Category: Monster Movies

[A MONTH OF HORROR – XI] The Sound of Horror

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster MoviesLeave a comment

The header image is AI generated and doesn’t really reflect the flick too well at all. But it’s fun.

Treasurer hunters unleash an invisible prehistoric horror.

Hey, I’ve been watching. Just haven’t been posting.

Anyways, this was a pleasant surprise. It’s no worse than most B-Science Fiction films. A little too talky in the beginning, a trifle slow here and there. I felt, though, it picked up nice towards the end, despite a rather silly attempt to fight the monster. Most of the Special Effects come in at the end and are so-so.

Honestly, a tighter script, bigger budget, and you’d really might have something.

I’d say a low good. I liked it and will watch it again in future.

This was a part of a Horror Movie collection I’ve had for years. Never watched it till now. Kind of sorry I waited.

Oh! This is also this was the first film for Ingrid Pitt, Vampire Lover extraordinaire. She made a place for herself in Doctor Who history as the only person to try karate on a dinosaur.

It wasn’t super effective.

3 out of 4

[A MONTH OF MONSTERS – IX] The She Creature

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster MoviesLeave a comment

A hypnotist has access to a prehistoric monster.

Not a bad way to start the week. This is a nice little B-Picture about past life regression and all the harm it can do if you metally regress a beautiful woman back to prehistoric times.

Or something.

Well acted with a decent monster suit and decent acting. It ain’t scary, but it works as entertainment (1.5 points). I liked it and wouldn’t mind seeing it again (1.5 points).

Oh, I’ve been using AI to create the headers to various effects. The above image? Nothing like the real monster.

3 out of 4 points

[A MONTH OF HORROR – VII] Francis and a Summation of the First Week

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster Movies, Short Film, SummationLeave a comment

A girl rows out to the middle of the wrong lake.

Thought I watched this for a Month of Horror. The second one, in fact. As that’s in the archives and not easily gotten to, I’m reprinting what I said here about the short:

So I’m looking for an animated Horror short to watch on YouTube. This one looked interesting to me for whatever reason, and I clicked on it. As it loaded up, I thought I’d look for another one after I was done here. A cartoon about a young woman going to the center of a lake, where something knocks at the bottom of her boat. Thought it was called Knock, Knock.

It wasn’t. It was called Francis.

Well I thought it was a funny coincidence.

That out of the way, this is a nice little feature, with only one or two missteps along the way. These are Cullen Carps, though, and we can ignore them safely.

(Well, no, let’s hit one: we see the underside of the boat when the knocker should be there and see nothing. Shouldn’t have done that.)

Everything else, though, works. It’s narrated, and the narrator does a hell of a job selling the story. Even without the animation, just listening to it, you’d have a nice chill going for you.

No points given in that golden oldie. So here’s what I thought about tonight’s viewing:

4 out of 4

Summation of Week One

This is what was watched:

  • House on Haunted Hill (1959)
  • The White Reindeer (1952)
  • House on Eden (2025)
  • Suspiria (1977)
  • The Vampire (1957)
  • Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory (1961)
  • Francis [SHORT] (2013)

Best Movie of the Week

This was a great week for Horror, with only one stumbling block out of the bunch. I’m going to give the nod to Suspiria, as that never fails to delight me. Honestly, though? It could easy be a six way tie as far as I’m concerned here and now.

Worst Movie of the Week

Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory. Hands down. Not a chill to be found. The Vampire is a better werewolf movie.

Unintended Themes 

Three werewolf movies and three movies out of the Fifties. I don’t care, just noting something interesting

Biggest Surprise

 House on Haunted Hill. That one was creepy, and I’d seen it before. Most interesting.

Newest Film Watched

House on Eden at 2025.

Oldest Film Watched

The White Reindeer at 1952.

Best Monster Flick

Francis.

One week down, three more to go!

[A MONTH OF HORROR – VI] Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster MoviesLeave a comment

A werewolf stalks around a girl’s dormitory

The title makes it sound more interesting than it is. It’s dubbed, so I couldn’t tell about the acting. The story… meanders. The werewolf looks awful.

It’s a movie I’ve seen. Though I kind of liked it…

God, my taste is horrible.

I’ve been using AI for the headers in this series. The above one? Not only is it scarier than the flick in question, it doesn’t even remotely look like the werewolf in this picture.

2.5 out of 4

[A MONTH OF HORROR – V] The Vampire

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster MoviesLeave a comment

Taking the wrong pill changes a small town doctor.

I picked this because of its short run time. I got plenty of bonuses to go with it.

First off, this stars Kenneth Tobey, star of The Thing from Another World. He brings a lot to a flick, and this one is no exception. Though, frankly, he’s underused.

Then there was the movie itself. I’d avoided it for years because it’s more Sci Fi than Horror. That was a mistake. This is a entertain film, well made, if questionable in its science (which, thankfully, it doesn’t go into much.) The protagonist (not Tobey) probably should have acted sooner in handling the matter, but I’ll let that slide.

I’ll also let the FX slide. They ain’t primo, just enough to get the job done. But I’ve seen worse.

All in all, I had fun with this one.

Amusingly enough, this is about as much a Werewolf flick as a Vampire one.

3 out of 4

[A Month of Horror – II] The White Reindeer

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Monster MoviesLeave a comment

A herder’s wife transforms into a white reindeer that leads hunters to their doom.

This is a 1952 Finnish Horror flick that frankly makes no sense to me. This young woman seems happily married to a reindeer herder. One day, though, while her husband is away, she heads off to a local wizard. She wants him to make her a love potion that makes her irresistible to men. What happens instead is she periodically transforms into a white reindeer, then leads men off to their doom.

Why she wants this potion is never explained. Why she now transforms into a reindeer is never explained.

You’d think she’d kill the men as a reindeer. Not the case. Instead, she changes into her real form, only with vampire teeth. Which is not explained.

I dunno. Maybe it’s a cultural thing I’m not getting.

What I am getting is a creepy vibe from the proceedings. There’s a expressionistic silent movie vibe to the proceedings. Long shots of empty snowy wilderness. Not a lot of talking–this film made me realize how chatty American movies are.

There’s no special effects to speak of. The murders all take place off screen. This is only noted in passing, and not a note passing judgment.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. Not a bad little flick. I rather liked it.

3 out of 4

[THOUGHTS ON STORIES] Who’s the Protagonist (II) – Focusing on the Big Guy

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn Godzilla, Monster Movies, StoriesLeave a comment

[The header image was AI generated. I only wish I could draw that good.]

A couple of years back (more or less) I wrote a little on Protagonists. As a refresher, here are the terms as I see them as a Writer, Critic, and in general mad man:

  • Plot: A series of Action/Reaction events that form a story.
  • Protagonist: Character who’s choice has the greatest effect on the Plot.
  • Antagonist: Character that either opposes the Protagonist or is opposed by the protagonist. A proper Antagonist has a greater effect on the Plot than most.
  • Hero: The moral center of the Plot. They might not be the Protagonist, as that role isn’t a moral choice.
  • Villain: No shock, but a character that is the opposite of the Hero. Someone actively doing harm. They can even be the protagonist, as that role isn’t a moral choice.
  • Unfortunate Soul: Character who endangered by the Plot’s events that for reasons can’t do anything. They are never a Protagonist or an Antagonist, as they’re choices have little to no effect on the Plot.

Let’s add one final term, just for fun:

  • Force: An element that can drive the Plot that doesn’t have the agency of a Protagonist or Antagonist. It makes no conscious choice for or against, but actively effects the Plot.

That’s seems like a fine sampling.

Let’s look at a few stories, see how this shakes out. As I am who I am, we are looking at the three Godzilla movies that share the name Godzilla. Starting with the 1998 classic Godzilla.

Don’t make that face. It’s unbecoming.

Spoilers, for what it’s worth.

The Protagonist in Godzilla 98 is Nick Tatopoulos. He’s the one who makes all the choices that matter. He wants to stop Godzilla from causing destruction.

Opposing him as the Antagonist is, of course, Godzilla. All Godzilla wants is to roam about and be the best little monster it can be. Towards the end, with its offspring slaughtered, it actively tries to harm Nick. The size of its choices matter.

Ahem.

With Godzilla 14, things get interesting.

The Protagonists in this story are the bug like Muto. Everyone reacts to their choices. It doesn’t matter how they’re destructive. Being the Protagonist isn’t a moral choice, and every choice they make moves the Plot forward.

That said, once again the Antagonist here is Godzilla. He doesn’t want the Mutos to get what they want. They threaten his existence and until they stop, he won’t stop, either.

Now where does the human character, Brody, stand here? He’s the Hero. His actions, while important, don’t change the basic conflict between Muto and Godzilla. He helps Godzilla deal with the situation, unquestionably. But when everything is said and done, he does nothing that changes the Plot. If he wasn’t involved, the conflict would have continued and ended just fine without him.

Albeit perhaps not as happily for the world.

Now if you thought that last bit was wrong headed… well you ain’t heard nothing yet.

The Protagonist in the original Godzilla is the character you see the least: Daisuke Serizawa. Standing against him is the Antagonist… Hideto Ogata.

Yeah. That’s right. Godzilla doesn’t matter in his own first movie. at best he’s a Force.

Isn’t that wild? But hear me out.

What Godzilla is is unimportant. He doesn’t have to be a radioactive dinosaur. He could be anything from a giant octopus (which he almost was) to radioactive sludge.

What matters is that he’s a problem that needs solved.

