All posts by Ken Miller

Scales (2019)

November 25, 2024 Ken Miller Leave a comment

'Bound by tradition. Controlled by no one.' — ‘Bound by tradition. Controlled by no one.’

The film boasts some stunning landscape shots

Starring Basima Hajjar, Ashraf Barhoum, Fatima Al Taei, Yagoub Alfarhan and Haifa Al-Agha. Written and directed by Shahad Ameen. Produced by R. Paul Miller, Stephen Strachan and Rula Nasser.

The people of a small coastal settlement sacrifice some of their daughters to unseen sea creatures (we only get a brief glimpse of a clawed, webbed, gill-man-style hand) and, in return, the village’s fisherman are able to hunt for Sea Maidens, which are the main food source for the population.

A Sea Maiden that Hayat has dragged to the village

One of the hunters dies from a wound suffered during a fishing trip: it can be dangerous capturing Sea Maidens

Plot-wise, we never discover how the life cycle of the mermaids & mer-creatures actually works. The teenage girls given to the sea in the nighttime ceremonies somehow become the fish-tailed Sea Maidens that are hunted, but just how the female humans mutate into mermaids isn’t explained. Just what is it that the gill-men want: does the transformation of the girls form part of the clawed gill-men creatures’ elaborate reproductive process, perhaps?

A Sea Maiden is caught and dragged onto a fishing boat, where she starts to crawl along the deck.. — A Sea Maiden is caught and dragged onto a fishing boat, where she starts to crawl along the deck…

A close-up shot of the sand-speckled face of the captured Sea Maiden

The main character, an outsider girl called Hayat (Hajjar), has fish scales growing on her left foot – and, when it is her time to be sacrificed to the sea-gods – she survives the ordeal and returns to the village the following morning, dragging a dead Sea Maiden with her. Had Hayat maybe come into contact with a gill-man at a young age, and she’d somehow been turned into a human with slight Sea Maiden qualities? Who knows? The details surrounding the whole ecology of these strange sea beings isn’t gone into by writer-director Shahad Ameen, as already stated, because, for Ameen, this isn’t her main concern. Instead, this wonderful-looking b&w film (a Saudi Arabian/UAE/Jordanian/Iraqi production), filmed around Musandam in Oman, plays out more like an allegory or fable, focusing on how Hayat is instrumental in changing a society’s dark, age-old traditions and practices. The film can definitely be seen as a look at how a determined female character navigates her way through a patriarchal social structure.

Hayat's left foot has fish scales growing on it — Hayat’s left foot has fish scales growing on it

Of the actors, Ashraf Barhoum stands out the most, playing lead fisherman Amer, who starts to see something special in Hayat. Along with lovely landscape photography, the film boasts several memorable moments, including the scene in which the tide withdraws completely, leaving nothing but the dry, cracked seabed.

Ashraf Barhoum, as Amer, imbues his character with thoughtfulness and toughness

A mermaid is found on the dry, cracked seabed — A dead mermaid is found on the dry, cracked seabed

The stranded Sea Maiden is buried by Hayat and her father (played by Yagoub Alfarhan) — The stranded Sea Maiden corpse is buried by Hayat and her father Muthana (played by Yagoub Alfarhan)

(Shahad Ameen also made the 2013 short film EYE & MERMAID, another production that tells a mermaid-focused tale)

In My Mother’s Skin (2023)

November 17, 2024 Ken Miller 3 Comments

Starring Felicity Kyle Napuli, Angeli Bayani, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, James Mavie Estrella, Beauty Gonzalez and Shion Hayakawa. Written and directed by Kenneth Dagatan. Produced by Bianca Balbuena, Stefano Centini and Junxiang Huang Epicmedia.

Do not trust this 'fairy'! — Do not trust this ‘fairy’!

During the Second World War in the Japanese-occupied Philippines, a well-off merchant, who is accused of hiding a stash of gold, decides to seek help, leaving his wife, daughter and son to fend for themselves in their large, isolated home. The daughter, Tala (Felicity Kyle Napuli), encounters a ‘cicada fairy’ (Jasmine Curtis-Smith) dwelling in a derelict, chapel-like jungle shack. This fairy persuades Tala to allow a cicada to crawl into her ill mother’s mouth, which seems to heal her at first, but a large, fleshy cyst develops on the mother’s back… and soon she begins to lose her humanity, eats the pet dog, and pleads to be locked up so that she can’t harm her children. Tala realises that the seemingly friendly fairy can not be trusted, but when her brother, Bayani (James Mavie Estrella), then accidentally shoots himself in the stomach, she’s forced to return to the fairy’s hut-chapel to plead for help again…

She's rockin' a pretty cool headdress! — The ‘fairy’ is rockin’ a pretty cool headdress!

