The Cosmic Man is a 1959 science fiction horror film directed by Herbert S. Greene from a screenplay by Arthur C. Pierce (Terror in the Midnight Sun, The Astral Factor). It stars John Carradine, Bruce Bennett, Angela Greene, Paul Langton, Scotty Morrow, Lyn Osborn, Walter Maslow, Herbert Lytton. Herbert S. Greene was assistant director on Invisible Invaders, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (both 1959) and Strait-Jacket (1963).

“A virtual re-write ofThe Day The Earth Stood Still, with the great John Carradine as the alien … No match for Earth Stood Still, of course, but how many movies are? Not-So-Memorable Dialog: “Here… Colonel, have a mint.” The man-hungry blonde is a hoot. Includes some nifty electronic sound effects.” Willard’s Wormholes

“Director Herbert Greene and scripter Arthur C. Pierce create almost zero suspense in their scenario, attempting at the eleventh hour to duplicate the Christ-motif of Day by having the Cosmic Man sacrifice his life for the young boy but then “rise again” — or at least, it’s implied that he may live again after his dead body gets teleported away.” Naturalistic! Uncanny! Marvelous!

“… engaging low-budget oddity … The film’s optimistic ending has a certain naive power.” The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction

Buy The Cosmic Man on Image Entertainment DVD from Amazon.com

Buy The Cosmic Man + The Flying Saucer + Stranger from Venus on DVD from Amazon.com

IMDb | We are grateful to Wrong Side of the Art! for some of the images above.

Tokyo Gore Police (東京残酷警察 Tōkyō Zankoku Keisatsu) is a 2008 Japanese-American science fiction splatter film co-written, edited, and directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura. It stars Eihi Shiina as Ruka, a vengeful police officer.

The movie is a remake of an independent film that Nishimura made many years before called Anatomia Extinction.

Plot:

In a near future chaotic Japan, a mad scientist known as “Key Man” has created a virus that mutates humans into monstrous creatures called “Engineers” that sprout bizarre weapons from any injury. The Tokyo Police Force has been privatised to deal with this new threat of engineers, so a special squad of officers called “Engineer Hunters” are created to deal with them. However, unlike the average police force, the Engineer Hunters are a private quasi-military force that utilize violence, sadism, and streetside executions to maintain law and order.

Helping the police force is Ruka, a troubled loner who is very skilled in dispatching the Engineers. Along with helping the police, she is looking for the killer of her father, an old-fashioned officer who was murdered in broad daylight by a mysterious assassin. Ruka soon receives a new case to hunt down Key Man, but once she encounters him, he infects her by inserting a key-shaped tumor into her scar-riddled left forearm before disappearing…

Reviews:

“Propelled by geysers of blood and tidal waves of neuroses, Tokyo Gore Police plumbs wounds both cultural and physical to deliver splatterific social satire.” Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

“Garishly coloured, wilfully offensive (but always in a cute way), interspersed with hilarious TV commercial inserts à la Robocop, and full of over-the-top action, fetishistic metamorphoses and impossibly bloody body horror, this film has to be seen to be believed. Totally insane.” Anton Bitel, Little White Lies

“Partly because the premise is so fantastical (bloody wounds turning into even bloodier and more disgusting weapons), and partly because the film is so violent (too many decapitations, severed limbs, and melted faces to count), Tokyo Gore Police lives up to its name: a wet-dream for any gore-hound.” Monster Chiller Horror Theatre

Buy the UK 2 disc edition of Tokyo Gore Police at Amazon.co.uk

Buy Tokyo Gore Police 1.5 from Amazon.com

Watch on Amazon Instant Video

” …the attraction of Tokyo Gore Police lies in its over-the-top action and insane visual effects. Nishimura was not working with a big budget but the choices in set design and effects are very resourceful. The film throws everything at the screen, including blood spraying from dismembered torsos in slow-motion, exotic weapons sprouting from injured body parts, and bondage-garbed quadriplegics walking on swords. TheRoboCop influence is apparent throughout, particularly in a series of tongue-in-cheek television ads for products that make it easier to commit suicide.” Fantastic Fest 2008

“If you haven’t seen a Japanese gore film before, Tokyo Gore Police is probably the only one you’ll ever have to watch to satiate your curiosity. It’s not a horrible film; it’s not a great film; it’s just everything it tries to be — perverse, grotesque, bizarre — and a little more. Check it out, but this time don’t order popcorn: You’ll want to watch this movie on an empty belly.” amctv.com 

Wikipedia | IMDb | Thanks to the following for some images: The Gomorrahy

Lost Time is a 2014 science fiction horror film directed by Christian Sesma (On Bloody Sunday) based on a screenplay by himself, Kenneth Owens and Rochelle Vallese (Scar, Alien Armageddon). It stars the latter, plus Luke Goss (Frankenstein (2004), Unearthed), Robert Davi (Maniac Cop 2 & 3, Predator 2), Derek Mears (The Hills Have Eyes II, Friday the 13th as Jason Vorhees, Hatchet III), Lin Shaye (2001 Maniacs, Big Ass Spider, Insidious: Chapter 2), Jenni Blong (Ghost Whisperer), Vyto Ruginis (The Devil’s Advocate, Wishmaster 2), Chelsea Ricketts, Maria Olsen, Tonya Cornelisse, Jennifer Cortese, Todd Cattell.

