Written By: Ken Hulsey Sources: Robert Hood / Avery Guerra
Everyone knows that your deadliest zombies come from outer space as this collection of trailers from two brand-new films will illustrate.
First up is a really cool retro film from Germany of all places. Film maker Martin Faltermeier drew upon B movie craze of the 1950's as the inspiration for his latest film "Zombies From Outer Space." Though the first trailer may look like it, the film is not a remake of "The Sound of Music".
Here is the plot:
Bavaria in the late fifties. One day the life of Maria, a young girl, changes when she stumbles upon the dead body of an woman. Scientist Dr. Robert Hölzlein and the American lieutenant John Welles, stationed in Bavaria, are commissioned to solve what is obviously a murder case. But trouble seems inevitable as both are interested in the beautiful Maria.
As more and more dead women are discovered in the area, along with mysterious sightings of unidentified flying objects, fear and mistrust grows among the inhabitants.
While inspecting a crop circle Lieutenant Welles finds a dead alien, and an autopsy of the strange corpse leads Hölzlein to a terrible conclusion. Too late he discovers the connection between the dead women and the inexplicable UFO visitations. Before he can alert the population, however, undead aliens rise from their tombs beneath crop circles throughout the district, their aim to destroy humanity. Will the two rivals, Robert and John, realise in time that their only chance for survival is to work together?
Das ist gut ya?
Not quite as retro but as equally gonzo is the fourth installment of Ted V. Mikel's "Astro Zombie" franchise "Astro Zombies: Invaders from Cyberspace." It seems that the blood-thirsty zombies from another world weren't too happy that their kinsmen were thwarted by a group of buxom women so they set out to invade the Earth ... starting in Germany.
What is it with Germany?
99 Düsenjäger Jeder war ein großer Krieger Hielten sich für Captain Kirk Das gab ein großes Feuerwerk Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft Und fühlten sich gleich angemacht Dabei schoss man am Horizont Auf 99 Luftballons
Happy Thanksgiving monster movie lovers! I know many of you around this great country of ours are getting ready to stuff your faces until you either puke or pass out. Possibly both! I'm right there with ya, I'm looking through my closet large size shirts and elastic waistband pants as we speak ... hmmm .... maybe I should just wear a moo moo like Homer Simpson did?
Enough of my fashion crisis, it's time to get down to the meat and potatoes before we all get down to the meat and potatoes. It's Turkey Day and I've got alot of info here on two of the biggest turkeys you'll ever lay eyes on. I am of course referring to Gappa (The Triphibian Monster ... um ... Monster From A Prehistoric Planet) and the equally gonzo Giant Claw. Two titanic birds that will only rival the one on your diner table.
On Thanksgiving it's all about choices. Turkey or ham? Stuffing or potatoes? Dark meat or white? Ravens or 49ers? Well here at Monster Island News we want to give you all we can so today I have combined our popular "Monstrous Movie Poster", "Movie Trailer" and "Did You Know" features into one giant monster movie cornucopia (or horn of plenty) for you to devour.
First up is Gappa!
History:
Daikyojū Gappa (大巨獣ガッパ, "Gappa, The Colossal Beast") is a 1967 Kaiju film. The film was produced by Nikkatsu Corporation, and was their only foray into the giant monster genre. The foreign sales title for the film was Gappa: The Triphibian Monster, and was dubbed into English (considered the "International Version"). The film was picked up by American International Pictures and released directly to television in the US under their American International Television banner, and retitled Monster from a Prehistoric Planet. This version was one of many films syndicated to broadcasters nationwide by AIP-TV, and became a staple for Horror Hosts on television stations from San Francisco to New York City from the late 1960s through early 1980s.
Did You Know?
There was an urban legend that Nikkatsu's international English prints originally had a racist line, "The monsters are attacking Tokyo. Fortunately they are attacking the Negro section of town." (and that the line was changed). This was untrue.
This film was intended as a lighthearted satire of the daikaiju films of the period. This is one of the reasons the film has come under criticism by many people and kaiju fans. But some of the satire is lost in translated overseas prints.
The film's special effects were provided by Akira Watanabe, who had worked as an art director on many tokusatsu films such as the 1957 Toho sci-fi classic, The Mysterians.
