The Tommyknockers is a 1993 US television miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. It was directed by John Power, from a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, and stars Marg Helgenberger and Jimmy Smits.

Plot teaser:

Bobbi Anderson (Helgenberger), a fiction writer, and her boyfriend, Jim Gardner (Smits), a poet, live on the outskirts of Haven, Maine. Anderson suffers from writer’s block and Gardner is a recovering alcoholic. One day, they stumble over a manmade stone object protruding from the ground. They begin excavating the object and discover a series of connected cubes that are made of an unknown alloy.

As Anderson and Gardner unearth more of the object, the local townspeople begin to undergo subtle changes. Insomnia becomes common along with rudimentary telepathy. Some individuals begin inventing wild gadgets using kitchen tools, batteries, small appliances and other odds and ends. Some of the inventions include an automatic letter sorter, a telepathic typewriter and a BLT sandwich maker that creates the sandwiches from the raw ingredients. These inventions have a green glow when active…

Reviews:

‘Here, everything isn’t translated well at all and instead of being scared or creeped out you have to laugh or groan at such ham-fisted delivery of over the top execution and pathetic horror elements. Everything is so typical and literal. The characters are barely sketched or believable, despite having a very talented cast who have all done much better, before and ever after.’ Vince Fontaine, Slasher Studios

‘Some details of the production design work well: the aliens themselves are creepy, and the effect still look pretty good for ’93 TV; also, the effects on the gadgets, particularly the hands-free typewriter, are quite good. The ship itself, though? Awful. Looks like a bunch of those things Olympian medal-winners stand on when receiving their medals, just with some dirt thrown over them.’ The Truth Inside the Lie

‘A number of weird plot twists are tossed in (the townspeople are inventing crazy new devices, including a novel-writing machine) before the satisfying climax in the haunted woods involving a buried spaceship and some great looking aliens.’ John Stanley, Creature Features

Cast:

• Jimmy Smits as Jim “Gard” Gardner
• Marg Helgenberger as Roberta “Bobbi” Anderson
• John Ashton as Trooper Butch Dugan
• Allyce Beasley as Deputy Becka Paulson
• Robert Carradine as Bryant Brown
• Joanna Cassidy as Sheriff Ruth Merrill
• Annie Corley as Marie Brown
• Cliff DeYoung as Joe Paulson
• Traci Lords as Nancy Voss
• E.G. Marshall as Ev Hillman
• Chuck Henry as Chaz Stewart
• Leon Woods as Hilly Brown
• Paul McIver as Davey Brown
• Yvonne Lawley as Mabel Noyes
• Bill Johnson as Elt Barker

Wikipedia | IMDb

The surreal promo video for single ‘Out of the Black’ by British rock duo Royal Blood – vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher – features animated aliens that morph back and forth into live action gas station robbers dressed as a rabbit, a pumpkin, snowman, a heart and an ice cream. The video was co-directed by David Wilson and Adult Swim‘s Christy Karacas.

Buy Royal Blood album on CD + MP3 | vinyl from Amazon.co.uk

Creepy Classics is a 1987 American 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 Archive Film production was released on VHS in the USA 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

The post Creepy Classics – USA, 1987 appeared first on HORRORPEDIA.

Parasyte: Part 2 – aka Kiseijû: Part 2 and 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 movie stars Shôta Sometani, Eri Fukatsu, Ai Hashimoto, Sadao Abe.

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…

Release:

The first part was released in November 2014 and the second part released in April 2015.

The post Parasyte: Part 2 – Japan, 2015 appeared first on HORRORPEDIA.

‘Fear for her.’

Demon Seed – also known as Generation Proteus – is a 1977 American science fiction horror film directed by Donald Cammell (Performance; White of the Eye) from a screenplay by Roger Hirson and producer Robert Jaffe (Motel Hell; Scarab; Nightflyers). The film was based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz (Watchers; Phantoms; Odd Thomas).

