Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

ZONTAR THE THING FROM VENUS


ZONTAR THE THING FROM VENUS (1966). Director: Larry Buchanan.

Larry Buchanan remade a number of cheap sci fi movies for television in the sixties, including Zontar, a remake of the vastly superior It Conquered the World. The film basically uses the exact same script with a few minor line changes and references to "Zontar." Zontar, the Venusian creature who comes to Earth to take over with mind-control, looks a little more organic than in the original film, as do the little flying creatures it uses to enslave the brains of humans. John Agar is in the Peter Graves part and Anthony Houston [aka Tony Huston] takes over for Lee Van Cleef. The acting isn't bad, but the movie is cheap and badly produced.

Verdict: Watch the Corman original instead. *1/2.

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