First Screen Frankenstein: Edison's 1910 "Frankenstein" (video)

Thomas Edison's film studio released the first screen adaptation of "Frankenstein" in 1910.

The Monster was played by Charles Ogle.

A young scientist named Frankenstein creates life in his laboratory.
But his "perfect being" turns out to be a hideous creature.

Frankenstein's impure thoughts are to blame.

Frankenstein rejects his creation, but it is insanely devoted to him...
...and jealous of Frankenstein's bride-to-be, Elizabeth.

Finally, Frankenstein's pure love for Elizabeth causes the Monster to fade away.

The film was lost for many years.  A rediscovered print became widely seen in the 1970s.


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

Music by Uniq

First Screen Frankenstein: Edison's 1910 "Frankenstein" (video)

DEAD SPACE: AFTERMATH -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 1/20/11

 

Coinciding with the release of Electronic Arts' new videogame "Dead Space 2" comes the animated outer space epic DEAD SPACE: AFTERMATH (2011), which combines a compelling story with fantastic animation to create one of the most intriguing and action-packed sci-fi/horror adventures of recent years.

The four survivors of a catastrophe in deep space are found aboard their wrecked spaceship, the O'Bannon (in a nice nod to the late co-writer of ALIEN) amidst the bloody remains of the crew.  But for Dr. Isabel Cho (Gwendoline Yeo), security chief Kuttner (Christopher Judge), research specialist Stross (Curt Cornelius), and chief engineer Borges (Ricardo Chavira), the nightmare has just begun as they are subjected to brutal interrogation and forced to relive the horror of their recent ordeal. 

The object of all this is a shard of an alien artifact recovered from doomed planet Aegis VII, which is coveted by the powers-that-be for the scientific secrets it holds.  On the journey home, the shard first begins to wield an unearthly influence upon those who touch it, then reanimates the recent dead and transforms them into hideous bloodthirsty creatures.  What happens next is recounted in flashbacks by the four survivors as they are mercilessly grilled by their interrogators.
 

With each segment executed by a different animation director under the supervision of Mike Disa, the unique looks of the four flashback stories reflect the changing perspectives of the narrators.  All are painstakingly detailed and beautifully rendered examples of animation art which are directed with style and creativity. 

Character design and animation are strong--the faces are expressive and the body movements fluid.  The artwork displays a pleasing combination of western and Asian styles, with the framing scenes aboard the rescue ship done digitally.  Voice work is particularly good. 

The outer space scenes are dazzling, as is a superbly suspenseful sequence in which the landing party tries to escape from the surface of Aegis VII as the planet breaks apart around them.  The spaceship O'Bannon's attempt to outrun the shockwave and debris from the exploding planet is another highlight.  Later, the battle between the humans and the creatures is consistently exciting. 

Brandon Auman's script gives the main characters sufficient depth, with security chief Kuttner's story of particular interest.  Having recently suffered the death of his daughter, he begins to have visions of her after touching the shard, and sees his fellow astronauts as monsters trying to kill her.  This, as we discover in graphic terms, leads to all kinds of trouble as his segment reaches a moving climax.
 

Meanwhile the unstable Strosser, who views aliens as mankind's deities, invites disaster by exposing himself to the shard's power and allowing its influence to spread throughout the ship.  His personal story is ultimately much darker than even Kuttner's.  Dr. Cho and Borges are strong characters as well. 

The DVD from Anchor Bay is in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.  Subtitles are in English and Spanish.  No extras besides a trailer for the "Dead Space 2" videogame. 

Some will probably regard DEAD SPACE: AFTERMATH as nothing more than an elaborate commercial for the videogame.  Since I haven't been much of a gamer since the Atari 2600 went the way of the mullet, this doesn't affect my view of it either way.  I simply see it as an impressive, visually stunning animated sci-fi/horror flick that's a lot of fun to watch. 

DEAD SPACE: AFTERMATH -- DVD Review by Porfle

BALLET BLANC -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 10/4/19

 

If you're looking for something weird to watch--and I mean, really weird--look no further than writer-director Anne-Sophie Dutoit's BALLET BLANC (2018).  Because this is one seriously weird movie.

Dark, enigmatic, and practically unfathomable, it's the sort of deeply unsettling narrative that most people will either shrink away from pretty quick or else stay riveted to like a bird being hypnotized by a snake, helplessly waiting for it to strike.

A young orphan boy named Coco (Colter Carlbom-Mann), wearing long, girlish hair and dressed in a white tutu, silently dances a somber ballet during church choir practice while a witchy eccentric, Mrs. Willis (Shelley Starrett), looks on with an appreciative smile. She seems to be recognizing and/or evaluating his potential.

Before we know it, she has somehow adopted the troubled boy--whose parents recently died in a fire from which he narrowly escaped--and is now indoctrinating him, steeping him like a highly-absorbent teabag, in the bubbling cauldron of her own warped and deeply disturbing lifestyle and philosophies.

If any other movie had been photographed this dark, I'd probably think it a flaw. But BALLET BLANC belongs in the dark.

I won't even go into the extremes of strangeness to which both we and the regrettably very impressionable Coco are subjected under flickering candles or the fading glow of eerie twilight where unimaginable things are consumed, graves are exhumed, and the hapless social worker (Brian Woods) who arrives to investigate neighbors' complaints is, by our best guess, doomed.

Woods gains our sympathy playing a character with good intentions whose personal religious faith is seriously tested as things go from uncomfortable to insufferable during his traumatic visit. As the monstrous Mrs. Willis, Starrett out-weirds Susan Tyrell in a chilling, full-bodied performance. And Colter Carlbom-Mann is pretty amazing as Coco, the caterpillar who threatens to emerge from its cocoon a monster.