Plot teaser:

Valerie has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. After the diagnosis, she is driving with her sister Melissa on a country road when the car stops and is engulfed in a blinding light. 12 hours later Val wakes up and Melissa is nowhere to be found. Months later and all sign of Valerie’s cancer is gone, but still no sign of her sister. Carter (Luke Goss), Valerie’s cop boyfriend, wants to help her but their relationship means he is pulled from the case.

Could it be an alien abduction? Valerie’s dreams and visions suggest it could be. Searching the web she finds a book about blackouts called Lost Time and meets author Dr Reed (Robert Davi), who claims to have the answers she is looking for…

IMDb | We are grateful to Filmofilia.com for images above

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Godzilla: Final Wars (ゴジラ ファイナルウォーズ Gojira: Fainaru Wōzu) is a 2004 Japanese science fiction Kaiju film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus), written by Wataru Mimura and Isao Kiriyama and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. It is the 28th installment in the Godzilla film series, and the sixth in terms of the series’ Millennium era. The film stars Masahiro Matsuoka, Don Frye, Rei Kikukawa, Kane Kosugi, Maki Mizuno and Kazuki Kitamura.

As a 50th anniversary film, a number of actors from previous Godzilla films appeared as main characters or in cameo roles. In addition, various Kaiju (monsters) made reappearances, as most were last seen more than 30 years earlier. Godzilla: Final Wars premiered on November 29, 2004 in Los Angeles, California and was released on December 4, 2004 in Japan. Before the world premiere, Godzilla received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Director Ryuhei Kitamura has compared Godzilla: Final Wars to that of a musician’s “Best of” album, stating “We picked lots and lots of the best elements from the past and combined it in a new way. It’s what I love about Godzilla and what I don’t love about recent Godzilla movies”.

The music in Godzilla: Final Wars was composed by Keith Emerson (Inferno; Murder Rock; The Church) Daisuke Yano and Nobuhiko Morino, while the band Sum 41 contributed the song “We’re All To Blame” to the soundtrack (and received high billing in the film’s opening credits sequence). Some critics expressed concern with the music of Final Wars, arguing that Emerson’s score would be better suited for a campy made-for-television movie or video games, while others pointed out that it made a refreshing change from the music of previous Godzilla films.

Plot teaser:

In 2004, endless warfare and environmental pollution has resulted in dangerous kaiju and the Earth Defense Force (EDF) is created to protect the planet. The organization is equipped with the best technology, weapons and soldiers, as well as mutants with special abilities. Godzilla is the EDF’s only unstoppable opponent. The EDF’s best combat vehicle, the Gotengo, corners Godzilla at the South Pole and buries him under the Antarctic ice, freezing him alive.

Forty years later, the EDF discovers a mummified space monster. The mutant soldier Shinichi Ozaki and the United Nations biologist Dr. Miyuki Otonashi are sent to research it. Shortly thereafter, the two encounter the Shobijin, fairies of the guardian monster Mothra, who reveal that the monster is Gigan, an alien cyborg sent to destroy Earth 12,000 years earlier. They also warn that a battle between good and evil will happen soon and that Ozaki, because of his mutant capabilities, must choose between the two.

Suddenly, kaiju appear in major cities. The EDF attempts to drive them away. The monsters include Anguirus in Shanghai, Rodan in New York City, King Caesar in Okinawa, Kamacuras in Paris, Kumonga in Arizona, Zilla in Sydney and Ebirah near Tokyo. Despite defeating Ebirah, the EDF is unsuccessful in destroying the monsters. After destroying most of the cities, the monsters vanish and an enormous alien mothership appears over Tokyo. The aliens, known as Xiliens, say that they are friendly and have eliminated the monsters…

Reviews:

” … brief missteps are not enough to undermine the film, which is a pulse-pulverizing bit of special effects and martial arts mayhem that truly is good enough to deserve a stateside release. Certainly, the film is over-the-top and utterly fantastic.” Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique

“The Matrix influence extends to slow-motion bullets, 360-degree freeze-pans, and Ozaki’s understanding of his divine purpose — but, really, all this tosh accomplishes is to pad Godzilla: Final Wars for a good 35 minutes longer than is necessary. Godzilla himself doesn’t even show up for the first hour and a half, since he’s kept on ice under the South Pole specifically for occasions like this. After a while the shoot-outs, fistfights, and bellowing latex bleed into one unending blur, and you find yourself actively pining for the earth to be destroyed so the end credits can come up.” Ty Burr, Boston Globe

“.. a blithely campy, altogether good-natured love letter to the classic Godzilla films of the 1960s and 1970s directed by… Japan’s adolescent action stylist.” Sean Axmaker, Static

Buy Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S. + Godzilla: Final Wars on Sony Blu-ray from Amazon.com

Wikipedia | IMDb | Godzilla on Horrorpedia

The Deaths of Ian Stone is a 2007 horror film directed by Dario Piana (Too Beautiful to Die) from a screenplay by Brendan Hood. It stars Mike Vogel, Christina Cole, Jaime Murray (Devil’s Playground; Fright Night 2), Michael Dixon, Jeff Peterson.

Plot teaser:

Ian Stone is an average man. He loves ice hockey but lives for his girlfriend, Jenny Walker. Late one night while driving home from a painful loss on the ice, Ian comes across a bewildering discovery, that looks like a dead body near the railroad tracks. Investigating the grisly discovery, Ian is attacked by the “corpse”, forced onto the tracks and subsequently run over by an oncoming train.

He wakes up in an office cubicle. He’s still alive, but older and living with a beautiful woman named Medea. Jenny is part of this life, but she’s not his girlfriend, just a co-worker, and one of a number of apparently familiar faces.

