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Although John Wayne's Vietnam movie was one of few to arrive on-screen while the war was still underway, The Green Berets also has the unique distinction of being one of the worst war movies ever made. John Wayne’s Western movies might be the Hollywood star’s most memorable outings, but the actor was nothing if not versatile. Wayne inexplicably played Genghis Khan in the 1956 historical epic The Conquerer, and he starred in a bizarre anti-Communist film noir entitled Big Jim McLain in 1952. However, neither of these was his most reviled movie.

Related This Movie With 87% On Rotten Tomatoes Was John Wayne's All-Time Favorite Western

John Wayne considered a particular Western that he starred in during the 1950s to be his all-time favorite movie across the entire genre.

After John Wayne’s most critically successful movies made him a star, the actor began to inject his real-life politics into his choice of roles.

Every year, the comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 celebrates Thanksgiving with their Turkey Day marathon – and this year’s marathon is being called the Potluck of the Stars Marathon, because they’ve scored some cool celebrity guests! Not only will Mystery Science Theater 3000 stars Joel Hodgson, Jonah Ray, Mary Jo Pehl, Emily Marsh, and Felicia Day be involved, but the likes of Mark Hamill, Mike Flanagan, Matthew Lillard, David Dastmalchian, Kumail Nanjiani, and Bryan Fuller will also be showing up to present their favorite episodes of the show!

Here’s the information on the Turkey Day Potluck of the Stars Marathon: Hosted by Jonah Ray, this year’s marathon features celebrity MSTies David Dastmalchian, Mike Flanagan, Bryan Fuller, Mark Hamill, Matthew Lillard and Kumail Nanjiani and MST3K stalwarts Joel Hodgson, Felicia Day, Emily Marsh, and Mary Jo Pehl, all of whom will share a favorite MST3K episode with their fellow fans.

World of Wonder has announced that they have licensed a 10-film collection from Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, The Elvira Collection, for their Wow Presents Plus streaming platform. The collection will feature some of Elvira’s best B-Movie horror camp features, and debuted in conjunction with the Grand Finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race this past Friday, where she was the recipient of the Giving Us Life-time Achievement Award.

The Elvira Collection includes episodes from Elvira’s Movie Macabre, an old-fashioned style horror movie marathon, hosted and commentated on by the Mistress of the Dark herself, also known as Cassandra Peterson. The collection will feature 10 classic films, including “Night of the Living Dead”, “The Terror”, “Scared To Death”, “A Bucket of Blood”, “The Manster”, “The House That Screamed”, “The Devil’s Wedding Night”, “Maneater of Hydra”, “The Killer Shrews”, “Gamera”, and “Super Monster”. Wow acquired the collection from Shout! Studios and...

A new era of the B-movie was born in the 1950s. While the term originally referred to the second film in a double feature that defined much of the moviegoing experience during the Golden Age of Hollywood, a 1948 landmark Supreme Court antitrust ruling against major studios’ monopolistic practices upended the way films were distributed. While the traditional double feature waned, the demands of the burgeoning drive-in theater market gave way to the rise in independent genre films.

Two such low-budget B-movies made a mark in 1959: The Giant Gila Monster and The Killer Shrews. Produced by radio broadcasting magnate Gordon McLendon and future Gunsmoke actor Ken Curtis, the sci-fi horror movies were shot back-to-back in under three months with much of the same crew before being distributed together.

Both films are directed by Ray Kellogg, who had no prior directing experience, but his visual effects work on the likes of...

The premiere release from Film Masters—the new vintage film restoration and distribution company, launched in June by industry veteran and film historian Phil Hopkins—is a two-disc collection featuring cult favorite The Giant Gila Monster with bonus film The Killer Shrews, which were originally released as a double-feature, drive-in bill in 1959.

Bloody Disgusting has learned that the Blu-ray & DVD will release on September 26.

The classic era of drive-in schlock was near its end at the time, but there remained a dedicated audience for this pair of no-budget howlers from director Ray Kellogg and producer Gordon McLendon.

