Tag Archives: Roger Corman

The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

April 24, 2024 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Look into this face... — Look into this face…

Starring Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, David Weston, Nigel Green, Patrick Magee and Skip Martin. Written by Charles Beaumont and R. Wright Campbell. Directed by Roger Corman, produced by Roger Corman and George Willoughby.

Some of the cloaked representations of the killer plagues... — Some of the cloaked representations of the killer plagues…

Prince Prospero (Price) invites a select group of rich, decadent nobles to take refuge in his castle as the Red Death plague ravages the surrounding countryside. Prospero abducts three local villagers, Gino (Weston), Ludovico (Green) and Francesca (Asher), takes them to his castle and plans to corrupt the innocent Francesca with the help of his consort, Juliana (Hazel Court on top form), who wishes to marry Satan. Prospero intends to force Gino and Ludovico to fight to the death as sadistic entertainment for the nobles, and a lavish masked ball is also planned… but a red-cloaked figure crashes this party and brings an end to the jaded revelry…

Skip Martin, as Hop Toad, will get his revenge... — Skip Martin, as Hop Toad, will get his revenge…

Vincent Price, as the satanist Prince Prospero, is excellent here, managing to be equal parts sadistic, theatrical and thoughtful. His character even manages to find a shred of goodness within himself at the end, when he asks for Francesca to be spared.

Price, as Prospero, intends to lead Francesca (Asher) astray

Nicholas Roeg provides the lush technicolor photography for this Roger Corman production, which has an eloquent screenplay, focusing on Prospero’s philosophical musings regarding the nature of evil and innocence, written by Charles Beaumont & R. Wright Campbell, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (1842) and ‘Hop-Frog’ (1849) .

A dream sequence (during Juliana’s fatal betrothal to the devil) utilising expressive dance styles and the climactic masked ball are dealt with in an arty manner (too arty for some viewers, perhaps) that, I think, helps the film become simultaneously lurid & sophisticated.

The revellers, even after they succumb to the Red Death, continue to dance... — The revellers, even after they succumb to the Red Death, continue to dance…

The Red Death reveals his face... and it is the face of Vincent Price! — The Red Death reveals his face… and it is the face of Vincent Price!

Juliana brands herself with an inverted cross

Juliana's dabbling with the occult ends bloodily... — Juliana’s dabbling with the occult ends bloodily…

The title sequences, at the start and at the end, are vividly-coloured and well-planned. They’re just some of the components that make this such a great-looking film. The series of different-coloured rooms in Prospero’s castle are visually striking, as are the hooded figures that personify the various plagues. These cloaked, humanoid representations of plagues are the closest the film comes to having monsters (and my excuse for reviewing THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH on the Monster Zone blog), though the film also treats us to a character dressed in an ape costume, who meets a fiery end.

The hooded plagues discuss how many victims they have claimed

The plagues, all dressed in different coloured robes, prepare to slowly march on towards new lands and new victims

This is my favourite Corman movie. Corman rated this movie as one of his favourites too, though he did complain at the time that the British crew was slow compared to US crews. He did, however, get to use impressive sets from Hal Wallis’ BECKET production and had sumptuous cinematography courtesy of Nicholas Roeg thanks to the fact he made the film in the UK.

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH is imaginative, colourful and exceedingly re-watchable!

'We defy you to stare into this face' — ‘We defy you to stare into this face’

Lancer Books did a novelisation of the movie…

This is the comic book adaptation…

Finally, here’s an awesome Italian poster for the film…

Deathstalker (1983)

December 1, 2023 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Kaira (Lana Clarkson) doesn't wear an awful lot in this movie... — Kaira (Lana Clarkson) doesn’t wear an awful lot in this movie…

Starring Rick (WARRIOR QUEEN) Hill, Barbi (X-RAY) Benton, Richard (FRIDAY THE 13TH: PART III) Brooker, Lana (AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON) Clarkson, Bernard Erhard and Victor Bo. Written by Howard R. (SATURDAY THE 14TH) Cohen and directed by James Sbardellati.

The warrior known as Deathstalker (Hill) goes on a quest to find three objects of power: a chalice, a sword, and an amulet. Deathstalker’s journey will lead him to the castle of a sorcerer, where there is a tournament with different fights to the death…

"I have the power!" Oops, wrong movie — “I have the power!” Oops, wrong movie

Deathstalker is told of his quest by a witch

DEATHSTALKER was one of the many low budget sword and sorcery films that came out in the wake of John Milius’ CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982). This was one of only two films that James Sbardellati directed, as he was usually a first assistant director on such productions as BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (1980), HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP (1980) and THE BEASTMASTER (1982), which is one of my favourite sword and sorcery flicks.

Was that 'tattoo' drawn on with a felt tip pen? — Was that ‘tattoo’ drawn on with a felt tip pen?

