Post by Torgo on Aug 29, 2014 3:18:34 GMT -5
[Rod Serling Voice] There is a place lurking deep in the bowels of cinema in which the unwanted films dwell. Films so bad that the studio washes their hands of it. Or films neglected to the point that they eventually become forgotten. Every once in a while they come out of their dominion and appear in bargain bins for a dollar or two to cash in on impulse buys, to be viewed once and then forgotten once again, to return to the depths of blackness that is…The Public Domain.
Hello all. Torgo here acting as your host through this portion of disrespected cinema that I hold so dear to my soul. I’ve always prided myself in having a wide variety of interests: from art fare to blockbusters, from good movies to bad movies, from old films to new films, from the remembered to the forgotten. I can watch them all (save for Sin City. That pile can rot in hell). I have a few of Mill Creek’s public domain 50 movie packs that I’ve collected over the years, most often to see a movie or two that was inside it, and while I watched quite a few on and off in the sets I never really sat down and watched all of them.
Well I’ve decided. It’s time to put my endurance of tedium to the test. Let’s see what these sets have in store for us, shall we? This started as a continuation to my Shrine to Schlock thread (of which I have worked on more entries on but never posted due to computer issues at the time) but I decided it would be more fun as a new thread.
For those with a stomach like mine, feel free to play along. I’m sure the majority of these movies are on Youtube, if not all. I’ve even added in what I call “Flavor Enhancement” where I suggest snacks, booze, and other things that could help season the film into the perfect viewing experience. It’ll be fun!
MOVIE SIGN!
Carnival of Souls (1962)
IMDB Rating: 7.2
Leonard Maltin Rating: ** 1/2
The sole survivor of a car accident tries to get on with her life but is followed around by a ghostly man.
This cult classic B-movie is fairly similar to a Twilight Zone episode called The Hitchhiker, only with more ghouls and stretching its simple plot far beyond reason. A story like this feels fine at 25 minutes but when one demands our attention for three times that length it starts to wear you down. Especially when it’s pretty obvious what the conclusion is going to be.
The film was dismissed back when it was released, and came in and out of theaters pretty quick. If rumors are to be believed, actress Candace Hilligoss was dropped by her agent after he saw this movie, not wanting any part of it. Certain aspects of it are pretty poor, the acting especially which is of the walk onscreen/declare (don’t say them, DECLARE THEM) your lines/then leave variety. Hilligoss seems to be the only one giving an effort though. The atmosphere uses the black and white photography to its advantage and it looks consistently gorgeous. As a result the film wound up a late night favorite among horror buffs despite its inherent weaknesses. As for myself, it’s hard to care for a movie that’s pointed on a sole trajectory that’s easy to figure out, isn’t given much decent characterization, and feels like for all intents and purposes a waste of time by its “everything is moot” ultimate conclusion. It certainly is spooky at the best of times though, and some of its faults can be attributed to intentional stylistic choice for a dreamlike quality, much like the much more mainstream Nightmare on Elm Street.
Those who follow Mystery Science Theater’s after projects know that Carnival of Souls has been riffed twice. Mike Nelson did a humorous commentary track for the film on Legend Film’s colorized release, as well as provided a more proper Rifftrax for the feature down the line with Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy. Outside of this film, director Herk Harvey is no stranger to riffing either. Primarily a director of instructional shorts, the shorts Cheating, What About Juvenile Delinquency, and Why Study Industrial Arts were featured on MST and Shake Hands With Danger was featured on Rifftrax (as did Juvenile Delinquency). The film was remade in 1998 to little fanfare, but it was produced by famed horror director Wes Craven and co-starred Shawnee Smith of the Saw series.
Flavor Enhancement: Carnival of Souls is just decent enough to be enjoyed sober, so no heavy drinking is required. The imagery might be more effective under some kind of drug though. Let’s go simple and say a joint of marijuana might make this movie the scariest thing on the planet (NOT THAT I ADVOCATE SUCH A THING UNTIL IT’S LEGALIZED COUNTRY-WIDE ::cough::legalize it::cough:: ).
