ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

5

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Suppose your friends took you out for a “surprise movie night” and blindfolded you before you arrived at the thereat. They lead you into to the seating area and then remove the blind when the movie starts.

How would you react if you suddenly discovered that the movie was about —

~ A man who pieced together the parts of dead people and then gave life to the piecemeal body!

~ A lost tribe of small “monkey-people” who possess rudimentary intelligence.

~ A virus from space that might wipe out mankind.
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Horror of Frankenstein (1970 England)

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_______________ Horror of Frankenstein 1970)

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With this, the 6th Hammer Frankenstein film, the film series went back to its roots, in a way.

It's kind of a remake of their own The Curse of Frankenstein, updated to fit the wry sensibilities of the late sixties/the seventies, self-aware of its own absurd presentation.

It also seems evident that Hammer intended to restart the series with a new, younger Frankenstein (Ralph Bates). This was the first one without Peter Cushing (the previous film was Frankenstein Must be Destroyed). This retells the story of how Frankenstein inherited his father's estate, went to the best university and then decided to go it on his own during summer break, eventually creating this film's version of the monster (David Prowse).



As the new Victor Frankenstein, Bates is snarky, sarcastic, and callous, with very dry line delivery; he's the sociopath we'd seen when Cushing was at his most abhorrent.

The tone, however, is that of a dark comedy. Bates alternates between bedding his maid (Kate O'Mara) and casually murdering various other characters who might make public his radical work. The operative word here, however, is "might."

One victim, his supposed friend, does threaten to reveal Frankenstein's secrets, but in other cases, Frankenstein seems to kill just for the hell of it. The first two-thirds of the film is interesting as we get to know this amoral young scientist who never seems to take anything seriously and always seems to operate on a lark.



The appearance of the monster takes everything a step back; the creature looks like what he really is, a bodybuilder with a lame skullcap which is supposed to suggest an extra-large cranium. We're left with an unconvincing monster, plunging the film into mediocrity for its final third.

Veronica Carlson as Elizabeth is rather wasted in a simpering role; she's beautiful but serves no function for the entire film. Most of the actors, especially Dennis Price as the ambitious graverobber, do well in their roles. Jon Finch (Frenzy) is in an early role as a classmate of Victor's who eventually becomes the local police chief.

BoG's Score: 7.5 out of 10

_ Brian Trenchard-Smith on The Horror Of Frankenstein


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BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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Skullduggery (1970)

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_________________ Skullduggery 1970 Trailer


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I haven't seen this film since watching it once on TV way back in the mid-seventies. I don't remember any of it. There are a few things I can mention based on info from various sources...

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The film apparently starts out OK, as an exploratory adventure in the wilderness (think an early, less violent version of Congo-1995), but later becomes a mess in its courtroom scenes, involving everything from the Black Panthers (the group, not the felines) to South African racists (a comedic take by Wilfrid Hyde-White). It was probably aiming for dark satire.

I am curious to see this one again after all this time, but as mentioned, there's no DVD and probably not even a VHS version available. You can probably buy some kind of DVD-R version on E-Bay-type sites. Nothing else left to do except to enjoy The Tropi (if you're into really hirsute women) —

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— or, if you prefer the more hairless look (Susan Clark).





BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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The Andromeda Strain (1971)

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________________ The Andromeda Strain 1971


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What an eerie beginning for one of the more scary Sci-Fi thrillers of the sixties-seventies era.

The small town of Piedmont, New Mexico, in the middle of the barren desert, has just lost all of its inhabitants (except for an old man & a baby) to a virus from outer space. A couple of scientists (played by Hill & Olson), looking like visiting aliens themselves in their spacesuits, investigate the dead area.

As with many Sci-Fi films, I first saw this many years ago, when I was in my early teens, on TV. It's one of those films, however, which I've grown to appreciate more & more as I got older. It's based on the novel by Michael Crichton, his first; Crichton went on to direct his own films, starting with Westworld in 1973.

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When I saw this as a kid, I found many sequences to be very dull. Now, as one example, I find the lengthy decontamination sequence to be fascinating, as is everything else. "What A World we're making" Wayne's scientist character says somewhat sadly early in the story. He's commenting on our ever-growing technology as he and Reid's character descend into the special underground installation, Wildfire.

But all the technology associated with that wild underground facility is what sets the hearts of most Sci-Fi fans to beating faster. What a trip it was, and is (since we can still see these scenes on LDs and DVDs).

BoG's Score: 7 out of 10

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A TV REMAKE aired on Monday, 5/26/08 & Tuesday 5/27/08, on the A&E channel, starring Ben Bratt & Ricky Schroeder. Early reviews were not good - Entertainment Weekly gave it a C- grade. Most viewers rated it even less. Other films with those pesky little bug threats include The Satan Bug (1965), Warning Sign (1985) and Outbreak (1995). Also, Stephen King's The Stand (TV-94) used such a lethal virus to wipe out most of humanity. But, here's the original Andromeda Strain film.





BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)