Ian meets a strange old man who tells him he is in danger. The old man tells him that he is being hunted by the Harvesters, a group of mind-controlling characters who cannot be killed and feed off human fear…

Buy on DVD | Instant Video from Amazon.com

Reviews:

“Between Vogel’s allure and Stan Winston’s phenomenal production values, The Deaths of Ian Stone could have stood alone without the film festival gimmick. It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it is sheer entertainment. And that’s enough to make this a must-see for horror and science fiction fans alike.” Blake French, Contact Music

“The Deaths of Ian Stone is content with being a fairly straight-forward genre piece. Consequently, as we gradually learn what is happening (thanks to a Johnny Explainer character who gives Austin Powers’ Basil Exposition a serious challenge for the title of “Obvious Mouthpiece”), the film becomes less interesting. The puzzle pieces of the plot fall into place well enough, but the picture they form is of a conventional monster movie.” Steve Biodrowski, Cinefantastique

“It’s got a fairly original concept and diverting visual effects from Oscar-winning f/x maestro Stan Winston, who also produced. But this slick genre piece is less than satisfying in narrative and character terms, with a repetitious, gimmicky structure and murky motivation … Action is almost nonstop, but rooting interest palls.” Dennis Harvey, Variety

“Some of the film is a bit Matrix-like and it is never completely explained how Ian goes from one life to the next without starting over each time (it’s slipstream fiction but the film should have offered an explanation). However, if you accept the film at face value and don’t dig to deep for details, it is enjoyable creature horror.” Parlor of Horror

“The Deaths of Ian Stone is influenced quite a bit by “Memento,” “The Matrix” and even “Cemetery Man.” It’s got its flaws, but for a miniscule budget movie, it’s pretty impressive in a lot of ways, delivering the kid fo paranoid horror we saw back in the days of “The Twilight Zone.” Lucius Gore, eSplatter

Buy on DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Wikipedia | IMDb

Web is a science fiction/horror novel written by the English author John Wyndham (The Day of the Triffids; The Kraken Wakes; The Midwich Cuckoos) The novel was published by the estate of John Wyndham in April 1979, ten years after his death.

Plot summary:

The events depicted in Web are written from the viewpoint of Arnold Delgrange, a man whose wife and daughter were recently killed in a motor collision. They revolve around a failed attempt to establish a utopian colony on the fictional island Tanakuatua in the Pacific Ocean, remote from civilisation. Tanakuatua is now uninhabited by humans, as its native inhabitants were evacuated from the island due to British nuclear testing and were relocated. However a small group of natives defy the evacuation order and placed a curse on any people who returned to the island. When Delgrange and his fellow pioneers reach the island they soon discover it has been overrun by spiders that hunt in packs.

Buy Web by John Wyndham from Amazon.co.uk

Wikipedia

“A cosmic Frankenstein that threatened to engulf the world and hurl it into outer space!”

The Magnetic Monster is a 1953 independent science fiction film, directed by Curt Siodmak, and starring Richard Carlson, King Donovan and Jean Byron. It marked Carlson’s initial foray into sci-fi and horror and he would follow it with several better known titles that would forever associate him with that genre: It Came from Outer Space (1953), The Maze (1953), Riders to the Stars (1954), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), and such TV series as Thriller and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

It is the first episode in Ivan Tors‘ Office of Scientific Investigation (OSI) trilogy, followed by Riders to the Stars and Gog.

Plot teaser:

A pair of agents from the Office of Scientific Investigation (OSI) are sent to investigate a local appliance store, where all of the clocks have stopped at the same time, and metal items in the store have been magnetized. The source of this is traced to an office located directly above the store, where scientific equipment is found, along with a dead body. There are also signs of radioactivity, but the cause of the difficulties itself is clearly no longer in the room, or the immediate area.

Investigation and request for citizen input eventually lead to an airline flight carrying a scientist, Dr. Howard Denker, who has developed signs of radiation sickness related to something in a heavy briefcase he carries and clutches irrationally. Before dying, he confesses to have been experimenting with an artificial radioactive isotope, serranium, which he had bombarded with alpha particles for 200 hours (8 days and 8 hours). Unfortunately, his so-far microscopic creation has taken on a life of its own, literally: it must absorb energy from its surroundings every 11 hours, and in the process doubles in size and mass each time, releasing deadly radiation and incredibly intense magnetic energy…

Reviews:

“This is one movie that converts the flat, businesslike style characteristic of the 50’s into an asset … For the same reason, casting the sturdy but colorless Richard Carlson in the starring role was also a wise decision. If only The Magnetic Monster plodded slightly less, it might have deserved the somewhat overused epithet “forgotten classic.” As it stands, it will have to settle for “intriguing oddity” instead.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

“We hear a lot of what this ball of energy is up to and what it could do–it is apparently doubling in size and draining surrounding energy, so much so that it could drain a nearby town of all its power. And after it’s done conquering Smalltown USA, it’ll move on to the world, which it will eventually spin right off of its orbit. But none of this really happens–it just sort of sits there, glowing in a chamber while all these scientists look at it through a giant Viewmaster.” Brett Gallman, Oh, the Horror!

“Gadget-laden but brisk, the movie uses stock footage from the German 1934 movie Gold to good effect.” Alan Frank, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Handbook (Batsford, 1982)

Wikipedia | IMDb

Alien: Isolation is an upcoming first-person survival horror stealth game developed by The Creative Assembly, based in West Sussex, and published by Sega. Though the game is set in the future, the technology depicted the game is made to look as if it were designed in the 1970s in order to match the look of the first Alien film. It will be released on October 7, 2014. It will be available for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

The game is set in 2137, 15 years after the events of Alien. The game follows Amanda, who is investigating the disappearance of her mother Ellen Ripley. Amanda was transferred to the space station Sevastopol to find the flight recorder of Nostromo. However, an Alien has already infested the station.

