Last year, legendary filmmaker John Carpenter teamed up with Shout! Factory to host a kaiju movie marathon called Masters of Monsters, which consisted of the original Godzilla film, Rodan; Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, and The War of the Gargantuas. That marathon was re-run earlier this month. Now the folks at Far Out magazine have dug up a 1996 article from Film Comment magazine in which Carpenter named The War of the Gargantuas as “the ultimate Japanese monster movie” – and included it on a list of his seventeen favorite “guilty pleasure” movies. It’s a fun list, so we have it included below, with thanks to this site.
Carpenter started out the Film Comment guilty pleasures article by saying, “I wasn’t raised a Catholic, so guilt never played much of a role in my life. We Methodists don’t worry about guilt all that much. In terms of cinema, however, guilt has always been very important.
Carpenter started out the Film Comment guilty pleasures article by saying, “I wasn’t raised a Catholic, so guilt never played much of a role in my life. We Methodists don’t worry about guilt all that much. In terms of cinema, however, guilt has always been very important.
- 11/7/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
We are, it is easy to argue, living in a golden age of science fiction film making. Whether you’re talking about the latest cinematic universe blockbuster or glossy straight-to-streaming CGI extravaganzas. And yet, sometimes it’s possible to feel like something’s missing. Sometimes you’re in the mood for a proper sci-fi movie. Something with square-jawed scientists, no-nonsense military men, and bands of plucky teens who know what’s up even if the grown-ups won’t listen. Stories where the threat isn’t a bunch of carefully orchestrated pixels, but a guy in a carefully crafted costume, a model hanging from a piece of string you definitely can’t see, or a stop-motion monstrosity that somehow has more weight than the most impressive CGI you’ve ever seen.
This Easter, Horror Channel is launching a mammoth weekend of sci-fi classics, and the schedule is a real treasure trove...
This Easter, Horror Channel is launching a mammoth weekend of sci-fi classics, and the schedule is a real treasure trove...
- 4/4/2022
- by Rosie Fletcher
- Den of Geek
CineSavant’s reviews for the new Blu ray set, Cold War Creatures-Four Films from Sam Katzman, are in two parts. You can find Glenn Erickson’s review of Zombies of Mora Tau and The Giant Claw in Part One.
Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman
Blu ray
Arrow Films
1955, ’56/ 1.85
Starring Richard Denning, S. John Launer, Steven Ritch
Directed by Edward L. Cahn, Fred F. Sears
Sam Katzman began his Hollywood career in 1933 with His Private Secretary, a romantic comedy starring John Wayne made for Screencraft Pictures—he endured for five decades, hopscotching from Victory Pictures to Monogram to MGM before bowing out in 1972 with The Loners, an Easy Rider rip-off starring Dean Stockwell (who called the movie “a mess”). But it was at Columbia where the familiar Katzman brand was born—exploitation fodder inspired by the fish stories found in tabloids. These were movies about headlines, not human beings,...
Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman
Blu ray
Arrow Films
1955, ’56/ 1.85
Starring Richard Denning, S. John Launer, Steven Ritch
Directed by Edward L. Cahn, Fred F. Sears
Sam Katzman began his Hollywood career in 1933 with His Private Secretary, a romantic comedy starring John Wayne made for Screencraft Pictures—he endured for five decades, hopscotching from Victory Pictures to Monogram to MGM before bowing out in 1972 with The Loners, an Easy Rider rip-off starring Dean Stockwell (who called the movie “a mess”). But it was at Columbia where the familiar Katzman brand was born—exploitation fodder inspired by the fish stories found in tabloids. These were movies about headlines, not human beings,...
- 9/25/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Hello, everyone! We’re back with our round-up of this week’s horror and sci-fi home entertainment offerings, and we have some really fun titles headed home tomorrow. Leading the pack is Jack Sholder’s feature film debut Alone in the Dark, which is getting the Collector’s Edition treatment from Scream Factory. Arrow Video is showing love to a quartet of films from Sam Katzman in their Cold War Creatures Limited Edition set. As far as recent horror goes, both Censor and Howling Village are being released on Tuesday, and if you need to catch up with the most recent season of Eli Roth’s History of Horror, season two is headed to Blu-ray as well.
Other releases for September 14th include Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 4K, The Shawshank Redemption 4K, and Stinger.
Alone in the Dark: Collector’s Edition
At a secluded mental institution, Dr. Bain...
Other releases for September 14th include Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 4K, The Shawshank Redemption 4K, and Stinger.
Alone in the Dark: Collector’s Edition
At a secluded mental institution, Dr. Bain...
