From his secret laboratory, Captain Z-Ro and his associates use their time machine, the ZX-99, to learn from the past and plan for the future. Starring Roy Steffens, Bruce Haynes, and Jack Cahill. Plus: Tales of Tomorrow-Verdict From Space (1951) Gordon Kent is on trial for allegedly killing a scientist in an underground cavern. Desperately, he tries to explain what they found inside the cave, and the implications for the future of mankind. Starring Lon McCallister, Martin Brandt, and William Lally. Two early 1950s Sci-Fi television shows to give you a taste of the early days of television.
A playboy adventure novelist joins his publisher on an expedition to Voodoo Island in the Caribbean, where a cancer researcher is being forced to turn the tribes-people into zombies. The cancer researcher discovers that by treating the natives with snake venom he can turn them into bug-eyed zombies. Uninterested in this information, the unfortunate man is forced by his evil employer to create an army of the creatures in order to conquer the world. Starring William Joyce, Heather Hewitt, and Walter Coy. This film sat on the shelf unreleased for six years until is was picked up by distributor Jerry Gross (of Cinemation Industries), who needed a horror film to play on the bottom of a double bill with his in-house production I Drink Your Blood (1970). The title was changed to "I Eat Your Skin" and released in 1970.
Ten years before, Michael was hypnotized by a very unstable doctor into killing his own parents. Then he is locked up in the mental institution for it. In the present (or the present time of the movie) Michael, his girlfriend Sandy, and their friends Lucas and Jeannie head to an island for a vacation, where the doctor has moved his work to, and has started a new experiment in reprogramming people's minds. And Michael wants revenge for what was done to him, planning to kill the doctor. Starring Michael Hurst, Margaret Umbers, and William Upjohn. Made in New Zealand you might call this a Kiwi Mind Control Horror film!
The world's water supply has dried up due to some sort of apocalypse. A beautiful woman holds the secret to where one of the last springs being guarded by a group of Amazons. A "Road Warrior" like crew captures her and tries to make her talk through brutal torture. The hero (Styrker) unites with some of the remaining "good guys" and the Amazons and frees the woman. They go on to a "Road Warrior" type of concluding battle with the bad guys. Starring Steve Sandor, Andrea Savio, and William Ostrander. Filmed in the Philippines as a Mad Max type movie you might call this a Noodle-Post-Apocalypse film.
A mad scientist tries to create a man-eating plant to prove that the origin of the human race comes from the sea. "The earth is your mother, lightning is you father, rain is your blood" says the madman who creates the thing as the Baron Frankenstein, with a Japanese hunchback. Then, a NASA scientist is ordered to take a vacation due to showing signs of stress while working on his latest missile project and stumbles across the mad scientist and his man-eating monster plant. Also known as Venus Flytrap. Starring James Craig, Tota Kondo, and Lawrence O'Neill. Yow, those weird Japanese scientists can cook up some strange Sukiyaki!
Eight mysterious crystals from the body of a long-dead princess now identify the eight samurai who are destined to help a beautiful young princess overcome a curse on her family. They go against an evil queen who bathes in blood to retain her youthfulness. The queen and her son live in a castle protected by many monsters and goblins and assorted apparitions, including giant flying snakes. Many swords, lots of sorcery and plenty of blood. Starring Hiroko Yakushimaru, Hiroyuki Sanada, Sony Chiba. This is a pretty cool Japanese fantasy adventure that shows how interesting Japanese culture is with its ancient Sci-fi, crystals, mystical warriors and more. A totally cool movie! You gotta love those flying snakes!
A former Hollywood make-up artist who now runs a wax museum after his face is disfigured by a movie mogul seeks revenge on all those he feels have wronged him. He becomes the curator of a wax museum and murders his enemies—turning their bodies as exhibits in his museum. Starring Cameron Mitchell, Anne Helm, and Scott Brady. A nicely subdued performance from Cameron Mitchell in this remake of House of Wax.