Serizawa has the solution to that problem. It is his choice that matters the most in the movie. To refrain from acting means the threat continues unhampered. Acting, on the other hand, might unleash a far worse threat. In fact, Serizawa is pretty certain that it will.

Ogata, however, opposes this. He sees only the threat before them and forces Serizawa into a decision. And, in my humble opinion, that decision is the worst possible choice.

To reinforce this, remember there is only one scene between Serizawa and Godzilla. Godzilla, at the time, is minding his own business. His threat, while real and present, is also theoretical at that point.

As I’m throwing cod theory about, let me say that the real antagonist should have been Emiko Yamane. Ultimately she’s the one who betrays Serizawa on so many levels. But that’s expecting a little much from a film out of the Fifties.

Now that was fun. Might go back to this little thought experiment at another time.

[MONSTER MOVIES] The Bloodthirsty Trilogy

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn Monster MoviesLeave a comment

This weekend I had the distinct pleasure of watching The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, three Seventies movies dealing with the Undead.

First it was The Vampire Doll/Legacy of Dracula (you’ll note a theme here). A man heads out to see his fiancée and never returns, mainly because she’s become a yellow eyed undead fiend. This one has less to do with Bram Stoker and more to do with another Gothic writer whom, if I mention his name, might spoil some of the movie. I didn’t see where this one was going and as far as I was concerned at the time, it made getting the collection worth the money for it alone.

Next was Lake of Dracula, where a past close encounter leads to heartbreaking danger for a young woman in the present. This is Grade A Vampire action here, with more yellow eyed Undead and a decent grasp of Vampire lore. The main Vampire, played by Mori Kishida, is great and I really think Kishida should be listed up there with Lugosi and Lee. He has a great presence.

Oh, and Dracula is only mentioned twice, in passing. And the Lake really doesn’t have much to do with things.

Finally there’s Evil of Dracula, where a new teacher at an all girl’s school learns that his charges are in dire danger from the Undead (and he’s not in any safe place himself). In my opinion the best of the three, it has Mori Kishida returning as a different Vampire. He seems to be having a blast in the part. Again, no connection with Dracula.

I don’t want to oversell these movies. They have their problems here and there. But they are delightful films, and not a one with sparkles.

Yes, I’m still irritated about that. Can’t be helped at this point.

[Month of Horror] Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn Monster Movies, MoviesLeave a comment

Yokai Monsters

100 Monsters

An evil landowner pushes his luck once to often and awakens the ire of the Yokai.

Here’s a fun little flick. While I was unable to ascertain whether the title was misleading or not, it does have plenty of monsters in it. Not the best special effects, mind you, but most entertaining nonetheless.

Watching this, I was reminded of Daimaijin, which perhaps isn’t surprising. Not only was this made by the same company, it was directed by the same guy.

Anyways, both this film and Daimaijin follow the same structure in terms of story. The bad guy has a host of henchmen who run rampant across the medieval Japan. They more or less have their way about things until they offend the local supernatural agency. Said supernatural agency then starts acting up, leading to the climax.

Of the two, 100 Monsters is probably the more kid friendly. The monsters are plentiful and come far more frequently than in Daimaijin, which not only has just the one but reserves him completely for the finale. It’s a bit dark. Not too much so, just enough to mention.

Were I to compare the two, though (as if I’m not doing so now), I’d give the win to Daimaijin. There’s an awful lot of padding in this movie, and no real rhyme or reason why which Yokai appears where. The finale, which is deeply satisfying in Daimaijin, doesn’t have the punch.

A tighter structure would have helped enormously. There are also two short stories buried in this movie that should have either been removed or made more a part of the over-all narative.

To summarize, it’s a good flick (1.5). I rather liked it (1.5) and will watch the sequels.

But there’s better variations on this plot out there.

3 out of 4

[Month of Horror] Vicious

On By Cullen M. M. WatersIn A Month of Horror, Ghost Movies, Monster MoviesLeave a comment

Only one short tonight. Lost track of time.

Vicious

A young woman comes home one night and finds something bad in her house.

A problem I’ve noticed with a lot of these shorts is lack of context. The protagonist encounters something weird seemingly without rhyme or reason and it’s never explained.

This might seem unfair. There’s not a lot of time to get into things in under, say, fifteen minutes. However, it can be done.

Take Trick or Treat! for instance. It isn’t much longer than Vicious, and yet you know why what happens to the protagonists happens. Oh, not the whole story behind what happens, sure. Enough, though, that it makes a degree of twisted sense.

Here, something bad happens. You don’t know why. And when dealing with the Supernatural, as you are here, an explanation of some sort would be nice.

Carping done. This is a very good short (2.0). My one complaint aside, it does everything right in terms of atmosphere, acting, and all. It was a pleasure watching it (1.5), though I don’t think I liked it quite as much as Trick or Treat! Which makes it feel a little strange that this has the higher rating.

Oh well. Never said the rating system was perfect.

3.5 out of 4