- 9/14/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Yes, sometimes a producer could earn ‘auteur’ status making B pictures. A name that’s never going to be uttered in the same breath as Val Lewton is Sam Katzman, who for the 1950s settled into a profitable tenure making Columbia program pictures. They pretty much stayed in the category of ‘obvious junk’ yet include a number of endearing favorites. And Katzman deserved to slip through the pearly gates just for helping get Ray Harryhausen’s feature career into motion. Besides their minimal production outlay, Katzman’s horror/sci fi attractions have one strange thing in common: they don’t carry Columbia torch Lady logos. Part One of this review takes on two of the four features in Arrow’s gorgeously appointed boxed set; reviewer Charlie Largent will follow with a review of the second pair of creature features.
Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman
Part 1: Zombies of Mora Tau...
Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman
Part 1: Zombies of Mora Tau...
- 9/11/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Cold War Creatures: Four Films From Sam Katzman Available on Blu-ray September 14th From Arrow Video
” Now, I don’t don’t care if that bird came from outer space or Upper Saddle River, New Jersey; it’s still made of flesh and blood – of some sort – and vulnerable to bullets and bombs.”
Cold War Creatures: Four Films From Sam Katzman will be available on Blu-ray September 14th From Arrow Video.
Zombies! Werewolves! Atomic Mutation! Intergalactic Avians! Let this quartet of classic terrors take you back to the golden age of B-Movie Monsters!
A mob boss hires an ex-Nazi scientist to reanimate his dead thugs in Creature with the Atom Brain. An auto-accident survivor is used as an experimental subject to create a vaccine for nuclear fall-out with hair-raising side-effects in The Werewolf. Treasure hunters get more than they bargained for in the search for a cargo of diamonds that went down with a sunken ship when they discover the zombified crew members are guarding the...
Cold War Creatures: Four Films From Sam Katzman will be available on Blu-ray September 14th From Arrow Video.
Zombies! Werewolves! Atomic Mutation! Intergalactic Avians! Let this quartet of classic terrors take you back to the golden age of B-Movie Monsters!
A mob boss hires an ex-Nazi scientist to reanimate his dead thugs in Creature with the Atom Brain. An auto-accident survivor is used as an experimental subject to create a vaccine for nuclear fall-out with hair-raising side-effects in The Werewolf. Treasure hunters get more than they bargained for in the search for a cargo of diamonds that went down with a sunken ship when they discover the zombified crew members are guarding the...
- 8/13/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The worst nightmare for people with arachnophobia, there's a "crawling terror 100 feet high" on the loose in Tarantula, and ahead of the film's Blu-ray debut on April 30th from Scream Factory, we've been provided with the full list of special features for the 1955 creature feature.
Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – Giant spider strikes! Scream Factory proudly presents the ‘50s horror classic Tarantula on Blu-ray for the first time on April 30th, 2019. This release comes packed with bonus features such as a new 2K scan of the original film elements and new audio commentary. Fans can preorder the film now at shoutfactory.com.
Biochemist Gerald Deemer has a plan to feed the world by using a special growth formula on plants and animals. Instead he creates terror beyond imagining when his work spawns a spider of mammoth proportions!
Feeding on cattle and humans, this towering tarantula has the people of Desert Rock,...
Press Release: Los Angeles, CA – Giant spider strikes! Scream Factory proudly presents the ‘50s horror classic Tarantula on Blu-ray for the first time on April 30th, 2019. This release comes packed with bonus features such as a new 2K scan of the original film elements and new audio commentary. Fans can preorder the film now at shoutfactory.com.
Biochemist Gerald Deemer has a plan to feed the world by using a special growth formula on plants and animals. Instead he creates terror beyond imagining when his work spawns a spider of mammoth proportions!
Feeding on cattle and humans, this towering tarantula has the people of Desert Rock,...
- 3/19/2019
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
It’s big, it buzzes, and it screams like a banshee. So why is the Mantis monster so ho-hum? Universal-International tries to squeak out another boffo big bug epic, but 1957 screens were already crowded with grasshoppers and scorpions — and the screenplay is derivative — and somebody allowed producer William Alland to throw in every stock shot that wasn’t nailed down.
The Deadly Mantis
Blu-ray
1957 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 79 min. / Street Date March 19, 2019 / 27.99
Starring: Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton, Donald Randolph, Pat Conway, Florenz Ames, Paul Smith, Harry Tyler.
Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter, Clifford Stine
Film Editor: Chester Schaeffer
Original Music: Irving Gertz, William Lava, Henry Mancini
Written by Martin Berkeley, William Alland
Produced by William Alland
Directed by Nathan Juran
I grew up partly in the Mojave Desert. Our red ants were aggressive (and they stung!), our grasshoppers big and strong, and our scorpions were as scary as the...
The Deadly Mantis
Blu-ray
1957 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 79 min. / Street Date March 19, 2019 / 27.99
Starring: Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton, Donald Randolph, Pat Conway, Florenz Ames, Paul Smith, Harry Tyler.
Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter, Clifford Stine
Film Editor: Chester Schaeffer
Original Music: Irving Gertz, William Lava, Henry Mancini
Written by Martin Berkeley, William Alland
Produced by William Alland
Directed by Nathan Juran
I grew up partly in the Mojave Desert. Our red ants were aggressive (and they stung!), our grasshoppers big and strong, and our scorpions were as scary as the...
- 3/16/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
With 2018 coming to an end, Scream Factory is giving horror fans plenty of titles to get excited about in 2019 with a bunch of new Blu-ray announcements for March, including 1955's Tarantula, Man's Best Friend (1993), 1966's The Witches (starring Joan Fontaine), and more!
From Scream Factory: "We’re being attacked by giant insects next Spring as the 1950s cult favorites Tarantula and The Deadly Mantis both scuttle to Blu-ray on March 19th!
Tarantula (1955) – Biochemist Gerald Deemer has a plan to feed the world by using a growth formula on plants and animals. Instead he creates terror beyond imagining when his work spawns a spider of mammoth proportions! Feeding on cattle and humans, this towering tarantula has the people of Desert Rock, Arizona running for their lives. Can this horrifying creature be stopped or will the world succumb to its giant claws? This classic sci-fi film from director Jack Arnold stars John Agar...
From Scream Factory: "We’re being attacked by giant insects next Spring as the 1950s cult favorites Tarantula and The Deadly Mantis both scuttle to Blu-ray on March 19th!
Tarantula (1955) – Biochemist Gerald Deemer has a plan to feed the world by using a growth formula on plants and animals. Instead he creates terror beyond imagining when his work spawns a spider of mammoth proportions! Feeding on cattle and humans, this towering tarantula has the people of Desert Rock, Arizona running for their lives. Can this horrifying creature be stopped or will the world succumb to its giant claws? This classic sci-fi film from director Jack Arnold stars John Agar...
- 12/4/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Jabberwocky
Blu-ray
Criterion
1977/ 1:85 / 105 Min. / Street Date November 21, 2017
Starring Michael Palin, Harry H. Corbett, John Le Mesurier
Cinematography by Terry Bedford
Written by Charles Alverson, Terry Gilliam
Music by Hector Berlioz, Modest Mussorgsky
Edited by Michael Bradsell
Produced by Sanford Lieberson
Directed by Terry Gilliam
The prospect of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky directed by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam promised a brave new world of sophisticated nonsense; The Mad Hatter meets the Ministry of Silly Walks.
Equally appetizing was the thought of illustrator John Tenniel’s hideous creature brought to life by Gilliam, the Python’s premiere visual satirist. But Gilliam, working in a chaotic British climate that saw Harold Wilson being upstaged by the Sex Pistols, had other ideas, exemplified by the film’s title sequence which rolls by over some of Pieter Bruegel’s most unnerving canvasses.
The Dutch artist was no Pollyanna (his most famous painting was...
Blu-ray
Criterion
1977/ 1:85 / 105 Min. / Street Date November 21, 2017
Starring Michael Palin, Harry H. Corbett, John Le Mesurier
Cinematography by Terry Bedford
Written by Charles Alverson, Terry Gilliam
Music by Hector Berlioz, Modest Mussorgsky
Edited by Michael Bradsell
Produced by Sanford Lieberson
Directed by Terry Gilliam
The prospect of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky directed by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam promised a brave new world of sophisticated nonsense; The Mad Hatter meets the Ministry of Silly Walks.
Equally appetizing was the thought of illustrator John Tenniel’s hideous creature brought to life by Gilliam, the Python’s premiere visual satirist. But Gilliam, working in a chaotic British climate that saw Harold Wilson being upstaged by the Sex Pistols, had other ideas, exemplified by the film’s title sequence which rolls by over some of Pieter Bruegel’s most unnerving canvasses.
The Dutch artist was no Pollyanna (his most famous painting was...
- 1/9/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
This French disc release of the Jacques Tourneur classic gets everything right — including both versions in picture perfect transfers. Devil debunker Dana Andrews locks horns with Niall MacGinnis, a necromancer “who has decoded the Old Book” and can summon a fire & brimstone monster from Hell, no election fraud necessary. Even fans that hate ghost stories love this one — it’s a truly creepy, intelligent highlight of the horror genre.
Night of the Demon
Region A + B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Wild Side (Fr)
1957 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 95 & 82 min. / Street Date November 27, 2013 / Curse of the Demon, Rendez-vous avec la peur / Available from Amazon UK or Foreign Exchange Blu-ray
Starring: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham,
Athene Seyler
Cinematography: Ted Scaife
Production Designer: Ken Adam
Special Effects: George Blackwell, S.D. Onions, Wally Veevers
Film Editor Michael Gordon
Original Music: Clifton Parker
Written by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester
from the...
