I remember when I was a kid in Boston, I'd watch some old Japanese monster type movies. These were some of the absolutely worst B movies ever. They were most always in Japanese with English sub titles. Some of them were the standard Godzilla, Mothra, Godzilla v (pick a monster), etc but there were a bunch that weren't those typical monster movies.
I remember snippets of some of the movies. In one, some group ate a boys brain (he was under a cart w/the top of his head sticking out). In another, some guy got injected with some type of serum and grew a 2nd head and ultimately split in 2 to form 2 different men. In yet another, a girl has some disfigurement of her arms so the (evil scientist?) has her plunge her forearms in a vat of (wax?) and when she removes them, he peels away her skin. Another was something about killer shrews and another was a group that was shipwrecked (?) in some jungle. To survive, they have to eat some mushrooms. The narrator is the lone survivor and when he turns around at the end of the movie, he's partially turned into a mushroom.
Anyway, I remember watching the Creature Double Feature but when I googled that, I didn't find any movies they showed that were quite what I remember seeing. The series wasn't Creature Feature, either as that was mostly Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein and the like.
I'd like to find a listing of those movies I watched (just in case they're still out there) but I need some help with this.
...and another was a group that was shipwrecked (?) in some jungle. To survive, they have to eat some mushrooms. The narrator is the lone survivor and when he turns around at the end of the movie, he's partially turned into a mushroom.
Aw man, you've now ruined the movie for all the rest of us! . . . . .
Just for gits and shiggles, I did an online search of the Vancouver Public Library... and it turns out they have 12 different Godzilla movies on DVD, and 5 on Blu-ray. Who knew!
I might pick this one up... just to see how silly it is!
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 09-09-2024).]
Dude, you are absolutely invited for movie night. I grew up on tokusatsu and love classic horror; these are right up my alley! Here's my best shot:
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Originally posted by Monkeyman: I remember snippets of some of the movies. In one, some group ate a boys brain (he was under a cart w/the top of his head sticking out).
Gonna start off with a miss. I don't have anything on this...any other details from this movie in particular?
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In another, some guy got injected with some type of serum and grew a 2nd head and ultimately split in 2 to form 2 different men.
In yet another, a girl has some disfigurement of her arms so the (evil scientist?) has her plunge her forearms in a vat of (wax?) and when she removes them, he peels away her skin.
Nothing on this one...do you remember anything else or any other details?
...and another was a group that was shipwrecked (?) in some jungle. To survive, they have to eat some mushrooms. The narrator is the lone survivor and when he turns around at the end of the movie, he's partially turned into a mushroom.
My favorite Godzilla flick, starring Matthew Broderick.
Fun fact, this is not a 'Godzilla' movie. Toho regained the IP and canonically this is 'Zilla,' a monster the US thought was Godzilla when it attacked but they were mistaken. It got a brief (mocking) second appearance in the 'Godzilla: Final Wars,' which is a GREAT Godzilla movie.
If you haven't watched 'Godzilla: Minus One' yet, you really should. It's amazing. Shin Godzilla (from 2016) was really good too, but not on the same level Minus One is. Outside of those, Godzilla vs. Destroyah is probably still my favorite.
[This message has been edited by NewDustin (edited 09-09-2024).]
I might pick this one up... just to see how silly it is!
Heads up: That is the finale of a trilogy of anime Godzilla movies. They're...very, very different from anything else you're going to see that's Godzilla-focused. If you want a good, 'silly' Godzilla movie, 'Godzilla vs Destroyah' is THE BEST. Awesome version of Godzilla, incredible badguy model, good story, lots of fights, tie ins to the original movie...you can't go wrong.
...and since I'm going bonkers on this threat anyway, I found all of the old Japanese "Supaidaman" episodes a few months ago! If you've ever though Spiderman would be WAY better if he was a 1970s Japanese dude with a giant mech, and a machine gun in his car, boy do I have a treat for you!
The only two good Godzilla movies are the original (Godzilla (1954) Which was serious and very good) and "Son of Godzilla" which is not totally serious but is fun to watch.
The movie that scared the crap outta me when I saw it at age 6-7 was "X the Unknown"...The premise sounds silly (Radioactive living mud comes up out of the ground and searches for radioactive material to feed on) but it is very well done. The scene that "Got me" was where the two boys (Bully kid and a kid that "wants to join") are out in the woods after dark- the bully kid tells the other (Willie) that he has to "Do a dare". "Are you scared, Willie?" "N...no!" Willie then walks through the forest and suddenly sees....something (We don't see it then)..It is glowing and making noise- at first Willie is intrigued...but his facial expression switches from curiosity to terror...then he starts running back- and the bully-kid sees him "Willie- Willie, what's wrong- Willie" and Willie runs by him "Willie...Willie- Wait for me!!"