In a community near a swamp, a local dweller sees a couple of giant monsters but nobody believes him. Later, the cuckold Dave Walker finds his slut wife Liz Walker cheating on him with his friend Cal Moulton. He chases the couple through the swamp, and forces them to jump into the water. The leeches take them and shocked Dave is arrested and accused of murder. Two other locals decide to look for the bodies of Liz and Cal to get the prize of US $50.00 per body, and also vanish in the swamp. Finally, game warden Steve Benton organizes a patrol to investigate the caves under the swamp, finding the lethal giant leeches. Starring Ken Clark, Yvette Vickers, and Jan Shepard. Something of a cult movie, this is all about swamps gone wrong, terribly wrong.
An atomic explosion awakens Gamera--a giant, fire-breathing turtle monster--from his millions of years of hibernation. Enraged at being roused from such a sound sleep, he takes it out on Tokyo. Only Plan Z can stop him. Sounds like the last plan they had. Starring Albert Dekker, Brian Donlevy, and Diane Findlay. A fun Japanese monster movie. It seems that Gamera is more lovable than Godzilla, so take that Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Two Japanese children get into a flying saucer and end up on the other side of the sun where they dream of donuts and milk and a hero turtle. The women there want to eat their brains. Yikes! Originally titled in Japan as Gamera vs Guiron. Starring Christopher Murphy and Edith Hanson. Flying saucers, Gamera and the far side of the Sun, what more could you ask for—Godzilla?
Professor “Johnny Longbow” Salina, a man who really knows his stews, introduces Paul Carlson to the practical-joking Kathy Nolan. Paul and Kathy seem to hit it off rather well but, during a meteor storm, a meteorite fragment strikes Paul, burying itself deep in his skull, which has the unpleasant side-effect of causing Paul to mutate into a giant reptilian monster at night and go on murderous rampages. It turns out that this sort of thing has happened before, when Professor Salina rediscovers ancient Native American paintings detailing a similar event many centuries ago. Kathy, however, still loves Paul, and tries to save him. Starring Chase Cordell, Leigh Drake, and Gregorio Sala. An interesting independent movie made in New Mexico in the mid-70s when you could still do stuff like that. Gotta love movies made in the Land of Enchantment! The Andromeda Strain, look out!
Super criminals are planning to infiltrate Earth with mass nuclear destruction! Only Starman can defend civilization by thwarting evil! Starring Ken Utsui, Sachihiro Ohsawa, and Junko Ikeuchi. This movie is basically two Japanese movies with their popular Starman superhero of the 1960s edited together. Japanese sci-fi is always fascinating because of the interesting technology that is employed and showcased in their films. It seems to belie the material that maintains the Germans had advanced electrical devices. This is a hilariously dumb movie, none-the-less. Ken Utsui was the heartthrob of Japanese girls in the 1960s, similar to Adam West as Batman in the USA.
Security agent Larry Martin, who can fly with an experimental rocket suit, investigates clandestine visits to earth by a Martian spaceship. Meanwhile, villainous Martians conspire with a traitorous atomic scientist to blast earth out of its orbit and replace it with Mars! Can Larry and his cohort Bob Wilson stop the Martians before they complete their dastardly project? Not a zombie in sight. Starring Judd Holdren, Aline Towne, Wilson Wood, and Leonard Nimoy. Yes, Spock fans, Leonard Nimoy began his film career as an alien in this film.
An evil genius of unknown identity, calling himself “Dr. Vulcan” plots to conquer the world. He needs to first eliminate, one by one, the members of the Science Associates, an organization of America's greatest scientists. Using the flying jacket and helmet and other inventions provided by Dr. Millard, and aided by magazine reporter and photographer Glenda Thomas Jeff King, as Rocket Man, battles Vulcan and his henchmen through a dozen action-packed serial chapters. Eventually, Vulcan steals Millard's most dangerous invention, a Sonic Decimator, and uses it to flood and then destroy both New York City and the rest of Manhattan Island. Starring Tristram Coffin, Mae Clarke, Don Haggerty, House Peters, Jr., James Craven, and I. Stanford Jolley. What next—invaders from the Moon? The first of all the great Rocket Men serials! Iron Man, look out!
