Orgy of the Thumbnail Review Blog: Something Old, Something New 3D
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- DirectorUwe BollStarsKristanna LokenBen KingsleyMichelle RodriguezIn the eighteenth century, a vampire escapes from the freak show, in which she once participated, and teams up with a group of vampire slayers to kill the man who raped her mother.
- DirectorUwe BollStarsNatassia MaltheZack WardMichael ParéRayne, the half-human/half-vampire warrior, ventures to America's 1880's Wild West to stop the vampired Billy the Kid and his posse of vampire cowboys.
- DirectorUwe BollStarsNatassia MaltheBrendan FletcherMichael ParéRayne joins a resistence group to fight against the Nazis during World War II.
- DirectorUwe BollStarsChristian SlaterTara ReidStephen DorffA detective of the paranormal slowly unravels mysterious events with deadly results.
- DirectorMichael RoeschPeter ScheererStarsRick YuneRachel SpecterLance HenriksenWhen the night falls, and the creatures of the dark are crawling out of the shadows, there is only one man who stands between us and evil: Edward Carnby.
- DirectorStephen KingStarsEmilio EstevezPat HingleLaura HarringtonA group of people try to survive when machines start to come alive and become homicidal.Famed Italian producer Dino de Laurentis had a lucrative deal with commie novelist Stephen King which saw the release of SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK, CAT'S EYE, THE DEAD ZONE, FIRESTARTER and SILVER BULLET. This was a vanity film for the prolific, best selling novelist who wrote and directed MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE based on his forgettable short story TRUCKS from 1973. The inexperienced King spent most of the time drunk or stoned and even managed to get sued for 18 million when a cinematographer was blinded because of the incompetence of the writer on set. de Laurantis & King settled that case so pretty much kissed the 7 million this FLOP earned at the box office goodbye. This car themed end-of-the-world horror pic earned King a Razzie nomination and it's star Emilio NIGHTMARES Estevez a nomination for Worst Actor.
Estevez is joined by Yeardley Smith who is best known as a vocal performer on THE SIMPSONS, Laura THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE EIGHTH DIMENSION Harrington, J.C. PRAYER FOR THE ROLLERBOYS Quinn, Pat BATMAN AND ROBIN Hingle, Ellen CHRISTMAS EVIL McElduff and Frankie THE LANGOLIERS Faison as a group of bickering stereotypes stranded in a desert truck stop during an alien invasion. Earth has crossed paths with a comet & while it's trail is causing the planet to glow a spooky green colour our machines are under extraterrestrial control and they do mean to kill us. Electric carving knives, vending machines, lawn mowers and especially a truck wearing a Green Goblin face. The premise defies credulity every tedious, poorly staged step of the way. It's a terrible retooling of George Romero's THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD only with ATMs & cars subbing for the zombies. Romero, btw was rumoured to have helped the drunk King ghost direct MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE but I'm doubtful. If he had this noisy, stupid garbage wouldn't be as terrible as it is. This is easily the worst adaption of a Stephen King story ever committed to film. Critics were quick to point out this was also among the worst movies ever made. It's certainly one of the grainiest looking piles of crap I've ever seen but in all fairness cinematographer Armando LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Nannuzzi did lose an eye during filming with the overwhelmed novelist.
King hired AC/DC to score this cult classic in between nose picks and BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD reruns. It's painful to listen to & only someone as out of control as King would have approved that soundtrack. King used to do coke when he taught kids in public schools. You think he was any more in control then? You know he wasn't! That's what's scary! A trio of occasionally gifted artists provided the old school practical FX and visuals; Steve JACK FROST Galichi, Jeff WALKING TALL: LONE JUSTICE Frink and Barry KING KONG LIVES! Nolan. They uniformly failed to impress as did the tiny make up department led by Dean THE RETURN OF SWAMP THING Gates. A host of capable stunt performers were undermined every step of the way by King. He simply lacked the ability to shoot any of the 'action' convincingly. Joe Hill (the writer's son) has expressed interest in remaking MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE as if the 1997 TV movie TRUCKS wasn't bad enough! This awful pic can be appreciated by genre addicts drawn to guilty pleasures giving MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE a very limited cult appeal. 1/10 - DirectorChris ThomsonStarsTimothy BusfieldBrenda BakkeAidan DevineAliens arrive, parking in a geostationary orbit over Nevada. Using powers unknown to us, they declare war, and use unmanned trucks as weapons.TRUCKS is the second filmed adaption of the forgettable Stephen King short story of the same name published in 1973. King's own adaptation is widely considered to be one of the worst movies ever made so it's fair to say this TV movie remake from director Chris THE FLOOD: WHO WILL SAVE OUR CHILDREN Thomson & writer Brian OMEN IV: THE AWAKENING Taggert is the better of the two. TRUCKS is also blander, flavourless, not nearly as much ridiculous fun as MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE & probably won't be the one you'll remember at the end of the day.