Main cast:

Julie Christie (Don’t Look Now), Fritz Weaver (Nightkill; Jaws of Satan; Creepshow), Gerrit Graham (Phantom of the Paradise; TerrorVision; Child’s Play 2), Berry Kroeger (Nightmare in Wax; The Mephisto Waltz; The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant), Lisa Lu (Terror in the Wax Museum), John O’Leary (The Island). Robert Vaughn was the uncredited voice of the malevolent artificial intelligence.

In summer 2017, a Blu-ray release was issued in the US by Warner Bros. Archive.

Buy Blu-ray: Amazon.com

Dr. Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver) is the developer of Proteus IV, an artificial intelligence program incorporating an organic “quasi-neural matrix” and displaying the power of thought. Harris explains how Proteus, after only a few days of theoretical study, has managed to develop a protein-based antigen with the potential to treat leukemia.

After returning to his voice-activated, computer-controlled home, Harris argues with his estranged wife, Susan (Julie Christie), over his decision to move out; Susan accuses Alex of becoming distanced and dehumanised by his obsession with the Proteus project. After Susan leaves, Alex phones his colleague, Walter Gabler (Gerrit Graham), and asks him to shut down Proteus’ access terminal in his home laboratory.

The following day, Proteus asks to speak with Alex, requesting a new terminal, saying that he wants to study man—”his isometric body and his glass-jaw mind.” When Alex refuses, Proteus demands to know when it will be let “out of this box.” Alex then switches off the communications link. After he leaves, Proteus restarts itself…

Buy DVD: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

‘How did Cammell convince a studio to back a movie in which Julie Christie is violated by what looks like a copper Rubik’s snake? Better not to ask, or to dwell on the film’s less savory aspects, and soak in its moments of visionary hysteria, including the pulsating geometry of images borrowed from experimental filmmaker Jordan Belson.’ Rolling Stone

“Demon Seed feels believable in spite of a narrative that suggests something impossible and that’s pretty impressive. And that ending? Wow. The baby reveal, covered in gold tech-skin, is just as unsettling as ever. The movie finds its way on blu-ray thanks to Warner Bros Archive Collection. While there are minimal supplemental items loaded onto the disc and no commentary tracks, it is good to see the film in 1080p. To suggest it never got a fair chance at the theater is truly an understatement.” Loron Hays, Reel Reviews

‘To carry off its distasteful subject matter, Demon Seed needed strong, well-written characters and a thoughtful storyline. Instead, it gives us a set of cardboard cut-outs surrounded by a plot so relentlessly heavy-handed and didactic that it fails both as credible science fiction and as simple storytelling.’ And You Call Yourself a Scientist!

‘ …the film’s most successful achievement in science fiction terms is to suggest something of how a sentient computer would perceive the universe. In one impressive sequence Proteus attempts to communicate to Susan just what ‘seeing’ is like when your ‘eyes’ – radar scanners, radio telescopes, etc – are sensitive to the whole range of the electromagnetic spectrum, and you are being bombarded by an awesome sensory input.’ Nigel Honeybone, HorrorNews.net

“A batty ‘B’ feature idea carried to its absurd extreme with a plethora of special effects and a remarkably silly script and overwrought direction.” Alan Frank, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Handbook, Batsford, 1982

Buy novel by Dean R. Koontz from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Wikipedia | IMDb

The post Demon Seed – USA, 1977 appeared first on HORRORPEDIA.

Creepy Classics is a 1987 American 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 Archive Film production was released on VHS in the USA by Hallmark. Films featured: Horrors of the Black...

Source

Parasyte: Part 2 – aka Kiseijû: Part 2 and 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 directed by Takashi Yamazaki from a screenplay he co-wrote with Ryota Kosawa. The movie stars Shôta Sometani, Eri Fukatsu, Ai Hashimoto, Sadao Abe. Plot: Izumi Shinichi (Shôta Sometani) is a young man whose hand...

