From the DVD case: Them! is a landmark movie about giant radiation-mutated ants that gets better with age and boasts remarkable, Academy Award-nominated special effects. Starring James Whitmore, James Arness and Edmund Gwenn, Them! begins in New Mexico with a child wandering in shock, a ransacked general store and a battered corpse full of enough formic acid to …
Category Archives: Reviews
The War of the Worlds (1953)
From the DVD case: H.G. Wells’ chilling novel of a Martian invasion of Earth becomes even more frightening in this 1953 film adaptation that’s widely regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. An Oscar winner for Best Special Effects, The War of the Worlds delivers eye-popping thrills, laser-hot action and unrelenting, edge-of-your-seat suspense. …
The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)
From the DVD case: The sins of the fathers rest heavily on the heads of the sons – literally – in this fun-filled frightfest that’ll keep you awake and screaming through many a traumatic night. Faced with an age-old family curse that beheaded their forefathers, two brothers attempt to unravel the family plot, even as …
The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)
From the DVD case: Fans of The Incredible Hulk will love this early sixties horror film. After accidentally being exposed to a dose of atomic radiation, a Russian scientist’s body undergoes massive transformation. With this ill-tempered monster out to reek havoc on the world, is anyone safe? (1961, b&w) Mark says: The Beast of Yucca Flats is as …
The Blob (1958)
From the DVD case: One of the great cult classics, The Blob melds ’50s schlock sci-fi and teen delinquency pics even as it transcends these genres with strong performances and ingenious special effects. Made outside of Hollywood by a maverick film distributor, a crew experienced in religious and educational shorts, and a collection of theatrical talent from …
Kingdom of the Spiders (1977)
From the DVD case: William Shatner stars as veterinarian “Rack” Hanson in this cult classic about an Arizona town infested with eight-legged killers, which turn on the humans whose insecticides have depleted their normal food supply. Woody Strode is Rack’s friend, rancher Walter Colby, whose livestock first fall victim to the angry arachnids. Entomologist Diane …
The Thing from Another World (1951)
From the DVD case: Arctic researchers discover a huge, frozen spaceling inside a crash-landed UFO, then fight for their lives after the murderous being (a pre-Gunsmoke James Arness) emerges from icy captivity. Will other creatures soon follow? The famed final words of this film are both warning and answer: “Keep watching the skies!” (1951, b&w) Mark …
Tarantula (1955)
From the video case: Biochemist Leo G. Carroll has a plan to feed the world by using a growth formula on plants and animals. But instead he creates a spider of mammoth proportions with an appetite to match! Feeding off cattle and humans, this towering tarantula has the people of Desert Rock, Arizona, running for …
From Hell It Came (1957)
From the DVD case: Beware Tabanga! On a remote South Seas island, no one is safe from this hideous and unique monster. Tabanga is part man, part tree, all doom. Formerly an island prince, he was unjustly put to death by a witch doctor. Now he’s returned to life with roots, branches, and a vengeance. …
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)
From the video box: In one of his most popular films, Don Knotts stars as a newspaper typesetter whose dream of becoming a reporter materializes after he spends a night in a haunted house. (1966, color) Mark says: Don Knotts may have been a one-trick-pony (all of his roles seem to be a theme on …
The Alligator People (1959)
From the DVD case: A young wife (Beverly Garland) is abandoned by her husband (Richard Crane) on their wedding day. Distraught, she traces him to his ancestral home in the bayous of Louisiana, where, amid the swamps and deadly undergrowth, she discovers a terrible secret. Her husband was saved from death by an experimental medical …
The Manster (1959)
From the DVD case: An American reporter is sent to interview a Tokyo-based scientist. The scientist goes completely mad, and while experimenting with mutations, he turns the reporter into a two headed monster called The Manster, half-man and half-monster. The ending is truly bizarre. (1959, b&w) Mark says: The Manster. Even the title sounds like …
Exclamation Mark's Monster Movie Reviews 