Night of the Demon
Region A + B Blu-ray + Pal DVD
Wild Side (Fr)
1957 / B&W / 1:66 widescreen / 95 & 82 min. / Street Date November 27, 2013 / Curse of the Demon, Rendez-vous avec la peur / Available from Amazon UK or Foreign Exchange Blu-ray
Starring: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham,
Athene Seyler
Cinematography: Ted Scaife
Production Designer: Ken Adam
Special Effects: George Blackwell, S.D. Onions, Wally Veevers
Film Editor Michael Gordon
Original Music: Clifton Parker
Written by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester
from the...
- 5/20/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
You Axed for it, as Forry would say: the grade Z horror movie that launched a thousand bad puns is also an unbeatable party favorite. Idiotic island natives clash with condescending Anglo scientists, when a death curse initiates the hell- spawning of a horrifying, vengeance-seeking pagan demon-monster. Sounds great — but what we get is Tabonga, a walking rubber tree stump with knotholes for eyes and a permanent scowl on its teakwood face. The excellent, flawless scan allows us to appreciate the mighty Tabonga for what it is — absurd, lovable, awful.
From Hell it Came
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1957 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 71 min. / Street Date April 25, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins, John McNamara, Gregg Palmer, Suzanne Ridgeway.
Cinematography: Brydon Baker
Film Editor: Jack Milner
Original Music: Darrell Calker
Written by Richard Bernstein, Dan Milner
Produced by Jack Milner
Directed by Dan Milner
“You say Tomayto,...
From Hell it Came
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1957 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 71 min. / Street Date April 25, 2017 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins, John McNamara, Gregg Palmer, Suzanne Ridgeway.
Cinematography: Brydon Baker
Film Editor: Jack Milner
Original Music: Darrell Calker
Written by Richard Bernstein, Dan Milner
Produced by Jack Milner
Directed by Dan Milner
“You say Tomayto,...
- 4/15/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
I’m not crazy and you’re not reading this wrong. There’s a video game adaptation of Manos: The Hands Of Fate (yes, that film, the one that gives Plan 9 From Outer Space a run for its money).
What’s even more bizarre is that it’s an 8 bit game not from 1985 but rather, 2015.
As strange as this might sound, it makes perfect sense. If good movies usually make for bad 8 bit gameplay, then perhaps bad films make for good 8 bit gameplay.
If you’ve ever played an old school platforming shooter, then you know exactly what to expect from Manos: The Hands Of Fate. It’s basically Castlevania (with some references to the series) meets Mega Man. But even if you’ve never played either of those series, the enemy patterns and attacks, decaying blocks, and platforming are straight out of the Nes era. And even if...
What’s even more bizarre is that it’s an 8 bit game not from 1985 but rather, 2015.
As strange as this might sound, it makes perfect sense. If good movies usually make for bad 8 bit gameplay, then perhaps bad films make for good 8 bit gameplay.
If you’ve ever played an old school platforming shooter, then you know exactly what to expect from Manos: The Hands Of Fate. It’s basically Castlevania (with some references to the series) meets Mega Man. But even if you’ve never played either of those series, the enemy patterns and attacks, decaying blocks, and platforming are straight out of the Nes era. And even if...
- 4/15/2016
- by Andrew Hudson
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Before Thanksgiving, before Thankskilling, before Q: The Winged Serpent there was The Giant Claw.
What’s The Giant Claw you ask? Oh, just a little film from the late ‘50s about a mutant killer bird that terrorizes the world. Technically, it may not be a turkey. But it looks A Lot like an oversized evil flying turkey made from clay and wires. The bird was reportedly created by puppeteers and filmed after all the live-action with humans had been filmed. When you watch the movie you can see that is absolutely the case.
The plot goes something like this: Jet pilot Mitch and his nerdy girlfriend Sally struggle to find a way to defeat the oversized feathery fiend that, thanks to its natural anti-matter shield, can’t be killed with your average h-bomb. Turns out, all it takes is the empire state building and a meson emitter.
The Giant Claw...
What’s The Giant Claw you ask? Oh, just a little film from the late ‘50s about a mutant killer bird that terrorizes the world. Technically, it may not be a turkey. But it looks A Lot like an oversized evil flying turkey made from clay and wires. The bird was reportedly created by puppeteers and filmed after all the live-action with humans had been filmed. When you watch the movie you can see that is absolutely the case.
The plot goes something like this: Jet pilot Mitch and his nerdy girlfriend Sally struggle to find a way to defeat the oversized feathery fiend that, thanks to its natural anti-matter shield, can’t be killed with your average h-bomb. Turns out, all it takes is the empire state building and a meson emitter.
