Tag: Paul Blaisdell
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Earth vs. the Spider
Teens track down a giant spider that comes back to haunt their small town in Bert I. Gordon’s 1958 schlocker. Mr. B.I.G. has never bee associated with quality, but this is one of his least bad movies. 4/10
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It! The Terror from Beyond Space
A mission to Mars returns to Earth with a monstrous stowaway aboard the space rocket. United Artists’ 1958 proto-slasher is clunky and occasionally hilarious, but Jerome Bixby’s tight script builds up some real tension, and gets a few points for originality. 6/10.
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How to Make a Monster
A makeup artist manipulates his actors to kill the studio brass that is shutting down horror movie production. AIP’s third and last teenage monster movie is a self-aware pastiche. The script makes no sense, but it is an entertaining romp. 5/10
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The Amazing Colossal Man
After surviving a nuclear explosion, Glenn Langan is moved to a military test site where he continues to grow ever larger. There’s a rugged charm to Bert I. Gordon’s 1957 film that helps counteract the dull script and the poor effects. 5/10
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From Hell It Came
US scientists battle evil natives and a murderous tree stump on a South Pacific island. The killer tree is the saving grace of Dan Milner’s tedious, talky 1957 no-budget cult classic. 2/10
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Invasion of the Saucer Men
Two teens run over a little green man. When the authorities refuse to believe them, they take on the alien invasion by themselves. AIP’s comedy from 1957 has a clever premise, but is marred by a messy script. 5/10
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Voodoo Woman
A femme fatale leads a gold hunt into the jungle and falls foul of a mad doctor turning women into voodoo monsters. Alex Gordon’s super-cheap AIP schlocker from 1957 is mildly entertaining as a so-bad-it’s-good film. 3/10
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Attack of the Crab Monsters
Roger Corman’s 1957 monster movie is quintessential SF schlock. As a scientists are picked off one by one by telepathic giant crabs, an inventive script and lightning pace compensate for the shortcomings of the production values. 6/10
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It Conquered the World
The ridiculous monster tends to get all the attention in Roger Corman’s 1956 alien body snatching movie. But with a clever script and good performances from Peter Graves, Lee van Cleef and Beverly Garland, it’s better than its reputation. 6/10 It Conquered the World. 1956, USA. Directed by Roger Corman.…
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Day the World Ended
A small group of survivors hole up in a bungalow after a nuclear war, hoping to outlast the fallout and the mutants raging beyond the picket fence. Roger Corman directs the 1955 cheapo efficiently, but it spends too long treading water. 3/10
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The Beast with a Million Eyes
Birds and cows attack the residents of a small desert community – mind-controlled by an invisible alien entity set to enslave the Earth. It says Roger Corman on the packaging, but this slow and shoddy entry lacks the magic Corman touch. 1/10
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