Today's Mini-Review: The Deadly Mantis

Rating: ***/*****, or 6/10

Starring: Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton

Directed by Nathan Juran

USA: Universal Pictures, 1957

Giant movie monsters, usually (though not necessarily) spawn or awakened by atomic experiments, that subsequently went rampaging through unsuspecting cities could be divided into two categories in the Fifties, the decade in which they were most prevalent. The first and most famous category was reptilian in nature, and hearkened back to Willis O'Brien's Brontosaurus crushing London in 1925's The Lost World, eventually giving rise to the famous ultimate atomic nightmare Gojira (1954) (though certainly not stopping there). The second category consists of the various types of creepy crawlies that together can be sided under the general moniker of 'bugs'. As notable creatures in this regard the giant ants of Them! (1954), the gargantuan 'sixtopus' of Ray Harryhausen's It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) and the oversized spider in Tarantula (1955) deserve honorable mention. Less well known is the tremendously large praying mantis from The Deadly Mantis, which is not surprising since it offers little that has not been seen in other bug movies, save a different monstrous creature threatening mankind. Nevertheless, it's a fairly entertaining atomic age flick.

Surprisingly, the origin of the titular beastie is not actually atomic. In this case, a volcanic eruption is responsible for freeing a 200-ft long prehistoric mantis – since everybody knows that in prehistoric times every animal was stupendously big after all – from its Arctic tomb. The effect is all the same though. The creature travels southwards, wreaking havoc and killing many people in its path. The United States military soon responds to the loss of its polar outposts and sends a team to investigate, which includes a paleontologist, a handsome army officer and a beautiful woman. Of course, the latter pair predictably gets more involved with each other than with the big bug running rampant, as is all too typical for movies from this era. But when the mantis finally attacks Washington D.C. decisive military action is called for and the team searches for a way to annihilate their hideous opponent. But naturally not before it has had a decent opportunity to terrorize a few national landmarks, also an ever delightful genre staple.

Nathan Juran, who would continue making similar pictures like The Brain from Planet Arous (1957) and the original cult classic Attack of the 50 ft Woman (1958), serves as a capable director for crafting an enjoyable monster movie out of a by this time already worn-out premise, which betrays his qualities that would later cause him to become a valuable collaborator on several excellent Harryhausen movies, namely the rather similar 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) in which a reptilian/humanoid Venusian threatens Rome, First Men in the Moon (1964) and of course, the wonderful 7^th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). The obvious mantis mock-up doesn't look as phony as it could have looked under the instructions of a lesser director (though a far cry from realistic), while the cast plays their parts convincingly enough for this type of B-movie. While The Deadly Mantis proves less than a stellar entry into the 'creature' subgenre of the 1950s, it remains somewhat of a cult favorite among fans of the science fiction pictures of the era. However, it's also exemplary of the tail end of the decade, that witnessed the notion of big beasties trampling both civilization and audiences' interest to death in rapid succession in ever cheaper and worse movies, despite the decent start offered by all too similar pictures in the first few years of the First Wave of science fiction films. Don't blame the mantis for that though.

Today's Review: Jurassic Park 3D, at last!

Fresh off MovieScene:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/146189/imagine_2013:_jurassic_park_3d_-_recensie

Needless to say this was the best moviegoing experience I had in twenty tears time. I have never felt both so old and so young at the same time. All the good experiences I had as a kid (and there have been many!) I relived, while simultaneously it dawned on me just what an impact this film has made on my life for two decades, most vigorously in the last eight years since I became a true die-hard JP collector. Despite having undergone a digital makeover, it is clear Jurassic Park has aged more gracefully than I could ever hope to do myself.

