THE SWORD AND THE DRAGON

Andreyev and Myshkova

THE SWORD AND THE DRAGON/aka Ilya Muromets/1956). Director: Aleksandr Ptushko. 

Ilya Muromet (Boris Andreyev) is a Russian peasant who is dismayed that due to injuries that prevent him from walking, he can not fight against the tyranny of the evil Tsar Kalin (Shukur Burkhanov). This changes when he is healed by a passing stranger and given a sword that used to belong to a great hero of old. Ilya meets his beloved, Vasilisa (Ninel Myshkova) and the two are married. In a misunderstanding with Prince Vanda (Andrei Abrikosov), Ilya winds up put in a dungeon even as his wife is spirited away by the Cossack-like Kalin. As years pass, Vasilia resists Kalin's advances but he does turn her and Ilya's little boy, Falcon, into his "son" and one of his best warriors. Freed from captivity, Ilya not only has to face his own son in combat, but also must face a gigantic, three-headed, fire-breathing dragon unleashed by Kalin.

son against father in mortal combat

While it may not be as much fun as American fantasy flicks of this nature, The Sword and the Dragon is a notable film from Russia with some outstanding widescreen cinematography (Yuli Kun; Fyodor Provorov), which helps provide sweeping vistas and elaborately staged battle scenes. It has an excellent story taken from Russian folklore and a fine score by Igor Morozov. The Sword and the Dragon is not really a kid's film -- there's a scene when four men are impaled on one spear -- although it has some fantastical elements. The dragon is a silly-looking full-scale prop that looks like something out of a funhouse. One amazing scene has Kalin ordering his followers to climb on top of one another in the hundreds to create a "mountain of men." And we mustn't forget the obese envoy who comes to town giving orders from Kalin and ultimately regrets it. 

Verdict: Quite interesting Russian fantasy film is definitely worth a look. ***. 

 

NIGHT OF THE DEMON (1957)

NIGHT OF THE DEMON (aka Curse of the Demon/1957). Director: Jacques Tourneur. Screenplay by Charles Bennett and Hal Chester. Based on "Casting the Runes" by M. R. James.

Professor Harrington (Maurice Denham), who has challenged the abilities and veracity of a warlock named Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis), finds himself under a deadly curse, and is found dead and mutilated the following morning. Another skeptic, psychologist John Holden (Dana Andrews), arrives in London and hooks up with Harrington's beautiful niece, Joanna (Peggy Cummins), who is convinced that her uncle's death was not a grotesque accident. Holden is a complete non-believer, but he admits he is baffled by some of the things that have happened since he has encountered Karswell, whose supernatural claims he has come to investigate. Holden discovers that Karswell has secretly passed him a parchment covered in runic symbols which mark Holden as the next victim of a legendary demon. Although Holden scoffs at first, Joanna's near-hysteria and certain occurrences make him wonder if he really has something to fear ...

Dana Andrews and Peggy Cummins

Night of the Demon was released in the U.S. under the title Curse of the Demon with fifteen minutes cut from the running time. It is a superior horror film, with very good performances, a wonderfully creepy atmosphere, adroit direction from Tourneur, and sequences that stay in the memory. Clifton Parker's music adds just the right note, and Edward Scaife's [Tarzan's Three Challenges] cinematography is first-rate. At the time of the film's release and later, there were some who objected to the producers' insistence on including a demon during key sequences, suggesting that this ruined the ambiguity of the film -- is the supernatural real or is everyone over-reacting? -- but there are other sequences in the film (footprints suddenly appearing in the ground where no one is walking; a cat that turns into a much larger feline creature; those hands on the banister) that make it clear that the supernatural events are actually occurring. Besides, the monster looks great. Andrews' panicky run through the midnight woods with something after him is chilling, and despite the film's essential grimness, there is an amusing seance that features comic actor Reginald Beckwith, with Athene Seyler  [I Thank a Fool] as Karswell's conflicted mother. Brian Wilde makes an impression as the haunted prisoner, Rand Hobart, a member of Karswell's sect who has been driven insane. Tourneur also directed I Walked with a Zombie, among many others, but this is by far the better film.