This US / Canadian co-production tells the story of a Roswell like town in Michigan with a secretive military base not unlike the one King wrote about in THE MIST. A mysterious black cloud spooks the locals & tourists alike who live and breathe U.F.O. lore. As news reports begin to filter into a diner warning of a chemical bio hazard survivors are attacked by a swarm of driver-less cars & trucks possibly under alien control.
Timothy REVENGE OF THE NERDS II: NERDS IN PARADISE Busfield, Brenda HARDBODIES 2 Bakke, Amy MY WINNIPEG Stewart & Brendan LEPRECHAUN ORIGINS Fletcher begin to suspect they're only being kept alive to refill the gas tanks and time's running out. They're ok but the Nissan Apocalypse just isn't as scary as a zombie apocalypse no matter how many times the story gets told.
This cable tv pic contains more graphic violence than network standards allowed 2 decades ago but it's rather tame compared to what you'd expect today. The violence is also routinely staged & lacking shock value. Cara THE MANGLER 2 Anderson, Darcy MELTDOWN: DAYS OF DESTRUCTION Davis & Rory SUPERBABIES: BABY GENIUSES 2 Cutler may have less money to work with than the vehicle wranglers and stuntmen. Below 'Meh'. - DirectorCharles B. PierceStarsWillie E. SmithJohn P. HixonVern StiermanA documentary-style drama about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-type creature that has been sighted in and around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1950s.Charles B. Pierce was an in-demand set decorator whose greatest achievement in Hollywood was for writing SUDDEN IMPACT with his buddy; Clint Eastwood. But Pierce is best known as a regional, indie film-maker who shot a dozen low budget pics in Texas. He was to Arkansas what Bill THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION Rebane was to Wisconsin or John HAIRSPRAY Waters was to the Baltimore. Pierce's library includes THE EVICTORS, THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN and this widely seen & influential mock documentary concerning bigfoot sightings in the swamp near Fouke.
THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK was among the 1st and best of the bigfoot exposes that flooded drive-in theatres and TV screens in the early 70s. You're not going to see any authentic yetis as this features dramatic recreations but therein lies this movies success! Pierce had no money so he cast friends or locals as eyewitnesses. Because they are so true-to-life their urban legends come across as believable. If they say they saw a sasquatch run off with a goat who are you to say otherwise? These people are wearing their own clothes! As incredible as their encounters are, at the same time they reek of authenticity.
Throw in some banjo picking then take into consideration Pierce's familiarity with the community. As the cinematographer he absolutely captures the atmosphere of the swamp even if by the end of the pic the Fouke Monster is still at large. Jack ZONTAR: THE THING FROM VENUS Bennett designed the costume which stays in the shadows where it belongs. Bennett was the FX artist for another regional film maker we're going to talk about one day; Larry Buchanan. The narration was provided by Vern Stierman. If his voice sounds familiar you may vaguely remember it from THE BEING, THE DARK or THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE PART 2.
Pierce & frequent collaborator Earl Smith kept the writing to a minimal allowing as much improv into the piece as possible. American International Pictures bought the distribution rights thinking this was a crowd-pleaser and the box office proved them right! Two unauthorised sequels were released in 1977 & 2010 while the urban myth of the Fouke Beast has been retold in features like THE CREATURE FROM BLACK LAKE or the recent BOGGY CREEK reality TV miniseries focusing on real life monster hunters. In 1983 Charles Pierce would produce his own formal sequel; BOGGY CREEK II: AND THE LEGEND CONTINUES... - DirectorTom MooreStarsDawn WellsDana PlatoDavid SobieskTwo men travel deep into the woods to search for a Bigfoot-like creature called "Big Bay-Ty" which has recently been sighted near Boggy Creek. Three children secretly follow. Little do they know a hurricane is about to commence.The bigfoot craze of the early 70s peaked with sightings on THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN and even a live action Saturday morning show called; BIGFOOT AND WILDBOY. This unexpected sequel to THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK is excruciatingly kid-friendly and about as scary as Disney's HERBIE GOES BANANAS. It was written & directed by Tom HORROR HIGH Moore & starred Dawn GILLIGAN'S ISLAND Wells. The two met filming the Charles Pierce cult classic THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN in 1976.
Wells plays a working, widowed mother of 3. Her eldest (Dana BEYOND THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE Plato) spends the bulk of her screen time playing big sister to a pair of well behaved younger brothers. After a half hour a man in an ape suit interrupts the nature tour of the swamp the 3 are enjoying. I though; "Thank God! Something's finally going to happen!" but I had to wait almost another hour to see the sasquatch again towards the end when he saves the children from harm during a storm.