IN MY MOTHER’S SKIN, a Philippines/Singapore/Taiwan production, has a persuasive aura of doom, which is accentuated by the movie’s score. Catholic imagery abounds, with the family home full of statues and other Christian iconography. The ‘fairy’ character, interestingly, resembles a fantastical parody of the Catholic concept of the Virgin Mary. Her striking, gilded costume has a headdress resembling a fan of sparkly insect wings, and she at first comes across as benign and helpful when Tala meets her in the wooden shack in the forest, which has stained glass windows featuring images of ‘angels’ with insect wings.

Tala bows before the ‘cicada fairy’ in her chapel-like shack in the jungle

The film is like a Filipino Guillermo del Toro production, mixing fantasy folktale elements with horror. The horrific aspects of the film include the mother becoming a veiny-faced cannibal with an extendable tongue. Tala uses her animalistic mother to deal with a violent would-be robber at one point, telling the man he can find the hidden, stolen gold in her mom’s bedroom. This crook, of course, gets killed and munched on by the mother. A fantastical component of the tale involves a golden, glowing fruit that the ‘friendly’ fairy instructs Tala to eat. Tala refuses to do this, and horror comes to the fore again as soon as Tala returns to her home, finding Bayani’s severed head lying on the floor and her long-tongued mother waiting to attack her.

Memorable moments include the fairy biting off the head of a bird, and glimpses of the youthful-looking fairy’s true, wizened visage.

Tala's mother becomes a long-tongued killer — Tala’s mother becomes a long-tongued killer

It all ends depressingly, with the newly returned father hugging his son’s severed head and crying, as the movie strives to appear deeper and more meaningful that it actually is, though IN MY MOTHER’S SKIN definitely possesses some rather striking imagery, with the ‘fairy’ character proving to be, without a doubt, the film’s most interesting element.

Under the Shadow (2016)

November 12, 2024 Ken Miller Leave a comment

The djinn, seen as a creepy floating sheet!

'Fear will find you' — ‘Fear will find you’

Starring Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Aram Ghasemy, Arash Marandi and Soussan Farrokhnia. Written and directed by Babak Anvari. Produced by Oliver Roskill, Lucan Toh, Donall McCusker and Khaled Haddad. A Wigwam Films production, in association with Creative Capital and MENA Film, supported by Doha Film institute.

In the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War, young mother Shideh (Narges Rashidi) must look after her daughter Dorsa (Avin Manshadi) alone when her doctor husband Iraj (Bobby Naderi) is assigned to work in a war zone.

Soon Shideh and Dorsa find themselves haunted by a creepy spectre. A neighbour claims that the entity is a djinn, which has been carried there on the unexploded Iraqi missile that has slammed into the top of their apartment block.

Produced by British film company Wigwam Films, this international coproduction (UK, Jordan, Qatar, Iran) expertly builds its atmosphere of unease, akin to a tale from M. R. James.

I liked the choice of locale – Tehran during the conflict between Iran and Iraq – which allowed us to watch a creepy story that featured interesting cultural details, such as the fact that women in this patriarchal society could be punished for not wearing a headscarf – and owning something as innocuous as a Jane Fonda workout videocassette was strictly prohibited.

The different cultural environment also means that we get to encounter a supernatural/folkloric being from another belief system, in this case a djinn. I love the idea that the djinn is snagged from the sky and brought down to earth via the intervention of a missile!

The djinn spirit itself is fleetingly seen as an out-of-focus man, but mainly it is represented as a floating sheet (often resembling a chādor veil), as the stresses of the war build and Shideh is forced to confront the supernatural presence to save her daughter.

Well worth seeking out.

The Cyan Dragon (2020)

October 8, 2024 Ken Miller Leave a comment

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is the-yan-dragon-copy.jpg
This movie features a many-headed monstrosity! — This movie features a many-headed monstrosity!

