|
Post by vaughan on Jun 29, 2009 2:17:48 GMT
I have the Yor movie, man that's such a treat! It starts as a caveman epic, complete with ridiculous plastic dinosaur heads, and ends on a spaceship with aliens from another world (whose vast technology is no match for Yor's club.)
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 28, 2009 19:31:42 GMT
This is my introduction to Lymington. I know he wrote "Night of the Big Heat", and I love the movie version, but this is my first experience reading his work directly. As noted elsewhere I bought three of his books at the same time. What I expected was a 50's movie Sci-Fi experience (based largely on Night of the Big Heat) and to be perfectly honest I wasn't disappointed. The Coming of Strangers tells the tale of strange crustaceans, rising from the sea in a small seaside town. Invisible they can't be seen, but they kind of give themselves away by tearing off the head of a homeless men....... The beauty of this one is that, as eagerly anticipated, you can easily visualized the movie that never was. Black and white, 4:3, Arthur Crabtree directing, and Marshall Thompson playing the lead, John Sabastian. Oh the joy of having a 'minds eye'! It's short - 142 pages of a story where not too much actually happens - but it's the expectation that gets you. Yeah, just like those old movies. The writing is arcane, and takes in the jargon of the 60's, but that's easily forgotten and passed over - it WAS written in the 60's after all. The one and only down point..... I bought this second hand, and one page is missing! damn. Torn out..... Still, I won't let that spoil what was, after all, good entertainment. I bought two other titles of Lymington's, and I'll get to them soon I think. Next up I'm going with a different author, but if you're into the 50's Sci-Fi movie cycle, then this is essential stuff (not that I'm telling anyone here anything about these writers - you know it already!!!)
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 28, 2009 19:18:46 GMT
Mark: I'm not sure what you know about the history of Beast in Heat, but all the partisan footage was stolen from another movie and grafted on to fill out the time - and give us the pretense of a story. So you're getting two films in one. Which is just one more reason to love what it does - all of it badly.
The guy in the cage... yes it's perverse, but that kind of goes with exploitation like Cheese and Onion really. Perversity and exploitation is Mother and Father.
You know, I downloaded (not available on DVD) the movie "Deadly Eyes" the other day. It's purportedly based on Herbert's 'The Rats' - though he apparently hated it. For good reason I guess, there is lots wrong with it. But I had a blast, it's daft, silly, and certainly not frightening, but it held my interest. I guess I just love bad cinema. I have a copy of Dogs here somewhere, not watched it yet though.....
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 28, 2009 13:35:14 GMT
I just adore Beast in Heat, it transcends exploitation really, doesn't it? It's just a terrific lesson for film students in how NOT to do things. Yet it's so delicious anyway. Did you see the recent (2007) documentary on Don Dohler? Blood, Boobs & Beast www.imdb.com/title/tt1010379/I have it here somewhere, decent documentary made during the latter part of his life. Nightbeast (Dohler) is a fine piece of work (again for all the wrong reasons). Triple bill it with Night of the Moonbeast and Night of the Demon and you've got a real party going. I also recently bought a pirate disc of Octoman (it's never had an official release). Good times indeed. Of course there are various strands of exploitation films - American and Italian being prevalent. Nothing truly beats the Italian strain I suppose, following all the way through giallo's. You can't go wrong really. One of the strengths of these films is that if you spend a lot of time with them, it's actually a jarring shock to go back to mainstream cinema. You watch a few months of these films and then go and watch the latest blockbuster, and it feels shocking to see the polish, the glamour, and the money splashing about on-screen. And will ANY film ever reach the giddy heights of Fulci's The Beyond?!? Naziploitation can indeed be dull, but there's something in that boredom. Somehow they managed to take a very simple formula, that requires very little of ill-equipped writers, actors, and filmmakers, yet they fumble it. Which - perversely - I still find worth watching. Nunploitation is a genre I haven't really got much of, but it also suffers from the boredom thing after a while )based on what I have seen). Oh well, maybe tonight I'll find time for a dose of Porno Holocaust? ;D
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 28, 2009 2:01:00 GMT
I just picked up three Lymington books, but the one I really wanted - Night of the Big Heat - wasn't around. That's such a wonderfully silly movie, you've got to love it!