The Creative Assembly described Alien: Isolation as a survival horror game as opposed to an action shooter, and to that end chose to style the game more closely to Ridley Scott’s original horror film Alien, as opposed to James Cameron’s more action oriented sequel Aliens. Unlike most other video game adaptations of the Alien franchise, Alien: Isolation features only one Alien throughout its duration that cannot be killed, requiring the player to use stealth tactics in order to survive. Although the game features some weapons, they will be effective only against the human occupants and android “Working Joes”.

Instead of following a predetermined path, the artificial intelligence of the Alien has been programmed to actively hunt the player by sight, sound and smell.The Alien AI was programmed with a complex set of behavioural designs that progressively unlock as it encounters the player to create the illusion that the Alien is learning from its encounters with the player and adjusting its hunting strategy appropriately.This includes the ability for the Alien to investigate “secondary sources” of disturbances; for instance, if it notices a locker or air lock is open, the Alien will search for who opened it.The Alien emits vocalisations which the player can listen for to gain understanding of its current intentions; a scream may indicate that the creature is about to attack, while other sounds may indicate the Alien has seen something, is searching or has lost all trace of its prey…

Watch BBC News report on Alien: Isolation

Wikipedia | IMDb | Official site

Grisly is a 2014 American sci-fi horror short film project directed by Graham Cribbin. It stars Jaimi Paige and Jeison Azali.

Grisly captures a portion of a much larger universe of supernatural characters that will be expanded on in the Grisly Tales web-series planned for release later this year. The production team have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funding to finalise the short film.

Plot teaser:

Carolyn Bronnicke, is a young woman who has mysteriously transformed into a mutated Gill Girl and is captured by ACS/M-Division, a secret government black-ops facility led by Director Christopher Smalls.

Assigned to review her case is Agent Milo Finn of the CIA. As Agent Finn conducts his review of the case he discovers a secret shop of horrors at ACS where Director Smalls has approved the torture and  of Carolyn/Gill Girl led by his henchmen Prof. Matthew Lamb and Sgt. Alex Stevens…

Crawl or Die (formerly known as Crawl Bitch Crawl) is a 2014 American science fiction horror film written and directed by Oklahoma Ward. It was produced by and stars Nicole Alonso (Screen). Other cast are: Torey Byrne, Tom Chamberlain, David P. Baker, Wil Crown, Tommy Ball, Clayton Burgess. In Japan, it was released as Alien Crawl.

Plot teaser:

Earth as we know it is gone. A virus has destroyed the planet and rendered all its women infertile, all but one. An elite team of soldiers are tasked with bringing the woman to safety on the newly habitable Earth Two. But when they are forced underground they find themselves fighting for survival from an bloodthirsty creature in a maze of ever shrinking tunnels. As the team’s ranks start to dwindle, the tunnels shrink and the ammunition run out, the crawl for survival becomes more and more desperate…

The film will receive a one night only theatrical release in Tulsa, Oklahoma  on August 9, 2014 and will be available on Vertical Entertainment DVD three days later.

Buy Crawl or Die on DVD from Amazon.com

IMDb | Official site | Facebook | Twitter | All images above are copyright Backyard Films.

‘Something is waiting’

The Dark Side of the Moon is a 1990 direct-to-video American science fiction/horror film. It was directed by D. J. Webster from the screenplay by brothers Chad and Carey Hayes. It features Joe Turkel (The Shining).

Plot teaser:

In the near future, a maintenance vehicle is orbiting the Earth on a mission to repair nuclear-armed satellites. Suddenly they experience a mysterious, inexplicable power failure that they cannot account for. As the ship grows increasingly colder, they find that they are drifting toward the dark side of the Moon.

An old NASA shuttle, the Discovery, drifts toward them, despite the fact that NASA has not been operating for 30 years. Two of the crew board the ship and find a dead body. The crew’s own ship records indicate that the shuttle they have happened across disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle many years before. So what is it doing in space? As they attempt to solve this mystery it quickly becomes apparent that a malevolent force had been waiting on the NASA shuttle, and now it begins to stalk the crew one at a time…

Reviews:

” …they are so hellbent on copying Alien that the Devil is presented as a chest-burster type thing, and also can possess folks The Thing style, which keeps the FX work to a minimum. If you’ve ever wanted to see a movie where the devil was represented by random schmoes with filtered voices and contact lenses, this movie’s for you.” Horror Movie a Day

“The movie possesses a thick and very creepy atmosphere, thanks to all the spooky-looking claustrophobic spaceship-settings, all beautifully filmed by Russ T. Alsobrook (“Superbad”). Ok, the spaceship-technology looks highly outdated, doesn’t matter if aimed at the release date 1990, or 2022, the year it takes place. Yet, all the small screens and blinking lights gave me a wonderful retro-feeling, and some of the interiors look so gloriously Alien-like, for a moment you really start to wonder if this takes place on the Nostromo.” Maynard’s Horror Movie Diary

“This is a more-than-serviceable and very eerie outer space horror romp from a time where original ideas and genuinely good movies were hard to come by. However, it’s not one I’ll be finding myself re-watching a lot, so I can’t give it too much praise.” James Oxyer, Obscure Cinema 101

Choice dialogue:

“Time for candlelight and Courvoisier“

Cast:

• Robert Sampson…Flynn Harding
• Will Bledsoe…Giles Stewart
• Joe Turkel…Paxton Warner
• Camilla More…Lesli
• John Diehl…Philip Jennings
• Wendy MacDonald…Alex McInny
• Alan Blumenfeld…Dreyfus Steiner

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘They lived by eating human bones… and threatened to consume the world!