The Giant Gila Monster (from a new 4k scan of 35mm, original film elements): When two teens disappear from a small Texas town, the locals think they’ve eloped. But soon it becomes clear that something much more sinister is afoot. And if a giant Gila monster isn’t enough for you,...

Film Masters is bringing a pair of classic schlock movies, The Giant Gila Monster and The Killer Shrews, to blu-ray for the first time. The premiere release from Film Masters—the new vintage film restoration and distribution company, launched in June by industry veteran and film historian Phil Hopkins—is a two-disc collection featuring cult favorite The Giant Gila Monster with bonus […]

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Film historian Phil Hopkins has launched Film Masters, a new vintage film restoration and distribution company.

Each month, one Blu-ray/DVD title will be released, beginning on Sept. 26 with a two-disc collection featuring cult favorite “The Giant Gila Monster” with bonus film “The Killer Shrews,” which were both originally released as a double-feature bill in 1959. Following the pilot slate, the 1959 horror “Beast From Haunted Cove” will release on Oct. 24 followed by the 1934 drama “The Scarlett Letter” on Nov. 21.

Upon each release, films will be restored with new 4k scans of 35mm with original film elements, offered in original aspect ratios while being presented on region-free discs with DTS-hd sound and Dolby AC3s sound.

“Preserving these films in an increasingly homogenized media world is more important than ever,” said Hopkins. “As a consortium of historians and avid enthusiasts, Film Masters was launched to celebrate the preservation and restoration of vintage movies,...

I don’t know about you, but this writer is more than ready to start looking forward to the Halloween season. And one of the staples of my own ongoing cinematic celebration every year is checking out all the wonderful classic horror movies that Turner Classic Movies airs on their channel. And considering the mess that 2020 has been over the last several months, I thought this year it might be helpful to also include all the genre films that will be playing on TCM throughout the month of September, as it’s never too early to get ready for Halloween.

Check out all the great classic horror movies playing on the small screen over the next two months on TCM, and be sure to set those DVRs so you don’t miss any of the classic films that are sure to get you into the Halloween spirit this year.

Thursday,...

A few weeks ago, we were pleased to share an exclusive trailer for Return of the Killer Shrews, an irreverent sequel to 1959’s madcap The Killer Shrews. Now, on the eve of the films VOD release this Friday (October 26th) we’ve got another hysterical treat for our readers: It’s a side-splitting music video from the […]

The post You’re in for a “Shrewd Awakening” in Hysterical Music Video from Return Of The Killer Shrews Soundtrack appeared first on Dread Central.

While there is an abundance of films out there that feature halflings forced into a fight against an all-consuming evil, about 95% of them were directed by Peter Jackson. But today, I want to pay homage to a film directed by Richie Cunningham (aka Ron Howard), produced by George Lucas, and predating The Lord of the Rings movies by over a decade. Call it sacrilege if you must, but Ron Howard’s Willow holds a place nearer and dearer to my heart than anything set in Middle-earth. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some hobbits, but I was introduced to the Nelwyn clan at five years old. And at that age, when you fall for a movie, you fall hard.

For those who aren’t familiar, Willow centers on farmer/would-be sorcerer Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis). When he happens upon Elora Danan, an infant of the Daikini clan (aka...

In a femme fatale performance as Marion Crane, Janet Leigh is such a compelling leading lady in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, that it’s that much more shocking when you find out in bloody fashion that she, in fact, isn’t the leading lady. So, you can imagine my excitement when I realized that one of the other movies on Leigh’s résumé features killer rabbits. With Easter Sunday coming up, I figured what better way to celebrate Jesus coming back from the dead as a giant bunny (I’m assuming that’s what happened) than by checking out a flick about massive rabbits terrorizing the Southwest?

I’m a sucker for “nature’s revenge” movies, and the sillier the premise, the better. George McCowan’s Frogs, for example, is a nutty exploitation masterpiece that layers insightful social commentary in between sheets of bonkers set pieces where various amphibians and reptiles attack the local aristocracy.