Moore worked on several Pierce films and their shooting style is similar but the 1972 film is presented as a documentary. It's thick with atmosphere and has a cast of Arkansas residents to enhance it's credibility. This is a G rated horror pic only bad parents would take their kids to see. I found it to be duller than dishwater nearly 50 years ago & the decades have not been kind. The cast is mostly made up from non working, badly scripted actors. Their characters have the subtlety of HEE-HAW! reruns. The soundtrack is like a harmonica being scratched across a blackboard while banjos bleed. One song especially is painful to endure; The Secret of Boggy Creek'. Is it any wonder that 99% of these folks never stepped foot on a movie set again? Undaunted by this failure, Pierce would try to relaunch the brand with his own 1983 pic BOGGY CREEK II. - DirectorCharles B. PierceStarsCharles B. PierceCindy ButlerChuck Pierce Jr.A professor and three of his students camp out in the wilderness to find a Bigfoot-type creature.THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK was one of Charles Pierce's best remembered films in addition to helping ignite the bigfoot craze of the early 70s. The faux documentary solidified Pierce's reputation as a regional film-maker while inspiring a host of copycats including Joy Huock who directed the THE CREATURE FROM BLACK LAKE in 1976. Huock & Pierce produced this belated, low budget sequel to the 1972 cult classic to cash in on the boom in the home video market thanks to VHS. Horror movie sequels flooded video store shelves as franchises like FRIDAY THE 13TH exploding in popularity. The directors who made BOGGY CREEK II did so to cut a better deal with distributors. Already we're off to a bad start!
Pierce stars as a college professor who goes on an expedition to the swampland near Fouke, Arkansas where a sasquatch has been causing consternation within the rural community. Three students (one of whom is played by 'Chuck' Pierce Jr) search for answers as to why the Fouke monster is behaving aggressively. The four discover a young bigfoot has been captured by a moonshiner & devote the last half hour of this boring movie trying to reunite the child with his dad to restore peace & harmony to the land...AS IF that's what horror fans are paying to see!
Like the unauthorised 1977 sequel RETURN TO BOGGY CREEK, BOGGY CREEK II: AND THE LEGEND CONTINUES abandoned any pretence of filming a documentary & in doing so lost what made the 1st pic great. THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK felt authentic throughout & was loaded with atmosphere. This junk never once approaches anything close to credibility & the fault lies with Pierce 100%. Pierce isn't convincing because he's a lousy actor & his rotten apple son didn't fall far from the tree. Their lovely co-stars similarly lack the experience to sell this stale material. Pierce hammered the nails in the coffin by not hiring a proper cinematographer. This is the least scenic of the BOGGY CREEK movies & that's a shame cuz you won't be seeing sex, violence or special effects either.
That Mystery Science show I don't care to ever watch spoofed BOGGY CREEK: AND THE LEGEND CONTINUES...which has developed a reputation for being one of the worst movies ever made. It's certainly one of the worst sequels I've laid eyes on & I've seen KING KONG LIVES!, EXORCIST II: THE HERETIC & HOWLING II: YOUR SISTER IS A WEREWOLF. Highly recommended to cinematic masochists but even Pierce found it hard to watch. Followed by another non-canon BOGGY CREEK in 2010 which went into production minutes after Pierce's death. - DirectorBrian T. JaynesStarsMelissa CarnellTexas BattleStephanie HonoréFollowing the death of her father in a terrible accident, sweet, yet troubled Jennifer and her friends decide to check out her dad's cabin that's located in the deep woods of Boggy Creek, Texas. While staying at said cabin for a week, Jennifer and company run afoul of an evil and vicious monster of local legend that kills men and abducts women.I have an unquenchable thirst for any movie featuring guys dressed up like apes from way back. BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA, Dino de Laurentis' KING KONG, THE CAPTURE OF BIGFOOT, etc. Put a guy in a monkey suit & watch me buy a ticket basically. The guy in ape drag for BOGGY CREEK is named David Ford. He's an impressive looking man for sure but he's a lousy, graceless actor. I mentioned the 1976 version of KING KONG which earned the special effects man an Oscar. Rick Baker as a performer made it work for audiences. David Ford is lightyears away from that despite having played 'bigfeet' in numerous micro-budget mockbusters. He was also unconvincing as unrelated yetis in MAN VS BIGFOOT and SKOOKUM: THE HUNT FOR BIGFOOT. Objectively speaking, I could easily name 50 movies with worse looking monsters but that's still no excuse for David to be stomping around the woods looking like that in 2010! People named Phil NINJAS VS MONSTERS Nichols & Erin AVENGERS OF JUSTICE Volkman designed the creature using what few resources they had. I'm really not complaining so much but letting you know upfront to lower your expectations. BOGGY CREEK may have a better looking sasquatch than the one you barely saw in THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK 5 decades ago but he's still not as scary!
A handful of attractive, lightly seasoned young actors go into the woods of BOGGY CREEK searching for a missing relative. Melissa WEREWOLF RISING Carnell, Texas THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL Battle, Stephanie NAVY SEALS VS ZOMBIES Honore & Damon THE INITIATION OF SARAH Lipari spend the bulk of their time working out personal issues or making out. Every 10 minutes or so the yeti tears the arm off one of the friends or rips a heart out of another until none remain. There's not a lot of depth on display. It's not scary either.