Starring Cui Erkang, Zhang Ruiyao, Su Suxia, Cheng Qi, Zhang Ying and Yin Shaosheng. Written by Liu Jiahong and Wang Runz. Directed by Ji Zhizhong and Tony Wei. Tencent Penguin Pictures

One of the hydra-creature's toothy heads — One of the hydra-creature’s toothy heads

A dying general transfers the power of the Cyan Dragon into the body of Xiang, a lowly footsoldier, who must learn to harness the energy to defeat an enemy nation led by a villain capable of beckoning a massive, multi-headed monster. The general’s sister, Ling, tutors Xiang on how to use his powers while they head for the frontline of the war, but Xiang must contend with his instincts to avoid the oncoming danger… and he also starts to fall in love with Ling.

THE CYAN DRAGON is a Chinese-made flick that starts with acrobatic 300-style war scenes, set within green screen-type virtual vistas, that are very cool and exciting to watch, with lots of wirework and characters utilising different powers.

Soldiers are routed by the villain's multi-headed serpent beast! — Soldiers are routed by the villain’s multi-headed serpent beast!

This is where we’re first introduced to a group of masked bad guys who look great on-screen. They each have their own supernatural skills: one killer leaves a smoke-like black trail as he swiftly moves about, another has a hand that transforms into a swollen lava-fist, and the chief villain is able to summon a hydra-creature from beneath the earth.

This dude can turn his hand into a big lava-fist!

The masked bad dudes and their hydra-monster!

During this opening skirmish we also get to see how the power of the Cyan Dragon can be used, as the doomed heroic general restructures the material of his sword, causing it to become super-extended, so that he can skewer many adversaries onto his blade at the same time. This battle set piece is great fun and thrilling to watch, so it’s a pity that it is the only such large scale fight featured in the movie.

With Xiang becoming the host to the Cyan Dragon energy, the plot takes time to show us how the protagonist is initially rather unheroic, needing warrior woman Ling to keep him on track. Xiang, Ling and a couple of escorts set off on their mission, where they are stalked by the masked dudes, who use a kind of floating, brass spying drone-device to track them.

Ling, the fighting femme heroine — Ling is the stern, fighting-femme heroine

The ending sees Xiang and Ling fighting the remaining chief villain in a snowy landscape, trying to survive as the baddie briefly subdivides into three different warriors and then expands in size to become a giant fighter with a fiery halo.

When Ling is killed by the villain, Xiang screams in anger and sadness, zooms upwards through the clouds, out of Earth’s atmosphere, entering the void of space! Then he powers back down to Earth, now dressed as the fully-armoured fighter Cyan Dragon!

Our hero slams back down to Earth and says... "My name is Cyan Dragon!" — Our hero slams back down to Earth and says… “My name is Cyan Dragon!”

Cyan Dragon mauls the masked chief, but the villain has one ace left up his sleeve, as he summons the many-headed super-beast once again!

For a while the villain becomes part of the gigantic monster itself, by melding with its throbbing innards

This finale, with the totally CGI Cyan Dragon warrior battling the CGI hydra monster in a CGI landscape, is little more than glorified computer game footage, but it’s fun to watch nonetheless.

When Xiang becomes encased in his armour he does look very CGI, there's no doubt about that, but the action's fun to watch anyway — When Xiang becomes encased in his armour he does look very CGI, there’s no doubt about that, but the action’s enjoyable to watch anyway

The movie is entertaining and thrilling in places, with lots of wirework and too-cool-for-school villains. It’s a shame, then, that the film is so short. It would’ve been more satisfying to see Xiang spend time to fully explore the growth of his powers, and the notion that his energy can be personified and interacted with (it leaves his body a couple of times and takes on the form of a small dragon-creature) should really have been dwelt on longer.

Above: three shots from a scene where Xiang chats with a tiny dragon, which is the embodiment of the energy now inside him

The movie is also known by the title BLUE DRAGON OF ALIEN BATTLEGEAR.

The armoured Cyan Dragon warrior versus the huge hydra-monster!

The Color Out of Space (2010)

August 15, 2024 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Starring Paul Dorsch, Jürgen Heimüller, Ingo Heise, Michael Kausch, Philipp Jacobs, Olaf Krätke, Marco Leibnitz, Ralf Lichtenberg and Patrick Pierce. Written and directed by Huân Vu. Produced by Jan Roth, Peter Tillisch and Huân Vu for Sphärentor Filmproduktionen.

This adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1927 short story ‘The Colour Out of Space’, about the weird effects a meteorite has on local people, animals and plants, switches the tale’s location from the hills near the fictional US town of Arkham over to the Schwäbisch-Fränkischen Forest in Germany.

I like DIE, MONSTER, DIE! (aka MONSTER OF TERROR), which was the colourful, hokey 1965 adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft story that starred Boris Karloff and Nick Adams. I also dig the Richard Stanley-directed version, COLOR OUT OF SPACE (2019), which featured a scenery-chewing turn from Nic Cage and some mutated alpacas! And, I’m glad to say, this low budget German production (original title DIE FARBE) is also well worth a watch.

THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE/DIE FARBE is a lot more faithful to the story than DIE, MONSTER, DIE! was, but, for me, it is less impactful than the 2019 adaptation, which was unquestionably more in-your-face thanks to its psychedelic cosmic horror and its snatches of THING-style body mutations.

A victim of the alien colour briefly seen in THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE (2010) — A victim of the alien colour seen in THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE (2010)

Unlike the 2019 Richard Stanley release, this interpretation, made by German-Vietnamese director Huân Vu, moves at a rather stately pace, which I guess is kind of fitting as Lovecraft’s original stories were not exactly fast-moving yarns. The movie also boasts effective b&w cinematography that helps the production evoke a creepy Lovecraftian mood.

The lack of budget does hinder certain moments, unfortunately, such as the scenes in which we’re meant to believe the pollution from the meteorite has created infected, moving trees, but this mutant woodland is obviously just a series of shots of normal, everyday trees blowing in the wind.

Above: some shots of an oversized mutant wasp briefly seen perched on a woman's head. I would've liked a few more scenes like this! — Above: some shots of an oversized mutant wasp briefly seen perched on a woman’s head. I would’ve liked a few more scenes like this!

The decision to shoot THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE in black and white helps to clearly highlight the new alien colour when it is featured on-screen, but it’s pretty damn hard to make a purple colour particularly scary (and some of the CGI colour blobs are not that realistic). Even so, this German film has gained many fans who consider this to be the adaptation that best captures the mood of the original story, and I definitely appreciate all the effort that was put into this modestly-budgeted production.

The film is mainly shot in b&w... — The film is mainly shot in b&w…

...but occasionally the alien colour purple appears on-screen — …but occasionally the alien colour purple appears on-screen

The Strange World of Planet X (1958)

July 30, 2024 Ken Miller 2 Comments

Starring Forrest Tucker, Gaby André, Martin Benson, Alec Mango, Wyndham Goldie, Dandy Nichols and Richard Warner. Screenplay by Paul Ryder, based on the book by Rene Ray (which was a novelisation of the 6-part television series also written by Rene Ray). Directed by Gilbert Gunn and produced by George Maynard.

'Every second your pulse pounds they grow foot by incredible foot!' — ‘Every second your pulse pounds they grow foot by incredible foot!’

Also known as COSMIC MONSTERS and THE STRANGE WORLD, this b&w British science fiction horror movie tells the story of experiments with magnetism that unleash cosmic rays that turn a hobo into a burnt-faced strangler and enlarges all the local bugs.

This modest production meanders at an unhurried pace to start with, though it’s interesting to check out the mixed acting styles on show here, with Forrest Tucker, as scientist hero Gil Graham, delivering a dependable performance, whilst most of the Brit actors surrounding him come across as really quite stilted. French actress Gaby André, playing fellow scientist Michele Dupont, injects a little Gallic exoticness to the mix, and Martin Benson adds a smidgen of mystery to proceedings as the visitor ‘Smith’, who turns out to be a Klaatu-like alien on a mission to warn Graham and the others that their meddling with Earth’s magnetic field will have deadly consequences.

Michele Dupont (André) and Gil Graham (Tucker) are work colleagues who become fond of each other

After rather too many scenes set in the local pub, the plot thankfully kicks into gear, once all the cosmic ray-affected insects, grubs, millipedes, spiders and even a newt become monster-sized and do battle with soldiers in the woods next to the lab. Woot!

There are a few pub scenes in this movie — There are several pub scenes in this movie

Michele realises that this is a giant insect egg!

