Reviews

I've seen many John Carpenter films and this one is the best for Carpenter. Aside from the obvious flaws in this film, It's not a bad remake of "The Thing From Another World". The special effects are the only thing worth watching. As far as the characters are concerned, they are so stupid. I mean that they are supposed to be intelligent scientists, but act like a bunch of alcoholic, drug addicted morans who have no clue what they are doing or where they are. I would have expected that Carpenter have more insight into his characters. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate it at 4.5 Look for Kurt Russell in his best acting job since "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" (1970). If you have a weak stomach, don't watch this movie.

I remember Kurt Russell back in his glory days in movies such as "Now You See Him, Now You Don't", "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes", and "The Barefoot Executive". Not to mention cameo appearances in TV shows like "Lost In Space" and "Gilligan's Island". When he started moving up to better? roles, he just wasn't that convincing as a lead actor. When I saw "Escape From L.A.", I couldn't believe how bad it was. I mean this guy couldn't even run, or bounce a basketball. It's a good example of what a Hollywood lifestyle can do to someone. Aside from so-so special effects, it was a disaster not only for Russell but his director John Carpenter as well. John Carpenter's early career was much better. Unless you got something better to do I suggest you "Escape From this Terrible Movie"

Creation of the humanoids is an intelligent look into the world of automation. Apparently, after the earth suffers an atomic war, mankind struggles to rebuild itself with the assistance of robots. But the robots seem to be getting smarter than their creators. Instead of trying to take over, they use their intelligence to make duplicates of man and try to save the human race from dying off due to atomic contamination. If you like adventure, this is not the movie for you.If you like a lot of talk, this is the movie for you. I had to see the movie at least 6 times before I could understand it. There isn't any well known actors but that is understandable when it is a low budget flick. By cutting out action scenes, they were able to produce a film for perhaps as little as $50,000 dollars. If you have this movie, enjoy!

I can't figure out what was in Ed Wood's mind when he made this movie. The acting was so terrible that it was hilarious. Everything from wobbling saucers to Bela Lugosi's screen double made this flick what it is. I'll never forget the scene when the spaceship caught fire and took off from the graveyard and that military general said, "I've got to hand it to them, they're way beyond us". As the scene changes to inside of the flying saucer, we see wooden tables, radio tube equipment, and costumes resembling fifthteen century army outfits. The logo on the uniforms looked like what king Arthur's knight's of the round table would wear. I suppose what really made this film famous was Bela Lugosi's death during the production and the poor attempt to replace him with a screen double (poor Ed Wood couldn't re-shoot the scenes, he was already over budget!). If you haven't seen this movie, your in for a surprize!

Released by Columbia Pictures in 1955 and without trying to mention it's low budget format, Creature with the Atom Brain is quite a sophisticated attempt to resurrect the dead using atomic energy and electronic circuitry. The idea of using a TV screen to receive images from the creatures "eyes" is fantastic. This movie reminds me of fast paced comic book story with a taste of film noir. Richard Denning,the star of this film, made a number science fiction movies in the 1950's before coming over to TV as the governor of Hawaii in "Hawaii 5-0." As far as I know, this movie is not available on the market as a retail product. You can, however, probably get it from a private collector.I think sci-fi fans will enjoy it!

I really got a kick out of watching this movie again after 20 years or so. I found it on Amazon.com in VHS format. Ivan Reiner, who wrote the story, made it believable, not impossible, as some science fiction dramas tend to go. Robert Horton, who came to us from "Wagon Train" plays a no nonsense commander who must save the earth from a meteorite. Unaware to him and the rest of the crew, a fungus like creature that feeds off energy, sneaks aboard a space station and multiples at an alarming rate. This is clearly an American thriller made in Japan. The special effects remind me of Garry Anderson's puppet shows (The Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlett, etc.) There are at least 3 recognizable actors in the movie and the rest are unknowns. It's fun to watch if you like movies about outer space. So go order a copy for yourself and prepare to be amazed! P.S. Some of these VHS copy's sell for $165.00, can you believe it?

Years ago, I remember seeing this movie on a local syndicated TV station. I had completely forgotten about it until I came across a website writing a review about the movie. I tried to find the video but came up empty. After searching for quite awhile, I eventually found a copy. What I can't figure out is that "War of the Satellites" was a project of Roger Corman, a somewhat well known producer and director of low budget sci fi horror films of the 50's and 60's. This science fiction thriller which probably took 2 weeks to make, has a remarkably effective storyline combined with so-so special effects for that time period. This movie is hard to find and if you do happen to locate it, I would suggest getting it because it's not that bad of a rotten tomato.

When I first heard of the title, I thought it was another stupid back yard production by some amateur film maker. But when I saw the show I was pleasantly surprised. Of course this is a low budget thriller and the story is quite interesting. Most of the actors in this movie are professionals who have appeared in other films, the quality of the film print is above average and the scenery is very colorful as compared to to other similar low budget "C" movies. But the title can be very misleading. If you are a nostalgic sci-fi buff, I recommend you buying or renting this movie because you just might get a kick out of it. P.S. look for familiar faces as you watch the show.

Loan Shark is a nice little gangster melodrama centering in on the loan sharking racket. By the time this movie was made, George Raft's popularity was dwindling. But for George Raft fans, this movie still makes the grade. In my opinion, with the exception of "Each dawn I Die", "They drive by night" and "Invisible Stripes", his best movies were done in the 1950's. In Loan Shark, Raft is cast as Joe Gargan, a tough ex con who wants to settle down and go straight by working with his brother-in-law's tire company. But alas, the tire plant is infected by a wave of assaults and killings. The plant's general manager pleads with Raft to find the criminals responsible and perhaps put an end to the bloodshed. Watch for Russell Johnson (TV's "the professor" on Gilligan's Island")in an early role.

Originally begun in 1967 under the title "Armageddon 1975", this movie was never actually completed. Why it was never finished is unclear. But somewhere down the line it was scrapped, shelved and forgotten. That was in 1967. Then about five years later, it was rediscovered by some amateur film maker and re-edited into a complete movie. When I first saw this movie, I realized I was watching two different films edited together. The original version stands out from the poor added footage that makes this movie terrible. The added footage alone is what destroys this flick ( too bad the producer couldn't locate the original actors to star in the re-edited version).Also, you'll see lots of footage taken from old Japanease Godzilla and Rodan movies. What a mess! The Doomsday Machine is one DOOMED MOVIE!