Verdict: A highly effective, engrossing, well-made and scary horror film without a single severed limb and with a fine script by Charles Bennett and Hal Chester. ***1/2.  

PUMPKINHEAD

Lance Henriksen

PUMPKINHEAD (1988). Director: Stan Winston.

Fruit seller Ed Harley (Lance Henriksen of Aliens) has a loving relationship with his little boy, Billy (an appealing Matthew Hurley), but this is shattered when the child is killed in a motorcycle accident. Harley holds responsible a group of young people who came to the country for a drive, some of whom seem irresponsible, to say the least. Remembering an incident from his childhood, Ed goes to see an ancient witch who revives the demon, Pumpkinhead, to help him seek vengeance. However, Pumpkinhead doesn't seem to care if he kills the innocent or the guilty, and Ed tries to save the members of the group who are still alive at great personal cost. 

Pumpkinhead, itself

Pumpkinhead had its admirers back when it was released, but even then I thought it was a disappointment and still feel the same. On one hand it's better than a lot of the tacky mad slasher films that came out around this time and earlier, even if this is really just a comparatively tasteful slasher film with a demon instead of a maniac. The script reads like an old EC Comics revenge story, and hasn't much originality, twists or surprises, except perhaps the bit with Ed turning out to be linked to the monster (although even this has been done before). The picture is also rather slow-moving, the monster is too Alien-like, and the film is never scary or especially suspenseful. The locations all have a sound stage-like artificiality, but there is some atmospheric lighting throughout. The victims aren't quite dimensional enough to really care about. The FX in the film are generally good, however. A major Pumpkinhead franchise did not develop, but there was a direct-to-video sequel, Pumpkinhead: Blood Wings, and a couple of cable follow-ups. Lance Henriksen gives a strong performance. The only other name actor is Jeff East from Superman.  

Verdict: Smash that pumpkin! **1/4.  

  

BEWARE! THE BLOB

Gwynne Gilford and Robert Walker Jr. 

BEWARE! THE BLOB (aka Son of Blob/1972). Director: Larry Hagman.

Chester Hargis (Godfrey Cambridge) brings home a frozen specimen that defrosts and turns into the Blob, and it rapidly devours the residents of a small town, including bowlers and ice skaters. Beware! The Blob could have been a perfectly good sequel to The Blob if the approach had been different. Larry Hagman, who was in-between I Dream of Jeannie and his career-reviving role on Dallas, decided to turn this into a free-wheeling borderline parody despite the fact that the whole premise already has black comedy aspects to begin with. So Hagman cast some friends and character actors and guest-stars -- such as Carol Lynley, Burgess Meredith, and Shelley Berman -- all of whom seem to be having fun, but not one of whom is actually funny. Most of the death scenes are also played for laughs. The shame of it is that the script is workable and there's genuine suspense in the situation at the climax, with hero Bobby (Robert Walker Jr.) trying to freeze the monster while the cops outside start to set fire to the building. Walker and Gwynne Gilford [Fade to Black] as his girlfriend, Lisa, wisely play their roles straight and are all the more effective for it -- there's also a good scene when their car is engulfed by the creature. The special effects are, if anything, even more low-tech than in the original. Veteran Richard Webb [The Invisible Monster] plays Sheriff Jones and Cindy Williams is a party guest who has one excruciating scene with a guy singing and playing guitar. Hagman directed a few television episodes, but mercifully this is the only film he ever helmed.

Verdict: Almost makes the original look like a masterpiece. *1/2.

JAWS 3-D

Watch out for that 3-D shark!

JAWS 3-D (/aka Jaws 3/1983). Director: Joe Alves.

Mike Brody (Dennis Quaid of Far From Heaven), the son of the sheriff of the original Jaws, has designed a Sea World that includes an underwater theme park. Mike's brother, Sean (John Putch), who still has a fear of the water, arrives for the special preview week and meets Mike's girlfriend, a scientist named Kay (Bess Armstrong), and a Sea World employee named Kelly (Lea Thompson of Howard the Duck). A Great White shark is another, unwelcome visitor, but it is captured and put on exhibit -- but then its much larger, thirty-five-foot long mother comes a'callin'. Jaws 3-D has some good moments and a bit of suspense, but it's a little too routine and the special effects -- and 3-D work -- are variable. The shark looks convincing in some shots and is D.O.A. in others. Louis Gossett Jr. plays the owner of the park, and Simon MacCorkindale is a photographer who winds up as dinner. The acting is efficient enough. P. H. Morairty has some good moments as MacCorindale's assistant. Not as bad as many people believe, but not all that it could have been -- it shows definite signs of being rushed out to meet a release date. The "big" scene when the shark rushes towards the control room window and smashes through the glass is creepy but suffers from sloppy process work.

