Good,
Bad, and Cult Horror
By
Kristin Battestella
Well,
in the midst of all this horror viewing, one is bound to find some bad and ugly
amid the good and scary! Some of these mid-century science fiction horrors are
cult classics, but others thru the years carry just a hint of iffy. Does a film have to be good to be
entertaining? Nope.
Goods
Atom
Age Vampire – This 1963 Italian
hour and twenty minutes offers eerie effects, good music both swanky and
sinister, and plenty of mood, sauce, and juicy disfigurement! Yes, the dubbing is obvious, it’s tough to
understand all the dialogue, and some of the acting is over the top in the of
the time and foreign styles. Some of the technology might be confusing, and
outside of an allusion towards a new kind of scientific immortal killing prey,
this English title doesn’t mean much. The quibbles, however, are
tolerable. Most of the performances are
fine, and the mad scientist themes work thanks to fun lab sounds and designs.
The violence, murder, and corrupt sciences aren’t bad either. The human love
triangles and steady plot and pace are still relatable, creating a decent
little picture that takes itself a little more seriously than the B, borderline
campy 50s American SF. Fans of mid century scary sci-fi can most definitely
enjoy this step above all around.
The
Beast of Yucca Flats – The
notorious 1961 SF horror here starts off fun and scary with a toweled pretty,
strangulations, space race secrets, communism fears, and nuclear fallout.
Unfortunately, this hour is held together by a very dodgy narration which unnecessarily
replaces what should be dialogue. It’s mistake numero uno- hardly anyone talks and this makes for the least amount
of character development possible. No performance happens; it’s a story being
told. While that’s fine in cartoons perhaps, aren’t you making a film because
of the show don’t tell possibilities? It’s unrealistic to expect a serious science
fiction or spooky adult audience to sit through something like this-which is as
is really nothing more than a naughty children’s short. That’s Rule 2: don’t
underestimate your audience. Did I
mention the music is also much too much? Yes, this ‘film’ is seriously flawed, and
to some, that is its very appeal. Fans who enjoy the hokey of the day will love
the cars, pace, and weak fifties filmmaking style, and drinking game fans can
have a wonderful time with the utterly fake shoot out and car chase. It’s like they’re kids with pop guns spinning
the wheels of parked cars! This one must
be seen to be believed, indeed.
The
Brain That Wouldn’t Die – I’ve
seen this black and white 1962 AIP SF horror romp heckled a time or two on Mystery Science Theater and Elvira’s Movie Macabre. Honestly, the
title alone harkens a certain level of the absurd! A talking head in a dish, literally. A laughing, vengeful, telepathic head in a dish, oh yes. Modern audiences can still be
entertained and enjoy the hokey scares thanks to the bubbling laboratories,
cool fifties cars, and dangerous outdoor scenery. Decent doctoring segues
towards mad scientist mayhem, and the swift editing is frenetic with desperate
music to match. Kinky dancing and swanky tunes, naughty talk about replacement
bodies, catfights, hot dames, and lots of leg all add a scandalously fun
element, too. The serious tone does
hamper the camp, the finale is completely contrived, and the full 80 minutes
feels overlong despite the ticking clock onscreen. Yet all things considered,
this one is the very definition of so bad its good ridiculous. Have your own bemusing, beverage-laden
Halloween peanut gallery party with this one.
(Jan in the Pan...)
(...and the auditions for her new body!)
Questionable
Eaten
Alive – I thought this film on
my 50 Horror Classics Set the was infamous Italian cannibal rape fest, which
made me a little apprehensive about watching. But no, this 1977 Tobe Hopper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) creepy jumps
right into the nasty with Robert Englund (Fred Krueger!) giving Roberta Collins
(Death Race 2000) some real world sex
and violence scares. There’s a fun appearance by Carolyn Jones (The Addams Family), too, and Neville
Brand (Stalag 17) is totally demented
and deranged indeed. The wickeds are almost too much to watch, except the
photography looks so poor in quality and backwater dirty that the viewer can’t
see what’s happening amid this dark and dank- if creepy- design. Chainsaw veteran Marilyn Burns also
spends most of the time tied to a bed with naught to do, and between the gory
scenes, the pace is stagnant and insipid.
For this 87 minute edited version, it feels as though both some panache and an editing scalpel are needed. The country music blissfully playing amid
kids crying and killer sex scenes is more quirky twisted than scary as perhaps
intended, and what should be a very frightful film fizzles into being just,
well, kind of dumb. Why start out so slashery good to end up being a killer
crocodile picture? Maybe one shouldn’t compare to the magical of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the well
seems muddled here.
The
World Gone Mad –This hour plus
murder mystery from 1933 looks, feels, and sounds old thanks to the low budget
period décor, fast talking colloquialisms, and the early styled pacing and
editing. And yet all that is a real
treat for those who like to see tilted fedoras, fabulous frocks, plenty of
cigarettes, and a candlestick phone or two- not to mention a very young Neil
Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon from the Batman
TV series). Oh, the typewriters and phone operators! The main investigation
plot is a little too tough to follow at times, which is a major problem in such
a short film, and time is wasted on a little boy that I swear looks exactly
like Shirley Temple! Outside of the ironically lovely and nostalgic visuals,
one might wonder what the point was here, even if the crime chase gets better
as the film proceeds. It isn’t scary or that mysterious, but one intense train
sequence might make the film. I’m torn.
It’s flawed, but looks good. Confusing, but entertaining.
(Yeah, attacking someone thru a door that isn't attached...)
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