.

 

There's also a glorious sequence in which a beaming Kay watches from the bayou's edge as Dracula's coffin rises to the water's surface, and then, music swelling, he stands imperiously atop it as it glides slowly to the shore.  The effect is sublime, surely one of Universal's most memorable horror movie moments of the forties.

Evelyn Ankers (THE WOLF MAN, GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN) is as appealing as ever playing Kay's unsuspecting little sister, who reluctantly helps Dr. Brewster sort out the mystery behind Kay and the Count. 

Paige gets to emote his head off for most of the film as tragic-hero Frank gets dumped by his fiance' for a vampire, is thrown in jail for murdering her, and then finds out she's a member of the undead who wants him to join her.

Allbritton plays her role for all it's worth, with Kay taking a mad delight in each phase of her descent into evil (unlike the earlier DRACULA'S DAUGHTER, in which Gloria Holden's vampire Countess Zaleska yearns to be a normal person.) 

She's stiff competition for Chaney, but SON OF DRACULA is nonetheless Lon's movie and he makes the most of this rare chance to play a monster who's suave, nattily dressed, and doesn't have six hours of makeup obscuring his face.

SON OF DRACULA (1943) -- Movie Review by Porfle

Una O'Connor Totally Befuddles The Frankenstein Monster ("Bride Of Frankenstein", 1935) (video)

After surviving a lynch mob and falling through a burning mill...

...the Monster is understandably peeved and in a mood to lash out.

But then he meets Una O'Connor.

The Monster doesn't know what to make of her.

He just stands there in silent awe.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Una O'Connor Totally Befuddles The Frankenstein Monster ("Bride Of Frankenstein", 1935) (video)

BELA LUGOSI AS THE FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER: "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1943)

 

(Originally posted on 2/25/18)

 

Since the brain of Ygor (Bela Lugosi) was placed into the Monster's skull in GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN(1942)...

...Lugosi was chosen to play the Monster in the follow-up, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943).

Thus, the Monster, now partially-blind, would speak with Ygor's voice.

But before the film's release, all references to the Monster's speech and blindness were removed.

The Monster's stiff, lurching walk is now unexplained...as are his silent mouth movements. 

At 60, Lugosi was in need of stand-ins for the more strenuous scenes.
Actor/stuntman Gil Perkins looked so good in the makeup, it is he whom we first see in close-up as the Monster.  Another actor/stuntman, Eddie Parker, also plays the Monster.

Perkins and Parker then take turns as Monster and Wolf Man during their climactic fight...with Bela appearing in the close-ups.

Mystery and confusion as to "who did what", compounded by extensive reshoots, continue to surround the production.

Fans of the film mourn the missing footage, which will most likely never be recovered.

And they imagine being able to watch the film, and Lugosi's performance, in their original form.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it!

Read our review of the movie HERE.

BELA LUGOSI AS THE FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER: "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1943)

MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 11/10/18
 

 

The middle entry in the American-Filipino "Blood Island Trilogy" that started with "Brides of Blood" (and its sort-of prequel "Terror Is a Man"), MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND (Severin Films, 1969) moves the dial much closer to eleven with more blood (much of it green), more gore and severed limbs, more grotesque monsters, and, last but not least, more sex and nudity.  In other words, more exploitation for our twisted viewing pleasure.

This time the boat to the island carries Dr. Bill Foster (John Ashley of "Brides of Blood" again), investigating reports of a green-blooded maniac on the island; Sheila Willard (Angelique Pettyjohn), a woman searching for her long-missing father; and a young man named Carlos (Ronaldo Valdez) returning to his old village in hopes of persuading his widowed mother to return to civilization with him.

What all of these people have in common is Dr. Lorca (Ronald Remy, THE LONGEST HUNDRED MILES, FLIGHT OF THE SPARROW), a research scientist who may or may not be an insane crackpot performing horrifying experiments on anyone he or his henchman Razak can get their hands on. The local natives provide a steady supply of subjects, several of whom now roam the jungle as hideous chlorophyll plant-monsters attacking people and disemboweling them.

These scenes are way more graphic than in previous entries in the series, as we're treated to bloody severed limbs and heads flying about while copious amounts of actual animal entrails ooze from a procession of hapless victims.  The gore effects are crude but plentiful, while the grotesque monster makeup, especially on the main chlorophyll creature, makes them look as though they're wearing spinach and asparagus pizzas on their faces.

The steamy melodrama within Dr. Lorca's mansion takes up much screen time, providing not only heaps of interpersonal conflict (along with some amusingly biting dialogue) but also a much larger sex and nudity quotient than before.

This is especially true for Carlos when he's reunited with a young village girl from his past who seduces him while still carrying a torch for his dead father, and for Dr. Foster and Sheila who are destined to go at it eventually.  Various village girls scamper around nude in the jungle as well before coming face-to-face with Chlorophyll Man.

As in the previous film, John Ashley ends up on the run with his girlfriend from a group of hostile villagers who think he's brought misfortune to their island.  Meanwhile, we get to see a tomb opened up, a graphic monster attack inside Dr. Lorca's own home, some eyebrow-raising plot twists, and, finally, an explosive finish that takes place within a subterranean laboratory of horror.

Production values are considerably less polished this time although the beautiful natural settings are a huge asset.  There's an odd stylistic affectation that grows tiresome real quick--whenever a monster is present, the camera lens zooms in and out in jittery fashion.  Before long I was wishing I could get my hands on the cameraman's zoom lens and smash it to pieces.

There's also a disturbing element of needless, sadistic animal cruelty in one scene that puts a damper on the entire film.  It's a really nasty scene, and I couldn't view anything else that followed without repeatedly going back to it in my mind.  This is the sort of thing that would also ruin my enjoyment of other jungle exploitation films to come.

The great John Ashley once again lends his considerable presence to the proceedings, this time accompanied by the equally noteworthy Angelique Pettyjohn.  "Star Trek" fans will remember her as the warrior woman with the Jiffy-Pop bra and silver hair in "The Gamesters of Triskelion" as well as numerous cult pics like "The Last Empire" and "Repo Man."

The Blu-ray from Severin Films is scanned in 4k from a recently discovered camera negative and presented totally uncut for the first time ever, including the legendary “Oath of Green Blood” prologue.  Extras include:

Audio Commentary with Horror Film Historians Nathaniel Thompson and Howard S. Berger
Audio Commentary with Hemisphere Marketing Consultant Samuel M. Sherman
Tombs of the Living Dead: Interview with Pete Tombs, Co-Author of “Immoral Tales”
A Taste of Blood: Interview with Critic Mark Holcomb
The Mad Doctor of Blood Island: Archival Interview with Co-Director Eddie Romero
Trailer
Poster & Still Gallery
Bonus Disc: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD (in box set only)
Reversible TOMB OF THE LIVING DEAD Cover  

As a continuation of the "Blood Island" series, MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND ups the exploitation ante on all counts and comes through for anyone who likes their monster/horror action cheap, lurid, and drenched with sex and gore.  The animal cruelty element is indefensible--for some, it will even be a deal-breaker--but otherwise this is down and dirty monster fun. 


Buy "The Blood Island Collection" at Severin Films

Buy "Mad Doctor of Blood Island" at Severins Films

MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle