Alien Invasion – Wtf-film: cult cinema and video reviews

Posts Tagged ‘Alien Invasion’

The Lost Missile

June 16th, 2009 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | 1 Comment »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Atomic Bomb, Communism, Cult, John McNamara, Not on DVD, Robert Loggia, Science Fiction, Thriller

William Berke Productions Inc. [1958] 70′
country: United States
director: WILLIAM BERKE [as Lester Wm. Berke]
cast: ROBERT LOGGIA, ELLEN PARKER,
cast: PHILLIP PINE, LARRY KERR

The poster for this film should be familiar to anyone who frequents this site [seeing as it serves as the framework for the most recent layout] and is one of the very best in fifties b-moviedom. A demonic hand guides a huge rocket, turned down towards an Earth covered with fleeing millions and toppling cities, while a singular gigantic eye looks on. It’s an example of exploitation advertising at its finest.

It’s a pity then that the film itself bares almost no resemblance to the poster, save that there is a rocket and it does destroy cities. The last film to be made by writer / producer / director William Berke is a real doozy all the same, a barely lucid Cold War pontification on the importance of scientific research, military might, and civil defense.

La Nave de los Monstruos

May 6th, 2009 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Bizarre, Horror, Monsters, Science Fiction, Vampires

a.k.a. THE SHIP OF MONSTERS
Producciones Sotomayor [1960] 83′
country: Mexico
director: ROGELIO A. GONZALEZ
cast: EULALIO GONZALEZ, ANA BERTHA LEPE,
cast: LORENA VALAZQUEZ, CONSUELO FRANK
Order this film from AMAZON.COM

It’s Cinco de Mayo ’round these parts, and confession time once again here at Wtf-Film. In my endless quest for weird-cinema nirvana, I have yet to dive into the fertile depths of the Mexican fantastic film industry. I’m not sure how Sampote Sands made his way into the archives before el Santo, Blue Demon, or anything else originating with our friends to the South, but I can’t say I’m proud of it.

Being the cult connoisseur that I am, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 5th of May than with this little number from producer Jesus Sotomayor Martinez, which marries two of my very favorite things – ridiculous monsters and rampant bizarreness. There’s even a joke about the French to be had [in reference to a bear with blue eyes] that, fleeting as it may be, makes the film all the more appropriate with the historical significance of the holiday in mind.

Plan 9 From Outer Space

May 6th, 2009 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Bad Movies, Bela Lugosi, Edward D. Wood Jr., Science Fiction, Tor Johnson

Reynolds Pictures [1959] 79′
country: United States
director: EDWARD D. WOOD JR.
cast: GREGORY WALCOTT, MONA MCKINNON,
cast: DUKE MOORE, TOR JOHNSON, VAMPIRA,
cast: TOM KEENE, CARL ANTHONY, PAUL MARCO
Order this film from AMAZON.COM

The narrative of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE should already be familiar to those reading this page, and I’ll not waste time reprising it at length. The premise involves visitors from another world invading our own through the revivification of the recently departed so as to prevent our primitive species from developing a Universe-destroying weapon known as ‘solarbanite’ [or 'solaranite', depending on who's speaking]. Thrown into the mix are a handful of civilians [an airplane pilot, his wife, a police lieutenant, and several officers] and military men, whose frequent encounters with the alien invaders provide the bulk of the film’s dramatic substance. Bookends by The Amazing Criswell lend it a bit of nonsensical doom-and-gloom.

Thanks largely to brothers Michael and Harry Medved, co-authors of the 1980 film criticism effort ‘The Golden Turkey Awards’, PLAN 9′s reputation precedes it, with many many rallying behind that book’s declaration of it as the worst movie ever made. The 1980′s saw a resurgence in the PLAN 9′s popularity – spurred on by home video releases and references in the likes of IT CAME FROM HOLLYWOOD, the film became a bona fide cult sensation.

