Today, 27 May, is the birthday of Vincent Price (1911) and Christopher Lee (1922). What’s more, Peter Cushing was born on 26 May 1913.

Three titans of horror. Three excellent actors. Three tall men. All born around the same date.

I guess they were also all friends, although it’s very hard to tell when it comes to actors who are always playing a part when a camera is rolling.

Collaborations

Everyone knows that Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing starred in a lot of films together. Watching a collection of Hammer films is a lot like watching “The Cushing and Lee Show. “

I know of only two films that featured Price and Cushing. The first was Dr Phibes Rises Again although Cushing is barely in it and probably wasn’t even on set at the same time as Price. Much better is Madhouse where they work together closely and brilliantly. It’s a great part for Cushing!

And there’s only one film I know of with just Price and Lee: The Oblong Box. It’s a great film but the two men don’t work that much with each other.

All Three Men

There are two films that feature all three men. The first was 1970’s Scream and Scream Again. It’s a good film that has you confused until the very end. The problem with it is that Peter Cushing is hardly in it.

If you want to celebrate this occasion, you should watch House of the Long Shadows. It’s an ensemble film but the three men are all primary. And as a special extra it also features John Carradine!

So here’s to Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, and Christopher Lee! Let’s watch House of the Long Shadows.

Other 27 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers

• Harlan Ellison (1934-2018): Science fiction writer who has been much used in the film industry for films like A Boy and His Dog and the Star Trek episode “The City on the Edge of Forever.”
• Linnea Quigley (1958-): Actor known for Return of the Living Dead. She has worked widely in psychotronic films and especially with David DeCoteau in films like Creepozoids and Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama.
• Paul Bettany (1971-): Actor known for the action-horror films Legion and Priest.
• Ben Feldman (1980-): Actor known mainly for the TV show Superstore but also had small parts in Cloverfield and Friday the 13th.

Films

• Africa Screams (1949): Abbott and Costello vs the Cannibals.
• Crypt of the Vampire (1964): A rich girl has nightmares that may indicate she is possessed by an ancestor.
• Desperate Living (1977): Society woman murderer is on the run in this John Waters comedy.
• Smokey and the Bandit (1977): Two drivers try to win a race delivering unlicensed beer in record time.
• The Monster Club (1981): Much-hated horror anthology with musical segments. I like it!
• Possession (1981): A woman gets divorced and gives birth to a tentacled creature that becomes her lover. Other stuff happens but that will give you an idea of what you are getting yourself into.
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988): Circus clowns from outer space kill small town humans for later consumption. Essential viewing.
• Blood Ties (1991): Basically a family dispute among vampires.
• The Flintstones (1994): Live-action film of the cartoon.
• Freeze Me (2000): Sort of a Japanese I Spit on Your Grave.
• Horror (2003): Out of the drug rehab into the demonic farmhouse.
• The Longest Yard (2005): Faithful remake of the original, which works well.

Image from House Of The Long Shadows via Amazon under Fair Use.

Peter Cushing was born on 26 May 1913. For most people, he is Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars. He brings gravitas to a thankless role. Who else to end Darth Vader’s choking trick? A lesser actor couldn’t pull it off — especially at his age and gauntness.

Although English, Cushing started his film career in Hollywood. He got small roles, like his first in the James Whale film, The Man in the Iron Mask. But he seemed to do more theater work there. When World War II started, he returned to England. But he did not fight in the war due to an injury. I find this curious since I know him to do minor stunts in various Hammer films.

Peter Cushing at Hammer

After the war, he was relatively successful in TV. And he probably would have continued like that and ultimately appeared as one of the critics in Theatre of Blood. But it was not to be. Hammer decided to make a go at horror and cast Cushing in the title role of The Curse of Frankenstein. That led directly to a two-decade relationship and 19 films. Note that not all are horror films.

Peter Cushing at Amicus

In addition to Hammer, Peter Cushing made 15 films with Amicus. Of course, he wasn’t as big a part of them. That’s partly due to his age. But it’s more due to six of them being anthology films (marked with †). Here they are:

Shock Waves

These two production companies explain why everyone knows Peter Cushing. I doubt seriously that he would have been cast in Star Wars without them. But the film I most associate with him (despite his importance in the Hammer Frankenstein series) is Shock Waves. And since I don’t think nearly enough people have seen it, let’s watch it to celebrate Cushing’s birthday!

Other 19 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers

• Robert Morley (1908-1992): Character actor known for The Old Dark House and Theatre of Blood.
• James Arness (1923-2011): Actor best known for the Gunsmoke TV series but also known for The Thing From Another World and Them.
• Pam Grier (1949-): Blaxploitation icon in films like Coffy and Foxy Brown.
• Bobcat Goldthwait (1962-): Director-writer of Shakes the Clown and God Bless America.
• Musetta Vander (1963-): Actor known for Oblivion, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and more.
• Helena Bonham Carter (1966-): Actor known for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
• Rocky Costanzo (1973-): Low-budget writer-director of films like Hallowed and A Psycho’s Path.

Films

• The Gorilla (1939): Investigators look for a serial killer named The Gorilla but then a real gorilla shows up.
• The Scarlet Claw (1944): Another Roy William Neill Sherlock Holmes.
• Batman and Robin (1949): The duo fights against The Wizard who controls cars.
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970): The second and best of the series, including a group that worships the atomic bomb!
• The Other (1972): Rather good evil twin film.
• Tower of Evil (1972): Phoenician archaeology leads to death.
• Mother, Jugs & Speed (1976): Unfunny comedy about ambulance companies.
• Casper (1995): Sweet children’s horror-comedy where none of the ghosts are scary.
• Johnny Mnemonic (1995): Data courier needs to get data out of his brain implant before it kills him.
• Doppelganger (1993): The new girlfriend seems to have an evil doppelganger, but then it turns out to be a conspiracy. But then she really does have one!
• Curse of the Puppet Master (1998): More fun with the puppets at a doll museum. A middling effort from David DeCoteau.
• Shanghai Noon (2000): Comedy western starring Jackie Chan.
• Beneath Still Waters (2005): A town is drowned to kill an evil force, but 40 years later, it comes back. Brian Yuzna directed this Spanish production.
• Beneath the Flesh (2009): Anthology horror from Randall Kaplan.
• The Devil’s Tomb (2009): A military unit goes to an underground structure to rescue a scientist, but unwittingly enters a war between God and the Nephilim. You’d think God wouldn’t need help…
• The Offerings (2009): A new housekeeper is harassed by angry ghosts.

Peter Cushing via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.

20th Century Fox released Star Wars on 25 May 1977.

I first saw the film on 4 July 1977. I was in no rush to see it because the commercial for it sucked. It seemed to depend upon the fact that there was already a lot of buzz about the film. And that was true. The nerd class in middle school was indeed abuzz! This made me less inclined to see it. Yes, I was a nerd. But I considered myself a higher level of nerd. I was a little prick!

I liked the film. But I didn’t go crazy for it. And I still find it hard to believe just why it was such a big deal. I guess it was the special effects. The plot was standard — pretty much the same as dozens of genre films. The characters were primative stereotypes. I’m not complaining. The film works. I just don’t understand why so many people lost their minds over it!

Since its release, of course, the film has been renamed Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope. Because it was the first film of the second trilogy of a trilogy of trilogies. I think the renaming is stupid and annoying as hell. But I will forgive George Lucas for the rest. Before The Empire Strikes Back, he was already pushing the trilogy of trilogies. So it was not, as many have told me, a later cash grab.

But what most annoys me is that Lucas has gone back and changed the special effects. All works of art are products of their time. Star Wars is now the product of the late 1970s — and the late 1990s. And there is no way that the film would have had such primative characters and stories in the late 1990s. So the film is, as it stands, a kind of Frankenstein’s Monster of a film.

What’s more, it wasn’t enough for Lucas to get his ultimate vision produced. He has also done everything he can to limit anyone from seeing the original film. That’s the kind of narcissism that comes from having far too much money, fame, and power.

I’d embed the film if that were possible. But it’s hard to find even a restored copy online. After all, George Lucas is only a billionaire. And Disney is just scraping by! (Much of Lucas’ billions are in Disney stock.)

But you know who the real villains are? People who don’t read this site. These are the people who make rich men richer because they just want to watch what everyone else is watching. Star Wars is psychotronic. There’s no doubt about that, though.

Instead of watching it, check out this clever Chris & Jack skit about who really wrote Star Wars.

Other 25 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Charles Barton (1902-1981): Director known for Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff.
• Claude Akins (1926-1994): Character actor I mostly know from The Night Stalker.
• Ann Robinson (1929-2025): Star of the 1953 The War of the Worlds.
• Ian McKellen (1939-): Actor known for the major films based on X-Men and Lord of the Rings.
• Frank Oz (1944-): Best known as the man behind Miss Piggy, he is a solid film director of such hits as The Dark Crystal and Death at a Funeral.
• Neil Marshall (1970-): Writer-director of many psychotronic films including Dog Soldiers and The Descent.
• Cillian Murphy (1976-): Actor known for 28 Days Later.

Films:

• Behind the Mask (1946): The second of The Shadow films.
• The Stranger (1946): Orson Welles’ most banal film about a Nazi hunter who suspect a school teacher.
• The Cabinet of Calagari (1962): Premiere of the classic story.
• Dead Planet (1972): An overpopulated dystopian society bans pregnancy.
• Return of the Jedi (1983): That’s right, it was released exactly six years after Star Wars. For the record, The Empire Strikes Back was close to being exactly in the middle. The premiere was 17 May. It went into limited release on the 21st. But didn’t see wide release until 18 June.
• Dead Calm (1989): A married couple pick up a shipwreck survivor who turns out to be insane.
• Possessed By the Night (1994): A mutant embryo controls people.
• Witchcraft X: Mistress of the Craft (1999): British vampires go to California to get a Satanist needed for a ritual.
• Bug (2007): Two weird people fight bugs in a motel room.
• Destination: Outer Space (2010): Space pilot must find his way home from Christopher R Mihm
• Attack of the Moon Zombies (2011): Plant-based horror on the moon — again from Christopher R Mihm.
• House of Black Wings (2010): Two women refurbish an aging appartment but there are ghosts.
• Crimes of the Future (2022): More sex, surgery, and conspiracy from David Cronenberg.

Star Wars (1977) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

On this day, 23 May 1985, Indipendenti Regionali released the Italian horror film Rats: Night of Terror!

I’ll admit, when I first heard of this film, I was skeptical. I like rats, and I don’t like to see them as antagonists in films. (They aren’t in Willard. There, they are just meting out justice.)

But at least the rats are presented as smart. And it has a very happy ending!

Rats was co-written and directed by exploitation master Bruno Mattei. He’s mostly known for never doing anything new. If a film was doing well at the box office, he’d make his own version.

Salon Kitty was a big deal in 1976. So in 1977, Mattei brought the world SS Girls. How do you not love that?!

Night of the Living Rats

Rats is more or less Night of the Living Dead — but with rats. Michael Weldon says it has more or less the same plot as Chosen Survivors, but I haven’t seen it so I can’t say for sure. And clearly, I’m sure it’s also ripping off Willard.

The basis of the movie is that there was a nuclear war in 2015. The survivors head underground and live there. After a hundred years, some of them decided to live above ground. Thus, humanity was divided into two groups. The film takes place 110 years after that in 2225.

The story centers on a biker gang (with a tank and a truck) living in a barren land, scavenging to survive. They are a stylish bunch with cool names like Chocolate, Lucifer, and Video!

All is going well after they come to an abandoned town. They find a bunch of food that has somehow survived for 210 years. But then they discover various dead bodies. And the rats start to attack. And then they start to die.

Rats Is a Good Time

Rats is filled with great practical effects. And it does a particularly great job of combining real rats with fake ones. Although the river of rats can be a bit much at times. Of course, one of the treats of this film is that it is always at least a little over the top.

What’s most remarkable here, however, is how compelling the story is. The characters are a lot more real than they have any right to be. That’s especially true of Chocolate (Geretta Geretta) and Video (Gianni Franco).

Everything about the film seems better than it should be. The sets are really good. The lighting is always interesting if sometimes a bit too dark. (This may be a video artifact; projected film always has much better contrast.) The camera work is lively without being excessive. And the editing pulls the story along mostly, although there are moments when it seems like there wasn’t transitional material.

I highly recommend seeing Rats: Night of Terror if you get the chance. It’s not great. And one of the female characters is too much like Barbra in the original Night of the Living Dead. But it’s quite an enjoyable hour and a half.

Other 23 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Kenneth Strickfaden (1896-1984): Electric effects expert known for Frankenstein.
• Scatman Crothers (1910-1986): Actor in The Shining and Twilight Zone: The Movie.
• Joan Collins (1933-): Actor known for Tales from the Crypt and Empire of the Ants.
• Felissa Rose (1969-): Actor known for many horror films like Sleepaway Camp and Silent Night, Zombie Night.
• DJ Cotrona (1980-): Star of From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series.

Films:

• Stanley (1972): Willard but with rattlesnakes.
• The Shining (1980): Kubrick does King.
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): Sequel to Raiders is even more extreme.
• Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986): The family moved, but… They’re back!
• The Era of Vampires (2002): A team takes on Chinese vampires.
• Vampire Noir (2007): A vampire hunter tries to save his friend.

Rats: Night of Terror DVD cover via Walmart under Fair Use.

On this day, 22 May, in 1958, Vertigo went into wide release. It had its premiere on 9 May in San Francisco. Then it was released in the UK. Finally, the week after, it was released in the US.

People who have been reading me for a while are probably thinking, “Oh no! Not another hit piece on Hitchcock!” But it’s not! Rather, I want to look at the other side of it.

Imagine Destroying John Carpenter’s Career

One of my favorite filmmakers is John Carpenter. There is no filmmaker who consistently delights me more. A number of his films are my very favorites: The Thing, They Live, and In the Mouth of Madness.

(There is so much more to love in Carpenter’s catalog. In addition to all the usual ones that people mention, there’s Vampires, which I really enjoy. And Escape From LA has really grown on me.)

But if people spoke of John Carpenter as though he was some brilliant art film director, I wouldn’t be able to take it. And I say that knowing that Carpenter is as skilled and creative a director as you will find. If he wanted to make art films, they’d be wonderful.

But he doesn’t make art films. (I wouldn’t love his work as much if he did.) It would be an insult to him to pretend that he does — an insult to him but also an insult to the kinds of films that he makes and that I love.

Hitchcock Was Better Than Vertigo

I wish that I could do something for poor Alfred Hitchcock. He deserves better. Above all, he deserves to have his great films admired. I think Vertigo is a joke.

The contortions I’ve seen critics go through to justify why it is a great film! Oh yes, the boring pastels of the film are so meaningful! And the boring plot? Pure genius!

Vertigo is the Alfred Hitchcock film for people who don’t like Alfred Hitchcock. Almost any other Hitchcock film would be a better symbol of his talent. And it shows that all those critics and film “scholars” who supposedly love his work so much don’t really appreciate it at all.

Rather than Vertigo, watch Shadow of a Doubt or The Birds or Strangers on a Train. Or better yet, watch Halloween.

Other 22 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930): Creator of Sherlock Holmes.
• Richard Benjamin (1938-): Actor known for Westworld and Saturday the 14th. He is also a very successful director who made My Favorite Year.
• Paul Winfield (1939-2004): Actor known for The Terminator, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and much else.
• Michael Sarrazin (1940-2011): Actor known for many things but especially Frankenstein: The True Story.

Films:

• Svengali (1931): A music teacher uses hypnotism to control a singer.
• The Immoral Mr Teas (1959): Premiere of Russ Meyer’s first film, a charming nudie-cutie.
• Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969): My favorite of the Hammer Frankenstein films.
• Outland (1981): People are dying while mining on Io.
• The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988): TV movie based on the TV series.
• Alien 3 (1992): The third film in the franchise, which makes the ending of Aliens pointless.
• Mission: Impossible (1996): Film based on the series.
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997): Turns out there is a second island.
• Boa vs Python (2004): Kinda obvious, right?
• Tormented (2009): Undead slasher comedy.
• Poltergeist (2015): Remake of the Tobe Hooper classic starring Sam Rockwell.

Vertigo (1958) poster via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.

On this day, 21 May, in 1954, Lippert Pictures released Monster From the Ocean Floor. It is most known for being the first film that Roger Corman produced.

It tells the story of Julie (Anne Kimbell) — a young artist vacationing in Mexico. She hears the story of a sea monster. Then, a dead diver is discovered. So she decides to search for it rather than act like a regular human.

Corman apparently got the idea for the film when he learned about the one-person submarine that is featured in the film. It’s also its worst aspect. Maybe it wasn’t at the time. But now, it just seems like a weird technology. And it is ridiculous!

There’s a subplot about the local people’s belief that if “the fairest” is sacrificed, they will all be safe. And an old woman forces a young man to do what must be done. But when it comes to it, he can’t.

The Monsters

The actual monster in the film is unimpressive — even compared to It Conquered the World. And we don’t see much of it. That’s true. Both because the underwater scenes just don’t look as clear as the scenes in Creature from the Black Lagoon (which I assume was shot in a tank). But also: it just doesn’t get much screen time.

What’s really impressive is the sequence with the shark. Kimbell is in the water with a shark that is about six-feet long. And it clearly swims past her a couple of times — once in quite a menacing way.

I have no idea how they did this. For one thing, the shark makes several passes. These scenes were shot in the ocean. How did they get the shark back? More important, how did they get Kimbell to do these scenes?!

Well, they didn’t! See my article, The Shark in Monster From the Ocean Floor. It’s wild!

The shark is doubtless not one known to attack humans. But I don’t care! It could be a vegetarian for all I care. There is no way I would get in the ocean with that shark! My hat is off to whoever did the scene!

Other 21 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Sam Jaffe (1891-1984): Actor known for Lost Horizon and Gunga Din.
• Raymond Burr (1917-1993): Actor best known for Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
• Ross Hagen (1938-2011): Actor known for The Hellcats and other low-budget delights.
• Richard Hatch (1945-2017): Star of the original Battlestar Galactica TV show.
• Judge Reinhold (1957-): Actor known for Fast Times at Ridgemont High and the Beverly Hills Cop films.
• Fairuza Balk (1974-): Actor known for The Craft and The Waterboy.

Films:

• The Vampire’s Ghost (1945): A vampire bar owner is tired of the life.
• Gorath (1962): A planet is on a collision course with the Earth.
• The Green Slime (1969): Astronauts bring back a monster from space.
• Escape From the Planet of the Apes (1971): The apes go back in time to modern Earth.
• Embryo (1976): A scientist accelerates pregnancy with dire consequences.
• Grizzly (1976): An enormous grizzly bear kills people in a national park. One of the better monster movies. Starring Christopher George.
• The Milpitas Monster (1976): The film made by a high school! You should definitely watch it!
• Crawlspace (1986): A landlord is a serial killer.
• Carnosaur (1993): A genetically created dinosaur escapes.
• Terminator Salvation (2009): John Connor at war.
• Bite (2015): A spider bites a woman who becomes an insect. This is one of the best body horror films ever. Absolute must see!
• Aquarium of the Dead (2021): Fish become zombies at an aquarium.
• Army of the Dead (2021): Mercenaries go to an area with a bunch of zombies.

Drive-in advertisement from 1954 for Monster from the Ocean Floor and The Queen of Sheba via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.

On this day, 20 May, in 1936, the actor Anthony Zerbe was born. And he’s still alive. So happy 90th birthday, Anthony!

It’s also James Stewart’s birthday, but I didn’t choose him because I really don’t like him. I like many films he’s in But he makes them worse. He very nearly destroys The Philadelphia Story. Really: I don’t understand how he was ever a star. He was a very annoying guy!

Younger people probably know Zerbe as the least annoying Councillor in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. But he’s a character actor and that means he’s been in a bunch of different things.

He had notable performances in Rooster Cogburn, Who’ll Stop the Rain, and The Dead Zone. But I know him best in the part of Matthias in The Omega Man.

He lost the sight in one of his eyes due to an incident during the filming of this last film. It is unfortunate. But it made him look really cool.

The thing I most like about Anthony Zerbe is that he’s always interesting. Second is that he’s always likable, even when he plays bad guys.

I’m glad he’s still around and still working. Let’s watch The Omega Man.

Other 20 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• David Hedison (1927-2019): Actor best known for the title role in The Fly.
• Timothy Olyphant (1968-): Actor known mostly for Deadwood.

Films:

• The Curse of Frankenstein (1957): The first of the Hammer Frankenstein series.
• Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962): Hot space alien babes try to conquor the world in this Jonathan Haze-scripted cheapie.
• Spacehunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone (1983): Space bounty-hunters rescue hotties from mutants.
• Willow (1988): Fantasy road picture.
• Witchcraft II: The Temptress (1990): Continuation of the first film.
• The Psychic (1992): Psychic vs serial killer who is also his romantic rival.
• Mosquito (1995): Gunner Hansen and others try to survive giant mosquitoes.
• Dr Jekyll & Mistress Hyde (2003): Gender swap on the classic.
• Vampire Vixens (2003): Vampire and nerd team up.
• Black Ops (2008): Rescue mission goes wrong.
• Godzilla (1998): The usual but with Matthew Broderick.
• Danny Johnson Saves the World (2015): Christopher R Mihm made one for the kids!

Anthony Zerbe via Get Great TV under Fair Use.

Concorde Pictures released Food of the Gods II in the United States on 19 May 1989.