The Giant Claw...
- 11/20/2012
- by Sara Castillo
- FEARnet
You could buy nearly seven million pair of Bulgari Bono sunglasses with the cash.
By Gil Kaufman
U2's Bono
Photo: D. Dipasupil/ WireImage
U2 singer Bono was already an obscenely wealthy man before Friday's (May 18) Facebook Ipo . But thanks to the 2.3 percent stake in the social networking site held by his Elevation Partners investment group (it is unknown how much of the Facebook take is directly held by Bono) it was reported that his nest egg could grow exponentially when Friday's first day of trading on the company's stock is over.
The total haul? More than $1.5 billion , which is not bad for a day's work.
If those figures are true, he may become the richest rock star on Earth, sitting on a massive pile of green that could allow a man who already had the world at his fingertips to push into a rarified stratosphere that's the envy of...
By Gil Kaufman
U2's Bono
Photo: D. Dipasupil/ WireImage
U2 singer Bono was already an obscenely wealthy man before Friday's (May 18) Facebook Ipo . But thanks to the 2.3 percent stake in the social networking site held by his Elevation Partners investment group (it is unknown how much of the Facebook take is directly held by Bono) it was reported that his nest egg could grow exponentially when Friday's first day of trading on the company's stock is over.
The total haul? More than $1.5 billion , which is not bad for a day's work.
If those figures are true, he may become the richest rock star on Earth, sitting on a massive pile of green that could allow a man who already had the world at his fingertips to push into a rarified stratosphere that's the envy of...
- 5/18/2012
- MTV Music News
Super-8 Giant Monster Movie Madness at the Way Out Club in St. Louis will be held on Tuesday May 1st from 8pm to Midnight. These are Super-8 Sound films condensed from features (they average 15 minutes in length) and will be projected on a large screen at the Way Out Club. Admission is only Three Bucks!!!!
The giant monster movies we’re showing are: War Of The Colossal Beast, The Giant Claw, Mighty Joe Young, Reptilicus, 20 Million Miles To Earth, Yongary Monster From The Deep, Destroy All Monsters, a Stop-Motion Trailer Reel featuring many of Ray Harryhausen’s giant beasts, and a 35 minute cut of The Giant Spider Invasion. The non-giant monster movies we’re showing May 1st are: The Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, Charlton Heston in Ben Hur, W C Fields in It’S A Gift, a Clint Eastwood Trailer Reel, and for the fourth time the Little Rascals...
The giant monster movies we’re showing are: War Of The Colossal Beast, The Giant Claw, Mighty Joe Young, Reptilicus, 20 Million Miles To Earth, Yongary Monster From The Deep, Destroy All Monsters, a Stop-Motion Trailer Reel featuring many of Ray Harryhausen’s giant beasts, and a 35 minute cut of The Giant Spider Invasion. The non-giant monster movies we’re showing May 1st are: The Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, Charlton Heston in Ben Hur, W C Fields in It’S A Gift, a Clint Eastwood Trailer Reel, and for the fourth time the Little Rascals...
- 4/27/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A 35-minute cut of The Giant Spider Invasion will be shown on Super-8 sound film at Super-8 Giant Monster Movie Madness next Tuesday, May 1st at The Way Out Club in St. Louis.
Wisconson-based regional filmmaker Bill Rebane’s no-budget wonder The Giant Spider Invasion was a hilariously cheesy 1975 throwback to the giant-monster flicks of the 50s, a trend then enjoying a revival with films like Empire Of The Ants and Food Of The Gods. This outrageous mix of giant monster motifs and backwoods sleaze plays like a hybrid of Tarantula and The Blob with its mixture of giant spiders and falling meteors. I saw The Giant Spider Invasion at the long-shuttered Ellisville Cinema in West St. Louis County (on a double bill with the David Niven vampire comedy Old Dracula). I recall the poster in the lobby which featured a gargantuan spider bearing down on a group of terrified people.
Wisconson-based regional filmmaker Bill Rebane’s no-budget wonder The Giant Spider Invasion was a hilariously cheesy 1975 throwback to the giant-monster flicks of the 50s, a trend then enjoying a revival with films like Empire Of The Ants and Food Of The Gods. This outrageous mix of giant monster motifs and backwoods sleaze plays like a hybrid of Tarantula and The Blob with its mixture of giant spiders and falling meteors. I saw The Giant Spider Invasion at the long-shuttered Ellisville Cinema in West St. Louis County (on a double bill with the David Niven vampire comedy Old Dracula). I recall the poster in the lobby which featured a gargantuan spider bearing down on a group of terrified people.