Island of Terror is a 1966 British science fiction horror film produced by Planet Film. It was directed by Terence Fisher – he also helmed The Earth Dies Screaming and Night of the Big Heat for Planet – from a screenplay by Edward Mann and Al Ramsen. It stars Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray, Eddie Byrne, Niall MacGinnis and Sam Kydd.

The idea for the film came when Richard Gordon read the Gerry Fernback screenplay The Night the Silicates Came.

The film was released in the US by Universal Studios on a double-bill with The Projected Man.

Plot teaser:

On the remote Petrie’s Island, farmer Ian Bellows goes missing and his wife contacts the police. Constable John Harris goes looking for him and finds him dead in a cave without a single bone in his body. Horrified, Harris swiftly fetches the town physician Dr. Reginald Landers, but Dr. Landers is unable to determine what happened to the dead man’s skeleton. Landers journeys to the mainland to seek the help of a noted London pathologist, Dr. Brian Stanley.

Like Landers, Stanley is unable to even hypothesize what could have happened to Ian Bellows, so both men seek out Dr. David West, an expert on bones and bone diseases. Although Stanley and Landers interrupt West’s dinner date with the wealthy jetsetter Toni Merrill, West is intrigued by the problem and so agrees to accompany the two doctors back to Petrie’s Island to examine the corpse.

In order for them to reach the island that much faster, Merrill offers the use of her father’s private helicopter in exchange for the three men allowing her to come along on the adventure…

Buy Island of Terror on Odeon Entertainment DVD | Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

” …one of the very best monster movies to come out of Great Britain in the 1960’s. Not only do its script and direction give the audience credit for a great deal of B-movie erudition, it isn’t overly protective of its main characters (some surprisingly nasty things happen to some surprisingly important people in this movie), and its monsters, though none too convincingly realized, are an extremely imaginative departure from the mutant lizards and gigantic bugs we’re accustomed to in the genre.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

“Island of Terror also lacks a great deal of conviction. The scene where Edward Judd is forced to cut off Peter Cushing’s arm to save his life would have had some brutal effect were it not undermined by the sight of Cushing cheerfully sitting up being bandaged in the following scene. The film taps into the peculiar isolationist mentality of 1960s Britain. Unfortunately the menace is too dull to be effective – and Terence Fisher fails to tap into any of the swimming subtexts that manage to make all good science-fiction monsters more than they are.” Moria

Gory hand-chopping moment

“It’s a strangely sedate movie, given its outré subject matter and lurid title, which is probably both a strength and a weakness. Fisher shoots it in naturalistic tones and the actors mostly give restrained performances. Cushing is excellent, as always, though his character often takes a backseat to Edward Judd’s more charismatic scientist character. He does get to lose a hand, though, in probably the film’s tensest moment. And Carole Gray turns in a very likeable performance, even if her character doesn’t get much to do besides scream and be told to wait in the car. Innsmouth Free Press

“Minor genre entry which makes the most of its low budget thanks to first rate direction by Terence Fisher, adequate special effects and attractive cinematography.” Alan Frank, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Handbook

“Exteriors are interesting when we see the overcast skies, the foggy woods, the actors breathing in the midst. Action comes very often compared with other sci-fi horror films of the era. Weird blob sound effects might be overdone, and the coda is too campy, but these are minor flaws.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

Buy Claws & Saucers book from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Buy Masters of Horror Collector’s Edition DVD from Amazon.co.uk

A silicate monster fridge magnet

Cast:

• Peter Cushing as Dr. Brian Stanley
• Edward Judd as Dr. David West
• Carole Gray as Toni Merrill
• Eddie Byrne as Dr. Reginald Landers
• Sam Kydd as Constable John Harris
• Niall MacGinnis as Roger Campbell
• James Caffrey as Peter Argyle
• Liam Gaffney as Ian Bellows
• Roger Heathcote as Dunley
• Keith Bell as Halsey
• Margaret Lacey as Old Woman
• Shay Gorman as Morton
• Peter Forbes-Robertson as Dr. Lawrence Phillips
• Richard Bidlake as Carson
• Joyce Hemson as Mrs. Bellows

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image thanks: Black Hole Reviews

Creepy Classics is a 1987 half-hour compilation of horror and sci-fi clips and trailers hosted by Vincent Price, “Master of Scarimonies!”, sat in a movie theatre.

Directed and co-edited by Pamela Page, Price’s sardonic comments were scripted by Scott McCormick. This Fox/Lorber production was released on VHS in the US by Hallmark.

Films featured:

Horrors of the Black Museum; The Blob; Night of the Living Dead (1968); I Was a Teenage Werewolf; Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors; The Raven (1963); The Pit and the Pendulum (1961); Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956); Gorgo; The Screaming Skull; War of the Colossal Beast; Attack of the Puppet People; Dinosaurus!; The Day of the Triffids.

Buy Creepy Classics on VHS from Amazon.com

IMDb

Parasyte Part 2 – Kiseijû: Part 2 aka 寄生獣 完結編」特報 – is the second instalment of a two part live action Japanese Toho adaption of Iwaaki Hitoshi’s sci-fi horror manga. It is directed by Takashi Yamazaki from a screenplay he co-wrote with Ryota Kosawa. The film stars Shôta Sometani, Eri Fukatsu, Ai Hashimoto, Sadao Abe.