The filmmakers certainly include a diverse bunch of critters in this flick, that’s for sure, including a larval dragonfly and cockroaches. Les Bowie, who supplied the special effects (lots of magnified close-ups of creepy crawlies, etc), does a quite decent job, especially if you consider what little time or money he must have had to bring his low budget wonders to the screen.

Watch out! It's a big larval dragonfly! — Watch out! It’s a big larval dragonfly!

The best moment comes when a huge spider fights with a giant cockroach, as the heroine, trapped in the spider’s web, looks on in fear. This sequence is achieved using rear projection, and it looks pretty cool, with tree branches and white strands of prop spider web strung over the rear projection screen, adding a sense of depth and dimension to the visuals. But, when Gil runs up to save Michele, the rear projection image (of the spider) is turned off for some reason, so that the blank rear projection screen can be clearly seen beneath the prop webbing. But, hey, it’s a memorable creature-tastic sequence all the same!

Michele, stuck in the web, watches as the enlarged spider fights the giant cockroach — Michele, stuck in the web, watches as the enlarged spider attacks the giant cockroach

THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X is definitely a cheap and threadbare production, but Tucker brings some much-needed verve to his role, thus preventing the film from becoming too stilted as we wait for the monsters to show up. Along with this production, Tucker also added his gruff, American vigour to the UK-made sci-fi-horror films THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN (1957) and THE TROLLENBERG TERROR (1958). The fact that he was in these three flicks means that I can’t help but rate Tucker highly! What a dude!

Tucker as scientist Gil Graham in THE STRANGE WORLD OF PLANET X

Ultimately, this movie is worth a watch, as it also features a wobbly flying saucer saving the day by blasting the (model) science lab to bits, and the film includes a brief, surprising moment of gore too, as we see a soldier getting his face eaten by a killer bug!

A bug eats a soldier's face! — A bug eats a soldier’s face!

Here are some lobby cards…

Here’s a US poster for the flick…

The poster claims 'this ravaging death overruns the earth...' but the whole story is set in a small UK village! — The poster claims ‘this ravaging death overruns the earth…’ but the whole story is actually set in a small UK village!

Finally, this is a COSMIC MONSTERS promotional sheet that used to form part of a Seven Arts Associated binder. Seven Arts Associated was a television syndication distributor and they published a yearly binder in the 1960s, which showed the films that would be available for television airing/syndication. These binders were sent to the television stations. Anyway, I like the COSMIC MONSTERS artwork used for this promo sheet…

I love the giant spider illustration! — I love this giant spider illustration!

Contamination (1980)

July 21, 2024 Ken Miller Leave a comment

'You feel them in your blood!' — ‘You feel them in your blood!’

Look into my hypnotic eye... — Look into my hypnotic eye…

Starring Ian (ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST) McCulloch, Louise (BLACK MIRROR) Marleau, Siegfried (THE URANIUM CONSPIRACY) Rauch, Marino (TENEBRAE) Masé, Gisela (DEVIL HUNTER) Hahn and Carlo (THE SCORPION WITH TWO TAILS) Monni. Written by Luigi (STARCRASH) Cozzi and Erich (BLOODY MOON) Tomek, directed by Luigi (THE ADVENTURES OF HERCULES) Cozzi, produced by Claudio (THE WITCHES’ SABBATH) Mancini. Special effects by Giovanni (ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS) Corridori.

Ian McCulloch as the alcoholic ex-astronaut Hubbard

Large, green, alien eggs are discovered in a cargo ship and their presence on Earth is linked to a recent space expedition to Mars. One of the astronauts from this martian mission, Commander Hubbard (McCulloch), teams-up with Colonel Stella Holmes (Marleau) to investigate the appearance of these deadly eggs, which burst open when they are disturbed, spraying a sticky fluid that causes victims to explode if it lands on their bodies!

Torso eruptions! There are lots of these gut-plosions!

Hubbard, Holmes and New York police detective Tony Aris (Masé) eventually find themselves in a South American plantation, where a big, cyclopean alien (which had been brought to Earth from Mars as a seed) is using mind control powers to oversee a plan to stockpile vast quantities of the killer green eggs!

Also known as ALIEN CONTAMINATION and TOXIC SPAWN, this Italian-German schlocker is a mishmash of sci-fi, splatter and spy story, with a very nifty music score by the group Goblin that really enhances the viewing pleasure of this fun flick.

