All the Killer Shrews Scenes In "THE KILLER SHREWS" (1959) (video)

(SPOILERS)

Ken Curtis produced both this and "The Giant Gila Monster" in 1959.

Both were filmed outside of Dallas, TX.

A frequent John Wayne co-star, Curtis would gain fame as Festus in "Gunsmoke."
Director Ray Kellogg would co-direct "The Green Berets" with John Wayne.

James Best would find TV fame in "The Dukes Of Hazzard."
Ingrid Goude was Miss Sweden of 1956.
Baruch Lamet was the father of director Sidney Lumet.

The "killer shrews" were actually dogs wearing long hair and fangs.


(Read our review of the movie HERE!)


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

All the Killer Shrews Scenes In "THE KILLER SHREWS" (1959) (video)

When The Universal Monsters Carried The Ladies (video)

Carrying the leading lady is a time-honored tradition among monsters.

Most of Universal's monsters got their chance, but not all.
Neither the Invisible Man nor the Wolf Man had the temperament for it.
The opportunity never presented itself to Karloff's "The Mummy" (1932).

Quasimodo (Lon Chaney, Sr.) carried Esmerelda in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923).

Bela Lugosi carried Helen Chandler in "Dracula" (1931).
Carlos Villarías carried Lupita Tovar in the Spanish version.

Kharis the Mummy carried Peggy Moran in "The Mummy's Hand" (1940)...
...and Elyse Knox in "The Mummy's Tomb" (1942)...
...and Ramsay Ames in "The Mummy's Ghost" (1944)...
...and Virginia Christine in "The Mummy's Curse" (1944).

The "Creature From the Black Lagoon" carried Julie Adams in 1954...
...and later Lori Nelson in "Revenge of the Creature."

Out of all his films, the Frankenstein Monster only got to do it once...
...when Bela Lugosi's stand-in Gil Perkins carried Ilona Massey in "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1943). 

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

When The Universal Monsters Carried The Ladies (video)

MORE Lesser Known Stop-Motion Animation Monsters (video)

The most famous stop-motion animators are Willis O'Brien (KING KONG)…

...and Ray Harryhausen (JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS).

But other animators have given us their own interesting creations throughout the years...

The Lost Continent (1951)
The Black Scorpion (Willis O'Brien, 1957)
The Giant Behemoth (Willis O'Brien, 1959)
Dinosaurus! (1960)
Planet of Dinosaurs (1978)
Caveman (1981)


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

MORE Lesser Known Stop-Motion Animation Monsters (video)

Lesser Known Stop-Motion Animation Monsters (video)

The most famous stop-motion animators are Willis O'Brien (KING KONG)…

...and Ray Harryhausen (7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD).

But other animators have given us their own interesting creations throughout the years...

Three Ages (Buster Keaton, 1923)
Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)
Monster From Green Hell (1957)
Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
Equinox (1970)
The Crater Lake Monster (1977)


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Lesser Known Stop-Motion Animation Monsters (video)

Telephone Pole Blooper in "CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON" (Universal-International, 1954) (video)

This classic monster-hunt adventure takes place in the farthest unexplored reaches of the Amazon.

A place untouched by human beings and their scientific gadgets.

So you wouldn't expect to find even the smallest trace of modern technology...much less, a telephone pole. 

Matted widescreen versions of the movie obscure the telephone pole.

But not the original full screen version.

I guess even the Creature has to call Mom on Mother's Day!


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material. Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Telephone Pole Blooper in "CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON" (Universal-International, 1954) (video)

Footy Pajamas Kid vs. The Blob ("THE BLOB", 1958) (video)

 

The Blob terrorizes the town!

Steve McQueen does his best to stop it!

But all hope may, in fact, depend upon...

...Danny, the footy pajamas kid.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!

Footy Pajamas Kid vs. The Blob ("THE BLOB", 1958) (video)

BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 12/16/11

 

I'm not sure how the average H.P. Lovecraft fan will react to it, so my impressions of BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP (2006) were based solely on the movie itself and not on how well or how badly screenwriter Barrett J. Leigh adapted it from Lovecraft's short story.  As such, I found it to be one of the creepiest and most over-the-top horror films I've seen in recent years.