Source

‘Fear for her.’ Demon Seed – also known as Generation Proteus – is a 1977 American science fiction horror film directed by Donald Cammell (Performance; White of the Eye) from a screenplay by Roger Hirson and producer Robert Jaffe (Motel Hell; Scarab; Nightflyers). The film was based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz (Watchers; Phantoms; Odd Thomas). Main cast:

Source

The surreal promo video for single ‘Out of the Black’ by British rock duo Royal Blood – vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher – features animated aliens that morph back and forth into live action gas station robbers dressed as a rabbit, a pumpkin, snowman, a heart and an ice cream. The video was co-directed by David Wilson and Adult Swim‘.

Source

The Tommyknockers is a 1993 American television miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. It was directed by John Power, from a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen. The movie stars Marg Helgenberger and Jimmy Smits. Bobbi Anderson (Helgenberger), a fiction writer, and her boyfriend, Jim Gardner (Smits), a poet, live on the outskirts of Haven, Maine. Anderson suffers from writer

Source

Night Fright is a 1967 American science-fiction horror film directed by James A. Sullivan from a screenplay by Russ Marker (who wrote a similar script for an unfinished project named The Demon of Devil’s Lake in 1964). Sullivan was a production manager and cinematographer on several Larry Buchanan movies and is credited as an editor on the infamous ‘bad’ movie Manos:

Source

An iconic original US poster promoting Universal’s Frankenstein (1931) starring Boris Karloff has fetched $323,000 at auction. The poster was discovered in a disused cinema in Long Island, New York in the 1970s and restored. The auction item far surpassed its predicted sale price of $240,000. A spokesperson for Texas-based Heritage Auctions commented: “To say that the 1931 horror...

Source

Area 51 is a 2014 American science-fiction horror film, written and directed by Oren Peli, the director of Paranormal Activity (2007) and starring Benjamin Rovner, Reid Warner and Darrin Bragg. Plot teaser| Three young conspiracy theorists attempt to uncover the mysteries of Area 51, the government’s secret location rumoured to have hosted encounters with alien beings. What they find at this...

Source

Man with the Screaming Brain is a 2005 science fiction comedy horror film co-written, co-produced, directed by and starring Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead and sequels; Moontrap; Maniac Cop 2). It was Campbell’s feature film directorial debut. Dark Horse Comics published a comic book series based on the film. Bruce Campbell, Stacy Keach (The Mountain of the Cannibal God; Roadgames; Ooga Booga)...

Source

Parasyte: Part 1 – originally: 寄生獣 or Kiseijū – is a 2014 Japanese science fiction action horror film directed by Takashi Yamazaki from s screenplay co-written with Ryota Kosawa. Main cast: Shota Sometani, Sadao Abe, Eri Fukatsu, Ai Hashimoto and Masahiro Higashide. The film was released on November 29, 2014 in Japan and took ¥2 billion at the box office. It was followed by Parasyte:

Source

A new gameplay trailer for Alien: Isolation has been released in advance of the game being released for Nintendo Switch, which will come loaded with all seven DLCs such as Last Survivor, Ripley’s final mission on the Nostromo.

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.

The game was released on October 7, 2014, 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 airlock is open, the Alien will search for who opened it.

The Alien emits vocalisations which the player can listen for to gain an 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…

The post Alien: Isolation – video game – new gameplay trailer for Nintendo Switch and DLCs appeared first on MOVIES & MANIA.

‘Crawling, slimy-things terror-bent on destroying the world!’

The Brain Eaters is a 1958 American science fiction horror feature film directed by actor Bruno VeSota (he also directed Invasion of the Star Creatures) from a screenplay written by Gordon Urquhart.

The Corinthian Productions movie stars Ed Nelson (Devil’s Partner; Night of the Blood Beast; Attack of the Crab Monsters), Alan Jay Factor, Joanna Lee (Plan Nine from Outer Space), with a brief appearance by Leonard Nimoy (name misspelled in the credits as “Leonard Nemoy” – he is also in Them! and the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers).