Anyway, I did get: The Giant Stumbles, The Grey Ones, and The Coming of Strangers. They all appeared to be of a 50's Sci-fi bent (movie wise, I mean)
My cover of The Grey Ones is different though (it's grey for a start! --LOL--) It's a Macfadden book dated 1970....
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 28, 2009 1:54:21 GMT
Fontana, Published 1980 (US), 1981 (UK). 223 Pages.
Well, I'm new to John Coyne - and on the strength of this I'd be more than willing to give him another go. The story of The Searing is of a new housing development on the banks of the Potomac outside of Washington, DC. A farmer had gotten himself into debt, and through some questionable moves by his banker, sold much of his land for a new development to go up. The houses were bought by an elite group of families that are either working at high-levels of government, or are at the top of their professions. All goes well at the new development until a baby is found, dead in its cot - its brain cooked. Yes, cooked. Our lead character is Sara, a doctor, and it's left to her to figure out what's going on. There are several more deaths, and they all seem to have something to do with farmers daughter, an autistic girl by the name of Cindy (who is described as "retarded" far more times than one would like). She seems to always be on the scene of the crimes, but doesn't seem to have the mental capacity to truly hurt anyone. Perhaps it has something to do with the old Indian Burial mound? Of course I don't want to give any spoilers, but I'm pretty sure no-one will be expecting how this one turns out. It's a real M. Night Shyamalan one this.... caught me off guard. If I'm truthful I think the author went a bit.... off the track, but hey who am I to question the guy? It's certainly different!! Writing style is good, and the action takes place in around 5 or 6 locations in the new housing development, keeping the sense of place quite well. I'm not sure how most of you would react to the climax of this one, but for me it gets a 7 out of 10. The points are docked for a wacky ending.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 28, 2009 1:41:02 GMT
You know, I watch a lot of exploitation cinema, and have followed it for many years (if my book collection was anywhere near the size of my DVD collection I'd be a VERY happy man).
Anyway, to be perfectly honest I don't think these films could be made today. They were simply of their time. They also benefited from being shot on film. Today they'd likely be shot digitally, and really the shock of the Ilsa films would be submerged. These films have a reputation, but could that be duplicated in the mass media world we have today? There was something dark, hidden, secret about the films - you had to go out of your way to see them.... now you just go to Amazon.
Most of the exploitation being made at the moment is different. In the Ilsa films (and those like it) there was a campness, and ineptness that gave them humour, even if unintentional much of the time. It's a valve to release the morbid fascination. In modern films this is missing, and the filmmakers tend to take things far too seriously. In other words they tend to simply be mean, nasty, and without entertainment.
In other words, I don't think they could truly revive these films. Maybe they could have gone in another direction, I don't know. In recent years (last 5 years or so) there have been efforts to re-establish the old Cannibal genre, for instance. But it's not working.....
Still - the original films are important to me, and I'm glad to have seen them.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 28, 2009 1:34:58 GMT
Those look seriously good. Love the rabid Scooby Doo on that cover - intentional?
