The Cyclops (1957)
Bert I. Gordon, when you hear that name many people smile but some tremble. Many of us remember his back projected monsters (THE BEGINNING OF THE END), transparent giants (THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN) and his malevolent ghosts (TORMENTED). Okay so…
Battle in Outer Space (1959)
Pint-size aliens from the planet Natal are bent on conquering the Earth in this colorful space opera from the heyday of Toho Studios. Second in a trilogy of space-themed movies directed by the inimitable Ishiro Honda (the other two being…
Phantom from Space (1953)
Early 1950’s man from space movie where in this case, it’s the spaceman thats in trouble not the earthmen and women. A UFO is tracked from Point Barrow Alaska entering the earth’s atmosphere traveling at some 5,000 MPH as it…
The Single Girls (1974)
This is a pretty decent little film, kind of a modern-day adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Ten Little Indians”, or an early, more adult version of a teen slasher movie. It has a great island setting and a plethora of deserving…
Varan the Unbelievable (1962)
“Varan the Unbelievable” was an American-produced adaptation of the material, similar to the American adaptation of the original Godzilla (Gojira, 1954). Varan was originally to be a joint US/Japanese production, but that deal fell through. Toho, the Japanese production company,…
Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979)
Russ Meyer’s films may be silly and irreverent, but they’re also great fun, and while Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens is not his best work, it’s still great fun to watch and certainly comes recommended to Meyer’s fans! In…
The Flickering Light of B Movies And The Drive-in
When one recalls the glory days of the drive-in, immediately B Movies. B Movies defined the drive-in and the drive-in defined B Movies. When the drive-ins numbered close to 4000 screens B Movies captured the attention and imagination of a…
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
Released just a year after “Curse of Frankenstein,” “Revenge of Frankenstein” chronicles the further adventures of Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) as he miraculously escapes the guillotine (his fate at the end of the first movie), relocates to a new…
Battletruck (1982)
his is one of those very few 80’s post-apocalyptic/wastelands themed movies that I can actually agree on being a very serious genre-effort (as in: It doesn’t go shamelessly over-the-top) and even a good movie in general. I don’t really understand…
Vestron
Vestron was founded in 1981 by Austin Owen Furst, Jr. (born 1943), an executive at HBO, who was hired to dismantle the assets of Time-Life Films. Furst bought the video rights of the film library for himself and decided to…
Wild Guitar (1962)
At times the marriage between the Arch Halls and Ray Dennis Steckler seems to have been a bit rocky. This movie may rank as Ray’s most `coherent,’ (or least experimental) because of the heavy hand of Arch Sr. as producer,…
The Cry Baby Killer (1958)
In the film, Jack stars as teenager Jimmy Wallace, who, when we first encounter him, is in the process of getting the crap pounded out of him by a gang led by the suit-and-tie-clad Manny Cole (Brett Halsey). Later that…
Screech of the Decapitated – Review of a B Movie Cult Classic
Once in a great while, filmmakers encourage each and every cast and crew member to provide input and to add their creativity and quirks to their film to make it a group effort. That was the case for the film…
The Corpse Grinders (1971)
Ted V. Mikels is an exploitation filmmaker sometimes mentioned in the same category as H.G. Lewis or Ray Dennis Steckler. He really doesn’t deserve his place in psychotronic history alongside those legends. “The Astro-Zombies” had its amusing moments amongst the…
Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981)
his is one of those movies that doesn’t even make sense for one second.I mean:Flying Piranhas who live in in salt water!WAAHAA It is unbelievable that one could make such a crappy movie.The acting is horrendous,the story is even worse…
The Naked Flame (1964)
This micro-budget film (incredibly cheap looking, even by Canadian standards) tries to have it both ways and fails miserably. Half the time it tries to be an earnest culture clash drama but the script is boring and gutless. The Doukhobors,…
Zombie Self-Defense Force (2006)
Well Japan is fairly well-known for some of the really obscure, grotesque and outrageous movies within recent years. And “Zombie Self-Defense Force” or “Zonbi Jieitai” is one of those movies. I sat down to watch it because it is a…
Geisha Assassin (2008)
he film has been decried by some viewers because the feats of strength attributed to a mere girl are impossible, particularly after she has been injured. That would put down thousands of action films in which the main character is…
Canadian Mounties vs. Atomic Invaders (1953)
When I saw the title of this serial, I was expecting something along the lines of a cross between Ed Wood and Commando Cody. What I got was a fairly routine chapter play about a foreign power wanting to set…
The Legend of Hell House (1973)
All roads lead to Rome–or in the case of haunted house stories to Shirley Jackson’s THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE. Published in 1959 and then memorably filmed by Robert Wise with Julie Harris in 1963, both book and film have…