Verdict: The mother-child monster combo was more fun in Gorgo. **1/2.

SAURIAN

SAURIAN, William Schoell. Cemetery Dance; 2017.

Cemetery Dance publishers has released a new epub version of my vintage horror novel Saurian. The book's antagonists are Thomas Bartlett, whose family and entire town were destroyed by a monstrous creature when he was just a boy, and Gareth Bronmore, a real estate developer who seems to prosper as certain properties are ravaged by an unknown and gigantic animal ... an animal that has strangely human eyes.

I admit that Saurian was influenced by such movies as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and The Giant Behemoth, but whereas those movies had one-dimensional characters and fairly basic storylines, as wonderful as they were, I tried to create living, breathing characters for the novel and add some unique elements to the story.

This edition has a spanking new cover by Elder Lemon Design.

Saurian is available on Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes and Noble (Nook) and can also be read on computers and other devices.

JUNGLE MANHUNT

Sheila Ryan and Bob Waterfield

JUNGLE MANHUNT (1951). Director: Lew Landers.

Photojournalist Anne Lawrence (Sheila Ryan) has come to Africa to search for Bob Miller (Bob Waterfield), a former war hero and football player who vanished into the jungle 9 years before. Miller seems to enjoy playing, as Ann puts it, "Great White God" to the natives, but he seems much more benign than certain "skeleton men" -- wearing black uniforms with skeletons painted on them -- who are decimating villages and enslaving many of the natives. Dr. Heller (Lyle Talbot) has cooked up a scheme to mine radioactive igneous rock that can be turned into valuable industrial diamonds. This is one of the better Jungle Jim adventures, with our hero (Johnny Weissmuller) leading Anne and Bob into isolated territory where they encounter a 100 foot lizard that battles a "sailback" crocodile in stock footage, not all of which seems to have come from One Million B.C. Bob Waterfield was a hunky former quarterback who was married to his high school sweetheart, the famous Jane Russell, for twenty-five years. Although he has an appealing personality in this, good looks and a fine physique seemed to be his chief assets and he only appeared in three films; Jungle Manhunt is the only one in which he actually played a character -- he later became head coach for the Los Angeles Rams. Sheila Ryan [Hideout] is a welcome and perky presence in the movie, and Lyle Talbot [The Vigilante], who gets a great death scene, gives a better performance than usual. Rick Vallin, cast again as a native, spends much of his time dealing with chimp Timba. At one point he seems a bit exasperated with his or her antics but on other occasions he certainly acts like he's charmed by the scene-stealing ape, who gets a lot of footage. The shark vs octopus stock footage that we see in so many movies also reappears in this one.

Verdict: 100 foot lizards, pretty gals and football players -- all in one movie! ***.

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Cover: Kealan Patrick Burke

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT. William Schoell. Cemetery Dance.

This, my first published book, was given the generic title of Spawn of Hell by the publisher at the time. Things that Go Bump in the Night was the original title of the book, and we've gone back to that title for the brand new epub edition from Cemetery Dance.

Things was one of the first novels to deal with the subject of recombinant DNA technology, the making of hybrid creatures by splicing together DNA strands from different lifeforms. In this story a struggling artist and a fashion model encounter these strange and terrifying monsters when the couple go to find out what happened to the model's brother, who is found dead and half-eaten. The pair try desperately to stop an attack by these monstrosities -- some of whom have the faces of townspeople -- on the residents of a helpless community.  Imagine being eaten by someone with the face of a person you love, but whose body is incredibly grotesque ... A fun book!

BLOOD BEACH

BLOOD BEACH (1980). Written and directed by Jeffrey Bloom. 

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water you can't get to it."

