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Showing posts with the label Bad Movies

Creature From The Haunted Sea (1961) - Roger Corman Retro Cinema Classics | B-Movie Mania

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 Written By Ken Hulsey Cookie Monster Strikes! As an expert in monster films, I'm excited to feature some of the best, like "Creature From The Black Lagoon" and "Them!," as well as some of the worst, such as "Green Slime" and our present topic, "Creature From The Haunted Sea." Both types of films can be enjoyed for various reasons. "Creature From The Haunted Sea" is no exception to the rule that bad movies have their own charm. The sheer weirdness of this film is simply too much to overlook. Only the legendary low-budget filmmaker Roger Corman could have concocted such a strange mix of camp, cheesy rip-offs, cliche characters, and the most poorly designed movie monster ever. At least the Ro-Man from "Robot Monster" had some charisma!

Now Showing - The Giant Claw (1957)(A Real Cinema Turkey)

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When electronics engineer Mitch MacAfee spots a UFO as "big as a battleship," from his plane, the Air Force scrambles planes to investigate. However, nothing shows up on radar, and one of the jets is lost during the action. MacAfee is regarded as a dangerous crackpot until other incidents and disappearances convince the authorities that the threat is real. Some believe it is a French-Canadian folk legend come to life, but it turns out to be an extraterrestrial giant bird composed of anti-matter whose disregard for human life and architecture threatens the world. The Giant Claw is a 1957 sci-fi film about a giant bird that terrorizes the world. Produced by Clover Productions under the working title 'Mark of the Claw' and released through Columbia Pictures, it starred Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday, and was directed by Fred F. Sears. The film has been a staple of the bootleg video market with only two official VHS releases (one in the USA through Goodtimes Home Video and ...

B Movie Mania: Chinese King Kong Clone Fights Bugs, Bugs, More Bugs and a Two-Headed Snake

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My buddy Avery Guerra, who is the king of monster movie promotion, just turned me on to this Chinese made King Kong movie clone called Monster Island. The film was released in China last year hoping to cash in on the success of Godzilla vs Kong . The film most resembles the 2017 film Kong: Skull Island, at least plot wise with the giant ape taking on Chinese soldiers, a giant two-headed snake and a plethora of giant insects which look a lot like the same ones featured in scenes cut out of the original King Kong (1933).   Unfortunately for the Chinese film makers their film  looks a lot more like the low budget Kong inspired Mighty Peking Man and A.P.E. that were produced in the 1970s than Kong: Skull Island. Check out these trailers: - Yeah the is definitely a CGI version of the Mighty Peking Man .  Check Out: The Mighty Peking Man (1977)(Shaw Brothers Studio) Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (1970)(20th Century Fox) Godzilla vs The Gryphon: The American Godzilla M...

It's Blaxploitation Bigfoot in "Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century"

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Written By: Ken Hulsey Source: Avery Guerra The 1976 Dino De Laurentiis and John Guillermin remake of "King Kong" did more than just introduce movie goers to actress Jessica Lange it also inspired a whole slew of independent film makers around the globe to produce their own low-budget copies of it. For as much as the original "Kong" inspired some of the greatest names in fantasy cinema to take up the craft of monster movie making including, Ishiro Honda (Godzilla) and Ray Harryhausen (Sinbad, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) just to name two. Likewise the remake spawned a list of films, made by film makers you've probably never heard of, from all corners of the globe. There was "A.P.E." produced in Korea by K.M. Yeung, "The Mighty Peking Man" produced in China by the Shaw Brothers, and the lesser known "Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century" which is a Italian/Canadian feature directed by Gianfranco Parolini. On the surface the similarities bet...

A Cinematic Turkey: The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)

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The Giant Spider Invasion is a low-budget 1975 science fiction horror film produced by Transcentury Pictures, a partnership owned by the film's director Bill Rebane. The film is about giant spiders that terrorize the town of Merrill, Wisconsin and the surrounding area. The Giant Spider Invasion was given a U.S. release in theaters in 1975, and was distributed by Group 1 Films. The iconic theatrical poster art was a throwback to the monster movies of the 1950s. The film received a considerable theatrical run and became one of the fifty top-grossing films of that year. After a three-time ABC television network run, the movie achieved additional exposure many years later, when it was featured in a 1997 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) (season 8, episode 10). It is now regarded as a cult classic in the B movie realm. The film is listed on 'The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made' in the book The Official Razzie Movie Guide by Golden Raspberry Award founder...

The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak

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 I'm posting this in memoriam for actress Tawny Kitaen who passed away this week at only 59 years old. Most of you will remember Kitaen as the woman who rolled around on a car in a Whitesnake video. I on the other hand remember her for her role as Gwendoline in one of the strangest movies that I have ever seen. The movie The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak is one bizarre ride. It starts out as a cheap Raiders of the Lost Ark ripoff and ends as some sort of surreal sex and bondage fantasy. I have to admit that I am walking a fine line in this post. I want to keep everything as family friendly as I can, yet still be able to convey just how strange this movie really is. That's really hard because The Perils of Gwendoline is naughty movie ... a very naughty movie. There are girls in armor and thongs fighting to the death. There are girls in armor and thongs riding chariots that are pulled by more women in armor and thongs. No Really! I just wanted to prove tha...

Ready For Something Weird? Check Out The Great Yokai War: Guardians

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 Back during my time running Monster Island News I had the pleasure of rubbing elbows with really great people in the movie and television industry. One of those great people is movie publicist Avery Guerra. If you have an independent fantasy or foreign film there is no one better in the biz than Avery at getting the word out about it. Avery still keeps me in the loop on a lot of this stuff even though I haven't written about these kinds of films in years. Today he sent something my way that I couldn't help but take a bite at. If you are looking for a movie that looks just plain crazy check out The Great Yokai War: Guardians  from Japanese film maker Takashi Mike. If you are familiar with Mike's prior films then you know he has a reputation for churning out some gonzo material. This film is no different. The trailer for The Great Yokai War: Guardians just dropped in Japan and it is too crazy not to write about. It starts out with a typical scene from a Japanese ...

The Soggy Bottom Gang's secret weapon... wait till you get wind of it!

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The 1981 movie 'Soggy Bottom U.S.A.' holds a special distinction in my life. It is the only movie that I have ever walked out of. As a movie fan who generally enjoys bad movies it should be noted that I sat through such cinema classics as 'Robot Jox' and 'The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik Yak', yet about fifteen minutes into this 'turkey' my best friend and I looked at each other and headed for the exit. Just how bad could this film be? Well let's just say that when a comedy relies on dog flatulence  to get laughs you know your in trouble. Yes, indeed the running joke of 'Soggy Bottom' is a hound dog farting, a gimmick that the film makers would go to every time the plot would start to lag. Since the plot of this one was thin to start with that hound must of let loose at least five times before I reached the parking lot. The plot ... minus the gas: Commotion and trouble abound in Soggy Bottom when the sheriff’s plans...