The film is intensely effective for most of its running time, stumbling only in the final act when the increasingly hostile Coco is being held under scrutiny in a white room and interrogated by mysterious people from behind a two-way glass.

Here, the tightly-knit story begins to unravel a bit as some conventional horror movie elements creep in to undermine our anticipation of a fully original and surprising finale.

Even so, horror fans looking for something immersively dark and disturbing should endeavor to experience BALLET BLANC. It's the sort of creepy-crawly chiller that grabs on and clings to you like a leech.


Read more about it at Indican Pictures

TECH SPECS
Runtime: 90 minutes
Format: 1:78 HD
Sound: Dolby Sr.
Country: USA
Language: English
Rating: Pending
Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette

BALLET BLANC -- DVD Review by Porfle

TEENAGE CAVE MAN (1958) -- Movie Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/19/21

 

Currently watching: Roger Corman's TEENAGE CAVE MAN (1958), starring a young Robert Vaughn as a rebellious teenager in an animal hide mini-skirt who chafes at the tribal law forbidding him to cross the river to the lush and fertile land beyond.

Naturally, this is all in the vein of the then-current craze for teen rebel flicks such as American-International's other genre films I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF, I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN, and BLOOD OF DRACULA, and of course the grandaddy of them all, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE with James Dean.

For Corman, of course, it's a matter of spending as little money as possible (approx. $70,000 according to IMDb) to mold the semblance of a movie out of such meager elements as a barren mountainside location (with cave) and a bunch of people garbed in mangy animal skins.

 

This is augmented by generous stock footage, mainly the familiar iguana-saurus stuff from the much-earlier ONE MILLION B.C. and various other clips to help set the prehistoric mood.  

Vaughn himself sports a stylish caveman ensemble and is both clean-shaven and coiffed in the same modern hairstyle he'd later retain as TV's "Man From U.N.C.L.E."  Older members of his hillside clan are a bit more hirsute, with beards befitting their status as the keepers of "The Word"--which the young caveman is dead set on violating by venturing into the forbidden zone and perhaps even encountering the dreaded creature whose very touch is said to cause death.

Joseph Hamilton (CAT BALLOU, ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES) and Michael Shayne (THE NEANDERTHAL MAN, "The Adventures of Superman") are two of the older actors struggling to hide their embarrassment as tribal elders. Frank De Kova gets to gnaw on the rocky scenery as a hothead who keeps calling for Vaughn to die for his blasphemous actions against tribal law.

 

Some of the younger castmembers include Ed Nelson (A BUCKET OF BLOOD), Jonathan Haze (LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS), Barboura Morris (THE TRIP), and Corman regular Beach Dickerson (CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA), who plays multiple roles including a boy who gets sucked into some quicksand. The very statuesque Darah Marshall ("Lock Up", "Bachelor Father") plays Vaughn's girlfriend, "The Blonde Maiden", in her only film role.

The dialogue is a bit stage-pretentious here and there, complete with the occasional "Aye." Acting is okay, considering these players couldn't have had much to go on in developing their characters.

Vaughn, for the most part, is likably competent but resembles a frat kid hanging around in the wilderness as a pledge challenge. He does, at one point, get to invent the bow and arrow, although it looks like the dime store variety. 

 

Production values are meager to say the least, except for a very good bear costume that's convincingly worn by Dickerson. Other animal props are not so well done.  A big plus is a characteristically bombastic score by the great Albert Glasser, who was famous for wielding the studio orchestra like a blunt instrument.

How much you enjoy TEENAGE CAVE MAN will depend mostly on whether or not you're in the mood to put aside all expectations and lightly indulge in something pleasantly goofy for about 65 minutes. The fact that there's a nifty twist ending left me feeling surprisingly good about the whole thing.

 

TEENAGE CAVE MAN (1958) -- Movie Review by Porfle

Mike Hill -- Super Sculptor!

 

Originally posted on 8/10/09

 

We'd like to introduce you to an amazing artist named Mike Hill, who definitely has a knack for creating some of the most exciting and lifelike sculptures of our movie, TV, and comic book icons that we've ever seen!

To give you an idea of how good his work is, this bust of Maria Ouspenskaya as the old gypsy Maleva in "The Wolf Man" (right) isn't even finished yet (note the clay eyebrows). And take a look at another of his latest projects, a tribute to Elsa Lanchester's "Bride of Frankenstein":

Here, enjoying a spot of tea while being made up once again as the Frankenstein Monster by the great Jack Pierce, is our very own "Dear Boris" (Karloff):

How does Mike render such a masterpiece without a model? "I used stills and DVDs," he informs us. "He [Boris] was sculpted in a water based clay. And cast in silicone. I did not do a lifecast of someone's body--I sculpted the whole thing."

From his bio: "Michael E. Hill was born in Cheshire, England. From an early age he developed a passion for the fantastic whether it be comic books, television or movies...From the age of four Mike's artistic ability started to shine and he began to draw the fantastic images he adored.

"As he grew older, Mike's artistic visions progressed into 3D sculpture and costume and mask making.

"Having become one of the worlds leading figure sculptors and a master of capturing the human likeness, his career to date has included figure kit sculpting, wax figures, creature designing, prosthetic make-up, and creating hyper-real character statues."

Check out Mike's website for many more incredible works of art that should warm the heart and chill the blood of any monster and comics fan. We guarantee you've never seen anything like it!

(Thanks to Mike for the use of these pics and material from his website.)

Mike Hill -- Super Sculptor!