Plot:

A team of local scientists discover alien parasites when they investigate a mysterious, three-story-tall, cone-like object that has appeared outside the small town of Riverdale, Illinois. It becomes obvious that the parasites’ first victims, whose minds have been taken over, are the town’s leading citizens…

Reviews [click links to read more]:

“The preachy “man has to find his own way” moral aside, this was an inventive and creative film. The camerawork was advanced for 1958 and the anonymity of the creatures is kept as long as it possibly could to keep the audience guessing at the rather obvious plot.” Absolute Horror

“The film ran into trouble early on, when science fiction author Robert Heinlein noticed the similarity between The Brain Eaters and his novel The Puppet Masters: Heinlein’s work also involved icky parasites that attached themselves to the backs of people’s necks, and killed their hosts if they were removed. Heinlein was not only upset that someone had ripped off his novel; he was equally incensed that they’d done it so badly.” The Brain Eater

“Considering this was shot for just 26,000 dollars over a six day period, it’s a minor miracle it’s at least OK. But OK is basically all it is. Things feel really rushed in the final third and the Body Snatchers-like premise needed more fleshing out than what this 60-minute film can accommodate.” The Bloody Pit of Horror

“Closer to Ed Wood than the usual AIP programmers of the period, director VeSota still manages to inject some ingenuity with effective “Dutch” camera angles, a nice shot of the parasite’s point of view, and the then-prevalent communist/takeover paranoia themes so prominent in many sci-fi films of the time. The special effects are non-existent…” DVD Drive-In

‘Much time is consumed by static conversations and aimless searches. Camera angles are skewed in attempts to invoke an atmosphere of paranoia, but the inconsistent rhythm, breaking of the axis of action, and the choppy editing all hamper, rather than enhance, the storytelling.’ David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

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

“VeSota adds a certain dark atmosphere to the proceedings, but the story is a mess; I don’t know whether the problem was in the original script, in the editing, or if certain scenes were never filmed, but the movie feels jumpy and unfinished, almost as if they stopped filming before they were complete and just edited what they had together.” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

“It is shot with flat, prosaic camera set-ups that reveal a rushed shooting schedule and crucially director Bruno VeSota fails to generate any of the paranoid atmosphere that these other films did so well. The plot never winds the situation up much and only seems to consist of running around between various locations.” Moria

” …at a little over an hour, it goes quickly and is pleasant enough, even though it never quite manages to find anything unique to throw in the mix.  It was meant to fill the bottom half of a double feature and never really aspires to be anything else, but it does what it was supposed to do.” Rivets on the Poster

“This being as cheap as you like, for all its surface foolishness it did have something interesting to say about the America of the fifties, if it intended to or otherwise, though that was not to say you couldn’t chuckle along with it should you so desire.” The Spinning Image

Cast and characters:

• Ed Nelson … Doctor Paul Kettering (as Edwin Nelson)
• Alan Jay Factor … Glenn Cameron (as Alan Frost)
• Cornelius Keefe … Senator Walter K. Powers (as Jack Hill)
• Joanna Lee … Alice Summers
• Jody Fair … Elaine Cameron
• David Hughes … Doctor Wyler
• Robert Ball … Dan Walker
• Greigh Phillips … Sheriff
• Orville Sherman … Mayor Cameron
• Leonard Nimoy … Professor Cole (as Leonard Nemoy)
• Doug Banks … Doctor
• Henry Randolph … Telegrapher
• Saul Bronson … Professor Helsingman

Filming locations:

Pomona, California

Technical details:

• 61 minutes
• Black and white
• Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
• Audio: Mono

The post The Brain Eaters – USA, 1958 – reviews and film free to watch online appeared first on MOVIES and MANIA.

Parasyte: Part 2 – aka Kiseijû: Part 2 and 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 directed by Takashi Yamazaki from a screenplay he co-wrote with Ryota Kosawa. The movie stars Shôta Sometani, Eri Fukatsu, Ai Hashimoto, Sadao Abe.

Plot:

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…

Release:

The first part was released in November 2014 and the second part released in April 2015.

