Wtf-film: cult cinema and video reviews

a.k.a. Caltiki – il Mostro Immortale
company: Climax Pictures
year: 1959
runtime: 76′
country: Italy
directors: Ricardo Freda
and Mario Bava
cast: John Merivale, Didi Perago,
Gerard Herter, Daniela Rocca
not on home video in the USA

It’s Cinco de Mayo here at Wtf-Film [and, presumably, elsewhere], and I’m celebrating the only way I know how – by honoring the cinema fantastico. Now CALTIKI may be set in Mexico, but it’s really 100% pure cinema fantascienza – produced in Italy by a man who, though he received no on-screen credit, would go on to become the most recognized name in Italian horror.

CALTIKI follows a group of archaeologists – led by Dr. Fielding [Merivale] and his associate Max [Herter] – as they investigate the Mayan ruins at Tikal. When two men descend into the ruins and only one returns – and out of his mind, to boot – the research team switches gears in an effort to find out why. Max and Fielding descend into the cave where the archaeologist disappeared and discover that a massive previously undiscovered chamber has been uncovered. Once inside they find a large pool and, more interesting to some of the team than what happened to their friends, a wealth of treasure that once served as sacrifice to the Mayan goddess Caltiki.

Unfortunately for the would-be treasure hunters, Caltiki turns out to be much more real than they imagined. After killing one party member as he dives for treasure, Caltiki – an amorphous and all-consuming mass of amoebic glop – rises from the pool to threaten the rest of the team. The greedy Max tries to salvage some of the treasure, but wanders too closely to the monster with disastrous results. Only the quick thinking of Dr. Fielding, who hacks off a piece of Caltiki and frees Max, saves him. With the monster dispatched by a conveniently placed gasoline-loaded truck and Max in serious condition, the team returns to Mexico City.

Once there, surgeons remove the festering bit of Caltiki from Max’s arm and leave him to recover while Dr. Fielding investigates the nature of the monster. Carbon dating reveals that Caltiki, found to be a massive unicellular organism, is no fewer than 20 million years old – confirming the Mayan legend about the agelessness of the god. But the legend also mentions the rebirth of Caltiki at a time when her mate appears in the sky. Dr. Fielding puts two and two together when a comet on a 1300 year cycle, which last appeared at the time the Mayan’s disappeared, appears in the sky once more. The Caltiki specimens begin to grow . . . and grow . . .

To make matters worse, a poisonous compound released by Caltiki when it attacked Max has effectively driven the man insane. His obsessive desire to have Dr. Fielding’s wife as his own leads him to the Doctor’s home, where Fielding’s personal Caltiki specimen is itching to escape, and to feed . . .

CALTIKI was obviously intended to capitalize on the surge in blob-oriented horrors towards the end of the fifties. While most would readily cite THE BLOB as inspiration, CALTIKI has far more in common with the first two Quatermass films and the Hammer spin-off X: THE UNKNOWN than with that Irvin Yeaworth production, which may or may not have even seen release in Italy by the time CALTIKI was in production. Filippo Sanjust’s competent screenwriting references THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT explicitly at times, such as when the maddened and deformed Max is wandering the countryside or when the fate of the lost archaeologist is related through ‘found footage’. The first major shock scene, in which a diver’s face is shown to have been stripped clean by Caltiki, is very reminiscent of the image of a doctor’s melting face seen in X: THE UNKOWN.

Though it takes cues from any number of past efforts, Sanjust’s scripting manages some moments of inspired originality, namely its combination of the supernatural and the scientific. Having the Caltiki mythology not only confirmed but rendered newly relevant by the appearance of a comet is a brilliant twist that reminds of Nigel Kneale at his best. The dramatic aspects, revolving around Dr. Fielding’s marital strife and Max’s attempts to capitalize on it, are relatively flat and uninspired, but tie in very well with the more lurid and horrific elements – its only a pity that there is no Brian Donlevey or Dean Jagger to arise and take charge of the situation once CALTIKI comes to a head.

Thanks to credited director Riccardo Freda’s faith in brilliant cinematographer Mario Bava, we will never have to sit back and wonder at what CALTIKI might have become in less capable hands. As it stands, Bava’s involvement is enough to render a few gross lapses in logic [the all too conveniently parked gasoline truck, Dr. Fielding being allowed to keep a pet Caltiki at home] moot – overridden by the shock payoffs they allow for. Bava not only directed the majority of the picture and handled the cinematography, but also designed the effects – including a wonderful on-set volcano that eliminated the need for expensive process shots. It is only with the frequent miniatures that Bava begins to show his lack of funds. While many are effective enough, several are not – a huge statue of Caltiki glimpsed several times in the caves is obviously only a foot or so tall and the scale model tanks that do battle with the Godzilla-sized Caltiki at the conclusion look just like the toys they are.

Still, there are more than enough riveting effects moments to be had in CALTIKI’s brief running time to keep its lesser moments from spoiling things. Indeed, in Bava’s capable hands even a few of those are well utilized – a blurry light that fades in and out of a star-scape is what passes for a comet, but seen in conjunction with the pulsing, growing, and multiplying Caltikis, the image achieves a sort of surreal efficacy. Bava would make a name for himself on his own terms the following year with the production of the Gothic horror masterpiece BLACK SUNDAY [LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO], but CALTIKI remains an important step in his evolution from talented cinematographer and effects man to director.

CALTIKI looks to have been at least a moderate success both at home and abroad, and moments of it seem to have inspired much more modern productions – it’s hard not to think of the revelation of Aaron Eckhart’s extensive facial injuries in THE DARK KNIGHT when Dr. Fielding visits Max in the hospital, and DEEP IMPACT owes one of its more important plot devices to an astronomer’s fiery demise here. I can’t help but be a little surprised that, especially with all the hub-bub propagating around a Mayan-inspired 2012 apocalypse, no one seems to have realized CALTIKI’s remake potential. Perhaps that is all for the best.

It’s a pity that, as of this writing, no official Region 1 DVD release of CALTIKI has been made – the images that accompany this review are sourced from an awful bootleg VHS I snatched from eBay years ago. NoShame released it to Region 2 in Italy with a fine anamorphic transfer and both the original Italian and dubbed English audio available, but offered no subtitles on either the feature or supplements. A recent French disc is less satisfying, with no English audio option or subtitles and a vertically stretched image. Bootlegs are still abundant, but Wtf-Film really wishes some enterprising company would give CALTIKI the English-friendly release it deserves.

I find myself respecting CALTIKI more and more as the years go by, and realizing what a fine suspense experience it must have been when it first saw theatrical release. Its brand of fantascienza shocks and scares is certainly not for all tastes, but fans of monster cinema and Mario Bava are definitely encouraged to indulge. Wtf-Film recommends.