Above: two shots of the green, slimy alien eggs

Somehow CONTAMINATION, which is too cheesy and absurd to be taken seriously, found itself on the United Kingdom’s infamous DPP list of ‘video nasties’ in 1984, no doubt because it featured all those shots of people bloodily exploding their intestines and innards everywhere after getting splashed by the goo from the green eggs. These erupting body scenes, obviously inspired by the chestburster incident in ALIEN (1979), are the standout moments in the film, along with the finale, where we’re introduced to the (rather immobile) one-eyed alien. This critter is a pretty cool creation: it has a single, luminous eye, a face that narrows in the middle, and it has several mouths, one of which is on the end of a slimy appendage. The manner in which the alien gobbles up its victims is simultaneously comical and rather revolting. The extraterrestrial beast is well-lit in all its scenes and it makes up for its lack of movement by possessing the psychic ability to FORCE its victims to willingly walk up to it and wait to be eaten!

The appendage-mouth gets ready to start munching a victim!

The silly, ridiculous plot exists purely to give the filmmakers an excuse to include the scenes of bodies detonating in slow motion (plus the lingering shots of the aftermath of these body-eruptions), the shootouts that boast multiple bloody gunshot squibs, the cyclops-alien climax, and the various shots of noisy, glowing eggs.

Above: some of the many bloody scenes from the movie — Above: some of the many splattery moments from the movie

There’s one scene with Stella trapped in a bathroom with an about-to-explode glowing & moaning egg that seems to go on forever: it’s an awesome sequence!

Is this movie (directed by Luigi Cozzi going by the Anglicised name Lewis Coates) a sci-fi-horror classic? Well, it obviously isn’t, but the film IS a slimy, gloopy, gory, gonzo B-movie that is a joy to the eyes and ears, especially if you’re a fan of 80s-era Italian exploitation cinema. Oh, and there’s an exploding rat to look out for too!

Here are some posters for the movie…

Here’s the Arrow Video Blu-ray cover…

Finally, one last look at the splattery action…

Unearthly Stranger (1963)

July 2, 2024 Ken Miller Leave a comment

'Terrifying... weird... macabre!' — ‘Terrifying… weird… macabre!’

Starring John (THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN) Neville, Philip (THE SHINING) Stone, Gabriella (CASINO ROYALE) Licudi, Patrick (VAMPIRA) Newell, Jean (RETURN TO OZ) Marsh and Warren (THE TROLLENBERG TERROR) Mitchell. Script written by Rex (BLOOD OF DRACULA’S CASTLE) Carlton, based on an idea by Jeffrey Stone. Directed by John (OUT OF THE DARKNESS) Krish.

Jean (WILLOW) Marsh plays Dr. Mark Davidson's secretary, Miss Ballard. But who is she really? — Jean (WILLOW) Marsh plays Dr. Mark Davidson’s secretary, Miss Ballard. But who is she really?

A group of British scientists work on a way to project their minds to other worlds (this is never shown or explained) but it turns out that aliens have already learnt how to project their minds to our planet.

The story is set at the Royal Institute for Space Research

Dr. Mark Davidson (Neville) records his outlandish story — Dr. Mark Davidson (John Neville) records his outlandish story

The main protagonist is Dr. Mark Davidson (Neville), who is married to Julie (Licudi), a pretty Swiss woman with some odd traits, including the habit of sleeping with her eyes open and being able to hold hot objects like oven dishes with her bare hands.

Julie can pick up a really hot casserole dish with her bare hands and doesn't feel any pain — Julie picks up a really hot casserole dish and doesn’t feel any pain

Mark seems rather too unwilling to accept that his wife is not human (even though he is at first suspicious), but he’s so in love with her his judgement is clouded. Finally it is revealed that Julie is, in fact, the physical ‘creation’ of an alien’s mind projection: she is actually flesh and blood whilst the alien focuses on keeping her ‘real’, but the alien’s concentration can falter, which is why she forgets to blink and sleeps with her eyes open, etc.

UNEARTHLY STRANGER is a nicely-shot, inexpensive, b&w, low key British science fiction movie with some memorable moments, most notably when the wife ‘Julie’ cries with emotion because Earth children can sense she’s alien… and her tears eat into her skin like acid. This is an effectively-handled sequence, a striking visual idea that illustrates how the alien Julie is so upset she is physically scarred by her own tears. But some viewers might ask why the tears are so corrosive? One could argue that the distraught alien intelligence momentarily forgot what tears were made from and caused acid tears to flow. Or did the alien, which was sent here as a would-be assassin, hurt itself because of guilt? Whatever the reason is, this is a sublime scene that wedges itself in your memory.