Ah, the carefree days of 1950s America. Suburban families had the white picket fence in the yard, the 2.3 kids in the living room, and the persistent anxiety of dying in a blast of radioactive flame. The Cold War had eyes tilted skyward in anticipation of the day the Kremlin decided to drop the big one on the Us. And while there were “plans” in place (duck and cover, kids!) most people knew that there really wasn’t a whole lot they could do if a fifty-megaton warhead came to town.

As is often the case, the horror genre reflected this anxiety through the metaphor of scientists who, instead of creating giant weapons, created giant creatures. We had enormous lizards, gargantuan spiders, and even humongous blobs of unidentified slime. By 1959, if there was something that could have been made huge, it had likely been made huge. Enter Ray Kellogg, a former...

The third week of September has a lot of fantastic horror and sci-fi home entertainment offerings coming our way, including an incredible pair of Criterion Blu-ray releases—Cat People (1942) and Blood Simple—as well as the 30th Anniversary Edition of Labyrinth and the Special Edition of Brian Trenchard-Smith’s Dead End Drive-In. Other notable titles being released on September 20th include the horror doc The Blackout Experiments (which premiered earlier this year at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival), Sacrifice, The Rift (1990), Beware! The Blob, and a Blu-ray set featuring all kinds of Twin Peaks goodness.

Beware! The Blob (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray & DVD)

Newly Re-mastered in HD! The Blob returns... more outrageous than ever in this 1972 sequel to the popular sci-fi classic! Plenty of familiar faces, including Robert Walker Jr. (Ensign Pulver), Larry Hagman (Dallas), Sid Haig (Busting), Burgess Meredith (Rocky), Dick Van Patten (Eight is Enough), Godfrey Cambridge...

Glurg garrgle gurgle raaaaw!  It's the razor-clawed reptile-man that scared the bejesus out of little kids, way back when. Jack Kevan's basic monster mash drags its feet a bit, but technically it's as slick as they come. Plus, the encoding is perfect. And did I mention the scary parts? This one inspired plenty of gory nightmares. The Monster of Piedras Blancas Blu-ray Olive Films 1959 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 71 min. / Street Date September 13, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98 Starring Les Tremayne, Forrest Lewis, John Harmon, Frank Arvidson, Jeanne Carmen, Don Sullivan, Pete Dunn, Joseph La Cava, Wayne Berwick. Cinematography Philip Lathrop Film Editor George Gittens Assistant Director Joseph C. Cavalier Written by H. Haile Chace Produced by Jack Kevan Directed by Irvin Berwick

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

We 'fifties kids love our monster movie memories. I was glued to the set every weekend to see what Science Fiction Theater had to offer,...

For the past two years, Niagara Falls based White Lion Studios has been cooking up something awful: A splatstick remake to the 1959 cult classic “The Killer Shrews”, a low budget creature feature made popular by Mystery Science Theatre 3000. The original film, directed by Ray Kellogg and starring James Best, is best known …

The post Killer Shrews Gear up for the Attack first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...

Jim Knipfel Apr 11, 2019

1986’s Critters sometimes feels like a summation of all those more popular monster comedies that came before.

Along with teen sex comedies, slasher films, and jingoistic action hero cartoons, the early-to-mid-‘80s, depending upon your taste, was a golden era for what might most simply be called monster comedies. So we got Gremlins, Ghoulies, C.H.U.D., Q, The Winged Serpent, Basket Case, Troll, a double handful of others and their ensuing sequels. If you wanted to push it some, you could even toss E.T. and Ghostbusters in the mix. Despite the contemporary settings, hip jokes and cultural references, most were clearly modeled after classic ‘50s sci fi and monster movies like The Blob, most were relatively mild and family friendly (at least when compared with the nihilism of the slasher films), and a number of them went on to make lots and lots of money.

Released in...

This week, we’ve got another fantastic bounty of genre films hitting DVD and Blu-ray on June 16th, including a ton of cult classics like The Land that Time Forgot, Night of the Strangler and the Tentacles/Reptilicus double feature from Scream Factory.