Brian BIGFOOT WARS Jaynes directed this 2nd unauthorised sequel to Charles Pierce's 1972 drive-in cult classic the 1st being 1977's RETURN TO BOGGY CREEK. This is marginally a better horror pic. It's 10 times bloodier than the earlier faux fouke. Jaynes wrote the story with his wife; Jennifer HUMANS VS ZOMBIES Minar. I took a star off this video because they're poaching an artist's work. How can you respect that? 3 of 10 stars. - DirectorDustin FergusonStarsBob McGrawKarrie BaumanJennii CarolineAn independent documentary about the various Skunkape encounters in the Midwest since the 1970s.'Dark Infinity' (aka Dustin Ferguson) has proven more times than I care to count that he's NOT really capable of making horror movies; only cheap, unenjoyable mockbusters. NEMESIS 5: THE NEW MODEL, AMITYVILLE IN THE HOOD, SILENT NIGHT, BLOODY NIGHT 2: THE REVIVAL etc more than prove his incompetence behind a camera even when it's in his own backyard. THE LEGACY OF BOGGY CREEK leaves no doubt in my mind he's no skill as a documentary film-maker either.
The 1972 drive-in classic THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK was among the 1st franchises Ferguson decided to plagiarise following close on the heels of the despicable business models laid out by better known video sweatshops like The Asylum. BIGFOOT CREEK (an alternate title) probably didn't cost as much to make as the original did 50 years ago. But the reason it stinks as badly as it does is the absence of a talented writer/director/producer like Charles B. Pierce making cinematic magic. Ferguson only knows how to steal.
Pierce was a respected name in Hollywood before becoming an indie director who is celebrated with an annual holiday in Texas for having put Arkansas on the cinematic map. He may not have created the urban myth of the Fouke monster but his telling is legendary. This tedious time-waste tries to recreate Pierce's success with unskilled actors reciting badly written script & a creature made of muppet fur. The 1972 mock documentary stank of the swamp. THE LEGACY OF BOGGY CREEK smells like Dork Infinity's backyard. This is so deficient by comparison to the original even the stock footage Ferguson used of a pig looks fake. 2 of 10 stars. - DirectorNoriaki YuasaStarsEiji FunakoshiHarumi KiritachiJunichiro YamashitaFrom out of the arctic comes a gigantic flying, fire-breathing turtle that sets its sights on destroying Tokyo.GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE was the 1st and best of the 8 Showa era Kaiju cult classics made by Daiei between 1965-1980. It was the brainchild of director Noriaki ULTRAMAN 80 Yousca and writer Niisan SNAPPING TURTLE GIRL GANG BOSS Takahashi and released to North American audiences as a double feature with Mario Bava's KNIVES OF THE AVENGERS with a few minutes of additional material shot cheaply in the U.S. The Japanese version released as GAMERA THE GIANT MONSTER wasn't drastically altered for western markets the way GOJIRA was re-edited into GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS. A few additional scenes with Albert DR CYCLOPS Dekker & Brian THE CURSE OF THE FLY Donlevy is mostly what you'll see. It's not as drastic as the extensive reshoots featuring Raymond Burr for GODZILLA 1985. I didn't get around to seeing the original cut until Shout Factory released the series on disc in the new millennium and it's marginally better. GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE is the version I grew up with and prefer. The Sandy Frank version distributed through A.I.P. also includes a sequence at a night club where the Gammera song is playing before it's devastating arrival. It's the coolest scene in the movie.
GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE is a 200 million year old fire breathing shelled dragon. Like most dragons the prehistoric turtle flies but with jets of fire instead of wings. The animated special effects are kept mercifully brief and aren't the least bit convincing but I didn't hate them. Daiei was getting into Kaiju with the their YAKAI & DIAMAJIN monster trilogies but they didn't have nearly the resources rival Toho had at their disposal. A small team led by Keizo GODZILLA AND MOTHRA: THE BATTLE FOR EARTH Murase, Takayama HIROSHIMA Ryosaku & Toru GAMERA 3: THE REVENGE OF IRIS Suzuki capably handled the classic creature design & the charming miniature destruction. Stuntman Teruo Aragaki deserves credit for helping to bring the towering tortoise to life. He'd continue to perform in the cult franchise through to GAMERA VS VIRAS. You really get the sense a lot of love got poured into GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE which is probably why it connected so strongly with genre addicts and still resonates with fans in the new millennium. 2005 saw GAMERA THE BRAVE hit theatres and the recent GAMERA REBIRTH animated series on Netflix attest to the brands lasting appeal.