Atom Age Vampire (1960)
IMDB Rating: 3.6
Leonard Maltin Rating: BOMB
A disfigured stripper contemplates suicide after her fateful accident, but an experimental doctor offers to a chance to regain her beauty through a shady treatment. When the results turn out to be temporary, he begins to use the glands of murdered women to keep her beautiful. But the treatments are also turning him into a monster.
There’s a touch of Leech Woman and Werewolf of London here, and the rest is filled out with The Brain That Wouldn’t Die. It’s twice as sleazy as the former two and half of the latter. Sound good? No? Well you’re right. It’s fairly average trash. Not very engaging, but more or less just something to keep on in the background when you’re bored if you’re into goofy horror shows like this.
I had no problem with it. It’s harmless, stupid, and overly dramatic to humorous effect. It’s dubbed too, so it’s got that extra cheese factor going for it. For those looking for something fun to riff at home, I’d call it more advanced stuff, kind of like riffing Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy in season one of MST. If might have been a better episode if more practiced hands, though it’s definitely asking for the treatment. So I’d say pass it up for something easier.
Mildly interesting/irritating: My public domain copy is in widescreen, but instead of filling the screen or centering it, the picture is full screen and pushed to the bottom, giving an odd and large line at the top. Then it readjusts itself as the film goes on. I’ve never seen that on a DVD. Or ever for that matter. Behold the marvels of a budget release!
Flavor Enhancement: This one might ruin any buzz from large alcohol consumption, though I imagine a single beer might make it a smoother one to take. The sleaze of the picture makes gooey snacks such as pizza or nachos seem unappetizing. Go for something simple, like peanuts, cashews, or trail mix, but even then you might want to go light on the munchies.
Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)
IMDB Rating: 3.3
Leonard Maltin Rating: * 1/2
A secret agent infiltrates a gang of mobsters who have stolen money from Cuba’s treasury, and hitch a ride on a boat of revolutionists. A plot to kill the crew and blame it on a sea monster begins to play out, but an actual sea monster begins killing the crew of the ship.
“It was dusk. I could tell because the sun was going down.” (okay…congratulations?)
Wow, didn’t take us long to get to a Roger Corman flick, didn’t it? Apparently filmed around unused footage that was shot The Last Woman on Earth, we’ve definitely got a silly one on our hands. Par for the course for Corman is bad acting, cheap effects and locals, and above all else a laughable monster. And boy does that monster not disappoint. It’s even goofier looking than the Horror of Party Beach! It’s as if Swamp Thing and Cookie Monster had a love child.
Corman also presents the film as a tongue-in-cheek parody, of which he’s very hit and miss with. It works for a flick like Little Shop of Horrors, but with Haunted Sea it falls flat. It might have benefitted more from a tone akin to It Conquered the World, in which some actual peril might have been investing, but in trying to spoof…something (I honestly don’t know what) the premise feels at odds with the approach of the script. It also fails to grasp the audience with a rather bland tale of spies and mobsters when it feels like it would be more at home concentrating on the monster plot. The result is something that’s not engaging, entertaining, or really all that funny. The camp value of the lackluster production almost saves it, as that monster itself really is rich enough to make the movie worth watching at least once.
The film stars a young Robert Towne, who eventually became a screenwriter for many a Tom Cruise movie (including the first two Mission: Impossible flicks). Seeing him as both an actor and a writer, I honestly can’t tell which career should have held a future for him (if any at all).
Apparently the film is a rewrite of another Corman movie from four years prior called Naked Paradise starring Richard Denning and Beverly Garland. I haven’t seen it so I can’t validate anyone’s claim on that. Corman remade the film yet again as a producer in Up from the Depths in 1979 (directed by longtime Corman screenwriter Charles B. Griffith) and by a different crew as Demon of Paradise in 1987. According to IMDB votes Naked Paradise is the best version of the story, though none of them rose above a 4.0.