The story takes place in one of those nightmarish insane asylums (circa 1911) in which the grievously abused and neglected patients serve as guinea pigs in the mad experiments of crazed doctors.  Young Dr. Eischel (Fountain Yount) is conducting his own really interesting experiment on a catatonic, cadaverous-looking woman named Ardelia--strapped to a chair, her skull has been sawed through for easy pop-top access to her brain, into which Dr. Eischel sticks electrodes that are hooked up to a device he uses to stimulate various nerve centers.  I was never really sure what his goal was (something about harnessing the enery of thought), but it didn't really matter because the whole thing was wonderfully weird and horrific. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Wardlow (Kurt Hargan), a profoundly cruel, power-mad alienist (okay, I had to look it up--"alienist: n. 'A physician who has been accepted by a court of law as an expert on the mental competence of principals or witnesses appearing before it'", according to www.answers.com) is presiding over the hearing of a wretched piece of human flotsam named Joe Slaader (William Sanderson, BLADE RUNNER, "Newhart"), who has been caught butchering a bunch of his fellow inbred hillbillies and running around in the woods with one of the severed heads.  Dr. Wardlow delights in pointing out Joe's myriad less-appealing qualities, including a large hump in his back that resembles a human face--the result of a fetal twin that didn't quite successfully make it through the gestation process. 

Wardlow, who can't wait to get this guy on an operating table for some good old surgical fun, applies leeches to Joe's body to "suck out the madness" and suggests cutting out the malformed twin, but Dr. Eischel contemptuously derides him as an idiot, initiating an intensely confrontational relationship between the two.  When Dr. Eischel later finds the chance to examine Joe on his own, he discovers that the fetal twin is alive and conscious--in fact, it is the dominant consciousness within the shared body, coming to the fore whenever Joe goes to sleep and telekinetically ripping people to bloody shreds (one of the few coherent things Joe ever says is the chant, "I kiss my loved ones...I go to sleep...I wake up with bad things").  Giddy with anticipation, Eischel vows to circumvent Dr. Wardlow's surgical plans and get Joe hooked up to his brain machine. 



And that's just for starters.  Believe me, this is one weird movie, and it gets weirder by the minute, eventually culminating in a grand, blood-drenched finale in which skulls are drilled, electrodes are implanted into living brains and the brains of several severed heads on spikes, and a terrifying Netherworld creature named Amducious claws its way into our dimension (via some not-so-great CGI). 

Along the way, some of the patients in the asylum find themselves hanging upside-down in their cells by some unseen force as all the flesh is ripped from their bones, and the lovely Ardelia, her body reanimated by Amducious' will, pries the head off of the recently-ousted asylum director who has discovered her in the basement, just as he is about to gleefully rape her.  One thing you have to say about this movie--it's pretty eventful.

It's also very deliberately stylish, and stylized--filmed in black-and-white, with color appearing only in the scenes in which Amducious' presence is felt, BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP is a dizzying collage of wild camerawork and sometimes rapid-fire editing, especially in the deeply unsettling dream sequences.  The most unique thing about it, though, which is also the thing that will turn off many viewers, is the highly stylized acting.  Everyone in the cast attacks their characters as though they were performing in a silent movie or perhaps the most melodramatic Grand Guignol theater presentation imaginable, manically emoting for the people in the back row, and this effect is even carried over into the stagelike makeup, costumes, and set design. 

It's purely intentional on the part of directors Barrett J. Leigh and Thom Maurer, and contributes to the heavy layer of black humor that permeates the entire movie, as well as its oppressive sense of unenlightened antiquity.  I'm sure a lot of people will simply regard this as horrible acting, which, in some cases, it may be.  But it worked for me. 

Will Lovecraft fans like this movie?  I have no idea, but judging from their reactions to most of the previous cinematic adaptations of the author's works, probably not.  On its own terms, however, I found it to be a wildly inventive, nightmarish, shocking, funny, and unabashedly bizarre experience that was enough fun for me to disregard its faults.  Plus, it's a visual feast for gorehounds, who will also be pleased to see Tom Savini in an all-too-brief role early on. 

BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP is a film that is definitely not for everyone, but if you get hooked into it just right, you may have almost as much fun as Ardelia does when Dr. Eischel sticks an electrode into the pleasure center of her brain and turns up the dial.

BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP -- Movie Review by Porfle

Watch a Fake Bullet Bounce Off the Creature's Butt in "Revenge of the Creature" (1955)

Watch a Fake Bullet Bounce Off the Creature's Butt in "Revenge of the Creature" (1955)

All The She-Monster Scenes From "The Astounding She-Monster" (1957) (video)

The She-Monster is played by Shirley Kilpatrick...

..rumored to have later changed her named to Shirley Stoler of "The Deer Hunter" and "Seven Beauties" fame.

Exterior shooting took place in various parks around Los Angeles.
Interiors were shot at Larchmont Studios in Hollywood.

Much of the music was later reused in "The Beast of Yucca Flats" (1961).

Kenne Duncan was an Ed Wood regular, appearing in five of his productions including "Night of the Ghouls."
Often cast as a bad guy, he was known as "The Meanest Man in Movies."

Robert Clarke would star as "The Hideous Sun Demon" in 1958.
Marilyn Harvey's only other movie role was an uncredited bit part in "Rosemary's Baby" (1968).
Bit player Jeanne Tatum (left) had but one other credited role, in "Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow" (1959).

Director Ronald V. Ashcroft hired his own wife Lorraine as Shirley Kilpatrick's stunt double.
Ashcroft was an assistant director on Ed Wood's "Night of the Ghouls."

The Official Razzie Movie Guide lists this as one of the top 100 most amusingly bad movies ever made.

Shirley Kilpatrick rarely turns her back during her scenes because the zipper on her costume broke during filming.

The film was released in the UK under the title "Mysterious Invader."

The film was made in four days with a cost of $18,000...
...and was sold to American International Pictures for $60,000.


Originally posted on 10/3/18

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

All The She-Monster Scenes From "The Astounding She-Monster" (1957) (video)

KILLER CROCODILE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

(Originally posted on 10/2/19)

 

If you loved JAWS and just can't get enough of hapless landlubbers being menaced by a huge, bad-tempered amphibian with a sweet tooth for people, then you may be just the person KILLER CROCODILE (Severin Films, 1989) was made for. Especially if you also love really bad movies that are, for some reason, really fun to watch.

This one finds a group of idealistic young ecologists in the swamps of Santo Domingo, investigating reports that radioactive industrial waste is being dumped there. Toodling around in their flimsy little boat, they present a tasty buffet to the gigantic mutant crocodile that's cruising the area waiting for a chance to sink its teeth into them.

Meanwhile back at the village, an evil industrialist named Foley (Wohrman Williams) is conspiring to dump even more waste as local law official The Judge (a seriously slumming Van Johnson) looks the other way.

Thank goodness grizzled croc hunter Joe (Thomas Moore), sort of a poor man's combination of Crocodile Dundee and Quint from JAWS, is gearing up to go after the creature and hopefully show up in the nick of time when the young ecologists get themselves neck-deep in croc-infested water.

That's really all one needs to know about this frantic little low-budget Italian thriller from prolific producer-director Fabrizio De Angelis (as "Larry Ludman") except that the crocodile scenes are a total hoot.

I love the huge fake-looking monster that lurks around under the surface before crashing through the hull of a boat, chomping the dock out from under the feet of a little village girl, or leaping through the air to snatch someone right off the deck of their boat and into the water to be chowed down upon.

Really, the monster's glorious fakeness is a plus in this case because it just adds to the over-the-top fun factor during its every frenzied appearance in the movie.

This also helps us through the less exciting parts, i.e. the ones featuring actors delivering awful dialogue (as when one of the ecologists whines to croc-hunter Joe to "Stop calling me 'kid'! My name is KEVIN!")

The movie starts with two pre-titles attacks (the first recalls Chrissy's death from JAWS) and gives us plenty of quality croc-time after that with a series of giddy-fun attacks that often end with someone being chomped. Echoes of JAWS abound, including the extremely similar two-note musical theme by composer Riz Ortolani (MONDO CANE, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST) and the final man vs. monster showdown. 

Acting is passable, with Richard Crenna's son Richard Anthony Crenna as the aforementioned "Kevin", the hunkier member of the ecological team who gets the most opportunities to be an unlikely hero when the croc's on the warpath. 

Thomas Moore's "Joe" comes off best as the film's battle-scarred "Quint" substitute, while faded star Van Johnson (THE CAINE MUTINY, EAGLES OVER LONDON, EASY TO LOVE, THRILL OF A ROMANCE) happily overacts his way to a paycheck and a vacation in Santo Domingo with his broad and rather blowsy performance.

Producer-director De Angelis (DR. BUTCHER M.D., EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS) gets the most out of his meager budget during the action scenes, filming that huge, delightfully fake crocodile to its best advantage while fully utilizing some wonderfully lush locations. The film isn't exactly an all-out gorefest but there are some nice splattery touches here and there, including a particularly hemoglobin-hued finale.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films is scanned in 2k from the original negative and looks really good. English and Italian soundtracks are available along with subtitles and captions. Severin's typically full bonus menu offers extensive, informative interviews with members of the cast and crew including:

    The Fearless Crocodile Hunter: Interview with Actor Pietro Genuardi
    It Crawls: Interview with Cinematographer Federico Del Zoppo
    In the Jaws of the Crocodile: Interview with Special Makeup FX Artist Giannetto De Rossi
    Of Crocodiles and Men: Interview with Actor Richard Anthony Crenna
    Trailer
   
Modestly mounted and produced but well-stocked with good old-fashioned bad-movie-style fun, KILLER CROCODILE is the toothy, scaly, blood-splattered bad monster movie that JAWS: THE REVENGE wished it could be.


Buy it from Severin Films

KILLER CROCODILE -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Horror-Whodunit "BEAST WITHIN" Available Now On VOD+Digital -- See Trailer HERE!

Stone Cutter Presents

"BEAST WITHIN"

Available NOW on VOD + Digital

Directed by: Chris Reed & Steven Morana
Starring: Steven Morana, Holly Deveaux, Ari Millen, and Colm Feore


August, a lead gaming developer, is looking forward to finally meeting his online girlfriend, Cheyenne, at a launch party for his new gaming app ‘Werewolves Awaken’. They plan to meet at the VIP event, which is being hosted by an eccentric billionaire at his country estate.

However, the festivities are interrupted by a priest who condemns the party guests as "marked for the beast." Convinced it's a publicity stunt, the party-goers disregard the protest until a dead body is discovered.

August and Cheyenne, along with the remaining guests, become players in a deadly version of the game. Tensions and body counts begin to rise as all question who among themselves could be the ferocious killer - as everyone is a suspect.

BEAST WITHIN made its world premiere at the 2019 Lusca Fantastic Film Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico — winning a Special Recognition Award. The film also screened at the 2019 Spooky Empire Film Festival — winning Best Special Effects and screened at the 2019 ZedFest — winning Outstanding Acting Performances. BEAST WITHIN additionally screened at 2020 Hell’s Kitchen NYC — winning “Best Horror Film,” and Hexploitation Film Festival — winning “Best Monster Award. “


WATCH THE TRAILER:




BEAST WITHIN is directed by Chris Reed and Steven Morana, and written by Rudy Jahchan and Matthew Campagna. Produced by Morana and Nic Izzi, and executive produced by Amy Williams, Spero Stamboullis, and Bruno Marino. Cinematography by David Stuart, edited by Luis Caraza and Garret Henry and music by Arya Safakish (Safakash / Afta Hill). A Build Character production, in association with Little Axe Productions and High Star Entertainment.


RT: 80min | Not Yet Rated

Genre: Horror, Thiller, Whodunit | Canada

Website: beastwithinmovie.com

Facebook: facebook.com/BeastWithinMovie

Instagram: instagram.com/BeastWithinMovie

Twitter: twitter.com/beastwithinmov

BEAST WITHIN is now available on VOD/Digital

Playstation | DirecTV Cinema | Xfinity | Verizon FIOS | AT&T Uverse | COX

Dish on Demand | Spectrum | Optimum | Sling TV

Horror-Whodunit "BEAST WITHIN" Available Now On VOD+Digital -- See Trailer HERE!

Teaching The Space Babes How To Kiss! ("INVASION OF THE STAR CREATURES", 1962) (video)

Two military misfits run into two gorgeous alien babes...

...and in the interest of good planetary relations...

...they teach them what little they know about love!

Bob Ball
Frankie Ray
Gloria Victor
Dolores Reed

I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Teaching The Space Babes How To Kiss! ("INVASION OF THE STAR CREATURES", 1962) (video)

Nailbiting Narrow Escape! From "Horror of Party Beach" (1964) (video)

Two teenage girls are walking down a lonely street at night...

...unaware that they're being stalked by a horrible sea creature!

They're waiting for a ride, but will he get there in time?

See if you can endure the nailbiting suspense!


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Nailbiting Narrow Escape! From "Horror of Party Beach" (1964) (video)

Sylvia Sidney Injured (?) During Monster Attack In "SNOWBEAST" (1977) (video)

Sylvia Sidney's career included such classics as SABOTAGE and DEAD END...
 
...and notable later films such as BEETLEJUICE and MARS ATTACKS!

In 1977 she appeared in the made-for-TV horror SNOWBEAST.

During one scene the 67-year-old actress takes a scary fall...
...which appears to be both unplanned and painful.

It's unlikely that an actress of her age and stature...
...would be expected to attempt such a stunt.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Sylvia Sidney Injured (?) During Monster Attack In "SNOWBEAST" (1977) (video)

Mad Monster Montage From "Horror Of Party Beach" (1964) (video)

As a frenzied newscaster frantically blurts out the news...

...a horror-packed montage of murder and mayhem ensues...

...that outdoes anything in the rest of the movie!

"Sea Monster Kills Girl! Monsters Still At Large!"


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Mad Monster Montage From "Horror Of Party Beach" (1964) (video)

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "THE THING" (1982) (video)

Many fans consider this John Carpenter's best horror film...

...or at least one of the best of the eighties.

It's definitely one of the most effective...

...particularly because of its excellent practical effects.

How much do you remember about it?


Question: What is the movie called in the opening titles?

A. "The Thing (From Another World)"
B. "John Carpenter's The Thing"
C. "The Thing"
D. "John Carpenter's The Thing (From Another World)"
E. "John Carpenter Presents The Thing"

Question: What game machine is MacReady playing?

A. Chess Master
B. Chess King
C. Game Arcade
D. Chess Wizard
E. Chess Magic

Question: Who is killed during the CPR scene?

A. Copper
B. Bennings
C. Childs
D. Clark
E. Palmer

Question: Who does the blood test reveal to be an alien?

A. Nauls
B. Windows
C. Palmer
D. Childs
E. Garry

Question: The last two survivors are MacReady and...who?

A. Blair
B. Childs
C. Garry
D. Windows
E. Nauls


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "THE THING" (1982) (video)

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "ALIEN" (1979) (video)

In the summer of 1979 audiences thrilled to the sci-fi blockbuster ALIEN...

...which would become a bonafide classic of the genre...

...and turn director Ridley Scott and star Sigourney Weaver into household names.

But how much do you remember about it?


Question: What does Kane want when he gets back to Earth?

A. Tall cold beer
B. Some hot sex
C. Gallon of coffee
D. Some decent food
E. Box of donuts

Question: What does Ash try to kill Ripley with?

A. Magazine
B. Wrench
C. Ashtray
D. Pillow
E. Pencil

Question: What quality does Ash admire about the alien?

A. Hostility
B. Survival instinct
C. Purity
D. Intelligence
E. Adaptability

Question: At what point does Ripley stop the self-destruct countdown?

A. 20 seconds
B. 15 seconds
C. 10 seconds
D. 5 seconds
E. She doesn't

Question: What song does Ripley sing while attempting to eject the alien?

A. "Swinging On A Star"
B. "Star Light, Star Bright"
C. "You Are My Lucky Star"
D. "Wishing On A Star"
E. "A Star Is Born"


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it.  Thanks for watching!

Porfle's Trivia Quiz: "ALIEN" (1979) (video)

VIY -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

If you ever wondered what a vintage Russian horror movie would be like, look no further than VIY (Severin Films, 1967). This old-country ghost story of a young would-be monk's terrifying supernatural clash against an undead witch with a thirst for vengeance should check that box on your bucket list quite nicely.

In fact, when this well-produced and beautifully-mounted tale really gets cranked up, some scenes easily match those whacked-out Shaw Brothers martial arts/ghost stories such as HOLY FLAME OF THE MARTIAL WORLD and THE BATTLE WIZARD for sheer supernatural weirdness.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The story begins when a group of rowdy young seminary students are released from the monastery for what amounts to their version of Sprink Break. Three of them, including Khoma (Leonid Kuravlyov), get lost walking to the nearest village and ask for lodging in a secluded house.

When the creepy and rather frightful-looking old crone who lives there begins to come on to Khoma in a (yechhh) seductive manner, he naturally rebels. She then mounts him horseback-style and, swinging her broom and cackling all the way, rides him straight up into the night sky for a harrowing lighter-than-air experience.

Upon landing, Khoma grabs a stick and starts beating her with it. As he does, her features change into those of a beautiful young woman.  Khoma flees from the dying figure and returns to the monastery, only to find the next day that he has been ordered to travel to a house and pray for three days at the deathbed of a woman who, for some reason, has requested him by name. 

After a long wagon journey during which he gets drunk on vodka with his garrulous guides, Khoma arrives at the house to discover two things: one, the woman is dead, and two, she's the same one he beat so savagely the night before. And yes, she was a witch, although her devoted and very imposing father refuses to believe such a thing and threatens Khoma with a deadly lashing if he doesn't fulfill her last wish for him to pray over her.

This, then, results in three successive nights of terror for Khoma which are a grueling ordeal for him and a source of pure, hair-raising entertainment for us horror fans.

After a suspenseful build-up that has us keen with anticipation, directors Konstantin Ershov and Georgiy Kropachyov lock us into that shadowy, decrepit old church with Khoma and the young woman's corpse and then methodically start pulling out all the stops one by one.

The first night is when she initially comes back to snarling, eyeball-rolling life as Khoma furiously recites scripture for all he's worth.  Hastily scrawling a chalk circle around his lecturn, he cowers fearfully as the witch struggles to enter it. The camerawork and direction are wonderfully frenetic here and are matched by the intense performances of the two leads.

And that's just the first night.  At this point we're still in for some of the wildest visuals imaginable, all rendered with fine old-school practical and photo-chemical effects as opposed to the sort of generic CGI that would likely be used today. 

There are ample chills and loads of atmosphere, but on the third night things go from lush Gothic scariness to bizarre, practically Lovecraftian surrealism.  Here, we at last meet Viy (pronounced VEE-Yah) and his repellent minions, and--that's all I'm going to reveal.

Leonid Kuravlyov does a marvelous job as Khoma, and, although we're meant to feel as though the callow priest deserves all of this, I can't help but sympathize with him. His actions during that first encounter with the witch are understandable, and it isn't his fault that his faltering faith provides him little protection against the supernatural horrors he faces later on.

We also discover at one point that he's an orphan who never knew his parents, leading me to assume that he ended up at the monastery because nobody else wanted him and was simply making the best of it despite his carnal weaknesses. This, if anything, makes his spiritual ordeal all the more tragic and affecting to me in addition to its potent visceral horror.

The Blu-ray from Severin Films is pictorially splendid and a pleasure to look at. Both Russian and English-dubbed soundtracks (with subtitles) are available. Bonus features include an interview with Richard (HARDWARE) Stanley, a featurette entitled "The Woods To The Cosmos: John Leman Riley On The History Of Soviet Fantasy And Sci-Fi Film", a trailer, and three scintillating silent films--"Satan Exultant", "The Queen of Spades", and "The Portrait"--from the early days of Russian fantasy-horror cinema.

In today's world of flashy, noisy, jump-scare-ridden CGI fests, VIY comes as a real old-fashioned horror tale that knows what chills us. It's so finely-rendered and effective, in fact, that when it was over I could only wonder where in the heck it has been all my life.


Buy it from Severin Films


Special Features:

    Viy the Vampire: An Interview with Richard Stanley
    The Woods To The Cosmos: John Leman Riley On The History Of Soviet Fantasy And Sci-Fi Film
    Short Silent Films – Satan Exultant, The Queen of Spades, and The Portrait
    Trailer
    English Track

VIY -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

All The Giant Behemoth Scenes From "THE GIANT BEHEMOTH" (1959) (video)

THE GIANT BEHEMOTH is a radioactive monster from the depths of the sea.

The film was known in England as BEHEMOTH, THE SEA MONSTER.

The director, Eugène Lourié, also directed THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS...
...as well as GORGO and THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK.

The stop-motion animation was done in Los Angeles...
...by SPFX pioneer Willis O'Brien of KING KONG fame.

These effects were then integrated into footage filmed in Great Britain.
O'Brien made the most of a relatively low budget.

Audiences noticed the film's similiarities to BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS.

Distributors insisted on such a dinosaur-like creature...
...instead of the script's original radioactive blob.

British film censors originally gave the film an "X" certificate.
This was changed to an "A" after two minutes were removed.


I neither own nor claim any rights to this material.  Just having some fun with it. Thanks for watching!
 

All The Giant Behemoth Scenes From "THE GIANT BEHEMOTH" (1959) (video)

70s Grindhouse Homage "MOMO: THE MISSOURI MONSTER" Arrives September 20th on DVD and VOD from Small Town Monsters

Small Town Monsters Unleashes
"MOMO: The Missouri Monster" 

DVD and VOD Release Announced for September 20th

Narrative Horror/Documentary Hybrid
   
Wadsworth, OH -- Small Town Monsters has announced the September 20th DVD and VOD release of Seth Breedlove's docudrama MOMO: The Missouri Monster.  The latest title to crawl forth from the production powerhouse behind last year's best-selling documentary On the Trail of Bigfoot, MOMO: The Missouri Monster seeks to tell the true, and truly strange story of the Missouri Monster.

The hair-covered, three-toed monstrosity was said to have prowled the forests of Star Hill, near Louisiana, Missouri during the summer of 1972 where it was spotted by terrified citizens for weeks.  The film will be available nationwide on DVD, as well as Vimeo OnDemand, Amazon Instant Video, and VIDI Space.

The case gained national media attention during the '70s and remains one of the largest tourist draws for the tiny town on the banks of the Mississippi River. The latest release from Small Town Monsters and director Seth Breedlove, MOMO: The Missouri Monster is told in both narrative and documentary form. The narrative sections appear as a lost b-movie from the 1970s, inspired by Breedlove's lifelong fascination with grindhouse movies and creature features. The horror film depicts the widely accepted details of the MOMO legend and is eventually contradicted and corrected by the actual survivors who lived through the events. 

Breedlove describes MOMO: The Missouri Monster as "Rashomon meets Creature from Black Lake or The Legend of Boggy Creek". The film stars Adam Duggan and Sara Heddleston, as well as Animal Planet's Cliff Barackman and James "Bobo" Fay with special appearances by Janet Jay and Elizabeth Saint (Ghosts of Shepherdstown). 

Ahead of the national video release, a midnight premiere is scheduled at the Kentucky Theater in Lexington, Kentucky on Friday, September 6th with cast and crew in attendance. The premiere will coincide with Cryptid-Con, a cryptozoology and paranormal convention celebrating its third year and featuring a number of renowned authors, television personalities, and speakers. 

On Friday, September 13th, the Canton Palace Theatre in Canton, OH will play host to the Ohio Premiere of MOMO with cast and crew in attendance. Finally, on September 20th, as MOMO hits audiences nationwide, the Missouri Monster will storm the State Theater in Point Pleasant, WV as part of the kickoff for the annual Mothman Festival.

The year was 1972 and the place was a tiny, quaint, riverfront town called Louisiana, Missouri. On a warm summer evening, two local kids saw a creature in their own backyard holding a dead dog. Before you could say the word "Bigfoot", local media and police officials had pounced on the story.

Overnight Louisiana became "monster central" with creature seekers and monster hunters combing the woods to look for "the thing" that the newspapers had dubbed "MOMO". One particular family was at the center of this whirlwind of activity and as the Missouri Monster sightings began to increase, so did the negative impact on the Harrisons.

In 1975, a film crew set out to tell an over-the-top, filmic version of the MOMO sightings. Due to one reason or another, this should-have-been-cult-classic was never released. Until now.


MOMO: THE MISSOURI MONSTER - Trailer #2:



Buy MOMO: The Missouri Monster

The DVD release of MOMO: The Missouri Monster (SRP $14.99) will exclusively include a 51 minute behind-the-scenes featurette.

 MOMO: The Missouri Monster: USA / 81 min / English

70s Grindhouse Homage "MOMO: THE MISSOURI MONSTER" Arrives September 20th on DVD and VOD from Small Town Monsters