When an atomic bomb explodes in Alaska the beast is awakened from it's glacial bed to fly around the world in the form of a UFO. It finally reveals itself to be not all bad when it saves the life of a pudgy kid strangely obsessed with turtles. The military remain unconvinced as to the indestructible monsters good intentions and launch a quaint miniature assault on the dragon. This inventively staged & slickly marketed hit doesn't really deserve the 7 of 10 stars I'm giving it. I'm giving it an additional star for it's enduring legacy. Followed almost immediately by GAMERA VS BARUGON. B&W - DirectorShigeo TanakaNoriaki YuasaStarsKôjirô HongôKyôko EnamiYûzô HayakawaA giant monster that emits a destructive ray from its back attacks Japan and takes on Gamera.GAMERA VS BARUGON was the 2nd of the Showa era GAMERA: THE GIANT MONSTER kaijus produced by Daiei Films between 1965-1980. This is the 1st color entry in the franchise although extensive B&W footage has been cut into this 'grown up' adventure that tried to get by without child actors in prominent roles. The archived material was shot by Noriaki Yousca who was best know for his cult classic series IRON GIANT and ULTRAMAN 80. His special effects work in GAMERA VS BARUGON is just about what you're used to seeing. It's also noticeably not nearly as elaborate as the miniature FX in the hit Toho GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTER franchise Daiei closely copied. Niisan Takahashi handled the scripts for this and every Showa era film in the campy series straight to the bitter end. This one drags IMO but it's far from his worst.
Kojiro Hongo plays a man caught up in a plot to steal an opal from a primitive island of hula dancers. He finds out too late his partners are cut throats and the opal is not what it seems! The gem is an egg that hatches freeze-monster Barugon as soon as they get back to civiization. Barugon also has a cringe-inducing rainbow energy weapon that looks ridiculously out of place in a movie not made for kids. Hongo (who would appear in 4 GAMERA pics as 4 different characters) tries to undo his damage but he can't do it without the help of a fire-breathing turtle recently returned from outer space. This would also be the 1st of 3 outings for limber stuntman Teruo Aragaki as the titular monster and he is fun to watch...occasionally.
The violent crime drama clashes badly with the juvenile but well-produced kaiju action. American International Pictures bought U.S. distribution rights but only released it to cable tv under the title WAR OF THE MONSTERS. Sandy Frank slashed 12 minutes of the dramatic elements to make this more appealing to younger audiences who might get the most of it's entertainment value. I wouldn't recommend either print of this below average suitmation fantasy but do stick to the cut credited to director Shigeo Tanaka. This Japanese cult classic was released as a double feature domestically with DIAMAJIN & followed by the even kitschier GAMERA VS GYAOS in '67. - DirectorNoriaki YuasaShigeo TanakaStarsKôjirô HongôKichijirô UedaReiko KasaharaVolcanic activity unleashes a bloodthirsty monster called Gyaos that Gamera must confront.GAMERA VS GYAOS was the 3rd of 8 Daiei Film kaijus to feature the fire breathing, prehistoric turtle produced between 1965-1980. It was also considered one of the best sequels to GAMERA: THE GIANT MONSTER even in it's slightly altered presentation for U.S. syndication courtesy of American International Pictures. This Showa Era cult classic was written by Niisan SNAPPING TURTLE GIRL GANG BOSS Takahashi & directed by Noriaki ULTRAMAN 80 Yousca as a shameless copy of Toho's hit GODZILLA film universe and was retitled RETURN OF THE GIANT MONSTERS for American TV.
This low-rent but entertaining suitmation pic from Japan features plenty of green blood as the bat-like Gyaos uses a sonic beam to cut his flying foe. It's one of the more violent entries despite being marketed specifically to children. A plus-sized Japanese kid forms a psychic bond with GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE after a blood thirsty nocturnal beast is set loose upon a mining community. Gyaos was the only monster to reappear in the Showa Era series apart from GAMERA: SUPER MONSTER. Barugon, Viras, Jiger, Guiron & Zigra would all pop up more than once but only ever as stock footage. Gyaos would be carved up like a rotisserie chicken during one of the more memorable scenes from GAMERA VS GUIRON.
GAMERA VS GYAOS famously includes the 'Gamera Song' over the closing credits. It also recycles special effects scenes from GAMMERA: THE INVINCIBLE & GAMERA VS BARUGON to get the most of it's smallish budget. The tortoise suit was a left over prop designed by Keizo KING KONG VS GODZILLA Murase. Kozufumi Fujii & Toru Suzuki handled the bulk of the fresh kaiju action or assisted the capable Murase. This crowd pleaser was followed by GAMERA VS VIRAS. - DirectorNoriaki YuasaShigeo TanakaStarsKôjirô HongôTôru TakatsukaCarl CraigGamera the Flying Turtle falls under the spell of evil aliens, but two children free him and he returns to fight the aliens' monster, Viras.GAMERA VS VIRAS was the 4th of the Showa Era GAMERA: THE GIANT MONSTER movies released by Daiei Films to compete with Toho's considerably more popular GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS kaiju franchise. It was written by Niison Takahashi & directed by Noriaki Yousca who's greatest success outside the GAMERA: SUPER MONSTER brand was the similar ULTRAMAN 80 tv series that ran for one season in the late 70s. GAMERA VS VIRAS was seen on US television in a slightly sanitised edit from American International Pictures. GAMMERA: THE INVINCIBLE as a brand was as 'kid friendly' as kaiju monster movies were in the 1960s. The gruesome monster violence which included bloody slashings & stabbings made it to TV syndication but the salty language from the very young stars was censored from DESTROY ALL PLANETS.