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 27, 2009 7:04:59 GMT
Hm - three pages of GNS material, and no mention of this one. How come? Cannibals tells the tale of Invercurie, an off the beat piece of coastal land with a sparse collection of cottages, groups of ye ole locals, and a secret.... It's not a spoiler to tell you that the secret is the cannibals. Guy N. Smith works here with his usual threadbare style, although I'd suggest he gives this one a little more time to brew than usual. However, the book works on such a small scale (a hamlet) that is never truly breaks out into something terrific. Essentially what we have is a reworking of Wes Craven's movie - The Hills Have Eyes, but set in a small town. The movie came first, and while the book isn't truly related, the movie and book really ought to be double-billed on a Saturday afternoon. After just reading Lewis' Spiders, I was ready for an "anything goes" approach. GNS doesn't do that here though, with the story staying strangely restrained in scope and scale. Having said that, the gore is pretty good. Sadly, not everyone who should die does (you'll figure it out!) As an aside - I have been struck by the niceness of some of the people on this site. As a starter in the pulp collecting, I don't have much to give back..... BUT.... I actually DID find a second copy of Cannibals in a local store! So.... if there is anyone out there that wants it, write in this thread and I'll send it off. I'd say Cannibals won't win over anyone new, but if you're a GNS fan, it's decent.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 27, 2009 6:46:33 GMT
Yeah - the Ilsa films are truly great examples of exploitation cinema. To know them is to love them, and it's sad to hear that another great has left us.
These were Un-PC before there ever was PC, and were all the better for it.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 26, 2009 6:49:33 GMT
If anyone has a copy of the episode called "The Banger" then I'd LOVE to get a copy.... that episode is terrific, and I've been looking for it forever....
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 26, 2009 5:27:28 GMT
You do know the search function is worthless, right? Well, I just did an 8 hour reading session, starting at 10:00pm right through to 6:00am - fortunately I have nothing important to do today! The cause of all this mayhem is simple, Spiders. They don't call them 'page turners' for nothing! You know, I so loved this book - it's just plain TERRIFIC if I may say so. It's got everything you might want, blood, gore, icky creatures, moments when you're reading it and you get a little itch on ankle and think - "oh-uh". Yes, silly, but effective. With a title like 'Spiders" you know this is horror of the arachnid variety. Thousands of the little buggers, teaming, streaming, spewing across the English countryside - eating all in their path (yes, EATING). Scientists are baffled and we, as readers, learn things as they do. The military have itchy trigger fingers, preparing the nukes, and London is brought to its knees. All sound rather over-the-top? Well, that's exactly what makes this a great read. Richard Lewis just goes all out, cutting to the chase without hesitation. The story moves from being an isolated death in a bedroom to a countrywide disaster at breakneck speed. And of course, the climactic scenes are wildly mad and vicious. Yeah - you've got to love it. 153 pages of rip-roaring brilliance that had me staying up, reading reading reading.... this is what it's all about! Pure entertainment, and exactly the reason I have decided to revive my interest in pulp horror fiction. This is the best I've read yet. Now onto some Guy N. Smith, Cannibals I think..... Yum!
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 26, 2009 3:18:09 GMT
The guy is a hero, and brought me lots of pleasure - both as a youth and now. Monster Mag is just art of me at this point. What a fine chap. Please be sure to let him know that people such as myself simply worship some of his work. Monster Mag was - and is - the coolest thing I own.
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 26, 2009 1:30:00 GMT
I couldn't find anything on the good old "Monster Mag" on here - so thought I'd give it a mention. So many of you on here obviously have wonderful book collections - I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad jealous! My one and only claim to fame (as it were) is my collection of Monster Mag's. Back in the day I bought this religiously, and had them pinned to my bedroom wall. One day - staying out beyond my time - my father made me take them all down and give them away as punishment -UGH! So a few years ago I got it into my head to get them again, and after a year or so was able to track them all down. As some of you might know, Issue 2 never made it to the UK due to censorship issues, so the series ran 1, 3, and onward to around 15 issues in all - it was a monthly magazine. My proudest find was - yes - a copy of issue 2. I've read elsewhere that it's hard to find, but that some French copies could be had if you tried hard enough - strangely I found a German one. Anyway - all hail Monster Mag! www.xtheunknown.com/MonsterMag/MMCovers.html
|
|
|
Post by vaughan on Jun 26, 2009 1:00:22 GMT
You know, I put page counts down because it's a hard fact that's sometimes fun to know. However, if you take into account the largish font, the line spacing etc - this is probably a 250 page book by many peoples standards. It's certainly not a long read.....
|
|