ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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The Good, the Bad, and Ugly of sci-fi movies.

The Good is Dr. Cyclops (1940), and Technicolor sci-fi movie with awesome practical effects.

The Ugly is Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)[b], a movie I’ve seen and wish I cold UN-see it.

The Bad is [b]The Leech Woman (1960)[b] — which is not so much “bad” as just “not so good”.

I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if these three threads get a flurry of new replies — although I’m not real sure how much a “flurry” is.
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[b] Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)



Remember when chest busters were scary?

This stinks, it really does, and this coming from a man who owns and loves many a cheese filled B/Z movie. Although I would in no way say that AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) was a good movie, I have a tiny soft spot and found it watchable at least, this hack job makes that film seem like the pinnacle of creature feature nirvana.

A Predator ship encounters problems on board by way of a newly born predator/alien hybrid, it crash lands on Earth (America) and thus Requiem is born as face huggers go crazy, aliens run amok, predator fights back, and the cast of genre stereotypes kill or be killed, the end!

All the makers have done here (apart from attempting to kill off the franchise it seems) is splice together various staples from the other films in the series. Be it the settings or confrontations, they have just upped the blood quota, so the film has no substance what so ever.

Characters so dense and unlikable you root for the monsters by way of having no choice. Dumb teens in angst, Rambo mom, ex-convict trying to do good, you name it and chances are you have seen it in other rubbish murder death kill movies.

There is gore galore which I'm sure will appease the easily pleased, and in one particularly monstrous scene involving a pregnant woman, a sequence for the squeamish to chat on the playground about come Monday morning.

But you honestly would be better off watching some cheap no-budget slasher film from the 70s, because unlike the money-backed hack directors here, they had an excuse back then. Drek 1/10
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Dr. Cyclops (1940)



Strange how absorbed man has been in the size of things!

Dr. Cyclops is directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack and written by Tom Kilpatrick. It stars Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, Charles Halton and Victor Kilian. Music is collectively arranged by Ernst Toch, Gerard Corbanara and Albert Hay Malotte, and cinematography is by Henry Sharp.

A group of scientists are requested to join Dr. Alexander Thorkel (Dekker) at his remote laboratory in the Peruvian jungle. Once there they find the doctor is losing his sight but working on something very secretive. Soon enough they wish they hadn't stuck around to find out just what it is he is up to.

One of the better of the "mad scientist" movies from the classic era of sci-fi schlockers, Dr. Cyclops boasts nifty effects work, lovely Technicolor and a superb lead performance by Dekker. As in the best traditions of such genre fare, the science is mad as a box of frogs, which here involves miniaturization. Thorkel pushes the boundaries of his work and this puts his "guests" into grave danger as they enter a small world beset with everyday perils.

It's never truly a horror film, as evidenced by the jaunty musical score that accompanies much of the "little people's" adventures as they strive to survive, and this is something that has taken first time viewers by surprise and disappointed them. This really is a picture asking you to enjoy yourself with a smile on your face whilst appreciating the super craft involved for the era.

There's no brainy botherings or statements of metaphoric substance, while away from Dekker the acting is hardly high grade stuff. But transport yourself into this bonkers sci-fi adventure and a good time is assured at the very least. 7.5/10
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The Leech Woman (1960)

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Old women always give me the creeps!

What do you expect from a film called The Leech Woman? It is by definition one of those sci-fi "B" movies strung together as a support feature that played whilst theatre patrons were still necking, chatting and eating etc.

Plot follows in the tradition of something like The Wasp Woman (1959), that plays on the theme of a woman striving to stay young as the advent of time catches up with her. Cue bonkers science, where here it involves a trek to the jungles of Africa to unearth the secret of eternal youth. Naturally things get very bent out of shape and pain and misery are sure to follow.

Thematically it has mixed messages, on one hand it dares to say, unappealingly so, that a woman is only viable for love and happiness by being young and beautiful. On the other hand it is possibly having caustic observations on the dangers of vanity? The makers intentions are not clear so really the viewers are left to their own devices on that one.

It's never scary and some of the latex effects work is poor and befitting the minuscule budget. While the first half hour feels awfully padded out. But all things considered it's not a bottom feeder of the genre, and actually would make a nice companion piece with The Wasp Woman. 5/10
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)