The child actors hired to play heroic boy scouts aren't nearly as annoying as the kids who made GAMERA VS GUIRON an ordeal to sit through. I didn't hate either of them as much as the portly young star of GAMERA VS GYAOS. That's important because the special effects budget is so low you'll be staring at their flat heads as much as you will the prehistoric fire breathing turtle mayhem you're paying to see. The scouts are kidnapped by a snarky giant squid named Viras. Stock footage of miniature destruction is borrowed from all 3 earlier movies including the B&W original from 1965! The new suitmation scenes are quaint yet have undeniable cult appeal and just enough talent behind the camera to sell this material on a from starvation budget.
Turu MESSAGE FROM SPACE Susuki & Kerzo THE MIGHTY PEKING MAN Musase created the occasionally terrible special effects that did make me smile. The recycled footage cribbed from GAMERA VS BARUGON is no less charming. Watching old school Japanese Kaiju is a bit like rediscovering Ray Harryhausen classics like THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD. You appreciate them very much for what they were when they were and if you're a fan of the genre won't be immune to their built in charm. Kenjiro Hirose wrote the catchy theme song that will get stuck in your head forever. Average but it's one of the best in the oddly beloved franchise. - DirectorNoriaki YuasaStarsNobuhiro KajimaMiyuki AkiyamaChristopher MurphyAliens kidnap two children and take them to another planet for the purpose of getting knowledge from their brains, but Gamera follows and tries to rescue them.GAMERA THE GIANT MONSTER was the name Japanese studio Daiei Films gave their iconic GOJIRA/GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS rip-off. The flying, prehistoric turtle was featured in 12 live-action adventures. The 1st 8 that were produced between 1965-1980 are known collectively as the Showa Era. GAMERA VS GUIRON was the 5th of the campy, kid friendly movies that was infamously recut/dubbed by Sandy Frank & made available to US audiences via an American International Pictures television distribution deal as ALL MONSTERS ATTACK. All eight Showa Era films were directed by Noriaki ULTRAMAN 80 Yousca & written by Niisan SNAPPING TURTLE GIRL GANG BOSS Takahashi & have a loyal fan base in North America.
A pair of talentless, grating child actors find a colorful, plastic U.F.O. which flies them to a nearby, unknown planet. GAMERA: SUPER MONSTER (a fire breathing dragon known to protect kids from harm & the planet from giant monsters who would destroy the environment) follows the boys to make sure they get home safe. A pair of cannibal women plan to eat the kids brains then release the knife-nosed monster Guiron to kill GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE before they start their invasion.
Takayama HIROSHIMA Ryosaku & Kainai ULTRAMAN ACE Eizo created the memorably cheezy kaiju carnage which includes a gruesome sequence where Guiron carves up Gyaos like a plate of sushi. Plenty of stock footage material from Kazafumi Fujii's work on GAMERA VS VIRAS was used to help pad the runtime & trim the budget. This below-average entry in the enduring francise is a genuine cult classic but try to find the original print which is superior to the English language cut prepaired by AIP for syndication. Despite the universal contempt of critics Daiei followed GAMERA VS GUIRON up immediately with GAMERA VS JIGER in 1970. - DirectorNoriaki YuasaShigeo TanakaStarsTsutomu TakakuwaKelly VarisKatherine MurphyWhen an ancient statue is moved for display in Expo '70, a giant, vaguely Triceratops-like monster is released. The monster goes to Japan in pursuit of the statue and ends up battling Gamera, the giant flying turtle.GAMERA VS JIGER was the 6th of 8 Showa Era GAMERA THE INVINCIBLE kaiju adventures written by Niisan SNAPPING TURTLE GIRL GANG BOSS Takahashi for director Noriaki ULTRAMAN 80 Yuosca. The giant monster fantasies were produced by Daiei Studios to capitalise on the success of Toho's classic GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS franchise but managed to carve a kitschy niche for itself thanks to a lucrative distribution deal with American International Pictures which introduced millions of new fans to the flying turtle via syndication deals on network TV. The enduring legacy of the series includes 4 additional theatrical features released between 1995-2005 and an animated episodic program scheduled to stream on netflix in 2024.
GAMERA VS MONSTER X (The U.S. Title) was designed as a cross-promotion for the 1970 Expo in Osaca, Japan. All of the action revolves around the Expo just as GAMERA VS ZIGRA would capitalise on the popularity of Sea World. A new totem has been imported for the fair called The Devil's Whistle. It was created by an ancient civilisation as a sonic weapon to keep the prehistoric beast Jiger at bay. Now freed from captivity the creature attacks Japan with heat rays and bony spears while battling Earth's greatest defender; a fire-breathing tortoise. All seems lost when GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE falls into a frozen coma while Jiger's egg gestates in his lung. A couple of terrible child actors take a FANTASTIC VOYAGE inside the behemoth to perform emergency surgery.