DEATHSTALKER, which features a witch, an imp and a weird little finger-eating puppet creature (it also likes to eat eyes), was an Argentine-American co-production (and was the first of several films that Roger Corman produced in Argentina.) As these kinds of threadbare fantasy productions go, DEATHSTALKER is an okay yarn that’s full of oiled warriors, semi-orgies, lots of half-naked women, mud wrestling, a pig-headed, tusked dude and a fairly lighthearted vibe.

The slimy puppet critter has severed hand for lunch! — The slimy puppet critter has a severed hand for lunch!

The movie, though far, far from being a fantasy classic, is certainly more enjoyable than the likes of ATOR, THE FIGHTING EAGLE (1982) and THE WARRIOR AND THE SORCERESS (1984), though it couldn’t possibly live up to the expectations created by Boris Vallejo’s cool poster. The ogre-creature that Boris depicts in his artwork is huge and impactful, gripping a desperate maiden with one huge hand as the beast-man raises a mace against the lithe hero. In the movie itself, this monstrous character is far less imposing, that’s for sure, but he’s still a fun, human-sized, boar-faced brute that enlivens proceedings.

More DEATHSTALKER films were to follow, and they all boasted posters that were always far better than the movies they represented!

A shot of a boar-dude holding a severed arm. Well, this is the Monster Zone, so we need lots of pics of the monsters!

Sadly, Lana Clarkson, who played the blonde warrior woman Kaira, was later murdered by record producer Phil Spector in 2003.

Alright then, one final look at ol’ piggy-features…

Up from the Depths (1979)

November 28, 2023 Ken Miller Leave a comment

Starring Sam Bottoms, Susanne Reed and Virgil (THE CAT CREATURE) Frye. Written by Alfred M. Sweeney and Anne (BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS) Dyer, directed by Charles B. (WIZARDS OF THE LOST KINGDOM II) Griffith and produced by Cirio H. (VAMPIRE HOOKERS) Santiago, Rolando S. Atienza, Roger (DAY THE WORLD ENDED) Corman, Jill (DR. HECKYL AND MR. HYPE) Griffith and Manny Norman. A New World Pictures production.

Cool poster, though the monster definitely doesn't look like that in the movie! — Cool poster, though the monster definitely doesn’t look like that in the movie! Art by the very talented William Stout.

An underwater earthquake releases a big prehistoric fish. Yay!

This fiendish fish flick stars Sam (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW) Bottoms, who also starred in APOCALYPSE NOW, another movie shot in the Philippines. But that’s where similarities end, as UP FROM THE DEPTHS will never be mistaken for a classic film, whereas Francis Ford Coppola’s awesome Vietnam War-set epic is a bonafide classic movie.

Sorry, Sam, you took the paycheck so you've got to make this movie! — Sorry, Sam, you took the paycheck so you’ve got to make this movie!

It's got a big mouth! — It’s got a big mouth!

Even though Chris (THE FLY) Walas helped make the monster, there’s nothing particularly special about this fish-critter’s design, other than it has a double dorsal fin and resembles a grouper fish. The poster, however, tries to make out the beast is a kind of blue, spiky-skinned, red-eyed shark-monster. I’ve seen behind the scenes shots of the full-size fish-head prop being propelled through the water by divers, but supposedly it proved too heavy to move around much. So, basically, the beast is only fleetingly shown during its assaults on swimmers.

Maybe I’m easily pleased, but I thought the full scale monster fish head at least looked like a decently-made model, even if it did remind me of a grouper fish. The director, Charles B. Griffith (writer of such films as ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE, A BUCKET OF BLOOD and THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS), definitely wasn’t a fan of the monster model, however, and felt compelled to make the movie pretty much into a comedy. But when producer Roger Corman saw Griffith’s cut he wasn’t very happy, as he thought that audiences would feel cheated if they went to see a JAWS rip-off movie and discovered that it was a comedy instead, so Corman had it re-edited in post-production, turning it into a straight horror picture.

As it is, the silly dialogue merged with the more ‘serious’ story edit helps to sink this fishy tale, as does the murky underwater photography and the blurry, indistinct fish attacks (that use a smaller monster model). Oh well.

Honestly, there is a fish monster lurking within the murky water! — Honestly, there is a fish monster lurking within the murkiness!

Let’s at least end this post with a clearer shot of the fish…

Forbidden World (1982)

December 10, 2022 Ken Miller Leave a comment

This slimy, mutant muck gets everywhere!

Slimy lumps of self-replicating meaty protein! — Watch out for the lumps of self-replicating meaty protein!

Please don't step in the mutated gunge — Please don’t step in the mutated gunge

Directed by Allan (PROGRAMMED TO KILL) Holzman, written by Tim (GHOST WARRIOR) Curnen, from a story by Jim (CHOPPING MALL) Wynorski and R.J. (BEASTMASTER 2) Robertson and starring Jesse (SILENT RUNNING) Vint, Dawn Dunlap, June Chadwick, Linden Chiles, Fox Harris and Michael Bowen.

Poster — ‘Part alien… part human… all nightmare’

Also known as MUTANT and SUBJECT 20, this Roger Corman-produced ALIEN rip-off is lurid, colourful, exploitative and splattery. It uses some of the sets that were featured in Corman’s GALAXY OF TERROR (1981), a film on which James Cameron was the production designer.

This story concerns space ranger Mike Colby (Vint), who arrives at a research station that is under threat from a mutant organism that has evolved from an experimental life form, known as ‘Subject 20’, that has been created by the group of scientists on planet Xarbia.

SAM-104 (Don Olivera) and Mike Colby (Jesse Vint)

With some oddly edited moments and an okay electronic score, this film presents us with a mutated creature that turns its human victims into lumps of self-replicating meaty protein.

There's lots of fluid dribbling and dripping about — There’s lots of fluid dribbling and dripping about the place

As the organism evolves, it gains a maw full of big teeth

Venturing out onto the planet's surface... — Venturing out onto the planet’s surface…

...they come across this toothsome thingy — …they come across this toothsome life form

A cocoon-type thingy attached to the rocks

Obviously aiming at the young male market, the movie has the two female characters, Tracy Baxter (Dunlap) and Dr. Barbara Glaser (Chadwick), taking saunas & showers… even though there’s a monster on the loose!

Tracy Baxter heads for the sauna/sunbed room, which is, of course, essential on all distant research bases! — Tracy Baxter heads for the sauna/sunbed room, which is, of course, an essential feature of all distant research bases!

Dr. Barbara Glaser is rather, erm, underdressed

Tracy and Barbara even try to communicate with the creature whilst wearing very short bathrobes. This doesn’t end well when one of the women gets transfixed by a spiked tentacle. Ouch!

"I know! Let's try to communicate with the revolting mutant beast whilst wearing bath robes!" — “I know! Let’s try to communicate with the revolting mutant beast whilst wearing bathrobes!”

So is this a classic creature feature? Well, it certainly doesn’t reach the heights of science fiction greatness, that’s for sure, but it manages to be a pretension-free sci-fi-horror flick that is a perfect example of the kind of exploitative, pulpy, gaudy production that got made in the 80s.

And the film definitely scores points for giving us a finale with a difference: we get to see the hero performing DIY surgery on a scientist suffering from cancer, so that he can remove the large tumour… and then feed it to the creature, which then proceeds to vomit itself to death!

Classy stuff!

The creature suffers from terminal upchucking!

Some posters…

Some other cool stuff…

Scream Factory SteelBook cover with artwork by Laz Marquez

And here’s a behind the scenes shot…

Beast From Haunted Cave (1959)

July 11, 2021 Ken Miller 1 Comment

Tough criminal boss Alexander Ward (Frank Wolff) oversees a small heist team intent on stealing gold bars from a bank vault in snowy South Dakota. The plan involves one of the criminals, Marty Jones (Richard Sinatra – cousin of Frank Sinatra), setting off an explosion in a nearby gold mine to act as a diversion as the bank is robbed. The mine is the home of a spider-like monster, however, which pursues Ward’s crew as they head for a remote cabin, led by local guide Gil Jackson (Michael Forest), who is, at first, unaware that he’s helping criminals fleeing the scene of their crime. Gil finds himself falling for Ward’s lover Gypsy (Sheila Noonan), who tells him that the gang intends to kill him…

BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE was the directorial debut of Monte (TWO-LANE BLACKTOP) Hellman and is an interesting hybrid of heist flick and monster movie. With tough dialogue and heist plot setup, this low budget film is initially like something you’d read in a pulpy crime paperback, but a cobwebby creature is added to the mix, making this a novel Corman-produced curio.

The film was originally released with THE WASP WOMAN

The lack of budget is obvious when it comes to the creature, which is mainly represented as a long prop arm poked on-screen and a couple of quick shots where it is inserted into location scenes via double exposure (which makes you think it might be a spirit of some kind because it is see-through). The monster is definitely meant to be a physical creature, though, and there’s a decent finale where the various characters encounter the beast in a remote cave.

The creature keeps its victims webbed-up and alive, so that it can take its time feeding on them, which I think is quite a creepy concept for a 50s B-movie. In one effective moment we see the creature’s first victim covered in a cocoon of web, stuck between two trees, and we realise that the monster has pursued the group into the mountains and has brought the initial victim along with it (as an on-the-go snack!)

Cocooned amongst the trees... — Cocooned amongst the trees…

Though the funky-looking, furry-faced, long-armed critter is very lo-fi, I still rather like this cheaply-made creature feature.

Devoted to every kind of movie and TV monster, from King Kong to Godzilla, from the Blob to Alien. Plus monsters from other media too, including books and comics.