Shocktober - Tumblr Posts
From tomorrow October 1st... SHOCKTOBER!
SHOCKTOBER! Day 1: THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (Dir: Eugène Lourié, 1953).
This sci-fi classic from the heyday of the monster movies marked the cinematic pairing of fantasy titans and lifelong friends, author Ray Bradbury and stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen.
Based upon Bradbury's short story The Fog Horn, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms tells of the mighty Rhedosaurus, a 200 foot, disease-ridden, carnivorous dinosaur frozen in suspended animation for millions of years and unwittingly thawed by an experimental Arctic atomic explosion, Awakened from his frosty slumber, old Rhed proceeds south to North America's east coast and the warmer waters of the Atlantic. En route to New York he overturns a fishing boat and destroys an innocent lighthouse, before rocking up in the Big Apple to wreck havoc in the city, culminating in an awesome Coney Island showdown between monster and military.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
SHOCKTOBER! Day 2: HOUSE (Dir: Steve Miner, 1985).
From Sean S Cunningham, producer/director of Friday the 13th (1980) and Steve Miner, director of Friday the 13th Part II (1981) comes House, a shocker of a markedly lighter tone than the slasher movies for which either was known.
Promoted as a comedy horror, House stars William Katt as horror author Roger Cobb (presumably modeled after Stephen King) a Vietnam vet who is mourning the recent suicide of a beloved aunt and the mysterious disappearance of his young son. Both events are somehow connected to the creepy house which his aunt has left to Cobb in her will. Retreating to his aunt's abode to write a biographical novel based upon his wartime experiences, he is haunted by all manner of apparitions, included that of comrade Big Ben (Richard Moll) who died in Vietnam. Naturally folks think Cobb is crazy. Enlisting the help of amiable neighbour Harold (George Wendt), Cobb battles to overcome both inner-demons and the curse of the house of horrors.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
SHOCKTOBER Day 4: THE BLACK SCORPION (Dir: Edward Ludwig, 1957).
Swapping atomic ants for subterranean scorpions and the Los Angeles sewers for the caverns of the Mexico desert, The Black Scorpion shamelessly hitches a ride on the coattails of monster movie masterpiece Them! (Gordon Douglas, 1954).
An undistinguished B-movie cast of little charisma cannot help but be overshadowed by the giant scorpions rampaging the southern portion of North America. The second hand plot finds the enormous arachnids chowing down on the San Lorenzo locals. Luckily some US scientists are on hand to make sure the pesky critters do not hop the border. Yup, the plot really is as lazy as my description of it.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
THE DEAD DON’T DIE (Dir: Jim Jarmusch, 2019).
Writer/director Jim Jarmusch pays homage to George A Romero in the zombie comedy (zomedy?) The Dead Don’t Die.
Rural small town Centerville finds itself in the midst of of zombie uprising somehow linked to the altering of the Earth's rotation due to polar fracking (?). At the centre of the action are local police chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and his partner, officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver), who must attempt to hold off the meat hungry horde from consuming the community.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK (Dir: Eugène Lourié, 1958).
Low budget sci fi shocker of the ‘good scientist gone bad’ variety, from Paramount Pictures.
With story aspects and visuals borrowed liberally from the likes of Der Golem (Paul Wegener & Carl Boese, 1920) and Frankenstein (James Whale, 1931) The Colossus of New York tells of acclaimed scientist Dr Jerry Spensser (Ross Martin); cut down in his prime on the eve of collecting an International Peace Prize. After relieving the dead body of its brain, his surgeon father (Otto Kruger) and automation expert brother (John Baragrey) promptly insert the cranium into that of a 8 foot metal man and, with some incredible shortsightedness, inexplicably fit the robot with death ray laser eyes! Lamenting the lack of a soul and understandably upset at his brother's romancing of his widow (Mala Powers), Dr Jerry breaks free of the laboratory that binds him, and heads cityward, all eyes blazing! But not before a weirdly touching reunion with his fatherless young son Billy (Charles Herbert).
Full review available to read on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
Reaction(198)||the faceless orange