This anniversary celebration (though to be strict, for the Netherlands the exact mark would be September 30 of this year) also marks another milestone (possibly and quite probably) in my cinematic life, my first visit to EYE in Amsterdam. Much to anybody's surprise if they ask me what I think of the new Filmmuseum, I never actually went there until two nights ago. It took my all-time favourite film to persuade me the time was now, and I do not regret it. It's a wonderful building for sure. It works great as both a museum, which it strikingly appears to be in every conceivable facet - grotesque overly futuristic visual look, overuse of bare white walls, big dining facility, funky gift shop selling books, umbrellas and postcards (all overpriced), etc. - and as a genuine movie theater, housing several large theater rooms where one can sit in the dark and enjoy good cinema endlessly. It was kinda fun to see the actual theater looked in no way like the rest of the building on the inside, but more like any decent 'bioscope' theater. It was a pretty big theater at that, with a capacity of some 300 spectators I reckon. The show wasn't fully sold out (for shame!), but with at least 200 to 250 people still rather crowded. Thankfully all of them were pros when it came to watching films, so they behaved properly and sat quietly, undoubtedly as awestruck as I was myself. The 3D glasses were not my favorite model, being those pesky electronic, battery run devices, that are placed tightly around your head (cutting off some of the blood flow around the ears after a while) and are overly cumbersome in terms of weight: but they did their job adequately, and considering the nostalgia extravaganza I was undergoing I couldn't be bothered noticing them all that much, except of course where it concerned good use of 3D effects in the movie itself, which could be found surprisingly often. But for that I'll just let you read the review above. Here I'm just informing you of my first visit to EYE, which beyond the shadow of a doubt won't be limited to this single experience (though I doubt there will be any trips that can surpass or even equal it in quality).

The funniest thing about EYE I consider to be the restaurant, which completely lacks the feel of the rest of the building, except for that huge screen forever showing the movie that is the life and times of Amsterdam (I'm referring to the giant panoramic window over the IJ, for those of you who did not get the gist). Basically the restaurant is a separate entity inside EYE, a parasitic organism thriving on those audience members who feel the need to whet more than just their visual appetite. It's devoid of the stylistic touch of the rest of the building and has a menu to match, which one can use to order all kinds of stupendously fancy food, among them quails' egg pastries and other exotic dishes containing dead animals. The whole menu had an 'elite' feeling to it. Heck, even the butter for the free bread sidedish was some classy brand with a label that mentioned some ancient Duchess used its secret family recipe (now clearly open to all) only for royal occasions. Say what you will, it did have a sort of theatrical touch to it, as if you were in a movie yourself. Or maybe I just don't go out to restaurants enough. Sorry, I'm too busy going to the movies, and I did exactly that after finishing my plate of French Fries (they did have those too, but not on the menu, you had to ask for them specifically). After all, I came here to watch a film, my detour to the restaurant was only meant to satiate my appetite and to have a nice place to sit down and talk to my friend. I didn't go alone as you might have thought. Jurassic Park after all is far too good a film to watch alone, especially if you can watch it with someone else who thorougly appreciates its supreme quality. EYE sure delivered in that regard, as we both had the time of our lives. Again, after so many years.

It's ridiculous really: EYE's been open for over a year, yet I never bothered to cross the water and go there so far, despite the many classic movies they have exhibited there. Of course, none of those classics could ever be as classic for me on a personal level, but in hindsight I really should have made time for sweeping epics like Lawrence of Arabia or marvelous adventure flicks like Raiders of the Lost Ark. Oh well, JP 3D turned out such a great experience the ice has definitely been broken. Now if only they had more vacancies available so I might get the chance to get to know EYE on a truly professional level. And I don't mean serving quails' egg pastries...

Creature Walks Among Us, The

Rating: ***/*****, or 5/10

Second sequel to the original Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), set closely after the events of its predecessor Revenge of the Creature (1955). Previous director Jack Arnold, so talented in making Fifties' science fiction films work effectively instead of making them cheesy, has left the director's chair and delivered it to John Sherwood, who unfortunately lacks his finesse and understanding of the genre (his only other noteworthy directorial credit is the fun but campy The Monolith Monsters (1957)). After busting out of its marine park prison, the creature is tracked down in the Everglades and again captured, but horribly burned in the process. Surgery saves his life but also necessitates the removal of his lungs for his survival, so scientists turn him into an air breather with an overall more human appearance, but still undeniably not human. Used as a scapegoat in a melodramatic love triangle and the resulting murder plot between his new owner, his wife and her lover, the creature again breaks free and goes on a rampage, after which he is again subjected to man's violent nature. It's clear who is the monster this time. Though opening on an eerie note with the Florida swamp scene, the movie quickly loses steam and takes the franchise in a dull new direction, largely removing everything that made the monster so intriguing in the previous films. Though the movie contains some moderately thrilling action scenes and excellent alternative creature make-up, it's definitely the worst of the trilogy, and the only one not released in 3-D.