Fans of Neill Blomkamp also have a lot to get excited about this Tuesday, as there’s a Limited Edition collector’s set featuring all three of his sci-fi actioners, with Chappie finally making his way home this week as well. Echo Bridge has put together two different DVD movie packs featuring a bunch of old-school horror movies, and the recent Blumhouse production, The Lazarus Effect, is arriving on Blu-ray and DVD, too.

Blomkamp3 Limited Edition Collection: Chappie/District 9/Elysium (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Blu-ray)

The world of Neill Blomkamp is unlike any other. Distinct of story and vision, and for the first...

It Came from Yesterday looks like the coolest tribute to 1950s science fictionhorror hybrids to hit the public in years. This is a trailer you must see If you love hokey robots men decked out in absurd monster suits preposterous dialogue and that treasured grainy visual youll find in flicks like The Killer Shrews The Wasp Woman The Day the Earth Stood Still Invaders from Mars etc. etc. then this is a feature youre going to want to track down Asap.

There’s the brand new poster and trailer for the Steve Latshaw’s long, long-anticipated sequel to 1959 Ray Kellogg-directed B movie The Killer Shrews, Return of the Killer Shrews.

The film features original star James Best, as well as John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard), Jennifer Lyons (The Amazing Spider-Man), Jason-Shane Scott (Starship Troopers 2), James Best (The Killer Shrews), Rick Hurst, Sean Flynn and special guest Bruce Davison (X-Men).

The story was penned by Patrick Moran, Steve Latshaw and James Best, respectively.

Well, there’s actually not much to say about it, below we have the brand new poster and trailer for the CGI filled flick, go check it out and let us know what you think?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a synopsis:

A TV Reality Show hires Captain Thorne Sherman (James Best) and his boat to cargo supplies to the deserted offshore...

Coming sometime to SyFy, I'm sure...Return of the Killer Shrews, a sequel to the hokey 1950s film The Killer Shrews.

I'm not entirely sure why someone thought that film warranted a sequel but, hey, here you go. James Best, John Schneider, Jennifer Lyons, Jason Shane Scott and Bruce Davison star and we have a trailer for you inside.

The story? A TV reality show hires Captain Thorne Sherman (Best) and his boat to ferry supplies to the deserted island filming location. As the TV crew and two-fisted animal expert Johnny Reno (Schneider) shoot their reality show, some of the cast and crew go missing, attacked and eaten in a bloody feeding frenzy by strange creatures. No one is prepared when they realize the place is crawling with giant Killer Shrews! The result of a 50-year-old experiment gone terribly wrong, the shrews are fast and ferocious, stripping the flesh from their screaming victims in seconds.

We’re back with the eleventh installment in the Forgotten B&W Horror series. With this entry, we continue to look at a few movies that blur the line between horror and science fiction – a blurring that occurred with many sci-fi movies of the 1950′s.

Tarantula (1955) begins, oddly enough, with a man and his hideously misshapen face wandering through the desert until at last the man falls down dead. The county sheriff believes the man to be Eric Jacobs, a local scientist who works with Professor Deemer, a scientist who lives 20 miles out in the desert. The local doctor, Matt Hastings (who for some reason has his office in the lobby of the local hotel in the town of Desert Rock), doesn’t believe the official cause of death and begins poking around at Professor Deemer’s research lab. Along the way he meets up with the new lab assistant,...

Movies from the “golden age” of black and white films (approximately the 1930’s through the 1950’s) almost invariably contain well-written dialogue and strikingly subtle humor, making them a favorite among many fans of cinema. The horror movies of this more subtle period in film history are therefore of a cerebral nature, primarily relying on the viewer’s imagination to generate the true sense of horror that modern movies generate through more visual means. It is these oft-ignored horror movies that will be the focus of a series of articles detailing the reasons why true fans of horror movies should rediscover these films.

I am finally back (after too long of a hiatus due to some personal business) with this 9th article in the Forgotten B&W Horror series. With this installment, we continue to look at a few movies that blur the line between horror and science fiction – a blurring...