That scene should be in every film class- it is perfect- showing true human-nature. I had to barricade the closet door until I was twelve- then when the Loma Prieta Earthquake happened, I was laying in bed and realized the dang closet door was open- tried to ignore it but finally got up and closed it...The stress from that earthquake brought up the "Historic" fear. Lasted a week or so...
[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 09-09-2024).]
Originally posted by cvxjet: The only two good Godzilla movies are the original (Godzilla (1954) Which was serious and very good) and "Son of Godzilla" which is not totally serious but is fun to watch.
We're all wrong about something
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The movie that scared the crap outta me when I saw it at age 6-7 was "X the Unknown"...The premise sounds silly (Radioactive living mud comes up out of the ground and searches for radioactive material to feed on) but it is very well done. The scene that "Got me" was where the two boys (Bully kid and a kid that "wants to join") are out in the woods after dark- the bully kid tells the other (Willie) that he has to "Do a dare". "Are you scared, Willie?" "N...no!" Willie then walks through the forest and suddenly sees....something (We don't see it then)..It is glowing and making noise- at first Willie is intrigued...but his facial expression switches from curiosity to terror...then he starts running back- and the bully-kid sees him "Willie- Willie, what's wrong- Willie" and Willie runs by him "Willie...Willie- Wait for me!!"
That scene should be in every film class- it is perfect- showing true human-nature. I had to barricade the closet door until I was twelve- then when the Loma Prieta Earthquake happened, I was laying in bed and realized the dang closet door was open- tried to ignore it but finally got up and closed it...The stress from that earthquake brought up the "Historic" fear. Lasted a week or so...
Found it! The scene starts about about 16:44. The facial expression switch is right at 18:20. It is excellent.
While not scary, I recently re-watched A.I., and Haley Joel Osment is unbelievably good in that movie. This very much reminded me of the facial change when he is imprinted on by his mother. That movie traumatized me in an entirely different way.
The movie that scared the crap outta me when I saw it at age 6-7...
I was even younger than that when my older cousins took me to the theatre with them to see the 1960 film, Village of the Damned. Scared the crap out of me. 60+ years later, I still feel ill at ease around little fair-haired English kids.
I think there may have been some "Killer Shrews" sequels. There was also the Mummy movies. The island of Dr Moreau(?) The Blob. Them (about a bunch of robotic-looking giant ants.) One of my favorites was The Amazing Colossal Man.
There used to be a Movie Macabre hosted by none other than Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
I was even younger than that when my older cousins took me to the theatre with them to see the 1960 film, Village of the Damned. Scared the crap out of me. 60+ years later, I still feel ill at ease around little fair-haired English kids.
I spent some of my youth watching a late night local staion (Houston) sci fi show named Weird.
They often focused on the 50s atomic test radiation based movies, most the B movies, not Gorirra..
Some I remember.. Attack of the crab monsters. killer shrews. (mentioned previously) Them! Superman and the Mole Men. The Behemoth. Donavon's Brain Invasion of the body snatchers. Mole people. the 27th day. Monolith monsters.
There were lots more. Strange, how many of those included scantily clad women........
One of the best, came later. Quatermass and the Pit for instance.
I watched that movie as a little kid on TV one night while my parents were out. The sequence in the film of the severed/detached alien hand crawling around the inside of the moving car gave me nightmares for weeks!
I read a book when I was very young, that I always thought would be a reasonably good horror movie. The Space Egg. Russ Winterbotham
(first print, Jan 1962 1 year before the whole world became familiar with the name of a shooter..........and coincidently worth it, if just to read about 2 main characters named ...............Jack & Ruby.
I put in a request for 11 of those movies on DVD/Blu-ray at my library. The Japanese ones look kind of interesting. I also got a few classics from the 40's and 50's. I don't even particularly enjoy "horror" movies, but I do enjoy movies with artistic cinematography.
"artistic cinematography", yes, that's what I look for in all those movies with skimpy dressed girls running for their lives..
"Hey, let's go skinny dippin in the lake (into the cave/up on the mountain/into the deserted factory/in to the cornfield..) tonight and see if we can find out what's killin people...and let's not tell anyone we're going and let's take the most unreliable car we can, and of course, no firearms because someone might get hurt.."
Very obviously the basis for Star Trek (Federal ship on patrol- main characters Captain/2nd/Ship's Doctor) The ship (Cruiser C57D) was obviously the basis for the Jupiter II from Lost in Space TV show (65-68) Also, the basic story is taken from Shakespeare's "The Tempest"- And a large portion of Story lines in Star Trek are taken from Shakespeare.
3) 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (1954)
4) Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
Ignore the obvious "No hollow Earth" fact- Best Jules Verne adaption (And Gertrude-the-duck steals the show) (Best Bernard Herman score) (also the lizard scene is actually relatively correct; They are Dimetrodons, which is predecessor to mammals- they had splayed legs like lizards)
5) The Martian (2015)
Excellent movie from excellent book (Author's first book)
6) Fantastic Voyage (1966)
Great special effects
7) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
I have had a number of friends and GFs tell me this is the scariest movie they have ever seen.