Starring: Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Leigh Snowden

Directed by John Sherwood

USA: Universal Pictures, 1956

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

Classic monster movie from the 'House of Horror', Universal Pictures: the last monster to be added to the staple of 'Universal's original monsters', as well as the only monster from the Fifties in the bunch, since the rest of them were all released in the early Thirties and Forties. As a dessert to the creature cake, it turns out a damn tasty course, even though in many respects it's a poor man's King Kong. It's also an interesting transitional movie between Universal's classic studio monster movies of old and the typical creature feature science fiction films of the Fifties, courtesy of Jack Arnold, one of the most prolific directors of the genre in this decade (his other works include It Came from Outer Space (1953), Tarantula (1955) and The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)). A band of scientists stumbles on the remains of an 'amphibian missing link', a Gill Man (never mind actual science here). However, the animal was not the only one of its kind, since a live specimen starts stalking the group, in particular the beautiful girl (Julie Adams) among them, resulting in an (in)famous underwater swimming duet between the pair. Sadly, the romance is one-sided as the creature finds out when he tries to get a little closer to the object of his fascination but is instead met with fear, violence and eventually greed as the explorers mean to capture the beast and take it back to civilization. However, the monster has some thoughts of his own on that subject and doesn't surrender so easily, with deadly consequences. Beautiful – and for that time, spectacular – underwater photography, a solid cast (including fan favorite Richard Denning, who starred in a number of Fifties' Sci-Fi flicks, not all of them as good as this one) and an excellent balance between drama, action and romance. One of the first movies to be released in 3-D during the short lived 3-D craze in the Fifties with which Hollywood studios hoped to lure audiences away from the new medium of television (unsuccessfully it must be said).

Starring: Richard Carlson, Richard Denning, Julie Adams

Directed by Jack Arnold

USA: Universal Pictures, 1954

Cloverfield

Rating: ****/*****, or 7/10

The 'found footage' style is applied to the age old monster movie routine, with surprising success. A bunch of New York kids throw a farewell party for a friend while one of them records the scene, but things turn awry when an unknown giant marine creature attacks the city, after which the army is brought in to fight it. Five of the youngsters decide to rescue one of their number's girlfriend caught in a ravaged part of town, and have to make their way evading the combat zone, as well as little parasitic monsters swarming the city. It soon seems likely none of them might make it out of NYC alive, but we don't mind as long as the camera keeps running and director Reeves keeps the tension, ranging from epic to claustrophobic but always dynamic, going. In typical producer J.J. Abrams fashion, the project was long kept a mystery with tidbits of information sporadically released so as to make the hype around it grow to humongous proportions, and naturally it failed to fully deliver on the anticipation it thus spawned, but it remains an enjoyable flick regardless, with good effects as we slowly see slightly more and more of the creature so as to keep interest mounting instead of giving too much away too soon. It also helped the 'found footage' take on genre films had not yet been done to death at this point in cinematic history: today this film would be significantly harder to sell to any audience in this regard.

Starring: Lizzy Caplan, T.J. Miller, Jessica Lucas

Directed by Matt Reeves

USA: Paramount Pictures, 2008

Blob, The

Rating: ***/*****, or 6/10

Odd mix of horror and juvenile delinquency films launched the brilliant career of the noted actor Steve McQueen (The Great Escape, The Towering Inferno). When a bizarre lifeform lands on Earth and starts devouring all life it comes in contact with, growing ever bigger in the process, Steve and his girl, along with their buddies and the police, must find a way to stop it. Quite the potential for great horror here (something the eighties' remake realized full well, considering just how insanely gorier it was), but unfortunately this was ignored in favor of scenes involving teens cruising around in their cars and playing loud music, which made it a hit with the kids of the day (something the studio hoped for, which is why the movie was made in colour). In fact, the film's  catchy but obnoxious opening music became a smash hit. It spawned a completely useless and campy sequel in 1972, titled Beware! The Blob. This movie, despite being plain silly, retains a charm and a cult following all its own.

Starring: Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe

Directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.

USA: Fairview Productions, 1958

Black Scorpion, The

Rating: ***/*****, or 7/10

Hugely underrated and often ignored fifties' monster flick. In Mexico, giant scorpions are freed from their subterranean imprisonment by volcanic activity and ravage the countryside, after which an American geologist (Richard Denning, a favourite actor in the genre of fifties' creature features) must work with the Mexican armed forces to destroy them before they rampage through Mexico City. The plot of course is not the most important ingredient here, the fabulously animated stop motion creatures are, vividly brought to life by effects pioneer Willis O'Brien in one of his last features. Though he never relived the fame and success of King Kong (1933), this movie at least provides a similar amount of adventurous excitement and monster fun as that masterpiece did, while the animation is almost on par with its famous predecessor. The movie's most thrilling sequences include huge scorpions wrecking a train and an excursion into the underground realm of the beasts which is also populated by various other beasts (including some of King Kong's 'lost spider pit' leftovers!). Often maligned as just another silly forgetful B-movie of the drive-in days, this movie deserves more love and respect, at least from stop motion enthusiasts.