- 4/25/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Just the other day we lost the original Romero zombie, Bill Hinzman, while this morning we woke up to see that Morgan Jones, a character actor in TV and film, died in Tarzana, Calif., on Jan. 13. He was 84. Jones amassed more than 170 television credits, appearing as a series regular in "The Blue Angels" in the early 1960s, "The Twilight Zone" and recurring on Broderick Crawford series "Highway Patrol." The actor also appeared in more than 25 feature films, including The Giant Claw, Forbidden Planet and the 1957 cult classic Not of This Earth. In other news, acclaimed horror author/artist/director Clive Barker survived a near-death experience having just awoken from a seven-day-long coma. 15 Days ago Barker hit Twitter with the following message: "Dear Friends, I've had some medical issues that have recently forced me away from my beloved desk and into the hospital..."...
- 2/7/2012
- bloody-disgusting.com
While the name Morgan Jones may not exactly jump out at you, we can pretty much guarantee that if you're a fan of vintage horror and science fiction, his face and his body of work will be instantly recognizable.
Variety reports that Jones, a character actor in TV and film, died in Tarzana, California, on January 13th. He was 84.
Jones amassed more than 170 television credits, appearing as a series regular in "The Blue Angels" in the early 1960s, "The Twilight Zone", and recurring on Broderick Crawford series "Highway Patrol." The actor also appeared in more than 25 feature films, including The Giant Claw, Forbidden Planet, and the 1957 cult classic Not of This Earth.
We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our sincerest of condolences to Jones' friends, family, and constituents. Thanks for the memories, kind sir. You'll be missed.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news?...
Variety reports that Jones, a character actor in TV and film, died in Tarzana, California, on January 13th. He was 84.
Jones amassed more than 170 television credits, appearing as a series regular in "The Blue Angels" in the early 1960s, "The Twilight Zone", and recurring on Broderick Crawford series "Highway Patrol." The actor also appeared in more than 25 feature films, including The Giant Claw, Forbidden Planet, and the 1957 cult classic Not of This Earth.
We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our sincerest of condolences to Jones' friends, family, and constituents. Thanks for the memories, kind sir. You'll be missed.
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news?...
- 2/7/2012
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Following the initially fascinating but ultimate tedium of black-magic mumbo-jumbo Shaw Brothers oddity The Boxer’s Omen (1983) as the highly anticipated ‘Mystery Film’ choice from Fantastic Fest, Sunday evening’s Drive-In Delirium Presents… double bill mash-up was something to get seriously geeked out about.
Ozploitation extraordinarie Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood) and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s ‘Weird Wednesday’ programmer Lars Niels presented their film clip compendiums; the first of which, Trailorpalooza, compiled a collection of cult film trailers plucked from the last 50 years and featured some of the most ludicrously over-the-top scenarios ever conceived. What was most surprising however was the calibre of former Hollywood heavy-weights who actually agreed to sign up to such straight-to-the-trash can concepts.
Ray Millard in The Thing with Two Heads – a supposedly humorous transplant tale with a white man/black man splicing that defies definition; Joan Crawford in (what ultimately became her swansong) Trog -...
Ozploitation extraordinarie Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood) and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s ‘Weird Wednesday’ programmer Lars Niels presented their film clip compendiums; the first of which, Trailorpalooza, compiled a collection of cult film trailers plucked from the last 50 years and featured some of the most ludicrously over-the-top scenarios ever conceived. What was most surprising however was the calibre of former Hollywood heavy-weights who actually agreed to sign up to such straight-to-the-trash can concepts.
Ray Millard in The Thing with Two Heads – a supposedly humorous transplant tale with a white man/black man splicing that defies definition; Joan Crawford in (what ultimately became her swansong) Trog -...
- 11/7/2011
- by Oliver Pfeiffer
- Obsessed with Film
Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here
Stars: Janice Fabian, Christian Lee, Larry Bagby, Dana Young | Written by Miller Drake | Directed by Robert Skotak
Aliens invade a small town invading the towns cinema where the patrons are watching a sci-fi marathon. Taking over the projection room, the aliens splice together footage of old sci-fi films from the 50s to try an “bore” the audience into losing their minds so that they can take them over. A couple of teenagers in the audience realise that the alien threat is real and set out to put an end to the aliens plans before it’s too late.
Only really notable for being the one and only directorial effort from Robert Skotak, a visual effects whiz who has worked on such films as Tremors, Darkman, Terminator 2 and more recently Joe Dante’s The Hole, Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here isn’t really a movie,...
Stars: Janice Fabian, Christian Lee, Larry Bagby, Dana Young | Written by Miller Drake | Directed by Robert Skotak
Aliens invade a small town invading the towns cinema where the patrons are watching a sci-fi marathon. Taking over the projection room, the aliens splice together footage of old sci-fi films from the 50s to try an “bore” the audience into losing their minds so that they can take them over. A couple of teenagers in the audience realise that the alien threat is real and set out to put an end to the aliens plans before it’s too late.