The evil Queen Tenefi, who's usurped the throne of Memphis, demands that a steady supply of young women be sacrificed to the God of Fire inside the Mountain of Thunder. Maciste, the son of Hercules, intervenes and saves from this sacrifice a village's women including the beautiful Antea. Maciste then becomes involved in an effort to restore to the throne of Memphis its rightful ruler, Prince Iram. To accomplish this task Maciste travels to Memphis but is betrayed by the silk merchant, Omnes. The Queen's soldiers capture Maciste and he's forced to undergo a Trial of Strength in which two teams of horses try to pull him apart. Impressed by his beauty and strength, the Queen calls an end to the Trial and then touches Maciste with her magic scepter which erases his memories and places him under her power. A female oracle then gives Antea a dart which, when fired into Maciste, will restore him to his senses. Starring Kirk Morris, Cathia Caro, and Ljubica Otasevic. Some real muscle power here!
This television movie is the combination of a number of Flash Gordon TV shows, made in West Germany, from the early 1950s. Diverging from the storyline of the comics, the series has Flash, Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov in the year 3203. As agents of the Galactic Bureau of Investigation, the team travels the galaxy in their ship the Sky Flash, battling cosmic villains under the order of Commander Paul Richards. In this movie, Dr. Zarkoff's request to test his new anti-gravitation device on a remote planet is denied because of the mysterious deaths of a recent scientific expedition. Can Flash Gordon solve this mystery? Starring Steve Holland, Irene Chaplin, and Joseph Nash. Before the Millennium Falcon there was the Sky Flash! No, this is not the Flesh Gordon movie.
An alien civilization, which is facing eminent extinction, kidnaps two famous genetic scientists from Earth. A troop of soldiers is dispatched to combat the humanoid robots and rescue the victims. Starship troopers look out! Starring Antonio Sabato, Yanti Somer, and Malisa Longo. One of those Italian sci-fi movies from the late 70s in the wake of the first Star Wars movie.
A contained deadly organism from Mars is being transported via train. Once released, a group of people will have to survive The Alpha Incident. The film starts by revealing that a microorganism from Mars has been brought to Earth and is being delivered by a train. One of the train engineers gets curious and decides to peek where the probe from Mars is being contained. He ends up releasing the diseased organism that can be passed from person by person like a deadly virus through close contact. A small town train station in Moose Point, Wisconsin is expecting the cargo to arrive in the morning, and once it's revealed that the virus was released, a biochemist stuck in the station has to lockdown the entire place leaving everyone in quarantine until they can figure out how dangerous the organism is. Yikes, a Martian virus! Starring Ralph Meeker, Stafford Morgan, and John F. Goff.
A newlywed sheriff tries to stop a shambling monster that has emerged from a spaceship to eat the citizens of an American town. A creature that looks like a cross between a Chinese dragon puppet and the Pope sucks up people into its maw. The sheriff, his wife, and a "handsome" scientist battle it to the end, with a sub plot about the evils of bachelorhood. Starring Vic Savage, Shannon O'Neil, and William Thourlby. One of those so-bad-its-good movies of the early 60s. Ed Wood, where have you gone?
A nerdy high school super whiz experiments with a chemical which will transform his guinea pig "Mr. Mumps" from a gentle pet into a ravenous monster. In a fit of rage against his tormentors at the high school, Vernon Potts (Pat Cardi) goes on a killing spree, eliminating all of those who ever picked on him—the Gym Coach, the School Jock, The Creepy Janitor (Mr. Griggs) & his hated teacher, Ms. Grindstaff. In the end he gets the jock's girlfriend for himself but his happiness is short-lived as the potion turns him into a monster hunted by the towns lame police Lieutenant—Bosman. Starring Pat Cardi, Austin Stoker, and Rosie Holotik. Yea, high school pretty much sucks.