While Haunted Sea has never been MSTed, all know that Roger Corman is no stranger to the show, having directed It Conquered the World, Teenage Caveman, Viking Women and the Sea Serpent, Gunslinger, and The Undead as well as producing Being from Another Planet and Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell. He also directed Little Shop of Horrors, which was given a Legend Films commentary by Mike Nelson as well as a proper Rifftrax, and The Wasp Woman, which was featured on Cinematic Titanic.
Flavor Enhancement: The movie is so childish that it seems fitting that you’ll be best off with a heaping load of SUGAR for this one. Get some soda (real soda, none of that Diet crap) and a bowl of candy. I’d go with Root Beer, Cherry Coke, or maybe Mountain Dew Code Red for the soda. The candy would be preferably fruity flavored, because of how colorful the movie wants to be despite being filmed in black and white. I’d suggest Skittles, Jolly Ranchers, or Starburst, depending on whether you want something small, everlasting, or chewy.
Nightmare Castle (1965)
IMDB Rating: 5.6
Leonard Maltin Rating: **
A count murders his unfaithful wife and her lover, only to discover that her wealth has been transferred to her institutionalized sister. The count marries the poor mad girl and devises a plan to take the money and have her killed. But she begins to see the vengeful ghosts of those killed. It’s all a hallucination, or is it?
Now this one’s actually pretty damned decent. The production actually feels professional, despite several dips into the silly. I’d even go as far as to say this is one of the cooler haunted house films I’ve ever seen, up there with the likes of Robert Wise’s The Haunting in terms of making the house settings feel alive.
Barbara Steele does double duty as both the murdered wife and her meek and unstable sister, and does a pretty good job at portraying two entirely different characters. However I will admit that the cheesy dub does the acting no favors. Seeing the film subtitled might be the preferable option.
Interesting tidbit I found out while researching this movie: The director initially wanted to keep the black and white photography but have scenes with blood turn the print red. The idea proved to be too expensive and it was dropped. This little touch would have been super cool though.
Flavor Enhancement: Dim the lights to set a mood and watch the black and white photography blend with the shadows. Alcohol is unnecessary as it’s not goofy enough for a buzz. However the sophisticated setting does call for a more advanced drink. Those who like to mix may pick whatever tickles their fancy as long as it’s not too cheerful in flavor. Those who aren’t that talented (like myself) might want to break out a bottle of wine and slowly make your way through a single glass as the film goes on.
Hello all. Torgo here acting as your host through this portion of disrespected cinema that I hold so dear to my soul. I’ve always prided myself in having a wide variety of interests: from art fare to blockbusters, from good movies to bad movies, from old films to new films, from the remembered to the forgotten. I can watch them all (save for Sin City. That pile can rot in hell). I have a few of Mill Creek’s public domain 50 movie packs that I’ve collected over the years, most often to see a movie or two that was inside it, and while I watched quite a few on and off in the sets I never really sat down and watched all of them.
Well I’ve decided. It’s time to put my endurance of tedium to the test. Let’s see what these sets have in store for us, shall we? This started as a continuation to my Shrine to Schlock thread (of which I have worked on more entries on but never posted due to computer issues at the time) but I decided it would be more fun as a new thread.
For those with a stomach like mine, feel free to play along. I’m sure the majority of these movies are on Youtube, if not all. I’ve even added in what I call “Flavor Enhancement” where I suggest snacks, booze, and other things that could help season the film into the perfect viewing experience. It’ll be fun!
MOVIE SIGN!
Carnival of Souls (1962)
IMDB Rating: 7.2
Leonard Maltin Rating: ** 1/2
The sole survivor of a car accident tries to get on with her life but is followed around by a ghostly man.
This cult classic B-movie is fairly similar to a Twilight Zone episode called The Hitchhiker, only with more ghouls and stretching its simple plot far beyond reason. A story like this feels fine at 25 minutes but when one demands our attention for three times that length it starts to wear you down. Especially when it’s pretty obvious what the conclusion is going to be.
Yes, she’s dead. I figured that out pretty much right after the car accident happened.
