CREATURE OF DESTRUCTION (1967)

Another terrible low budget affair from Larry Buchanen. Awful and uninspired in every way. To be honest I could only make it through 35 minutes.

You are better than I...15 minutes was all I could take. I'm sure was a great person and his family/friends loved him, but the majority of his films are very hard going, especially THE EYE CREATURES and CURSE OF THE SWAMP CREATURES.

'Attack Of The Fifty Foot Woman' (1958)
-Allison Hayes

Phantoms Review: The best of the worst. A crap classic from start to finish. Terrible acting, story and FX.
Absolutely perfect for a bad movie night
.

Dracula:Prince Of Darkness (1966)

THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH (1964). My brother Scott and I saw this in June 1971 and we thought it was the best film we had ever seen. Bikinis, blood, surf music and monsters. A year later, we caught it again and were more convinced of its greatness...heck, a year or so later, we ordered the fumetti magazine from FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND!.
Cut to early 1989 when I'm the father of a one year old and Scott had just gotten out of the army. We came over to visit with a Blockbuster Rental of this and after gathering refreshments, we put the tape in. And within 10 minutes, we were literally on the floor laughing at how awful this is.
Watched it again yesterday and it is a stink bomb, pure and simple, but it has a goofy clueless charm to it that kind of makes me like it, although the stereotypical maid is embarassing to watch.
Think I will look for CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)... **

Introduced a friend to Godzilla via Ghidrah the Three Headed Monster and Godzilla's Revenge this weekend.

Did your friend like the movies?

THE RAVEN (1935). One of my repeated viewings. Even if Boris Karloff gets top billing, this is Bela Lugosi's film all the way and he shines as Dr. Vollin, the looney tunes sadist with a cool sense of humor. Only beef is I would liked to have some of the supporting actors get stuck in Bela's torture devices. One of my favorite turns by him...he looks handsome and why Irene Ware would prefer Lester Matthews over him is a mystery::confused::. ****

Like the Corman-Poe versions of those times, this is an Arkoff-Lovecraft adaptation. Loosely based on his short story The Color Out of Space, it has enough atmosphere and gothic setting to keep you unnerved for the length of the film, with a few genuinely jumpy scares as well.

The problem comes with the climax and the reveal, which feels forced and lacking substance. Also, the merge of gothic horror and sci-fi realism is a bit tough to swallow. This could have benefitted immensely from an angle from The Haunted Palace, with a few Lovecraftian beasties thrown into the mix. Running time is a bit short as well. The film might have added 15-20 more minutes and the above-said angle could have made it a notable masterpiece from the 60s.

Decent fare. The grand old man of horror, Boris Karloff, makes the film watchable with his towering presence.


* * *

I've seen and loved The Living Dead Girl and Zombie Lake so I highly recommend them. I really want to see Le Viol du Vampire though so will check it soon thanks for reminding me about it. ::smile::