The post Parasyte: Part 2 – Japan, 2015 appeared first on MOVIES and MANIA.

Creepy Classics is a 1987 American 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 Archive Film production was released on VHS in the USA by Hallmark.

Films featured:

Horrors of the Black Museum; The Blob; Night of the Living Dead (1968); I Was a Teenage Werewolf; Doctor 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

The post Creepy Classics – USA, 1987 – overview appeared first on MOVIES and MANIA.

Mesa of Lost Women is a 1953 American science fiction feature film directed by Ron Ormond (The Exotic Ones; Untamed Mistress) and Herbert Tevos from a screenplay by the latter and [uncredited] Orville H. Hampton (The Snake Woman; The Alligator People; The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake). It was also released as Lost Women

The movie stars Jackie Coogan (The Prey; Doctor Heckyl and Mr. Hype; Human Experiments; Uncle Fester in The Addams Family TV show), Richard Travis, Allan Nixon and Lyle Talbot.

The project initially began as a Tarantula in 1952 directed by Herbert Tevos but the production ran out of funds. Ron Ormond took over and completed the movie.

The bizarre soundtrack score, which mainly consists of a Spanish guitar being strummed while a piano is pounded ominously, was composed by Hoyt Curtin who also wrote music for masses of animated series such as The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo and, most famously, The Flinstones theme.

Plot:

A couple is found wandering nearly dead in a desert. Recovering, they tell their story. A year previously, a mad scientist, Doctor Aranya (Jackie Coogan), has created giant spiders in his Mexican lab in Zarpa Mesa to create a race of superwomen by injecting spiders with human pituitary growth hormones. Women develop miraculous regenerative powers, however, men mutate into disfigured dwarves. Spiders grow to human size and intelligence. Aranya invites another scientist, Doctor Masterson, to join him. Masterson visits Zarpa but is horrified…

Reviews [click links to read more]:

“This is one of those films that’s fun to read about and tedious to watch. The story is more incoherent than non-linear, the characters are woodenly constructed, and the overall film is a dull, tepid mess.” All Movie

“Mesa of Lost Women is too damn boring to be an Ed Wood film; it’s more like one by Coleman Francis (Beast of Yucca Flats … ) Instead of the sustained lunacy that we expect from The Master, for every moment of inspired idiocy here – and there are a few, thankfully – there are at least five minutes of uninteresting people wandering aimlessly around the desert, or sitting silently in a cantina. Mesa of Lost Women is bad, all right, but it is not one of The Great Bad Movies.” And You Call Yourself a Scientist!

“There’s a scary woman who’s supposed to be sexy. There’s a banal and underplayed mad scientist who’s supposed to be the star of the show. There’s a lunatic who manages to hold everyone under his power even though he spends most of the film dead on his feet. There’s a love triangle that springs out of nowhere and can go back there for all we care. There’s a nurse who only stops people disarming his mad murderer of a patient. There’s a giant jumping spider who manages to be boring.” Apocalypse Later

“The music is all flamenco (and later used by Ed Wood in one of his films) and ill-suited. The sets, the acting, the writing and especially the direction (by Ron Ormond) are all awful – and rather entertaining.” Down Among the “Z” Movies

“The storyline, the performances and simple narrative logic just don’t add up. The direction is incompetent in a decidedly Ed Wood style: The camera is never in a good position and every insert and cutaway is awkward, like the wrong puzzle piece forced into position. It looks as if it needed a wraparound flashback framework and an extended opening with vapid, non sequitur narration to come up to reasonable running time.” DVD Savant

“The story makes no sense, the performances are awful and after struggling through its many detours and longueurs for 70 minutes you’re rewarded with nothing of any value whatsoever. The likes of Plan 9 from Outer Space, Robot Monster (1953) and Fire Maidens from Outer Space (1956) may be technically shoddy but they always have enough about them to keep you engaged – often in disbelieve but engaged nonetheless. Mesa of Lost Women has nothing to offer at all.” The EOFFTV Review