Harry Caulder (David Huffman), who works for the beach patrol, re-encounters his ex-girlfriend Catherine (Marianna Hill) when her mother, Ruth (Harriet Medin of The Ghost) goes missing. Seems Ruth was just out walking her dog on the beach when she disappeared. Then there are more disappearances, and a young woman covered in sand gets bitten all over her body and goes into shock. There is something under the sand that is pulling people down and devouring them. (One victim is a would-be rapist who gets his penis bitten off!) Captain Pearson (John Saxon) and Sergeant Royko (Burt Young)  lead the investigation, but it is Caulder and Catherine who search for the monster in caverns under the sand. Blood Beach, which may have been influenced by the classic "Invisible Enemy" episode of The Outer Limits, is creepy and suspenseful even if the monster itself is a bit disappointing. The performers are more than adequate, with a dynamic Saxon leading the cast. Four years after this film was released, Huffman, only 39 and with a wife and two children, was murdered by a thief he pursued. Hill [The Baby] has had numerous credits, was off the screen for twenty to thirty years, but has resurfaced in a new movie, Chief Zabu.

Verdict: And you thought sunburn was bad! **1/2.

GREMLINS

Gizmo, the mogwai

GREMLINS (1984). Director: Joe Dante.

Looking for a special present for his son, Billy (Zach Galligan), Randall Peltzer (Hoyt Axton) buys a strange creature called a mogwai from a Chinatown curiosity shop. Christened "Gizmo,' the adorable creature loves to sing, but certain rules regarding the animal must be followed or disaster will follow. Naturally these rules are inadvertently broken and before long the bucolic town of Kingston Falls is besieged by a horde of nasty, chittering "gremlins" causing utter havoc. Gremlins is a pretty silly movie, but it's also an entertaining and amusing one, with an interesting premise (a take on the dangerous and mythical "gremlins" that allegedly plagued airmen and others), and some superior special effects work, especially in puppetry and make-up effects. Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates make a charming romantic couple, and Polly Holliday is fun as the town's heartless old woman who takes a deadly trip on a staircase elevator that goes riotously out of control. Jackie Joseph and Dick Miller [A Bucket of Blood] score as neighbors of the Peltzers, and there's a cameo from Kenneth Tobey as well. Keye Luke, Scott Brady [Mohawk] , and Jonathan Banks [Wiseguy] also have significant roles and are fine. Ditto for Mushroom, who plays the dog, Barry, and nearly steals the picture, no easy feat. There is an uncomfortable aspect to the film, however, and that's that the evil gremlins (as opposed to Gizmo, who in a sense, gives birth to these monsters) are dark in color and there are times when they are clearly modeled on certain black stereotypes -- almost as if the movie is depicting an inner city invasion of a mostly Caucasian town [We see only one black inhabitant, a likable school teacher, who comes afoul of the Gremlins.] None of this may have been intended, but it does seem in bad taste. While there are quite a few inventive ideas in this, the picture needs tightening in both the editing and pacing departments. This was a very, very successful picture and engendered one sequel and a whole slew of imitations. Although several people are apparently killed by the end of the film, the Peltzer family, who essentially created the whole mess, seem completely unaffected by it.

Verdict: Hardly for every taste, but this is an often clever black comedy. ***.

DARK WAS THE NIGHT

DARK WAS THE NIGHT (2014). Director: Jack Heller.

A logging operation not too far away from the town of Maiden Woods drives out a carnivorous creature that seeks sustenance. Sheriff Paul Shields (Kevin Durand), still grieving over the death of one of his two little boys, now has to contend with citizens panicking over old legends, and a barely seen creature that snatches people and leaves parts of their bodies draped over tree branches. Paul gathers everyone in a church, but it seems nothing can stop this hulking, determined monster ... Dark was the Night is not a schlocky syfy channel-type movie, but a well-made theatrical feature with good performances, stabs at characterization, several creepy and suspenseful scenes, and a downbeat, downright depressing conclusion. Even accounting for his character's emotional state, Durand gives an odd and low-key performance, but that adds to the movie's general weirdness. There are nice turns from Bianca Kajlich as the sheriff's wife, Susan; Ethan Kusidman as his son, Adam (where do they find all of these very talented child actors?); and Lukas Haas -- once a child actor himself -- as Deputy Donny Saunders, among others. Ryan Samul's cinematography is a plus, and Darren Morze has contributed a sinister rock theme for the closing credits.