Ray Kelllogg’s 1959 schlocker The Killer Shrews is probably best remembered for the laughable titular beasts, actually dogs “dressed” as shrews, but has gone on to b-movie infamy over time via countless video releases and a hilarious Mystery Science Theater 3000 roast. In this day and age, where years between sequels is hardly a concern (notably on follow-ups to Hg Lewis films, for some reason: 41 years between Lewis’ Two Thousand Maniacs (’64) and Tim Sullivan’s 2001 Maniacs (’05); and 39 years between his Blood Feast (’63) and its follow-up Blood Feast 2 (’02), but these are just two examples), it is no surprise that filmmaker Steve Latshaw would give new life to the cult of Shrew with Return Of The Killer Shrews.

Latshaw has reveled in the off-beat his whole career, helming b-movie goodies Dark Universe in 1993, and Jack-o in 1995, and writing dozens more since. On Shrews he reunites with star James Best, with whom Latshaw...

If you didn’t get enough cheese with your Thanksgiving dinner — assuming, of course, that your partook in this admittedly peculiar American holiday — perhaps the official trailer for director Steve Latshaw’s “Return of the Killer Shrews” will properly clog your arteries. The film, of course, is a sequel to the 1959 flick “The Killer Shrews”, which also stars actor James Best. It’s kind of odd that someone decided to make a sequel so many decades after the original, but I’m certainly not going to complain about it. More killer shrews is always a good thing. Plot-wise, here’s what to expect: A TV Reality Show hires Captain Thorne Sherman (James Best) and his boat to cargo supplies to the deserted offshore island they’re using as a filming location. Thorne would have refused the job because he’s been to that island before and stills sees it in his nightmares.

The one sure thing about Steve Latshaw’s Return of the Killer Shrews is that it has to be a better movie than the original 1959 snoozer. God help us if it’s not. But it has to be because the original didn’t have John Schneider, Bruce Davison, or bikini babes. Am I right?

The Killer Shrews seems an unlikely film to warrant a sequel, especially half a century later, but stranger things have happened. Steve Latshaw’s low budget tongue-in-cheek sequel to an even lower budget 1959 bad movie classic has even wrangled a few name actors, including “Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider, Transylmania beauty Jennifer Lyons, all-purpose character actor Bruce Davison, and original Killer Shrews star James Best, who is probably best remembered for his turn as the Wile E. Coyote-ish Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on the “Dukes of Hazzard”.

A TV reality show hires Captain Thorne Sherman...

Every Halloween, TV channels pump out some of the best/worst horror movies. However, there are films that transcend the badness until it becomes funny. Here are some kid-appropriate schlock films:

The Killer Shrews

During the 50's, most horror films had pretty bad special effects. The best it could hope for was some cheesy stopmotion, and with the worst you get something like The Killer Shrews. Some people are stuck on an island where some science experiments have resulted in some slightly large killer shrews (rats). First sign of trouble: the shrews are just some ridiculously dressed up dogs. The film fails to have any conflict in the first half of the film . ..and it's only 69 minutes long! Also, it's hard to understand some of the actors' thick accents. The film's available via the Internet Archives or you can see it through "Mystery Science Theater 3000" for some added hilarity.

There are few horror icons who are instantly recognizable. Karloff, Lugosi, Price, Cushing, Lee ... but there are even less who are women. Arguably the most recognizable of these is the luscious Elvira - Mistress of the Dark and her creator, Cassandra Peterson.

Elvira came into the public eye in the late spring of 1981 when Peterson auditioned for a horror movie host role at Khj-tv when the powers-that-be there sent out a casting all for someone to host their weekly horror show. The sultry Elvira - clad in a black, gothic, cleavage-enhancing gown - soon became a cultural phenomenon. With her dark, Morticia Addams-like makeup, a towering black beehive wig, and wickedly vampish appearance, her comical character was offset by a quirky, quick-witted personality and valley girl-type speech. Soon, her influence was seen on everything from beverage ads to pinball games to major motion pictures.

On June 14th, 2011, Entertainment One (eOne...