The first part was released in November 2014 and the second part is scheduled for release in April 2015.

Plot teaser:

Izumi Shinichi (Shôta Sometani) is a young man whose hand is infected by an alien parasite. Which would be pretty horrible if not for the fact that quite a lot of the world have had their minds infected by the parasites and an unlikely alliance between Izumi and his new visitor is the only hope for humanity’s survival…

IMDb | Source: Twitch

Duck Dodgers is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation from 2003 to 2005, based on the 1953 theatrical cartoon short Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century. The series is a space opera, featuring the fictional Looney Tunes characters as actors in metafictional roles, with Daffy Duck as the titular hero and Porky Pig as his eager Young Space Cadet. The James Bond-inspired theme song was sung by Tom Jones.

The series originally aired on Cartoon Network, and it currently airs on sister network, Boomerang.

Episode Five of Season One features Duck Dodgers and his Young Space Cadet encountering Count Muerte, a Nosferatu-inspired vampire. The animated episode was scripted by no less than four writers: Spike Brandt, Tony Cervone, Paul Dini and Tom Minton. Brandt and Cervone directed.

Plot:

Duck Dodgers pines to be ambassador of the people of Earth but the spooky spaceship he and his Space Cadet land on “looks scary” and seemingly abandoned.

Nevertheless, a dinner table is set and a host is waiting. Dodgers forces his Cadet to introduce him to Count Muerte. However, the Count is seemingly uninterested in the arrogant duck and more interested in his fat pig Cadet.

Meanwhile, a piece of tossed tofu inadvertently burns the vampire’s hand as he is allergic to healthy food. Recovering, he hypnotises Dodgers, who becomes a bug-eating crazy Renfield-like character with the voice of actor Peter Lorre.

Three vampire ladies appear and find the Cadet to their liking, as he has a genuine personality, unlike skinny Dodgers whom they attempt to eat as a “light snack”.

Surviving the female vampires’ half-hearted onslaught, Dodgers creates a coffin full of spikes and pretends it is a bed for the “piggy”. He tries to make the Cadet go to sleep but the latter wants water, a toothbrush, toothpaste, the toilet and then a call his grandma before bedding down! Becoming angry, Dodgers jumps in the bed then gets stuck in a liposuction device…

Giving up on cunning plans, the Count turns into a bat and chases the porky Cadet around until he sees his shadow, which he then eats… and dies.

It turns out the canny Cadet made the voracious vampire eat a decoy full of healthy food, which he is allergic to. Fazed by the near-death encounter, Dodgers suggests that next time the Cadet should be the ambassador of the people of Earth…

Choice dialogue: 

“Never send an imbecile to do a vampire’s job.”

‘Terror is just beneath the surface’

Harbinger Down is a 2015 American independent science-fiction monster horror film written and directed by Alec Gillis and produced by Tom Woodruff, Jr.; the founders of the special effects company StudioADI. The cast includes Lance Henriksen, Giovonnie Samuels, Camille Balsamo, Reid Collums, Matt Winston (Wes Craven’s New Nightmare; Zodiac; The Boy Who Cried Werewolf), Camille Balsamo (Parasitic; Nightcomer) and Milla Bjorn.

Plot teaser:

A group of graduate students aboard the fishing trawler Harbinger are studying the effects of global warming on a pod of Orcas in the Bering Sea. When the ship’s crew discover the wreckage of Soviet era spacecraft, they are attacked by shapeshifting alien monsters.

When the ship’s crew dredges up a recently thawed piece of old Soviet space wreckage, things get downright deadly. It seems that the Russians experimented with tardigrades, tiny resilient animals able to withstand the extremes of space radiation. The creatures survived, but not without mutation. Now the crew is exposed to aggressively mutating organisms. And after being locked in ice for 3 decades, the creatures aren’t about to give up the warmth of human companionship.

In 2010, Amalgamated Dynamics was hired by Universal Studios to create the practical special effects for the 2011 The Thing prequel. However before the film was released, the majority of ADI’s effects work on the film was digitally replaced in post production by (CGI). This decision was upsetting to the crew of Amalgamated Dynamics, as this was not the first film of theirs where they later found their work replaced.

After the release of The Thing, in response to fan queries about what became of ADI’s effects for the film, Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr. uploaded a behind-the-scenes video to YouTube which showcased their original practical effects prior to their replacement. According to Gillis and Woodruff, the video received such an overwhelmingly positive response that it inspired them to create a YouTube Channel which would feature their archived videos of creature effects from throughout their career. Gillis said that it was the tipping point that prompted them to go ahead with their dream of producing their own film. “Honestly, we were resistant to it at first, so it wasn’t until I looked around my shop and saw an empty facility that I realized we were actually at the mercy of studios that didn’t actually care about our techniques anymore. They view it as a commodity and a product, and they’ve corporatised the structure of creating art and in the end it all becomes disposable. That’s not how the fans see our work.”

On May 8, 2013, Alec Gillis began a Kickstarter drive for Harbinger Down, advertising the film as being a monster horror film that was, “in the spirit of two of the greatest sci-fi/horror films of all time, Alien and The Thing“, and that would feature only practical techniques to create the films monsters, including the use of animatronics, prosthetic makeup, stop motion and miniature effects, with the film’s creatures featuring no digital animation outside of rod/rig removal and digital compositing.