All the schoolchildren become aware that Julie is 'different'... — All the schoolchildren become aware that Julie is ‘different’…

...and Julie is upset and begins to cry... — …and Julie is upset and begins to cry…

...and the tears burn her flesh like acid — …and the tears burn her flesh like acid

There are other examples showing what happens when the aliens lose their focus. For instance, when the aliens decide to cease keeping their projections ‘alive’, these ‘people’ simply vanish, leaving behind empty, discarded clothing.

We never see the actual aliens, who are all presumably still residing on their home planet, we only see the human-looking simulacra/projections that the extraterrestrial minds have created.

Discarded clothing after a flesh-and-blood mind projection ceases to exist

Warren Mitchel, who became famous as the bigoted Alf Garnett in the television series TILL DEATH US DO PART, appeared in a whole bunch of genre films, including UNEARTHLY STRANGER, where he plays the doomed Prof. Geoffrey D. Munroe. Garnett was also in THE TROLLENBERG TERROR (1958), THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961), THE NIGHT CALLER (1965), MOON ZERO TWO (1969) and JABBERWOCKY (1977).

Warren Mitchel plays Professor Munroe — Warren Mitchel as Professor Munroe

Patrick Newell is effective as the callous Major Clarke, John Neville is fine as the nervy & distraught hero, and Gabriella Licudi manages to be both rather exotic and sweet-natured at the same time, as the alien who cannot bring herself to kill her designated victim because she has fallen in love with him.

Unseen things out of Time and Space!' — ‘Unseen things out of Time and Space!’

The (rather poor) UK one sheet poster — UK one sheet poster

UNEARTHLY STRANGER is low budget but highly unique.

Let’s finish with a poster from Italy, which tries to trick potential viewers into thinking the movie might feature aliens with sucker-tipped fingers and tentacles…

Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993)

June 23, 2024 Ken Miller 2 Comments

Starring Jeffrey Combs, Tony Azito, Juan Fernández, Brian Yuzna, Bruce Payne, Belinda Bauer, David Warner, Bess Meyer, Signy Coleman, Obba Babatundé and Richard Lynch. Written by Brent V. Friedman, Christophe Gans, Kazunori Itô and Brian Yuzna. Directed by Christophe (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF) Gans, Shûsuke (GAMERA: GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE) Kaneko and Brian (SOCIETY) Yuzna.

This Lovecraftian horror anthology movie features three segments (‘The Drowned’, ‘The Cold’ and ‘Whispers’) and a wraparound tale (‘The Library’) that has Jeffrey Combs playing H. P. Lovecraft himself, hunting down the Necronomicon in a library.

Of the stories, ‘The Drowned’ and ‘Whispers’ are the best of the bunch. ‘The Drowned’, for instance, boasts a fair amount of tentacles, including a massive, cyclopean tentacle-critter, which, of course, is something you definitely want to see in a Lovecraft movie!

A huge, one-eyed tentacle-monster rises!

But it’s the 3rd story, ‘Whispers’, that is the standout tale for me. This segment just gradually gets more and more gory, outlandish and batshit crazy as it progresses.

Signy Coleman plays a cop who finds herself in a cavern of horrors

‘Whispers’ features a cavern inhabited by otherworldly winged creatures that need human victims to enable them to reproduce, so be prepared for gonzo prosthetics, body parts, blood and bat-critters that have their mouths in their bellies!

NECRONOMICON: BOOK OF THE DEAD isn’t big budget, the acting is variable, and I think the production would’ve been better if Brian Yuzna had directed all the segments – but the film certainly pulls out all the stops to offer us loads of old-school practical FX, gore, slime & blood, courtesy of a bunch of special makeup and animatronic effects artists that includes the talented likes of John Carl Buechler, Screaming Mad George, Steve Johnson, Todd Masters and Tom Savini.