The Super Inframan

April 27th, 2009 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Action, Alien Invasion, Danny Lee, Image Entertainment, Science Fiction, Shaw Brothers, Tokusatsu

Shaw Brothers [1975] 88′
country: Hong Kong
director: SHAN HUA
cast: DANNY LEE, TERRY LIU, HSIEH WANG,
cast: MAN-TZU YUAN, WEN-WEI LIN, SHU-YI TSEN
Image Entertainment [2006] $14.99
region 1 / dual layer DVD-9 / NTSC
Order this disc from AMAZON.COM

Tokusatsu series have been a staple of Japanese cinema and television for over half a century now – from Teruo Ishii’s first installment of SUPER GIANTS in 1957 to the latest incarnations of the ULTRAMAN and KAMEN RIDER franchises. While a popular export, it seems that few such series have been produced abroad, aside from Thai and Taiwanese takes on the KAMEN RIDER legacy and this rather derivative film produced by the legendary Shaw Brothers.

THE SUPER INFRAMAN concerns a scheme by evil pre-ice age monsters [led by a hotty demon princess dubbed Princess Dragon Mom for the American release] to take over the Earth. Earthquakes, fires, and other expected destruction ensues. With the armies of the world presumably powerless [they can't even be bothered to phone in an appearance] the professor in charge of a Hong Kong research station puts an emergency plan into effect – he will take his strongest pupil, implant him with all sorts of fancy electronic gizmos, inject him with steroids and send him out to fight the subterranean invaders all but single-handed.

The Crawling Eye

March 28th, 2009 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Eyes, Forrest Tucker, Horror, Janet Munro, Science Fiction, Supernatural

a.k.a. The Trollenberg Terror
company: Tempean Films
year: 1958
runtime: 84′
country: United Kingdom
director: Quentin Lawrence
cast: Forrest Tucker, Laurence Payne,
Janet Munro, Jennifer Jayne
disc company: Image Entertainment
release date: 2001
retail price: $14.99
disc details: NTSC / single layer DVD5 / region 1
Order this disc from Amazon.com

When it comes to the melding of supernatural horror with science fiction concepts, few do it any better than the British did in the 50′s and 60′s – and those who could compete with the fine output of Hammer Films in that regard were even fewer. That certainly didn’t keep other studios from trying, and the Tempean Films production reviewed here today is one of the better examples of such a film made outside those legendary walls.

Climbers are dying under mysterious circumstances on the Trollenberg, a resort mountain in the Swiss Alps, and a strange nearly static cloud on the face of the mountain seems as though it may be connected. So thinks Professor Crevett, at any rate, who calls in UN investigator and personal friend Alan Brooks to help him with the problem. Unexpectedly along for the trip are sisters Sarah and Ann Pilgrim, who are forced to stop off in Trollenberg after Ann has a fainting spell. Sarah and Ann run a mind-reading act, and Brooks finds it suspiciously familiar when Ann seems drawn to the accident-ridden Trollenberg. Meanwhile, snooping reporter Philip finds it suspicious that Brooks is visiting at all, and does what he does best.

Flight to Mars

March 19th, 2009 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Arthur Franz, Crap, Morris Ankrum, Science Fiction, Space

Monogram Pictures Corporation [1951] 72′
country: United States
director: LESLEY SELANDER
cast: MARGUERITE CHAMPAN, CAMERON MITCHELL,
cast: ARTHUR FRANZ, VIRGINIA HUSTON

In 1951, the Pentagon makes a shocking announcement – preparations have been completed on a secret military-funded project to send the first manned flight to Mars. Heading the crew are Dr. Lane, Dr. Barker [Arthur Franz], and Barker’s girl of the moment Carol [Virginia Huston as a much-maligned woman scientist never referred to with a 'Dr.' before her name] – two civilians, Professor Jackson and reporter Steve [Cameron Mitchell], are along to make observations. The rocket launches without issue and, in just 7 days [!], is within sight of Mars – it’s a good thing too, as Barker and Carol’s relationship is on the verge of an ugly meltdown and Steve is itching to make a play for the only female on board.

Suddenly, disaster strikes – the ship flies into a meteor storm and gets a pummeling. While the crew are unharmed, the storm manages to knock out the landing gear, forcing pilot Barker to attempt a crash landing. Unfortunately for those of us who are already sick of the cast, he is entirely successful. The crew steps out onto the frozen surface of Mars and are greeted by the planet’s rather human inhabitants, who waste no time in showing off their fancy underground civilization and ability to speak perfect English [that old 'we've been listening to your radio broadcasts for years' explanation is already feeling tired here, a scarce two months after Klaatu was heard using it in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL]. What’s more, they offer to help the stranded Earthlings fix their ship and send them back on their way.