The film was dismissed back when it was released, and came in and out of theaters pretty quick. If rumors are to be believed, actress Candace Hilligoss was dropped by her agent after he saw this movie, not wanting any part of it. Certain aspects of it are pretty poor, the acting especially which is of the walk onscreen/declare (don’t say them, DECLARE THEM) your lines/then leave variety. Hilligoss seems to be the only one giving an effort though. The atmosphere uses the black and white photography to its advantage and it looks consistently gorgeous. As a result the film wound up a late night favorite among horror buffs despite its inherent weaknesses. As for myself, it’s hard to care for a movie that’s pointed on a sole trajectory that’s easy to figure out, isn’t given much decent characterization, and feels like for all intents and purposes a waste of time by its “everything is moot” ultimate conclusion. It certainly is spooky at the best of times though, and some of its faults can be attributed to intentional stylistic choice for a dreamlike quality, much like the much more mainstream Nightmare on Elm Street.
Those who follow Mystery Science Theater’s after projects know that Carnival of Souls has been riffed twice. Mike Nelson did a humorous commentary track for the film on Legend Film’s colorized release, as well as provided a more proper Rifftrax for the feature down the line with Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy. Outside of this film, director Herk Harvey is no stranger to riffing either. Primarily a director of instructional shorts, the shorts Cheating, What About Juvenile Delinquency, and Why Study Industrial Arts were featured on MST and Shake Hands With Danger was featured on Rifftrax (as did Juvenile Delinquency). The film was remade in 1998 to little fanfare, but it was produced by famed horror director Wes Craven and co-starred Shawnee Smith of the Saw series.
Flavor Enhancement: Carnival of Souls is just decent enough to be enjoyed sober, so no heavy drinking is required. The imagery might be more effective under some kind of drug though. Let’s go simple and say a joint of marijuana might make this movie the scariest thing on the planet (NOT THAT I ADVOCATE SUCH A THING UNTIL IT’S LEGALIZED COUNTRY-WIDE ::cough::legalize it::cough:: ).
Atom Age Vampire (1960)
IMDB Rating: 3.6
Leonard Maltin Rating: BOMB
A disfigured stripper contemplates suicide after her fateful accident, but an experimental doctor offers to a chance to regain her beauty through a shady treatment. When the results turn out to be temporary, he begins to use the glands of murdered women to keep her beautiful. But the treatments are also turning him into a monster.
There’s a touch of Leech Woman and Werewolf of London here, and the rest is filled out with The Brain That Wouldn’t Die. It’s twice as sleazy as the former two and half of the latter. Sound good? No? Well you’re right. It’s fairly average trash. Not very engaging, but more or less just something to keep on in the background when you’re bored if you’re into goofy horror shows like this.
I had no problem with it. It’s harmless, stupid, and overly dramatic to humorous effect. It’s dubbed too, so it’s got that extra cheese factor going for it. For those looking for something fun to riff at home, I’d call it more advanced stuff, kind of like riffing Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy in season one of MST. If might have been a better episode if more practiced hands, though it’s definitely asking for the treatment. So I’d say pass it up for something easier.
Mildly interesting/irritating: My public domain copy is in widescreen, but instead of filling the screen or centering it, the picture is full screen and pushed to the bottom, giving an odd and large line at the top. Then it readjusts itself as the film goes on. I’ve never seen that on a DVD. Or ever for that matter. Behold the marvels of a budget release!
Flavor Enhancement: This one might ruin any buzz from large alcohol consumption, though I imagine a single beer might make it a smoother one to take. The sleaze of the picture makes gooey snacks such as pizza or nachos seem unappetizing. Go for something simple, like peanuts, cashews, or trail mix, but even then you might want to go light on the munchies.
Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)
IMDB Rating: 3.3
Leonard Maltin Rating: * 1/2
A secret agent infiltrates a gang of mobsters who have stolen money from Cuba’s treasury, and hitch a ride on a boat of revolutionists. A plot to kill the crew and blame it on a sea monster begins to play out, but an actual sea monster begins killing the crew of the ship.
“It was dusk. I could tell because the sun was going down.” (okay…congratulations?)