In the Japanese version, the opening credits and ending were accompanied by a Rock & Roll theme song, "Gappa, The Colossal Beast" (the first and second verses, respectively), and the touching reunion scene near the end had a ballad called "Keep Trying, Baby Gappa!". In all overseas prints, the opening and ending songs were replaced with standard orchestral music, and "Keep Trying, Baby Gappa!" was instrumental.
The adult Gappas had a cameo scene in the British comedy/sci fi series Red Dwarf. In episode 6 of series 4, "Meltdown", Arnold Rimmer and Kryten arrive on a planet they will later discover is a giant Waxdroid theme park. After sending the teleporter they used to arrive back to pick up Lister and The Cat, they are forced to flee by the Gappas. Kryten later comments that he's seen more realistic dinosaurs in packets of Wheatie Flakes.
Your Turkey Of A Trailer!
Ready for seconds? Well loosen your belt some more because here comes The Giant Claw!
History:
The Giant Claw is a 1957 science fiction 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 the other through Screamtime in the United Kingdom) to date. Columbia Pictures finally released the film officially to DVD in October 2007 as part of the two disc four film set Icons of Horror Collection - Sam Katzman.
Did You Know?
The poster artists were purportedly not shown the puppet nor any other artwork from the film's production and concluded that the monster was a giant eagle or hawk. Thus, the creature in the posters looks nothing like the beast in the film.
Screenwriter Samuel Newman re-used the character name "Dr. Karol Noyman" (here played by Edgar Barrier) for an entirely different character played by John Carradine in the 1959 film Invisible Invaders, which Newman also wrote.
In an interview, star Jeff Morrow said that neither he nor anyone on the film saw the title "monster" until they went to the film's premiere in Morrow's home town. It turned out that producer Sam Katzman had contracted with a low-budget model-maker in Mexico City to construct the "Giant Claw" and no one in the cast or crew had any idea it would come out looking as bizarre and, frankly, laughable as it did. Morrow said that the audience roared with laughter every time the "monster" made an appearance, and he wound up slinking in embarrassment out of the theater before the film was over so that no one who knew him would recognize him.
The producers originally planned to use a stop-motion model created by Ray Harryhausen for the bird. However, due to budgetary limitations they were forced to use a marionette.
A character in the film mistakes the bird for La Carcagne which is alleged in the film to be a monster from French Canadian folklore that resembles a giant woman with a wolf's head and bat-like black wings and which, like the Banshee, is a harbinger of death.
Yes, boys and girls, the monster in this film is a puppet. I know that throughout the history of monster films, puppets have been used very effectively as a cheap alternative to expensive, and time consuming, stop-motion models. Two examples of this are, "The Land That Time Forgot, and the early, "Godzilla" movies. This puppet, however, was not of that quality. This was actually a marionette that looked like it belonged in a "Punch and Judy" show at a carnival.
Rare Bigfoot and Mothman footage. In many cases old film footage of Sasquatch such as these have remained hidden in attics and closets for decades. Many people fearing ridicule never released them to the public.
The Abominable Snowman (aka The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas) is a 1957 British horror film, directed by Val Guest and starring Forrest Tucker and Peter Cushing. The film is based on The Creature, a BBC Television play by writer Nigel Kneale, and follows the exploits of an English anthropologist with an American expedition as they search the Himalayas for the legendary Yeti. Kneale adapted his own television script into the film screenplay. Cushing, along with several other members of the cast, had also starred in the original version (the role of Tom Friend in the television play was taken by Stanley Baker).
The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions and released on 26 August 1957 in the UK. It was subsequently released in the United States and throughout the world.
An archeological expedition to the Amazon discovers the fossilized remains of the arm and clawed hand of a “missing link” between man and fish. The item is returned to civilization and a research team consisting of marine biologist Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson), his employer Mark Williams (Richard Denning), his assistant Kay (Julia Adams), and the man responsible for the find, Dr. Carlos Maia, are quickly assembled to return to the Amazon to search for the rest of the remains.
Upon returning to the site the group discovers that the campsite has been ransacked and the members of first expedition have been slaughtered. Despite this grizzly discovery the group continues on with the dig to no avail. It is soon discovered that the rest of the remains must have been washed down stream into an area that is known to the local natives as “The Black Lagoon.”
Upon arrival at the mysterious lagoon the young assistant, Kay, decides to take a morning swim when she catches the attention of the ominous Gill-man who instantly becomes fascinated with the delicate creature he sees swimming above him. The young woman soon becomes the Creatures obsession and several attempts are made by the monster to capture her.