Devil Girl From Mars

March 6th, 2009 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, David MacDonald, Patricia Laffan, Robots, Science Fiction

Danziger Productions Ltd. [1954] 77′
country: United Kingdom
director: DAVID MACDONALD
cast: HUGH MCDERMOTT, HAZEL COURT
cast: PETER REYNOLDS, PATRICIA LAFFAN

A motley assortment of people gather at an isolated Scottish inn, including an escaped murderer, an American newspaper man, and an elderly English professor. The group distract themselves in a number of ways, with the newspaper man recognizing the escaped convict and threatening to turn him in to the proper authorities. Suddenly, a space ship thunders out of the sky and lands a short distance from the inn – after it cools, the Martian woman Nyah steps out. It seems that her intentions had been to land in London, but her ship was damaged and she was forced to land elsewhere. It seems that Mars suffered through a war of the sexes, resulting in a superior female race – but males have become all but useless since then, and Nyah is in search of new breeding stock.

She encircles the inn in an invisible electric wall, leaving the inn’s residents with little to do but think of various schemes to defeat the Martian, who intends to continue her voyage to London as planned once her ship – made of an organic metal – repairs itself. Plan after plan to stop her fails, as the Earthlings prove no match for her ray gun, hypnotic eyes, or ginormous robot servant Chani. With her ship repaired and ready to go, the escaped convict boards her ship under the pretense of being her guide to London but with other plans in mind. Can he possibly stop Nylah’s prototype ship and an impending full-on Martian invasion?

Invaders From Mars

March 1st, 2009 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Arthur Franz, Dream, Fantasy, Helena Carter, Morris Ankrum, Science Fiction, William Cameron Menzies

Edward L. Alperson Productions [1953] 78′
country: United States
director: WILLIAM CAMERON MENZIES
cast: JIMMY HUNT, HELENA CARTER
cast: ARTHUR FRANZ, MORRIS ANKRUM

When aspiring young astronomer David McLean [Jimmy Hunt] sees a luminous green flying saucer land in the sand pit behind his house, he’s spooked – but that’s peanuts in comparison to the change he sees in his father the next day. Having gone out to investigate David’s sighting in the night, Mr. McLean [Leif Erickson] is cold, aggressive, and not at all the man he was just hours before. What’s more, David spies a strange X-shaped incision on the back of his father’s neck, something he promptly hides once he knows it’s been spotted. Later that morning, David uses his telescope to focus in on the area where he saw the saucer land, only to see his childhood friend Kathy Wilson disappear into the sand. When Kathy’s reappearance coincides with the burning down of her own house, David puts the pieces together – whoever or whatever landed the previous night is changing the people around him, and certainly not for the better.

Yog: Monster From Space

December 19th, 2008 | article by Ted Johnson | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Ganime, Gezora, Giant monsters, Ishiro Honda, Kaiju, Kameba, Kenji Sahara, Science Fiction, Toho, Tokusatsu, Yoshio Tsuchiya

a.k.a. Gezora Ganime Kameba Kessan! Nankai no Daikaiju / Space Amoeba
company: Toho Co. Ltd
year: 1970
runtime: 84′
country: Japan
director: ISHIRO HONDA
cast: Akira Kubo, Atsuko Takahashi,
Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kenji Sahara
order this film from Amazon.com

The end of the 60′s was also the end of the Golden Era of Japanese tokusatsu. 1967 had come and gone with it’s kaiju boom in which every single major studio in Japan had released a monster movie. Toho had tried to end the Godzilla series in 1968 with DESTROY ALL MONSTERS for naught. Their collaboration with the Americans for LATITUDE ZERO [1969] had gone to seed, and even worse the film did poorly at the box office, resulting in the next Godzilla movie to be constructed of stock footage and aimed squarely at children. And now, refusing to slow down and take his doctor’s orders, the God of Special Effects, Eiji Tsuburaya, had literally worked himself to death. This is the stage set for Toho’s next monster foray.

