(1981) Robert Clarke, John Carradine, Cameron Mitchell, Katherine Victor, Steve Brodie, directed by Jerry Warren. This is perhaps the most non-sensical movie you will ever see. Clarke and his pals’ hot-air balloon crashes on a remote island that just happens to be run by a descendent (kind of) of Dr. Frankenstein, who (of course!) is carrying on mad experiments. Yes…there’s even a traditional-looking Frankenstein monster, who does little more than stand around, grunt, and wave his arms like Bela Lugosi did in Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman. He can’t even set the lab on fire, though he tries—several times! Then there’s the race of mutant Amazon babes who are just kind of thrown into the mix because of their good looks, which are grandly displayed in their skimpy leopard skin bikinis. Some of the gibberish science that is espoused in this movie is hysterical. Then there’s the scene with the machine gun, which is a riot! These are easily the worst roles of Carradine’s and Mitchell’s career. Yet, in spite of all this awfulness, it’s cool to see all the original Strickfadden lab equipment back in action again, especially in the big climactic scene. This is actually a redo of Warren’s Teenage Zombies script, except Teenage Zombies, as bad as it was, is a thousand times better. Katherine Victor is always a guilty pleasure. You know…there’s Ed Wood bad, but then there’s Jerry Warren bad, the latter of which is an experience that will always stay with you. Yet, as bad as this movie is, you’ll probably find yourself watching it all the way to the end—the hallmark of a truly classic bad movie. Great color, 35mm.
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