Starring: Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas

Directed by Edward Ludwig

USA: Amex Productions, 1957

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

First dinosaur-on-a-rampage movie (beating the much more famous Japanese Gojira by one year) is still one of the best of its kind, mostly thanks to Ray Harryhausen's sublime stop motion animation. After an H-bomb test in the frozen Arctic wastelands, a scientist (Paul Hubschmid) spots a giant reptillian creature before being wounded in an avalanche. At first his wild stories are met with disbelief by his colleagues except for an old paleontologist (Cecil Kellaway) and his attractive female assistant (Paula Raymond). However, as soon as the monster, a fictional species of dinosaur dubbed Rhedosaurus, attacks Manhattan, doubt turns into terror and the scientists, in cooperation with the armed forces, race against time to find a way to stop the beast. This was Harryhausen's first solo project after having done most of the animation for Mighty Joe Young (1949) together with his mentor Willis O 'Brien. Apparently, Harryhausen was a good student, since the result of his skill in animation proved at least as great as the master's own work on King Kong (1933). Many creature-destroys-city films would follow in its wake, but very few would come even close to this level of realism. And fun. For a casestudy regarding the role of science in this film, check this link.

Starring: Paul Hubschmid, Cecil Kellaway, Paula Raymond

Directed by Eugène Lourié

USA: Jack Dietz Productions, 1953

At the Earth's Core

Rating: **/*****, or 5/10

Based on an adventure story by Edgar Rice Burroughs (the creator of both Tarzan and John Carter of Mars), this fairly low budget movie features clumsy Victorian scientist Peter Cushing (for once doing comedy instead of scaring people to death; he was sincerely much better at doing the latter) and Doug McClure taking a trip to the Earth's core in a giant drilling machine, where they discover the Hollow Earth type underground world called Pellucidar, which is inhabited by huge reptilian beasts and primitive men alike, and is harshly ruled over by vicious telepathic humanoid Pterosaurs. A half decent adventure flick, though suffering from unconvincing (though at times still charming) special effects, a messy plot and the general feeling of redundancy for being the least appealing in a cycle of four very similar movies from the same creators based on Burroughs' property and all starring McClure. Still, there's a few things to enjoy here, including good fantasy set dressing, an overall sense of playfulness and Caroline Munro in a skimpy outfit.

Starring: Doug McClure, Caroline Munro, Peter Cushing

Directed by Kevin Connor

USA/UK: American International Pictures, 1976

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Rating: **/*****, or 4/10

A not very successful attempt to parodize the monster-on-the-loose subgenre of horror and science fiction films of the fifties. The intriguing title unfortunately cannot live up to its expectations, though the plot does indeed revolve around giant tomatoes attacking and killing people, necessitating the US government to deploy a team of silly experts to combat this threat. Obviously shot on a very low budget, this movie does contain a few good jokes as well as a  fabulous opening song, but is otherwise rather dull and drags on for too long. It nevertheless managed to spawn no less than three sequels, the second film, Return of the Killer Tomatoes, generally being considered to be the only really worthwhile flick of the bunch for being genuinely funny and surprisingly co-starring a young George Clooney.

Starring: David Miller, George Wilson, Sharon Taylor

Directed by John De Bello

USA: Four Square Productions, 1978

Anaconda

Rating ***/*****, or 7/10

Fun creature flick with a surprisingly good cast considering the fairly typical subject matter. A film crew heads deep into the lush Amazon rain forest to document an indigenous tribe, but on the way stumble on a seemingly lost poacher (Jon Voight performing with a rather silly accent). It soon turns out the guy intends to capture a giant anaconda snake alive and has no moral qualms about sacrificing the documentarists one at a time to achieve his goal. With both the ever more violent poacher and the supersnake (a clearly but effective combination of puppets and CGI) picking the crew off, can camera woman Jennifer Lopez save the day? Though the movie offers little narrative surprises and has an obviously artificial creature as the major threat, it makes up for it with decent acting, solid action and a damn fine score. This movie got no less than three totally unnecessary sequels.

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voight, Ice Cube

Directed by Luis Llosa

USA: Cinema Line Film Corporation, 1997