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‘Human or inhuman? No woman is safe…!’

The Man Who Turned to Stone is a 1957 science fiction horror film directed by László Kardos from a screenplay by Bernard Gordon [as Raymond T. Marcus] (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers; Zombies of Mora Tau; The Day of the Triffids).

The film stars Victor Jory (Kolchak: The Night Stalker; Circle of Fear; Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell), William Hudson (The She-Creature; The Amazing Colossal Man) and Charlotte Austin (Gorilla at Large; The Bride and the Beast; Frankenstein 1970).

Plot teaser:

Two hundred years previously, a group of doctors learned to extended their lives by draining the vitality of others. Without such a tranfusion, they begin to petrify. They become the staff doctors of a girls’ reform school, assuring a supply of vital young bodies.

However outsiders sent to the school, Doctor Jess Rogers and social welfare officer Carol Adams, become suspicious of the unusual number of otherwise healthy inmates dying of heart failure or suicide…

Reviews:

Plot wise, this is an enjoyably claustrophobic, cynical and ambitious sci-fi shocker that’s been unduly overlooked amidst the plethora of late ’50s oversized monsters, alien invaders and teen terrors. Unfortunately, non-genre director László Kardos’ delivery lacks real style, so few of the nuances of Bernard Gordon’s intriguing story are amplified on screen. Despite it being an early women-in-prison entry, the film’s uninspiring title lacks immediacy, perhaps explaining its obscure status, which is a shame as its better than many of its better known counterparts. It might not be Invasion of the Body Snatchers but it deserves a look for devotees of more intelligent Fifties anti-Authoritarian Americana.

Adrian J Smith, Horrorpedia

“An odd mash-up of old school mad-science, a juvenile delinquency melodrama, and a women in prison flick, The Man Who Turned to Stone comes courtesy of Bernard Gordon, who, after being blacklisted, eked out a living writing this kind of sci-fi whiz-bangery for producer Sam Katzman under a parade of false names (Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Zombies of Mora Tau). And just like all those other Katzman flicks of the 1950s, this movie is a rollicking — if a slightly hair-brained —  good time.” Micro-Brewed Reviews

“The brisk running time allows for little personal dimension among the captives and suggests no ambitions greater than survival for the death-defiant predators. Victor Jory displays a fine collection of historic art, too grand for a provincial reformatory — a hint of problems greater than administrative corruption. Paul Cavanagh’s confession to William Hudson accounts for a more memorable sequence, which leads in turn to Hudson’s dodgy search for a diary of ancient secrets.” Forgotten Horrors Vol. 6: Up from the Depths

Buy Forgotten Horrors Vol. 6 from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Buy on DVD from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Choice dialogue:

Carol Adams, Social Welfare: “Oh look Tracy, you’re not going soft and spooky on me are you?”

Dr. Jess Rogers: “Alright, then let’s talk about art. About Rembrant.”

Cast:

• Victor Jory as Dr. Murdock
• William Hudson as Dr. Jess Rogers
• Charlotte Austin as Carol Adams
• Jean Willes as Tracy
• Ann Doran as Mrs. Ford
• Paul Cavanagh as Cooper
• George Lynn as Dr. Freneau
• Victor Varconi as Dr. Myer
• Friedrich von Ledebur as Eric (as Frederick Ledebur)
• Tina Carver as Big Marge Collins
• Barbara Wilson as Anna Sherman

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image credits: 3B Poster Archive

‘Warning! How much horror can you stand??’

Taeter City – also known as Taeter City: City of Cannibals – is a 2012 Italian action/sci-fi/horror movie written and directed by Giulio De Santi (Adam Chaplin; Hotel Inferno - read our review) for Necrostorm productions. It stars Monica Munoz, Riccardo Valentini, Christian Riva, Wilmar Zimosa, Ortaez Santiago.

The film is being released on DVD in the US by Bayview Entertainment/Widowmaker on February 24, 2015.

Official plot teaser:

The futuristic metropolis of Taeter City is managed by The Authority – a dictatorship that rules with an iron fist. Utilizing a special radio wave system called Zeed, The Authority is able to distinguish criminals from law-abiding citizens; however these special radio waves also alter the demented brain waves of the criminals and force them to commit suicide in horrible ways. A special police force called The Bikers then retrieves their corpses and delivers them to massive slaughterhouses that supply the mega fast food chains with the human flesh products that are needed to feed the hungry masses. The Authority’s hand has managed to keep the citizens under control for quite some time, but a series of unforeseen chaotic events has slowly been undermining their rule…

Buy Taeter City on DVD from Amazon.com

Reviews:

“Taeter City is an action-packed whirlwind tour of a dystopian cannibal dictatorship that’s bursting at the scenes with shocking violence, a retro synth sound track, hilarious English dubbing, amazing home-grown digital and practical effects, and good old fashioned European gore.” Aaron Allen, Horror in the Hammer

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‘A dead man’s brain told him to kill kill kill..’

Donovan’s Brain is a 1953 American science fiction horror film directed by Felix E. Feist from a screenplay he co-wrote with Hugh Brooke, based on the 1942 novel Donovan’s Brain by Curt Siodmak (The Wolf Man; Son of Dracula; The Beast with Five Fingers).

The film stars Lew Ayres (She Waits; Damien: Omen II; Salem’s Lot), Nancy Reagan (then Nancy Davis), Gene Evans and Steve Brodie (The Giant Spider Invasion).