Over footage of a brilliant sunset and a remarkably fake-looking rocket, an announcer tells us about how man is beginning to explore outer space. The rocket—one Helio 7—succeeds in making its way into space on a course for Jupiter to study the gas giant. However, once in deep space, Helio 7 is invaded by a gaseous cloud of glowing blue dots which proceeds to take over its mechanics. Helio 7 summarily turns around and heads back for earth.
Continue Reading »

Zontar the Thing From Venus

December 19th, 2008 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Awesome Titles, Crap, John Agar, Larry Buchanan, Monsters, Remake, Roger Corman, Science Fiction

Azalea Pictures [1966] 80′
country: United States
director: LARRY BUCHANAN
cast: JOHN AGAR, SUSAN BJURMAN,
cast: TONY HUSTON, PAT DELANEY

American International Pictures was doing a number of strange things under its television branch in the 1960′s – re-cutting Soviet space films to make them appear American, then re-cutting the re-cut Soviet space films for similar purposes, for instance, and unleashing all manner of pan-and-scanned monster horrors from the great land of Japan [THE MAGIC SERPENT and the majority of the original Gamera series, as well as the first two Daimajin films]. In what is perhaps the studio’s strangest move at the time, they contracted a man to pad out their TV syndication packages by re-filming a number of their earlier cheapies at budgets that would have offended even Roger Corman, director of several of the films to be remade.

That man was a Texan, a father, and a husband – it is still arguable, however, as to whether or not he could be classified as a film-maker. He was Larry Buchanan, and his second production for the company, ZONTAR THE THING FROM VENUS [an all-but-in-name remake of the 1956 cult classic IT CONQUERED THE WORLD], first tormented the television watching masses in 1966.

It Conquered the World

December 19th, 2008 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, American International, Horror, Lee Van Cleef, Peter Graves, Roger Corman, Science Fiction

American International Pictures [1956] 71′
country: United States
director: ROGER CORMAN
cast: PETER GRAVES, LEE VAN CLEEF,
cast: BEVERLY GARLAND, SALLY FRASER

Roger Corman is nothing if not prolific – having produced 385 films [just over 7 a year since 1954] and directed a comparatively slim 55, the producer/director/writer and sometimes actor has become a household name. At least he has in those corners where they prefer their cinema hard, fast, and cheap.

IT CONQUERED THE WORLD is a picture from a time when Corman productions were not quite so fast – he would direct only three films in 1956, a number disparagingly trumped by the 9 he was to helm the following year. He was quick in recognizing the market potential of low budget creature features after the success of his meagerly produced MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR and THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED [made for just over $100,000 combined] and, thusly, this 1956 effort was born with all the trademarks of a Corman creature feature intact.

Gamera vs. Guiron

December 5th, 2008 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Daiei, Gamera, Guiron, Kaiju, Noriaki Yuasa, Science Fiction

a.k.a. Gamera tai Daiakuju Giron / Attack of the Monsters
company: Daiei Co. Ltd
year: 1969
runtime: 82′
country: Japan
director: Noriaki Yuasa
cast: Nobuhiro Kajima, Christopher Murphy,
Miyuki Akiyama, Yuko Hamada
order this film from Amazon.com

With the holiday season upon us, the economy in the tank, and our already lame president ducking it out in the capital, I felt it was time to do my part to bring back a little of that old holiday spirit. So here I am, sharing my own special kind of peace and good will through a seasonal celebration of rubber suited monsterdom – let the first annual Wtf-Film Kaiju Christmas Spectacular begin!

Presented for your approval is the lovable and oft-lamented GAMERA VS. GUIRON, the fifth entry in the original Gamera series and the most universally reviled this side of 1980′s SUPER MONSTER. There are a number of issues responsible for the amount of ill-will held against GAMERA VS. GUIRON – it’s unashamedly childish nature or ridiculously unbelievable effects work, for instance – but the biggest burden almost certainly lies with one man:

Sandy Frank.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

August 4th, 2008 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Jennifer Connelly, Keanu Reeves, Remake, Science Fiction, Scott Derrickson

20th Century Fox [2008] 103′
country: United States
director: SCOTT DERRICKSON
cast: KEANU REEVES, JENNIFER CONNELLY,
cast: JADEN SMITH, KATHY BATES

“I’m a man, but I can change . . . if I have to . . . I guess . . .”