Verdict: A wendigo on the loose. ***.

HOWARD THE DUCK

The "Dark Overlord" about to strike

HOWARD THE DUCK (1986). Director: Willard Huyck.

Due to experiments involving a "laser spectroscope" conducted by Dr. Walter Jenning (Jeffrey Jones), an innocent fellow named Howard (Ed Gale, Chip Zien and others), who lives on a world where ducks are intelligent and capable of speech, is sucked out of his universe and into ours. There he tries to find his way in a strange new world of "hairless apes" while befriended by rock singer Beverly (Lea Thompson) and observed by wannabee scientist Phil Blumburtt (Tim Robbins of Mystic River). Unfortunately Jenning tells them all that his laser beam has also swept up a horrible creature called a Dark Overlord of the Universe, who takes over Jenning's mind even as it hopes to take over the world. Will anyone survive? Well ... Howard the Duck is based on a satirical Marvel comic book and it could easily be dismissed, as it was, as utter schlock were it not for the fact that it has some genuinely amusing moments, good FX, and some good acting from the principals, especially Jones in a funny turn as the possessed, hostile Jenning. The first half of the film, once you get used to the main character being a little guy in a duck outfit, has some minor whimsy to it (as well as a cute scene when a job counselor tells Howard she'll get him a job no matter how weird he tries to look), there's a fairly exciting sequence with Howard and Phil trying to fly off in an odd homemade contraption with wings, and the stop-motion effects [Phil Tippett of Starship Troopers 2] of the giant, slithering, creepy, scorpion-like Dark Overlord are excellent. Unfortunately, this just doesn't add up to a very good movie, and it's often more loud and busy than entertaining. Jorli McLain has a nice bit as a waitress in a diner. John Barry's [Goldfinger] score, including a memorable heroic theme, is better than the movie deserves. Howard was created for the comics by writer Steve Gerber.

Verdict: You want to like it but ...  **.

ALIEN RESURRECTION

Isn't she pretty: an alien-human hybrid

ALIEN RESURRECTION (1997). Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

"I used to be afraid to dream, but no more. No matter how bad the dream gets, when I wake up it's worse."

"I should have known -- no human being is that humane."

Hundreds of years after the events of Alien and Alien 3, a crew of rather rambunctious technicians bring a certain sinister cargo to a humongous U.S. military medical research vessel, where the Army has taken over research into the strange alien species that so bedeviled Ripley. The "cargo" turns out to be kidnapped humans who are deliberately exposed to the alien parasite in an attempt to create more monsters that the military can control. But they make one big mistake: when some of the aliens turn against one of their number, tearing it apart, its acid-blood burns through the floor and releases the aliens! Now it's a fight for survival for the cloned Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who turns out to be part-alien; General Perez (Dan Hedaya); and the technicians, including Call (Winona Ryder); Johner (Ron Perlman of Pacific Rim); Elgyn (Michael Wincott), among others; the nasty Dr. Wren (J. E. Freeman); and the terrified Purvis (Leland Orser of The Guest), who is one of the poor souls with an alien egg implanted within him. Now the ship is about to crash land on earth with all those nasty critters on board! There is not much attempt to create any kind of realistic "future," with the characters using twentieth century slang, and there are other borderline campy moments and dumb dialogue that work against the movie -- no wonder, the screenplay was written by Joss Whedon [Marvel's The Avengers], who did the silly Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- and the pic is terribly cold-blooded to put it mildly, but it is also suspenseful and exciting. The acting is very good from all concerned. Relentlessly downbeat even to the infinitely bleak conclusion. Attempts to create erotic tension between Ripley and the alien queen don't really work.

Verdict: Can't keep those aliens down! ***.

BRING ON THE DINOSAURS!

The Valley of Gwangi

BRING ON THE DINOSAURS!

This week we've got a round-up of movies featuring those delightfully dangerous dinosaurs, beginning with One Million B.C.; going on to Valley of the Dragons, which consisted primarily of stock footage from One Million B.C.; then examining that film's remake with Raquel Welch as a cave woman (!) and its sequel When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth; then an entire Planet of Dinosaurs; Ray Harryhausen's excellent Valley of Gwangi; and finally the much more recent Jurassic World.