The group quickly finds itself in a fight for survival after several attempts are made to capture the Creature. The monster effectively blocks the exit from the lagoon and finally captures the object of its fascination. A rescue operation is immediately put into action and the monster is tracked to its lair where it is shot several times. In the end the Gill-man stumbles back into the lagoon where it is last seen floating lifeless in the murky water.
Werewolf of London is a 1935 Horror/werewolf movie starring Henry Hull and produced by Universal Pictures. Jack Pierce's eerie werewolf make-up was simpler than his version six years later for Lon Chaney, Jr., in The Wolf Man but, according to film historians, remains strikingly effective as worn by Hull.
Werewolf of London was the first Hollywood mainstream werewolf movie.
Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull) is a wealthy and world-renowned English botanist who journeys to Tibet in 1935 in search of the elusive mariphasa plant. While there, he is attacked and bitten by a creature later revealed to be a werewolf, although he succeeds in acquiring a specimen of the mariphasa. Once back home in London he is approached by a fellow botanist, Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland), who claims to have met him in Tibet while also seeking the mariphasa. Yogami warns Glendon that the bite of a werewolf would cause him to become a werewolf as well, adding that the mariphasa is a temporary antidote for the disease.
Glendon does not believe the mysterious Yogami. That is, not until he begins to experience the first pangs of lycanthropy, first when his hand grows fur beneath the rays of his moon lamp (which he is using in an effort to entice the mariphasa to bloom), and later that night during the first full moon. The first time, Glendon is able to use a blossom from the mariphasa to stop his transformation. His wife Lisa (Valerie Hobson) is away at her aunt Ettie's party with her friend, former childhood sweetheart Paul Ames (Lester Matthews, seventeen years older than his "childhood sweetheart"), allowing the swiftly transforming Glendon to make his way unhindered to his at-home laboratory, in the hopes of acquiring the mariphasa's flowers to quell his lycanthropy a second time. Unfortunately Dr. Yogami, who is also a werewolf, sneaks into the lab ahead of his rival and steals the only two blossoms. As the third has not bloomed, Glendon is out of luck.
Driven by an instinctive desire to hunt and kill, he dons his hat and coat and ventures out into the dark city, killing an innocent girl. Burdened by remorse, Glendon begins neglecting Lisa (more so than usual), and makes numerous futile attempts to lock himself up far away from home, including renting a room at an inn, or with Mrs. Whack and Mrs. Moncaster. However, whenever he transforms into the werewolf he escapes and kills again. After a time, the third blossum of the mariphasa finally blooms, but much to Glendon's horror, it is stolen by Yogami, sneaking into the lab while Glendon's back is turned. Catching Yogami in the act, Glendon finally realizes that Yogami was the werewolf that attacked him in Tibet. After turning into the werewolf yet again and slaying Yogami, Glendon goes to the house in search of Lisa, for the werewolf instinctively seeks to destroy that which it loves the most. - Wikipedia
Boris Karloff arrived in Hollywood in 1917 and began a career as a bit player in several films before James Whale spotted him in the Universal commissary eating lunch. His silent portrayal as the monster in “Frankenstein” would catapult him to the “A” list of Hollywood horror actors. In real life however Karloff was anything but a monster. He was always noted as being a gentle, kind man who loved to entertain children.
When Universal released “Frankenstein” in 1931 the film was a very unique piece to watch. The film has always been regarded as a black and white classic when it was nothing of the sort. When audiences originally saw the film in theatres the daylight scenes were in amber, the night in pale blue, the eerie scenes in green and the fiery climax in red. Universal also thought it was necessary to hype the film up a bit. As if the film wasn’t scary enough on its own the studio found it in their best interest to park an ambulance out in front of many theatres and to keep two nurses on hand in the lobby to raise the chill factor. They even went as far as to place an actress in the audience during every showing who would, at the scariest moment in the film, scream, jump out of her seat, and run up the aisle and out of the theatre. Too bad we don’t see theatrics like that anymore.
Within the last day and a half, J.J. Abrams latest film, "Super 8" has gone from unknown film, to "Cloverfield" prequel, to just a monster movie.....maybe.