Kelly Varis & Tsutomu Takatuma played the heroic kids with enthusiasm but also without charm. There's less recycled footage from earlier entries because so many minutes are spent fawning over the displays at the science convention. Scenes from GAMERA VS BARUGON and GAMERA VS GUIRON were inserted to shave money off the special effects budget but for the most part Yuosca was able to slip enough kaiju violence & mayhem into the miniature mix to keep it all tolerable...IF you are a fan of the genre. I view suit-mation as an art form like mime or ballet. GAMERA VS JIGER may be lowly but the series was heavily oriented toward a very young demographic. Children may like it more than me. I'd rate it only average and that's being generous. - DirectorNoriaki YuasaStarsKôji FujiyamaDaigo InoueReiko KasaharaSpace aliens arrive on Earth with their giant shark and intend to take over the planet but they must first destroy Gamera.GAMERA VS ZIGRA was the seventh of eight kitschy Kaiju adventures about a giant, fire breathing, prehistoric turtle produced by Daiei Studios and certainly contributed to their bankruptcy every bit as to their success. The Showa era monster fantasies were intended as a rip off of Toho's better known & much better produced GODZILLA franchise which played drive-in theatres across North America prior to the advance of home video. A hundred grand was a huge budget for Daiei to shell out for a movie aimed at very young kids most of who were used to visually stronger kaiju entertainment on weekly series like JOHNNY SOCKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT or ULTRAMAN. American International distributed most of the GAMERA films to syndicated television prior to 1971. King World bought the rights to GAMERA VS ZIGRA after it's failure double billed with SUZUNOSUKE AKADO: THE BIRDMAN WITH THREE EYES led to Daiei filing for chapter 11.
Fathers (Kiyoko Ishikowa) and (Koji Fujiyama) take their children; (Yasushi Sakagami) and (Gloria Zoeliner) on a fishing trip near Sea World only to be kidnapped by a possessed astronaut in a colourful U.F.O. that looks even more like a plastic toy today than it did a half century ago. Woman X (Eiko FEMALE CONVICT SCORPIO: CONVICT 41 Yanami) survived the cheesy destruction of her Japanese moonbase by the invading Zigrans but is now under the mind control of their leader who intends to harvest the human race for food. After the escape of her captives thanks to the flying space tortoise, X demands mankind surrender or face annihilation at the gills of an alien swordfish! Most of the city-smashing depicted was recycled from previous instalments whereas the cringe-worthy-at-times new FX shots were staged along the shoreline to save on miniature costs.
Noriaki ULTRAMAN 80 Yuosca directed this excruciatingly child friendly suitmation pic based on a baffling screenplay by Niisan SNAPPING TURTLE GIRL GANG BOSS Takahashi. In one of the most unspeakably campy moments in kaiju history GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE used boulders to play his defeated alien foe like a giant, beached xylophone! I can't decide whether to take a star off or to add one because it's such a galvanising moment for fans like that time GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS spoke English in GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND. Rikugun THE FLYING FALCONS Hangbusa Sentotai created the rubbery creature costumes while Kazufumi crafted the inferior miniatures used sparingly throughout. The franchise imploded with this odd & unpopular entry until the ill conceived 1980 series revival: GAMERA: SUPER MONSTER. - DirectorNoriaki YuasaShigeo TanakaStarsMach FumiakeYaeko KojimaYoko KomatsuUsing several clips from previous Gamera entries, this film deals with alien forces sending all the monsters Gamera has faced in one final battle to rid the planet of its last hope.Shrill child actor Koichi Maeda plays a turtle-obsessed boy who befriends 3 alien superheros who hide their identities on Earth by working at a pet shop. Their enemy is a booming voice named Zanon who has ordered the destruction of our world. Giant monsters Viras, Barugon, Guiron, Zigra and Jiger are dispatched via stock footage inserts to kill GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE GALAXY. The pro wrestling Mach Furmiaki and her two friends hit the spandex road in their flying VW van to avoid a female assassin while the human boy uses telepathy to guide the prehistoric fire breathing tortoise.
Daiei attempted a comeback and produced this 8th & final Showa era GAMERA: THE INVINCIBLE film out of sheer desperation. The campy kaiju franchise was their highest profile work and they needed a hit.Unfortunately New Daiei had no money for miniatures or rubber monsters so every second of kaiju material was recycled from the 7 previous adventures. The studio included footage lifted from GALAXY EXPRESS 999 and SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO to offer something by way of production value. The film makers were so strapped they even substituted anime panels in lieu of special FX. Fans of the kitschy series were heart broken at the sad sight of GAMERA: SUPER MONSTER when it finally stumbled into theatres after a 9 year absence. Filmways distributed the badly dubbed U.S. version hoping to capitalise on the SUPERMAN films but it was a brand killing flop. The special effects and level of sophistication on display was barely on par with series like ELECTRA WOMAN AND DYNA GIRL or THE POWER OF ISIS seen throughout the 70s on Saturday morning TV.