And for those who like their dinosaurs in books as well as in the movies, check out the novelMonster World, as well as the non-fiction study Creature Features: Nature Turned Nasty in the Movies, which covers many of these flicks in more detail.

THE BAEN BIG BOOK OF MONSTERS

THE BAEN BIG BOOK OF MONSTERS (Baen; 2014). Edited by Hank Davis.

As a lover of monster stories [the larger the monster the better] and movies -- as well as the author of more than one "giant monster" horror novel -- I looked forward to this compilation of classic creature tales. Unfortunately, the book also includes some new stories by writers whose work has been published by Baen, for publicity purposes, I suppose. So on one hand we have famous stories like H. P. Lovecraft's masterful "The Dunwich Horror" and Robert E. Howard's wonderful "The Valley of the Worm," along with lesser-known gems such as Murray Leinster's "Planet of Dread" and Anthony N. Rud's "Ooze," but on the other hand we've got some pretty bad modern-day monster tales that pad the book and waste paper. There is at least one exception, Steven Diamond's "A Single Samurai," in which a man climbs and attempts to slay a creature of Godzillian proportions. So this is a mixed bag, but it has its pleasures. "The Dunwich Horror" has the countryside beset by a destructive, huge and invisible creature, offspring of a human and a demon; "Valley of the Worm" features a huge serpentine creature that devours entire villages; and "Planet of Dread" takes place on a world full of giant insects where there is added tension due to the feelings and actions of the crew. These and a couple of other stories are worthwhile.

Verdict: Some great stories with others force-fed the readers by the publisher. **1/2.

THE MINOTAUR, THE WILD BEAST OF CRETE

THE MINOTAUR, THE WILD BEAST OF CRETE (aka Teseo contro il minotauro/1960). Director: Silvio Amadio.

Theseus (Bob Mathias) saves the life of a banished princess, Ariadne (Rosanna Schiaffino), whose own wicked sister, Princess Fedra (also Schiaffino), wants to kill her, seeing her as a rival and a threat to her power. Fedra is aided in her evil by the nasty Chirone (Alberto Lupo), who tries to manipulate her father, King Minosse (Carlo Tamberlani). Theseus has Demetrios (Rick Battaglia) on his side, as well as others who are secretly working against bitchy Fedra. When Ariadne is sacrificed along with a batch of virgins to the monstrous minotaur in its cavern, Theseus makes his way into the rocky maze to deal once and for all with the horrible creature. While deliberately-paced, The Minotaur is not a bad Italian fantasy film, and the shaggy, fanged minotaur itself is not too shabby. If you're expecting something along the lines of a Ray Harryhausen fantasy film, however, look elsewhere. California-born Mathias won medals in the Olympics, was a former marine, and after his brief acting career wound up director of Selective Service and a congressman. His performance is okay, and Schiaffino is similarly vivid.

Verdict: Entertaining muscle man-monster movie. ***.

THE MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES

THE MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (aka Perseo L'invincible/Perseus Against the Monsters/1963). Director: Alberto De Martino.

Perseus (Richard Harrison), an "honorary" son of Hercules, becomes embroiled in a war between two kingdoms, Seriglos and Argos. The ranks of the soldiers from the former kingdom, where Princess Andromeda (Anna Ranalli) holds court, have been depleted by a man-eating dragon that emerges from a lake, and many more have fallen victim to a Medusa in a valley whose gaze turns men into stone statues. Perseus must first manage to conquer the dragon, then decides to free all of the soldiers turned to stone by taking on the nearly impossible task of killing the hideous gorgon. Apparently there were a number of Italian mythological flicks made that, at least in their American versions, featured assorted "Sons of Hercules" and this is one of them. Carlo Rambaldi worked on the monsters: a mechanical dragon with limited movement which nevertheless doesn't look too terrible; and the Medusa, who resembles a tree with one yellow glowing eye and many hair-like stalks. Richard Harrison was an American muscle man hired to star in many Italian epics of this nature; he is still working in films at seventy-nine. The settings and music are effective and the film is modestly entertaining, although not in the league of the original Clash of the Titans, which also features Perseus and Medusa. De Martino also directed Kirk Douglas in The Chosen.