It’s a sad state of affairs when the Man’s Prayer from THE RED GREEN SHOW can double for the end message to a major dramatic studio production, but that seems to be just the message intended by director Scott Derrickson and screenwriter David Scarpa with their mostly daft re-envisioning of the 1951 science fiction classic THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Those of you who have not seen the film be warned, for SPOILERS almost certainly lie ahead.

Mysterious glowing spheres are landing at locations all over the Earth – including the largest of the lot in New York’s Central Park. A group of scientists including astrobiologist Helen Benson [Connelly] are sent to investigate the site, which has already been surrounded by the military. Out of the main sphere steps Klaatu [Reeves], emissary to Earth for a collective of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, who is welcomed to our planet with gunfire – his robot protector G.O.R.T. [an acronym dreamed up by the military in the film and not a name given by Klaatu himself] appears to defend his fallen master and is stopped just before he lays waste to all those present. Klaatu is taken into protective custody for interrogation by the US government but, with the aid of Helen and an uncanny talent for controlling all things electronic, expectedly escapes.

Goke – Body Snatcher from Hell

July 8th, 2008 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Hajime Sato, Hideo Ko, Horror, Science Fiction, Shochiku, Teruo Yoshida, Tokusatsu, Vampires

a.k.a. KYUKETSUKI GOKEMIDORO / BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL
Shochiku Co. ltd [1969] 84′
country: Japan
director: HAJIME SATO
cast: TERUO YOSHIDA, TOMOMI SATO,
cast: EIZO KITAMURA, HIDEO KO

“There’s no fun in the world anymore . . .” Matsumiya, the bomber

Flight JA 307 seems destined for disaster from the outset of Hajime Sato’s final film, with it flying through ominous and seemingly endless blood-red skies. The motley assortment of passengers are already on edge – be it from the recent assassination of the British ambassador to Japan or the birds smashing themselves into a bloody pulp on the airliner’s windows. To make matters worse, the pilots receive a message that a bomb may be hidden aboard the plane. Co-pilot Sugisaka heads out into the cabin to check the passenger’s bags, only to stumble upon the political assassin responsible for the British ambassador’s murder. In no time at all, the plane is under the control of the would-be hijacker, who destroys the radio and sends the flight on an impromptu course towards Okinawa.

As the two pilots steer the plane off of its scheduled course, a passenger’s one-way radio reports an unusual development – an unidentified object has entered Japanese air space, with the JSADF and US Air Force both in hot pursuit. Unknown to all aboard, the hijacker has sent the plane straight into the path of the oncoming unidentified object – a pulsing orange UFO that shorts out the plane’s controls and sets one of its engines ablaze. And so, nary 10 minutes into the film, flight JA 307 has crashed into a barren valley well off the beaten path.

The Golden Bat

July 1st, 2008 | article by Kevin Pyrtle | No Comments »
Tags: Alien Invasion, Golden Bat, Hajime Sato, Science Fiction, Sonny Chiba, Toei, Tokusatsu

a.k.a. Ogon Batto
Toei Co. Ltd [1966] 72′
country: Japan
director: HAJIME SATO
cast: SONNY CHIBA, HIROSHI NAKATA,
cast: ANDREW HUGHES, REIKO KASAHARA

Poor young Akira – after spending night after night star gazing and single-handedly discovering that the planet Icarus is on a collision course with Earth, no one in the grown-up world believes him. The police think he has an overactive imagination and the astronomers at the local observatory simply refuse to take his claim seriously for no reason other than that it sounds silly. Just when Akira’s day can’t seem to get any worse, a group of sunglass-and-suit donning henchmen show up and drag him to an isolated chateaus in the Japanese Alps.

There he discovers something he never though possible – an uber-cool super lab funded by the UN under the cover name of the Pearl Institute and existing, seemingly, for the sole purpose of spying on amateur Japanese astronomers, building fantastical weapons (the Super Destruction Beam Cannon!), and saving the Earth from threats like, say, renegade planetary bodies under the control of evil spacemen. After a brief introduction to the facility by Dr. Yamatone (Sonny Chiba!), Akira agrees to join forces with them. The first order of business is to complete the Super Destruction Beam Cannon by locating appropriate material from which to fashion a lens.