Only really notable for being the one and only directorial effort from Robert Skotak, a visual effects whiz who has worked on such films as Tremors, Darkman, Terminator 2 and more recently Joe Dante’s The Hole, Invasion Earth: The Aliens Are Here isn’t really a movie,...
- 10/10/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Joe Dante lets us in on the secrets of the Invisible Invaders.
“Earth Given 24 Hours to Surrender!” It’s those darned aliens again! This time they’re reanimating dead people that they killed in the first place. Luckily for us, sci fi stalwart John Agar is on the job. But a lot of years have passed and who knows how many of these unseen creatures are currently running our world! Watch the skies, or at least the cemeteries!
Click here to watch the trailer, then read on for some bonus linkage.
Hollywood, take note: I think the idea of back-dooring a trilogy/series of films just by some loosely connecting character — as Dr. Karol Noymann does here — is a fine one (though this is probably just my inner desire for another dozen movies in which Michael Keaton pops by as Ray Nicolette). I haven’t seen Invisible Invaders, but I...
“Earth Given 24 Hours to Surrender!” It’s those darned aliens again! This time they’re reanimating dead people that they killed in the first place. Luckily for us, sci fi stalwart John Agar is on the job. But a lot of years have passed and who knows how many of these unseen creatures are currently running our world! Watch the skies, or at least the cemeteries!
Click here to watch the trailer, then read on for some bonus linkage.
Hollywood, take note: I think the idea of back-dooring a trilogy/series of films just by some loosely connecting character — as Dr. Karol Noymann does here — is a fine one (though this is probably just my inner desire for another dozen movies in which Michael Keaton pops by as Ray Nicolette). I haven’t seen Invisible Invaders, but I...
- 6/29/2011
- by Danny
- Trailers from Hell
This is a government warning. An explosion has caused radiation to pour over a cable channel called Turner Classic Movies and as a result large-scale monsters will be invading every Thursday! For fans of the drive-in classic “B movies” of the 50′s, TCM is bringing back all the cheesy fun throughout the month of June. Continuing tonight, TCM will host such films as Them!, The Black Scorpion, The Giant Claw, and many more. These campy classics reflected the nuclear fear that ran rampant at this time. Later this month, you will be able to catch Attack of the 50 foot Woman, The Cyclops, It Came From Beneath The Sea, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, and The Blob. Click here for more info on the line-up. So, if you like your monsters large, your films with small budgets, and your acting over-the-top, make sure to keep an eye out for TCM every Thursday in June.
- 6/10/2011
- by Michael Haffner
- Destroy the Brain
Get prepped for the second week of TCM’s series of Monster Movie double-features, with Joe Dante!
Our favorite TV channel is back with the second date in its month-long string of Thursday double-features, running some of the very best in monsterous sci-fi and horror films. Here’s what’s up this Thursday:
Thursday, June 9:
Them! – The template for the atomic mutant monster genre, another surprise hit despite studio jitters. Joe Dante covers it here:
Nine years after Hiroshima the atomic chicken has come home to roost in the shape of giant ants, soon to be followed by jumbo mutant radioactive lizards, locusts, scorpions, etc. The near-biblical template for the dozens of nuclear monster movies that followed it, this is one of the most influential movies ever.
The Cosmic Monsters – While in England making The Crawling Eye, Forrest Tucker starred inwhat would become its Us co-feature, shot under the...
Our favorite TV channel is back with the second date in its month-long string of Thursday double-features, running some of the very best in monsterous sci-fi and horror films. Here’s what’s up this Thursday:
Thursday, June 9:
Them! – The template for the atomic mutant monster genre, another surprise hit despite studio jitters. Joe Dante covers it here:
Nine years after Hiroshima the atomic chicken has come home to roost in the shape of giant ants, soon to be followed by jumbo mutant radioactive lizards, locusts, scorpions, etc. The near-biblical template for the dozens of nuclear monster movies that followed it, this is one of the most influential movies ever.
The Cosmic Monsters – While in England making The Crawling Eye, Forrest Tucker starred inwhat would become its Us co-feature, shot under the...
- 6/6/2011
- by Danny
- Trailers from Hell
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,...
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,...