8) Innerspace (1987) (Odd comedy take on "Fantastic Voyage" concept)
9) King Kong (1933 and 2005*)
The original was way ahead of it's time. The 2005 version is spectacular but most action scenes are 2-3 times as long as they should be. Naomi Watts steals the show!
10) War of the Worlds (1953)
Modernized (For 1953) telling of the HG Wells classic
11) When Worlds Collide (1951)
Spectacular- the only down side is the end scene when they ran out of money.
12) Galaxy Quest (1999) (Comedy (Star Trek Send-up) (You do not have to be into ST to enjoy it)
13) Tremors 1-4 (1990-2004)
1st is almost perfect, 2nd is OK, the 3rd is a return to the town in the 1st with all of the characters...Last is set in old west- roots of the town and characters. I actually really like the Burt Gummer (Survivalist) actor Michael Gross, who also played Michael J. Fox father in TV show Family ties- as a HIPPY! (Can't stand hippies)
14) Valley of Gwangi (1969) (Dinosaur western- With James Franciscus and Gila Golan)
15) The Rocketeer (1991) Old and odd super hero movie with a lot of neat aircraft history
16) Mysterious Island (1961) Giant Crab, Terror Bird("Renamed" a giant Chicken) and an amazing scene of a bee plus a volcanic eruption.
17) 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) (Ray Harryhausen special effects)
18) The Monolith Monsters (1957) A meteor brings a type of crystal rock that grows rapidly when wet, and pulls water out of humans
19) The Land Unknown (1957) A Helicopter crash-lands in DEEP valley in Antartica...Dinosaurs, etc (Originally planned as Big-Budget movie, but new management cut budget, so no color, and, although mat paintings and most creatures are good to great, the T-Rex was the last special-effects project, it is absolutely TERRIBLE!!) (I really like that they SEE what damaged the helo, but don't jump to conclusion about it- Good script)
"artistic cinematography", yes, that's what I look for in all those movies with skimpy dressed girls running for their lives.
Heh heh... yeah, I bet.
While I was at the library picking up DVD/Blu-ray movies that I had reserved, I noticed on the shelf was the first two seasons of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. I had never watched the series when it was originally broadcast back around 1980. Well, now I know why. Except for nice tight spandex suits on the women, it's pretty awful.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 09-23-2024).]
I was even younger than that when my older cousins took me to the theatre with them to see the 1960 film, Village of the Damned. Scared the crap out of me. 60+ years later, I still feel ill at ease around little fair-haired English kids.
Imagine if... during Harry Potter... there was a long dramatic pause, all their eyes turned into that, and they all faced the camera and stared right at you and said... "Patrick... we're coming for you..."
Hahahah... sorry... I just freaked myself out a little bit.
1st is almost perfect, 2nd is OK, the 3rd is a return to the town in the 1st with all of the characters...Last is set in old west- roots of the town and characters. I actually really like the Burt Gummer (Survivalist) actor Michael Gross, who also played Michael J. Fox father in TV show Family ties- as a HIPPY! (Can't stand hippies)
The Attack Pack, on 2 dvds.
Kevin Bacon was open to being in another Tremors, but it didn't happen for a variety of reasons (Michael Gross didn't want the star competition) and now that he's (Bacon) basically retired to a little 'farm' in Vermont (after losing a fortune to the Bernie Madoff scheme) we'll probably never see him act again.
I have the "Attack Pack"....Those four films are good to great...also have the Tremors TV show which was (Basically) a continuation of Tremors 3...it is good also.
After 4, S.S. Wilson was not involved- and it shows....the movies "Moved on" to doing the Hyper-action crap which I do not enjoy at all...They also don't have much of the humor the earlier movies and series had.
There was a second TV show Pilot made but the series was canceled before any other filming was done..(I like it so it is >>Canceled<< )
Trailer;
[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 09-24-2024).]
another was a group that was shipwrecked (?) in some jungle. To survive, they have to eat some mushrooms. The narrator is the lone survivor and when he turns around at the end of the movie, he's partially turned into a mushroom.
This movie here is the reason I don't eat mushrooms. Eight year old me watching this with my 18 year old half brother, the second feature that night was "night of the gargoyles" IIRC, all I remember from that was some guy getting attacked and having his back torn to shreds.
Imagine if... during Harry Potter... there was a long dramatic pause, all their eyes turned into that, and they all faced the camera and stared right at you and said... "Patrick... we're coming for you..."
You see, there's a reason why I've never watched any of the Harry Potter movies!
I too have the 'attack pack'. I thought they were all good except 'Return to Perfection'. Earl's (Fred Ward) absence was telling. ( Fred Ward is now dead)
I liked the Black Hand Kelly character in The legend Begins...the actor did a good job. and " I saw NOTHING, but the nothing I saw was worse than anything I ever saw" was classic Tremors. (But I've never seen worse shots in my whole life..Big Horse, Brick, Stony, Soggy)