Plot teaser:

After an horrific plane crash, despised millionaire Tom Donovan (Michael Colgan) is declared dead. Dr. Patrick Cory (Ayres) has ideas beyond his station however when he decides to operate on the corpse and retrieve the brain for research purposes. When Dr. Cory finds himself committing violent acts against his will he starts to believe that the brain of Tom Donovan, now stored in a tank, is controlling his actions…

Buy Simply Media DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“This version (sticking closest to the novel), scripted and directed by a rather obscure film-maker who subsequently went into television, is modest but effective, distinguished by an excellent performance from Ayres…” Time Out

“This film is far better than you might initially expect. It actually encouraged weak imitators like The Brain that Wouldn’t Die. It has all the fun qualities of a 50’s Drive-In flick with elements of Film Noir sprinkled in. Lew Ayres is no Olivier, but gets the job done…” DVD Beaver

“Star Lew Ayres is able to use the inflections of his voice to signal when he’s evil-Cory and when he’s just mad-scientist Cory and there are nice touches like having Cory order Donovan’s favorite cigars and getting Donovan’s style of suit made for himself. That’s just the sort of stuff you would expect a disembodied brain controlling a new body to do!” MonsterHunter

“This telepathic control is extremely well conveyed through impressive sound design, the one filmmaking technique that achieves a zenith of stylistic excellence in an otherwise unobtrusive cinematic endeavour. Like most science-fiction/horror pictures of the 1950’s Donovan’s Brain suffers from abysmal dialogue and the prevailing sexism of the day.” The Celluloid Highway

Buy MGM DVD from Amazon.com

Choice dialogue:

Dr. Frank Schratt: “Ah, you’re off your rocker, pal!”

Cast:

• Lew Ayres as Dr. Patrick Cory
• Nancy Davis as Janice Cory
• Gene Evans as Dr. Frank Schratt
• Steve Brodie as Yocum, a freelance photographer

Film locations:

Dear Old Hollywood

Wikipedia | IMDb | Related: The Brain (1962)

‘They do not come in peace’

Extraterrestrial is a 2014 US sci-fi horror film that was directed by Colin Minihan, based on a script by both Vicious Brothers (Grave Encounters and its sequel). It was previously known as The Visitors.

The film stars Brittany Allen (Dead Before Dawn 3D), Freddie Stroma and Melanie Papalia (Blade: The Series) as a group of friends that must defend themselves against an alien onslaught. Genre regular Michael Ironside (Scanners; Watchers; Abysm) has a cameo role.

The movie had its world premiere on April 18, 2014 at the Tribeca Film Festival under the banner of IFC Midnight.

Plot teaser:

Hoping to spend a romantic weekend in the woods at her parents’ cabin, April (Brittany Allen) is dismayed when her boyfriend Kyle (Freddie Stroma) invites his friends to party in the woods. As the group settles into the secluded location, they discover that a UFO has crashed nearby and that they are being observed by one of the craft’s survivors.

They end up attacking and killing the alien, which prompts a series of counterattacks by its crew mates…

Buy on Signature Entertainment Blu-ray | DVD from Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

Overall, Extraterrestrial looks pretty good: the camera and lens work look significantly better than the budget suggests, the CGI is impressive, and white light spills from flashlights and windows like thick white gauze … Of course, the brothers splice found footage-style bits throughout the film, for reasons that remain indiscernible, and these scenes naturally look awful. More than that, they don’t add anything of value…” Greg Cwik, Indiewire

“There are moments here and there in Extraterrestrial suggesting a touch of self-awareness that they’re treading on well-traveled ground—but being self-aware about these clichés doesn’t change the fact that they’re clichés.” Michael Gingold, Fangoria

“Unfortunately, its attempt to be scary fails because it never plays with the psyches of its characters. Nobody in the movie’s world believes these kids, yet the viewer knows immediately that the aliens are real, which kills… no… destroys any suspense. Instead, we’re forced to endure a plethora of fake jump scares.” Bloody Disgusting

” …plays like pretty standard slasher fare. It’s in the final act that the pic becomes more ambitious and interesting, though not quite enough to lift the whole from decent-time-filler status to something more inspired. Like the duo’s prior “Grave Encounters” movies, this is a well-crafted, watchable genre effort short on novel ideas and distinctive dialogue/character writing.” Dennis Harvey, Variety

“Unfortunately, once “Extraterrestrial” finally delivers its most emotionally draining scene, it keeps right on going. Thankfully, these are some of the film’s most visually impressive sequences. But by this point, Minihan and Ortiz’s lack of discipline, and frequent cribbing from just about everything, including The Matrix and Alien, has worn away a lot of good will. There’s a lot to like about Extraterrestrial, but not enough to leave you completely satisfied.” Simon Abrams, RogerEbert.com

” … the Brothers simply recycle the staples without any smarter purpose – there’s even a cabin in the woods, but just a plain old non-ironic, pre-Cabin in the Woods cabin in the woods. It’s all about as pleasurable as the inevitable alien anal probe. Extra-terrible, more like.” Jonathan Romney, The Guardian

Cast:

• Brittany Allen as April
• Freddie Stroma as Kyle
• Melanie Papalia as Melanie
• Jesse Moss as Seth
• Anja Savcic as Lex
• Gil Bellows Sherif Murphy
• Michael Ironside as Travis
• Sean Rogerson as Deputy Mitchell
• Emily Perkins as Nancy
• Mike Kovac as Clerk
• Ian Brown as Farmer
• Fred Keating as Mike
• Mackenzie Gray as Man in Black
• Reese Alexander as Military Officer

Wikipedia | IMDb

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