- 6/1/2011
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
Production equipment savvy? Living in Calgary or looking to move there? The Calgary Society of Independent Filmmakers wants to hire a Production Coordinator to help manage their equipment. Visit their site for details.Speaking of Canada, Rhizome has a cool video from a ’70s Canadian arts show where artist Evelyn Roth discusses crocheting sculptures out of videotape. Plus, Rhizome finally has their archives back online.Then, Experimental Cinema has news of a DVD of Canadian filmmaker Joyce Wieland’s films being released.Are female horror directors on the rise in the U.K.? Eleanor McKeown investigates for Electric Sheep.Then, for Peaches Christ’s website, Michael Varrati sticks up for the much maligned slasher genre. Hear, hear! They’re just damn fun, is all!Listen to the mellifluous voice of Mike Plante discussing his new Cinemad distribution effort.Landscape Suicide has some very lovely stills from Hollis Frampton’s underground classic Zorns Lemma,...
- 3/13/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It comes as no surprise that the trailer for Rhi Entertainment's Roadkill would quickly pop up online once Syfy announced the Stephen Rea-starring monster movie's April 23rd premiere date. More surprising is that this Syfy movie about hit & run, gypsy curses, and a giant bird of prey doesn't look too shabby.
Kate and her brother, Joel, have gathered their five best friends for a scenic Rv road trip to their high school reunion. But their cross-country adventure is about to take an unexpected turn for the worst when an ancient curse takes wing by way of a massive creature. It’s called the Simuroc, and this gigantic bird of prey has found the perfect, helpless quarry in Kate and company. Stranded in the backwoods of the predator’s territory, there’s little chance for escape.
I really don't think the title Roadkill suits a movie with a premise like that.
Kate and her brother, Joel, have gathered their five best friends for a scenic Rv road trip to their high school reunion. But their cross-country adventure is about to take an unexpected turn for the worst when an ancient curse takes wing by way of a massive creature. It’s called the Simuroc, and this gigantic bird of prey has found the perfect, helpless quarry in Kate and company. Stranded in the backwoods of the predator’s territory, there’s little chance for escape.
I really don't think the title Roadkill suits a movie with a premise like that.
- 2/28/2011
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
Here are ten rules for making a movie monster that will leave audiences screaming in the aisles…
For every genuinely menacing screen monster, there are at least a dozen unintentionally funny, shambling travesties. For every Giger-designed Alien, there's a legion of creatures like the rubbery octopus-type thing from Yog: Monster From Space, or the man in a bear suit from Robot Monster.
Here, then, is the Den Of Geek guide to creating a scary movie monster, and a few examples of the pitfalls you should avoid.
A lack of eyes is scary
Designed by H.R. Giger, the titular xenomorph from 1979's Alien is arguably one of the most disturbing creatures ever to grace the big screen, quite possibly due to its apparent lack of eyes. And while Giger's monster has suffered from over-exposure in recent years (not to mention its appearance in the woeful Aliens Vs Predator movies), its original...
For every genuinely menacing screen monster, there are at least a dozen unintentionally funny, shambling travesties. For every Giger-designed Alien, there's a legion of creatures like the rubbery octopus-type thing from Yog: Monster From Space, or the man in a bear suit from Robot Monster.
Here, then, is the Den Of Geek guide to creating a scary movie monster, and a few examples of the pitfalls you should avoid.
A lack of eyes is scary
Designed by H.R. Giger, the titular xenomorph from 1979's Alien is arguably one of the most disturbing creatures ever to grace the big screen, quite possibly due to its apparent lack of eyes. And while Giger's monster has suffered from over-exposure in recent years (not to mention its appearance in the woeful Aliens Vs Predator movies), its original...
- 8/31/2010
- Den of Geek
Last month Rue Morgue gave rightful honor on their cover to Daybreakers which changed the vampire scene up a bit. This month looks at the legacy of Paul Naschy and the monster movies he left behind. Check out the classic cover art and be sure to nab this one in stores now....
To visit Rue Morgue and subscribe please click here.
The Creature Incarnate
When Paul Naschy died this past November, he left behind a legacy of monster movies. In an exclusive 2007 interview, the actor, writer, director and producer talks about being the “Lon Chaney of Spain.”
Plus: The essential Naschy filmography, and an interview with his biographer.
by Mirek Lipinski, Shade Rupe and The Gore-met
A Fatal Portrait
After more than 30 years and twenty albums, King Diamond reflects upon a legendary career as horror metal’s reigning showman. All hail!
Plus: A new documentary reveals the true face of Norwegian black metal,...
To visit Rue Morgue and subscribe please click here.
The Creature Incarnate
When Paul Naschy died this past November, he left behind a legacy of monster movies. In an exclusive 2007 interview, the actor, writer, director and producer talks about being the “Lon Chaney of Spain.”
Plus: The essential Naschy filmography, and an interview with his biographer.
by Mirek Lipinski, Shade Rupe and The Gore-met
A Fatal Portrait
After more than 30 years and twenty albums, King Diamond reflects upon a legendary career as horror metal’s reigning showman. All hail!
Plus: A new documentary reveals the true face of Norwegian black metal,...
- 2/24/2010
- by admin
- Horrorbid
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