Assuming you have a humongous front door or outstanding insurance, Thursdays in June will be good night to pull your car into the living room, park it in front of your flatscreen, turn the channel to TCM, and try to relive the golden age of drive-in monster movies as TCM is loading its schedule this month with nothing but classic old school monster movies.

As if Turner Classic Movies wasn't already a fantastic channel as is (they're airing the 1977 Jaws with claws cult classic Grizzly this Friday at 2:00 Am Et), every Thursday in June they'll be running all-night Atomic Age monster movie marathons. From Godzilla to Harryhausen, from classics like The Thing from Another World to not-so-classics like Creature from the Haunted Sea to bad movie greatness like The Giant Claw... Here's TCM's own press release:

It came from the drive-in! The al fresco movie theater, a rage of the 1950s and '60s,...

More casting news coming in for the long awaited sequel to The Killer Shrews! We don't know who exactly was waiting, but in any event read on!

Former teen idol Sean Flynn (pictured right with his eyebrows), fresh from his long-running role as Chase on Nickelodeon's "Zoey 101", has accepted his first adult role in The Return of the Killer Shrews.

Directed by Steve Latshaw, Return of the Killer Shrews also stars John Schneider (of course), Jennifer Lyons, and in a neat turn of events, James Best, star of the 1959 original film.

The flick's in production now. Look for more soon. Dig on the first bit of artwork and the extended plot crunch below.

Synopsis

A TV reality show hires Captain Thorne Sherman (James Best) and his boat to cargo supplies to the deserted offshore island they're using as a filming location. Thorne would have normally refused the job...

In what appears to be aims towards retro z-grade silliness, along the lines of your standard Syfy Saturday night original (just add the word 'mega' in the title somewhere), director Steve Latsha is delivering a sequel to the 1959 schlock-fest The Killer Shrews with (wait for it...), The Return of the Killer Shrews. The hook here is that Return features James Best of the original 1959 Shrews. The film also stars John Schneider of Dukes of Hazzard fame, so there's that. More below including a few pics of concept art and full description. A TV Reality Show hires Captain Thorne Sherman (James Best) and his boat to cargo supplies to the deserted offshore island they're using as a filming location. Thorne would have...

Ray Kellogg directed the 1959 sci-fi camp film, The Killer Shrews that mixes The Incredible Shrinking Man and the Island of Dr. Moreau. It was a forgettable film, yet it was made a cult classic thanks to Mystery Science Theater 3000.

According to Undead Backbrain, The Return of the Killer Shrews is in production with original star James Best. They have a rather long-winded plot synopsis for us and the promotional poster (to the right): “A TV Reality Show hires Captain Thorne Sherman (James Best) and his boat to cargo supplies to the deserted offshore island they’re using as a filming location. Thorne would have refused the job because he’s been to that island before and stills sees it in his nightmares. Unfortunately, as the boat departs, Thorne is too hungover to realize where they’re going and his first mate Rook (Rick Hurst) needs the money. So...

In case you wanted it, a sequel to 1959's The Killer Shrews (not one of the decade's best) is underway with director Steve Latshaw and stars James Best (star of the original), John Schneider and Jennifer Lyons. The '59 film found a group of folks on an island with the titular beasts. This time Best's ship captain is hired by a reality crew to return to the island and...you guessed it, the shrews attack once again. There's a much longer synopsis right here , but you get the idea. This is mother nature on the mother-f'in rampage! Follow that link for a peek at some more images and concept art.

If ever an American movie was rendered obsolete by history in the way that a piece of machinery would, it would have to be The Green Berets. Released in 1968, before My Lai, before Kent State, before Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter, this film simply wanted to tell a simple story about John Wayne kicking a little tail in Vietnam. In case any one’s numbers are a little off, this is also well before the conflict was in any way over and Americans were still undecided about whether or not they wanted to commit more forces and firepower to the region. It’s a stretch to say that this film in any way altered the decisions that were made (a charge that many have leveled at Patton, a film Nixon watched repeatedly on the eve of the Cambodian bombing), but it’s certainly a rare and unique glimpse into history,...