Finally, let’s take another look at the gill-man critter that features in ‘The Drowned’ story…

The Magic Sword (1962)

June 16, 2024 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Starring Gary (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY) Lockwood, Basil (SON OF FRANKENSTEIN) Rathbone, Estelle (DARBY O’GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE) Winwood, Anne (NIGHTMARE IN WAX) Helm, Danielle (VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS) De Metz and Maila (PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE) Nurmi. Screenplay by Bernard (THE SPACE CHILDREN) Schoenfeld, from a story by Bert I. Gordon. Directed by Bert I. (THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN) Gordon.

'The most incredible weapon ever wielded!' — ‘The most incredible weapon ever wielded!’

Princess Helene (Helm) is kidnapped by the evil wizard Lodac (Rathbone), who intends to feed her to his two-headed dragon in a week’s time. Young hero George (Lockwood) vows to save Helene, whom he loves, and he isn’t deterred by the fact that Lodac has announced there are seven deadly curses which need to be overcome to reach the dragon’s lair.

Luckily for George, who happens to be the adopted son of a good sorceress called Sybil (Winwood), he is able to equip himself with an anti-black magic sword, a special white steed that is the fastest horse in the world, and an invulnerable suit of armour. He is also accompanied by six magically frozen, valiant knights (all from different countries) that George can reawaken and command. But George is unaware that the arrogant knight Sir Branton, who has also pledged to rescue Princess Helene, is actually a treacherous villain in league with Lodac…

The baddies Lodac and Sir Branton (Liam Sullivan)

Sybil and her two-headed servant (played by twin brothers Nick & Paul Bon Tempi)

I have a soft spot for this cheesy fantasy movie, which is also known as ST. GEORGE AND THE 7 CURSES, THE SORCEROR’S CURSE, ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON and THE SEVEN CURSES OF LODAC. Director Bert I. Gordon, famous for giant creature features like BEGINNING OF THE END (1957), EARTH VS THE SPIDER (1958) and THE FOOD OF THE GODS (1976), tries to make this a family-oriented adventure, but he can’t help including elements of horror, such as when a beautiful woman (De Metz) transforms into a grotesque, wonky-eyed vampire hag (played by Maila Nurmi, aka ‘Vampira’).

The pretty maiden Mignonette (De Metz) seems very nice... — The pretty maiden Mignonette (De Metz) seems very nice…

...but she's really a hideous vampire hag (Nurmi)... — …but she turns into a hideous vampire hag (Nurmi)…

...who sinks her fangs into the poor knight's neck! — …and she sinks her fangs into the poor knight’s neck!

More horror-tinged moments include a frothing, bubbling swamp that turns one of the knights into a skeleton, and a swirling, hypnotic vortex that scorches its victims’ blistering skin (which reminds me a little of what happens to the Colonel Breen character in 1967’s QUATERMASS AND THE PIT, when he is hypnotised and fried by the glowing space vessel).

Two of the heroes have their flesh sizzled by a swirling magical vortex

THE MAGIC SWORD, though made on a low budget, is full of novel incidents, characters and creatures. There’s a huge, snaggle-toothed ogre, a group of little people , a chimp in a tunic, cone-heads & bird-faced minions that do Lodac’s bidding, a two-headed servant, and cave ghosts. Bert I. Gordon also treats us to a big dragon, which he brings to the screen via the use of a pretty nice-lookin’ puppet beast that has two fire-breathing heads! The dragon mainly moves its heads and is rather immobile, but it is a visually cool creation that helps ramp up the movie’s fantasy vibes.

George, on his trusty steed, fights the ogre!

Helene is tied-up, ready to be the dragon's latest victim — Helene is tied-up, ready to be the dragon’s latest victim

This is a colourful romp, no doubt about it, but it’s definitely the pervading air of grimness running through the story that helps THE MAGIC SWORD stick in the memory. Though this was obviously intended to be a kid’s flick, I can’t think of any similar fantasy film from this era that would’ve included the scene where Lodac feeds two pretty princess sisters to his dragon: these princesses get eaten (off-screen) by the dragon as Lodac forces Helene to watch! Even the design of the ogre (played by Jack Kosslyn) has a grimmer-than-usual touch: this humanoid brute already has an injured/paralysed right arm before he even attacks the knights, which makes you wonder what sadistic tortures the ogre may have suffered previously at the hands of his master Lodac.

The ogre starts bleeding after being wounded by a spear

THE MAGIC SWORD is a twisted low rent children’s fantasy-action-adventure that, if you’ve not already seen it, should really be tracked down right away and watched!