|
|
Post by dem bones on Jan 21, 2008 13:20:41 GMT
John Urling Clark & Robin Beresford Evans - The Experiment (Sphere, 1979) From out of the lake of nightmares it came ... the chilling, horrific creation of a twisted scientist with a sinister Nazi past.
Old Johnson is the first to die - left to bleed horribly to death.
Then little Jenny Green is found - her unborn baby ripped from her womb.
And naked terror stalks a quiet English town ... As far as I can remember, the "nerve-twisting shock-movie" referred to on the cover was made but never released - perhaps Brad can clear that up for us? Anyhow, this 150 page squelch and slobber fest seemed a good one to revisit as I try and get back into my stride following inevitable New Year collapse. At the close of the WWII, Karl Heinrich Von Stansfield destroys the few survivors of his brutal experiments at Saschenhausen and surrenders himself to the Americans. His captors are prepared to overlook his war crimes because he's had the foresight to exterminate any witnesses to his experiments - it wouldn't do to have any "embarrassments" hanging around to identify him at a later date. They're particularly keen that he continues his life's work on modifying man's breathing apparatus so that he can survive on water as opposed to air. They provide him plenty of convicted criminals to play with but the results of his surgery are depressingly similar to those he'd had back in his beloved death camp. "They allowed Stansfield to rip the lungs from their chest cavities and insert huge flapping membranous vanes into the sides of their necks ... whatever material he used for the artificial gill, the result was always the same. Death by oxygen starvation ...." Eventually the financial support and ready supply of death row inmates dries up and he's assigned less lethal tasks to accommodate his genius. So Stasfield continues his hobby in private. Relocated to a US airforce base at Marsden, Hampshire at the age of 63, the ruthless Nazi finally creates his abomination and lets it loose on the marshes. The man who was once known as Sheldon is none-too mobile and spends much of his time breathing frothily into his tubes and hunting for victims. Meanwhile, in nearby Bramwell village, Dr. Peter Rawlings has offered board and sympathy to his estranged sister, Jane, who has recently learned that she's with child. His wife Anne wonders if perhaps the time is now right for them to have a kid of their own? Jane's late arriving for her welcome party so Anne takes the opportunity to lead Peter upstairs for some fun and games. One thing I didn't mention: the marsh monster has a particular thing about pregnant women .... To be continued .....
|
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jan 22, 2008 10:49:39 GMT
As is so often the case, this is miles better than I remember it. What's left of Air Lieutenant Sheldon makes for one bizarre Frankenstein monster. Even after surgical moderation, he still requires two liquid-filled cylinders and a pair of tubes stuffed in his mouth to be able to function. I can't help but like a guy who comes over as some kind of cross between The Slime Beast and the Mad Gasser of Mattoon. And how does Colonel Stansfield keep him in check? By mind-control, of course! The Nazi chose this particular specimen because he was so susceptible to hypnosis! Stansfield is the first to admit that his creature is a bit crap. As he explains to his subordinate, Captain Ford: "At best he's an amphibian. In reality he's a very clumsy hybrid. Inefficient on land, not much better in water." But .... "By the grace of narco hypnotic induction he now possesses the necessary surgical knowledge to adapt the gaseous exchange systems of these women .... Once Sheldon has converted the women to breathe water .... he will locate them permanently in a lake for the remainder of pregnancy until birth." Sheldon's never had much luck with doctors. At his Court Martial for unnamed "sexual perversions", he willingly volunteered for a frontal lobotomy, only for the surgeon to do a bodge job. So now the good people of Branwell and Oxenbridge have a heavy breathing zombie of prodigious strength - as highly trained in the art of brutal murder as he is fetus removal - on their case. If it's any consolation, he's not difficult to recognise .... ....to be continued ... |
|
|
|
Post by Calenture on Jan 22, 2008 11:05:24 GMT
Great review, Dem.  Can't remember ever seeing this book or film, so let's hope Brad can tell us something. |
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Jan 23, 2008 10:36:18 GMT
As might be expected, it's not long before Colonel Stansfield's foolproof 'hypno-programming' master-plan goes completely tits up. Witnessing a cop having it off with a schoolgirl in the woods reminds the zombie of former pleasures and soon he is one very crazy mixed up manphibian indeed. While half of him is still committed to carrying out Stansfield's orders, the resurfacing of his old pervy desires confuses the issue.
Clark & Evans' achievement is in grafting some really nasty set-pieces onto such a ridiculous plot. The gurgling one's butchery of a character we've come to like and sympathise with, fifteen year old Jenny Green (pregnant with Detective Inspector Lock's baby), is deeply unpleasant, as is the ultra-violent demise of the old boy on his way to The Wheatsheaf for a few pints after work. And for all his mad doctor ways, old Nazi boy is a chilling creation, at his best/ worst when he explains just what he's done to his incredulous and horrified underling.
Forty pages of doom and gloom to go ....
|
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on May 5, 2008 16:43:08 GMT
Every once in a while, someone will leave a killer message on the Vault wordpress pages and such was the case recently when 'Gary' commented on the cover illustration for Peter Haining's Scary!
is that soppoes to scare so body that shit sucks that was not even a littel bit scary the hair on my neck is down
Thanks for sharing that one with us, Gaz.
And better still, from Jo.
A faint rumour from the swamp... is that the long-thought-dead visual beauty of "The Experiment" may soon be available, though perhaps not in a cinema near you. Watch this murky space!
Well, I had to follow that one up and emailed Jo who kindly passed on the following exciting news!
hello demonik,
Am responding on behalf of Centre Media... who hold rights to original 'The Experiment' book/video package.
Yes... after all these years an edit of the film has finally been located and all video horror fans should watch this space for the next few months. It will definitely be available soon!
... it may well be even worse than the "novelisation" (was that word was around in 1979?)
if you are into 'so bad that it's good' then you will not be disappointed - and you have to have read the novel to make sense of the video plot... so locate your copy now!
Jo
Thing is, I didn't think the novelisation was in the least 'bad'. It's grim and unpleasant, as convincing as a book featuring a monster who put me in mind of Dave Jackson of Van Der Graaf when he used to have two saxes shoved in his gob is ever likely to be.
More details if and when I receive 'em!
|
|
|
|
Post by Dr Terror on May 5, 2008 16:53:08 GMT
And I see David Avallone, son of Michael has visited the Mayflower section.
|
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on May 5, 2008 17:09:44 GMT
.... and provided some top news for Tales Of The Frightened aficionado's. I hope to be able to post details shortly!
|
|
|
|
Post by blackmonk on Apr 1, 2011 11:57:02 GMT
 The dvd is listed in Centre Media's catalogue although the image used is clearly only a repro of the book cover. I've made email enquiries but had no replies. Does anyone know if the film has actually been released? In the process of reading the book at the moment! |
|
|
|
Post by dem bones on Apr 2, 2011 10:13:24 GMT
hi black monk, have written John Urling so will let you know if he gets back with any new info. Hope you'll let us know what you make of the novel!
|
|