Verdict: Fun Italian spectacle. **1/2.

THE FLY II

THE FLY II (1989). Director: Chris Walas.

Martin (Eric Stoltz), the son of Seth Brundle from the remake of The Fly, fully grown at five [!], is raised in an isolated section of a laboratory, whose head, Bartok (Lee Richardson) -- although he pretends to be a father to the boy -- is only hoping to use the creature he'll turn into as a kind of weapon. Martin wants love, and nearly gets it in the form of employee Beth (Daphne Zuniga), but even she is horrified when Martin begins ... changing ... due to his mutated genes. Then the Martin-creature takes off after all of his tormentors with predictable if messy results. The Fly II starts off well -- has some good scenes such as when Martin discovers his beloved dog didn't die but was used in a ghastly experiment -- but quickly becomes schlocky, and not even very good performances from Stoltz, Richardson and others can salvage it, although it is fairly entertaining throughout and moves fast. At least it's better than Return of the Fly, the sequel to the original. Some of the characters in this, such as Dr. Jainway (Ann Marie Lee), are so odious that they seem like variations of Snidely Whiplash!

Verdict: Stick with the first and best. **1/2.

EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS

EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS. August Ragone. Chronicle; 2007.

From the outset and in full disclosure I must say that with one or two exceptions, I'm not a big fan of Japanese monster movies/science fiction. I also wouldn't compare Japanese FX man Eiji Tsuburaya to the great stop-motion specialist Ray Harryhausen, especially when it comes to monsters. Harryhausen brought his creatures to life with painstaking stop-motion animation, while Tsuburaya used "suit-mation" -- a guy in, say, a Godzilla costume -- and some models. I have seen most of the films discussed in this book and have to say there is absolutely nothing to compare to the fight with the skeletons at the end of Jason and the Argonauts. To be fair, Tsuburaya did more than just work on monsters, and the book details his contributions to Japanese cinema while also examining some aspects of his private life. Master of Monsters is well-researched, and packed with loads of behind-the-scenes black and white and color photographs. An over-sized trade paperback, it is printed on thick paper stock. If you're interested in Japanese sci fi and how the films were made, this is definitely the book to get.

Verdict: For fans of Japanese monster movies -- all others beware. ***.

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA Season Three

The Seaview crew must battle a giant lizard in "Night of Terror"

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA Season 3. 1966.

Irwin Allen's series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea had an excellent first season, a good second season -- and then deteriorated badly. The producer clearly thought of it strictly as a Kiddie show, and figured the children wanted more and sillier monsters over good storylines. Reportedly this was extremely embarrassing to star Richard Basehart, who hated the scripts. There were far too many episodes in which Admiral Nelson (Basehart) or Captain Crane (David Hedison) are mesmerized or brainwashed into trying to destroy the Seaview or each other. The nadir of monsters were the idiotic lobster-like creatures (not to be confused with the Lobster Men of the fourth season) of "Doomsday Island." There were very few memorable episodes: "Day of Evil" combines nuclear reactor problems with an alien impersonating Nelson who wants to create a holocaust. "The Thing from Inner Space" features Hugh Marlowe as a TV host urging Nelson to search for a monster that killed his crew. "The Brand of the Beast" has Nelson turning into a werewolf and has some suspense. "The Day the World Ended" is another suspenseful episode in which all life on earth seems to have disappeared. "Deadly Waters" is a serious episode -- and the best of the season -- in which the Seaview is trapped on the ocean's bottom below crush depth. Seaman Riley was replaced by Patterson (Paul Trinka), and the unnamed Ship's Doctor (Richard Bull) made many appearances, along with Kowalksi (Del Monroe) and Sharkey (Terry Becker). The acting was generally quite good, with Basehart, Hedison and the others playing more or less with conviction regardless of how absurd the plots and creatures were, although Admiral Nelson seemed increasingly dyspeptic (along with Sharkey), possibly because of Basehart's feelings about the series. A big lizard from Allen's The Lost World showed up yet again in "Night of Terror."

Verdict: Way too much silliness and stupid scripts. **.