Wow, didn’t take us long to get to a Roger Corman flick, didn’t it? Apparently filmed around unused footage that was shot The Last Woman on Earth, we’ve definitely got a silly one on our hands. Par for the course for Corman is bad acting, cheap effects and locals, and above all else a laughable monster. And boy does that monster not disappoint. It’s even goofier looking than the Horror of Party Beach! It’s as if Swamp Thing and Cookie Monster had a love child.
Corman also presents the film as a tongue-in-cheek parody, of which he’s very hit and miss with. It works for a flick like Little Shop of Horrors, but with Haunted Sea it falls flat. It might have benefitted more from a tone akin to It Conquered the World, in which some actual peril might have been investing, but in trying to spoof…something (I honestly don’t know what) the premise feels at odds with the approach of the script. It also fails to grasp the audience with a rather bland tale of spies and mobsters when it feels like it would be more at home concentrating on the monster plot. The result is something that’s not engaging, entertaining, or really all that funny. The camp value of the lackluster production almost saves it, as that monster itself really is rich enough to make the movie worth watching at least once.
The film stars a young Robert Towne, who eventually became a screenwriter for many a Tom Cruise movie (including the first two Mission: Impossible flicks). Seeing him as both an actor and a writer, I honestly can’t tell which career should have held a future for him (if any at all).
Apparently the film is a rewrite of another Corman movie from four years prior called Naked Paradise starring Richard Denning and Beverly Garland. I haven’t seen it so I can’t validate anyone’s claim on that. Corman remade the film yet again as a producer in Up from the Depths in 1979 (directed by longtime Corman screenwriter Charles B. Griffith) and by a different crew as Demon of Paradise in 1987. According to IMDB votes Naked Paradise is the best version of the story, though none of them rose above a 4.0.
While Haunted Sea has never been MSTed, all know that Roger Corman is no stranger to the show, having directed It Conquered the World, Teenage Caveman, Viking Women and the Sea Serpent, Gunslinger, and The Undead as well as producing Being from Another Planet and Deathstalker and the Warriors from Hell. He also directed Little Shop of Horrors, which was given a Legend Films commentary by Mike Nelson as well as a proper Rifftrax, and The Wasp Woman, which was featured on Cinematic Titanic.
Flavor Enhancement: The movie is so childish that it seems fitting that you’ll be best off with a heaping load of SUGAR for this one. Get some soda (real soda, none of that Diet crap) and a bowl of candy. I’d go with Root Beer, Cherry Coke, or maybe Mountain Dew Code Red for the soda. The candy would be preferably fruity flavored, because of how colorful the movie wants to be despite being filmed in black and white. I’d suggest Skittles, Jolly Ranchers, or Starburst, depending on whether you want something small, everlasting, or chewy.
Nightmare Castle (1965)
IMDB Rating: 5.6
Leonard Maltin Rating: **
A count murders his unfaithful wife and her lover, only to discover that her wealth has been transferred to her institutionalized sister. The count marries the poor mad girl and devises a plan to take the money and have her killed. But she begins to see the vengeful ghosts of those killed. It’s all a hallucination, or is it?
Now this one’s actually pretty damned decent. The production actually feels professional, despite several dips into the silly. I’d even go as far as to say this is one of the cooler haunted house films I’ve ever seen, up there with the likes of Robert Wise’s The Haunting in terms of making the house settings feel alive.
Barbara Steele does double duty as both the murdered wife and her meek and unstable sister, and does a pretty good job at portraying two entirely different characters. However I will admit that the cheesy dub does the acting no favors. Seeing the film subtitled might be the preferable option.
Interesting tidbit I found out while researching this movie: The director initially wanted to keep the black and white photography but have scenes with blood turn the print red. The idea proved to be too expensive and it was dropped. This little touch would have been super cool though.
Flavor Enhancement: Dim the lights to set a mood and watch the black and white photography blend with the shadows. Alcohol is unnecessary as it’s not goofy enough for a buzz. However the sophisticated setting does call for a more advanced drink. Those who like to mix may pick whatever tickles their fancy as long as it’s not too cheerful in flavor. Those who aren’t that talented (like myself) might want to break out a bottle of wine and slowly make your way through a single glass as the film goes on.