Noriaki ULTRAMAN 80 Yuosca directed the pitiful new footage while Niisan SNAPPING TURTLE GIRL GANG BOSS Takahasi took the shameful writing credit. This is easily as bad as PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and can be enjoyed by cinematic masochists who get a kick out of guilty pleasures. The series would be rebooted for an unexpectedly critically acclaimed trilogy in 1995. More recently there was a stand alone kid's fantasy in 2005 (GAMERA THE BRAVE) and a recently announced animated spin off available to streaming services in 2024. - DirectorShûsuke KanekoStarsTsuyoshi IharaAkira OnoderaShinobu NakayamaAn ornithologist investigates reports of a monstrous new species of bird just as a teenage girl is gifted an amulet found on mysterious atoll. As the creatures begin to attack, an ancient guardian with a bond to the girl emerges.
- DirectorShûsuke KanekoStarsToshiyuki NagashimaMiki MizunoTamotsu IshibashiA meteor lands in Japan and unleashes hundreds of insect-like "Legion" creatures bent on colonizing the Earth. Gamera shows up to deal with the ever-evolving space adversary but the battle may result in him losing his bond with humanity.
- DirectorShûsuke KanekoStarsShinobu NakayamaAi MaedaYukijirô HotaruGamera's ties to humanity have been severed as the Gyaos re-emerge. Nagamine and Asagi investigate as an orphaned girl named Ayana discovers a new creature. Named Iris, Ayana seeks revenge on Gamera for the death of her family.
- DirectorRyuta TasakiStarsRyô TomiokaKahoShingo IshikawaGamera dies in 1973 during a fight with the Gyaos. Thirty-three years later, a boy finds a mysterious egg from which a new Gamera hatches. When a man-eating creature named Zedus shows up, it's up to the small Gamera to save the world.
- DirectorAmando de OssorioStarsLone FlemingCésar BurnerMaría Elena ArpónMedieval knights executed for their black magic rituals come back as zombies to torment a group of vacationing college kids.TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD was the biggest hit for Spanish film-maker Amando de Assorrio who made a score of B movie westerns and horror pics. His eerie tale of skeletal knights was very similar to George Romero's endlessly influential NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and rivalled the COFFIN JOE films in popularity thanks to a boost from VHS rentals. For U.S. distribution the title was drastically altered to REVENGE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES in order to capitalise on the classic 20th Century Fox sci-fi franchise. A brief narrated sequence was added explaining how the zombies were actually resurrected 3000 year old advanced apes. The nonsensical intro barely got to play on late night tv and is best forgotten.
The original screenplay by de Ossorrio & Jesus Narrova CANADIAN WILDERNESS Garcia is a gripping horror yarn about a deserted village which is attacked by horse back riding skeletons. The robed demons were blinded then burnt at the stake a century before but swore they'd come back for revenge. They descend on the town with swords drawn listening for the sound of human hearts beating so they can tear them out!
A respectable cast of capable character actors filled the crumbling streets and got to play lesbian fashion designers, lusty ex loves, pervy morgue attendants, cat-fighting smugglers & swarthy rapists, etc...basically every stock character in the over-used book but they make it work. Lane A CANDLE FOR THE DEVIL Fleming, Maria THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF Silva, Cesar TARZAN AND THE JUNGLE MYSTERY Burner, Francisco LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE Sanz, Rufino THE SHADOW OF ZORRO Ingles, Jose THE NIGHT OF THE SORCERERS Thelman & Maria THE HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE Apron have been given more to do than scream & are fun to watch
Jose THE FABULOUS JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH Campos, Carmen SPECTRUM: BEYOND THE WORLD'S END Teran & Jose THE SAGA OF DRACULA Soria assisted the director with designing the frightening Knghts Templar fabrications & costumes. Their occasional heart pluckings looked good too! This morbidly atmospheric production was filmed in a run down Spanish village. The sound effects & moody score also factored into THE TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD's appeal. Luis THE NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF Castro, Jose Maria THE WEREWOLF VS THE VAMPIRE WOMAN San Mateo & Anton Garcia THE CURSE OF THE DEVIL Abril all helped establish the sinister & suspenseful tone of this vintage crowd pleaser. de Ossorrio followed up with 3 sequels the last of which was NIGHT OF THE SEA GULLS in 1975. John Carpenter's THE FOG was heavily influenced by the de Ossorrio films although no formal remakes have been produced. In 2020 an unofficial mockbuster calling itself CURSE OF THE BLIND DEAD dropped with a thud onto streaming services but it's an unauthorised sequel not worth one minute of your time. Up next; RETURN OF THE EVIL DEAD.