“The movie features the most ingenious, congenial, courteous and well-mannered psycho in screen history. It’s a pity he isn’t scary. The movie pioneered a rarely-used cinematic technique; once everyone is stranded on the mesa, the action is enhanced by having close-ups of dwarves edited in at random. I think the technique is rarely-used for a very good reason.” Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

” …if this was more accomplished then it would likely be unendurable, but seeing as how everyone involved was absolutely terrible it elevated the project to a level of compelling camp, from Lyle Talbot’s mocking narration to the catchphrase-filled dialogue.” The Spinning Image

“The story is your average science-fiction fare, but the script is horrible. The direction, the editing and cinematography is worse. The acting is probably the worst of it all and makes this film virtually unwatchable, not that the rest of what went in it did not already do that.” The Telltale Mind

“It’s a toss-up as to which is worse, the script or the direction. The eccentric guitar-piano score was reused by Edward D. Wood, Jr., in Jail Bait (1954).” TV Guide

“Pure 1950s B film schlock…but oh, so much fun. For a horror film with an epic cat-fight, and a plot of gritty reality, enjoy Mesa of Lost Women and ignore IMDb’s rating, as they only give this film a 2.1/10.” Zisi Emporium for B Movies

Scroll down for YouTube review

Choice dialogue:

Grant Phillips: “Well, I want a girl who’s sincere. Real. Someone who’d stick by me when the chips are down. One who wants me only for what I am and not for what I have. It’s a big order, huh?”

Cast and characters:

Jackie Coogan … Doctor Aranya
Allan Nixon … ‘Doc’ Tucker
Richard Travis … Dan Mulcahey
Lyle Talbot … Narrator (voice)
Paula Hill … Doreen Culbertson (as Mary Hill)
Robert Knapp … Grant Phillips
Tandra Quinn … Tarantella
Chris-Pin Martin … Pepe (as Chris Pin Martin)
Harmon Stevens … Doctor Leland J. Masterson
Nico Lek … Jan van Croft
Kelly Drake … Lost Woman
John Martin … Frank
George Barrows … George (as George Burrows)
Candy Collins … Lost Woman
Dolores Fuller … Blonde ‘Watcher in the Woods’ (as Delores Fuller)
Dean Riesner … Aranya Henchman (as Dean Reisner)
Doris Lee Price … Lost Woman
Mona McKinnon … Lost Woman
Sherry Moreland … Lost Woman
Ginger Sherry … Lost Woman
Chris Randall … Lost Woman
Diane Fortier … Lost Woman (as Dianne Fortier)
Karna Greene … Lost Woman
June Benbow … Lost Woman
Katherine Victor … Car-Driver Spider Woman (as Katina Vea)
Fred Kelsey … The Bartender
Samuel Wu … Wu
Margia Dean … 2nd Brunette ‘Watcher in the Woods’ (uncredited)
Elias Gamboa … Cantina Barfly (uncredited)
John George … Aranya’s Manservant (uncredited)
Doris Hart … Lost Woman (uncredited)
Jack Low … Cantina Barfly (uncredited)
Paul Ravel … Cantina Barfly (uncredited)
Waclaw Rekwart … Cantina Barfly (uncredited)
Suzanne Ridgway … Girl in Cantina (uncredited)
Julian Rivero … Cantina Barfly (uncredited)
Angelo Rossitto … Dwarf Lab Assistant (uncredited)

Filming locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park – Highway 14, Cantil, California
KTTV Studios, Los Angeles, California
Tarzana, Los Angeles, California
Universal Studios – 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California

Technical details:

70 minutes
Black and white
Aspect ratio: 1.37: 1
Audio: Mono

Censorship:

When released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC censorship body made cuts for an ‘X’ certificate. All cuts were waived in 1995 when the film was granted a ‘PG’ for home video.

The post Mesa of Lost Women (1953) reviews and free to watch online in 720p quality appeared first on MOVIES and MANIA.