In case you just wandered into this mess, on Tuesday morning Collider.com reported that there was going to be a mystery trailer, produced by J.J. Abrams, attached to "Iron Man 2" for a film called "Super 8". A few hours later, Bloody Disgusting reported that the film in question was indeed the prequel to Abrams 2008 monster film, "Cloverfield."
Now.....well Abrams is saying, 'Nice try, but no."
Reportedly when the film maker learned that websites were reporting that his new film was the long-rumoured "Cloverfield" follow-up, he denied it saying, "You have to check [out the trailer], but it has nothing whatsoever to do with Cloverfield, despite your expert reporting."
It seems that Bloody Disgusting tried to confirm their report with a rep from Paramount and were met with confusion.
So for now, "Super 8" is not the "Cloverfield" sequel..........who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Abrams did, however, confirm that the film in question is about a bunch of kids who discover that there is an alien (monster?) in their home movie.
So, here is the million dollar question, is this another of Abrams tricks? I mean, really, could this be another bit of misdirection from the film maker?
Could this be more "Cloverfield", "Godzilla 2012" or just another alien film, possibly co-produced by Steven Spielberg?
For some odd reason, I expect to be writing about another twist tomorrow.
Wow, this story really mutated fast. Earlier today, J.J. Abrams "Cloverfield" prequel, "Super 8", went from the movie that nobody knew about, to the most talked about film in the entertainment industry.
And all of that happened in about two hours time.
Okay, J.J. Abrams is officially the sneakiest guy in Hollywood. Before today, nobody, and I mean nobody, had the slightest idea that Abrams "Cloverfield" prequel was even in production.
Honestly, the first that anyone had heard about "Super 8" was that it was supposed to be a mystery trailer, produced by Abrams, that was set to debut in front of "Iron Man 2" later this week.
Remember back in 2007 when the 'covert' film maker sprung the trailer for "Cloverfield" on the unsuspecting public who turned out to see "Transformers"?
Well, that's what Abrams was about to do again, this time, however, news traveled fast and before the speculation on whether the film was a "Cloverfield" sequel, the upcoming "Godzilla 2012" movie, or something else completely, could even get cold, news broke confirming it's connection to the 2008 monster movie.
Boy, that sure was quick.
The article that I had posted around lunch time was obsolete by 2pm.
What we know so far about "Super 8" is that it involves a bunch of kids who are playing around with a home movie camera and discover that they have accidentally filmed a monster. Reportedly this takes place a couple of decades before the events in "Cloverfield", in either the 70s or 80s.
How exactly all of this ties in with the monster in "Cloverfield" is not known at this time.
Fans that have been following news on the "Cloverfield" follow-up for the past two years know that Abrams and director Matt Reeves have been playing the old 'shell game' with their quotes to reporters. One month they are thinking about making the movie, the next, it's in early development, then it's years off.
Check out some of these comments from Reeves over the past couple of months:
"There's always an ebb and flow to the development of something. [JJ Abrams] is doing this or that now and I'm making [LET ME IN] now and I just started editing. He is starting to make a very personal project that's coming out and he just did a pilot. But there are things we've been talking about. Things that are developing. It comes and goes. The way in which I'd be involved hasn't hit a solid form yet. It's up in the air but also percolating. There are all kinds of approaches that have come up, some of which are very different. It's gonna be cool."
"I can tell you nothing, [but] there are these spikes in activity," he said when asked about a second "Cloverfield" movie. "There are things that we keep talking about and things spike up. It very well may happen."
"I don't know at this point... I think if we find something that would be incredibly fun to make and that we would want to watch then that's what would push it over the top. It's a weird puzzle."
Then Abrams, however, kinda spilled the beans with these statements:
"We're actually working on an idea right now. The key obviously at doing any kind of sequel, certainly this film included, is that it better not be a business decision. If you're going to do something, it should be because you're really inspired to do it. It doesn't really have to mean anything, doesn't mean it will work, but it means we did it because we cared, not because we thought we could get the bucks. We have an idea that we thought was pretty cool that we're playing with, which means there will be something that's connected to Cloverfield, but I hope it happens sooner than later because the idea is pretty sweet."
You tricky suckers.......
So, when you plop your firm little butts in the seats this weekend to see "Iron Man 2" there will be, yet another, of Abram's mysterious, "Cloverfield" related trailers for you to start numerous rumors and speculation about.
Written By: Ken Hulsey