This film is a hoot! It has many scenes that are explicitly comedic. One is almost unbelievable until you see it. The main character injects himself with the growth serum and then has sex with his girlfriend. He grows very large, and his girlfriend apparently really appreciates it.

But most scenes are done very seriously. And they are so extreme that they are even more humorous than the comedy scenes. It’s all just incredibly fun!

Yet it doesn’t seem to have found an audience. And that’s sad. All psychotronic fans should find it and watch it fast! (Actually, you’ve already found it. It’s embedded below!)

Its full name is Gnaw: Food of the Gods II. It is about giant rats. So the “gnaw” really sells it!

Supposedly, it is a sequel to Bert I Gordon’s Food of the Gods. (I rank it in the top half of his films.) Like that film, this one also has other giant creatures. Well, one: a young boy. He’s actually the crux of the plot.

The film has been widely criticized for its bad special effects. I thought they were fine. The editing uses them effectively. But most of all, they are very much in keeping with the original film.

If you don’t like this one, I have some romantic comedies I can recommend. (Really! I have nothing against romantic comedies. I’m just not sure why you’re reading Psychotronic Review!)

Other 19 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Bruce Bennett (1906-2007): Actor known for a couple of Tarzan films and The Alligator People.
• Renée Asherson (1915-2014): More a theater actor, she had small parts in The Others and one of my favorites, Theatre of Blood.
• Peter Mayhew (1944-2019): Actor who played Chewbacca in all the Star Wars films through 2015.
• André the Giant (1946-1993): Actor known for The Princess Bride.
• Grace Jones (1948-): Actor known for Conan the Destroyer and Vamp.

Films:

• Witchfinder General (1968): Vincent Price is a vile witch-hunter who uses his power against the people.
• Night of the Cobra Woman (1972): A woman bitten by a cobra can now turn into one. But she must consume young men!
• Fright Night Part 2 (1989): More vampires.
• Road House (1989): Kung Fu guy becomes a bouncer. I don’t remember anything more. It’s that kind of film.
• Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995): One sequel past watchable. By-the-numbers action. Over-long and under-creative.
• Shrek 2 (2004): Ogre meets in-laws.
• Frankenstein’s Bloody Nightmare (2006): The usual story but in the service of reanimating his dead girlfriend.
• See No Evil (2006): Teens sent to clean an abandoned hotel are tormented by a psychopath.
• Beast (2007): Low-budget horror that seems to be about a couple of guys who have to feed a monster. Looks like it’s worth a watch!

Food of the Gods II (1989) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

On this day, 18 May, in 1958, Allied Artists Pictures released Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

I’m a great admirer of 1950s science fiction films. But they aren’t my thing. I rarely seek them out. Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is different. I really like it.

Part of it is what I’m coming to think of as the Dolls Effect. After decades of films where justice plays little role in the resolution, I really like films where the bad people get their due. I call them “feel good” films.

Yvette Vickers is perfect as the comically evil “other woman.” And William Hudson plays the unfaithful husband with a surprising amount of subtlety. He’s clearly pulled in two directions.

Meanwhile, Allison Hayes goes well beyond her pin-up girl good looks and presents a very sympathetic but troubled character. It’s something of a relief when she turns into a monster.

On the downside, the effects in the film are not great. I choose to embrace them. Anyway, it could just be that space alien giants (and their victims) are partially transparent.

The screenplay was written by Mark Hanna, who co-wrote The Amazing Colossal Man the year before. I really like it too but it doesn’t have the heart of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Other 18 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Chow Yun-fat (1955-): Actor known mostly for action roles such as The Killer and The Replacement Killers.

Films:

• War of the Satellites (1958): Roger Corman science fiction-horror film starring Dick Miller. What’s not to like?! It was released as a double feature with Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.
• The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971): They killed Vincent Price’s wife (maybe). And now he has delightfully cruel murders for them!
• Martin (1978): George Romero’s best film was shown at Cannes on this day.
• Teenage Space Vampires (1999): High school horror nerd saves the world from a space alien invasion.
• Shrek (2001): Bad-tempered but loveable ogre saves a princess and finds true love.
• Hard Ride To Hell (2010): A family vacation takes a dark turn when they witness satanic bikers performing a sacrifice.
• Battleship (2012): Film based on the game but with space aliens because what else?!

Attack of the 50 foot Woman by Reynold Brown — Wrong Side of the Art; in the Public Domain.