Reviews (5)

Mediocre Monster Movie!
The movie begins with a space ship coming back from a journey into outer space.On this journey they have obtained spores from another planet.John Carradine uses these spores to make ayouth serum.Carradine dies.His assistant takes the serum to an aging movie star who injects it hoping to start landing leading roles again.So far this movie is lightweight.The movie star turns into a giant buglike creature.The most exciting segment takes place when the secretary goes skinny dipping in the pool and is killed by the buglike creature.The plot is bad,the acting is bad,the whole movie is bad.Buy this if you can find it on sale.

[junky] spawn
My God, what a [junky] movie! I'm a lover of "B" rated horror movies and usually the campier the better, but if there's such a thing as a "E" of "F" rated movie this is it. The plot is obviously a ripoff of "The Wasp Woman", the special effects are practically non-exsistant, the monster is stupid looking, (I did like the teeth) and I've see better acting in porno movies. The only redeeming feature of this turkey is the physical appearance of the woman actors, the're for the most part pretty darn good looking. I could keep going, tearing this thing to shreds, but let me suffice to say I haven't seen a movie this bad since "Attack of the Mushroom People"

DO NOT TOUCH!!!!
I happen to be a fan of Fred Olen Ray's movies, but you must fight all urges to buy this one, folks. First of all, the picture quality wasn't that great. I've seen worse, but it is poor quality and very grainy (which suprises me given the good quality of other Retro Media titles). Next, the acting is atrocious. I can usually deal with bad actors and actresses (as I said earlier, I'm a fan of Fred Olen Ray's movies) if the plot is decent enough or if the story is at least entertaining enough. But this is absolutely the worst movie I have ever seen! There are no, I repeat, no redeeming qualities in this movie. So, why did I give it two stars you ask? The extra materials, that's why. There are some pretty neat things on the rest of the DVD (such as Nite Owl Theater bloopers, outtakes of the movie, and, of course, a new episode of Nite Owl Theater). But believe me, it is not worth the price of the DVD. STAY AWAY!!!!

[Breasts] and Blood
I have always liked this film and saw it many years ago on cassette, but seeing the widescreen version is even better. This is a cheesy film starring sexy Bobbi Bresee as an actress who takes an aging drug and turns into an insect monster. Goofy as hell but VERY VERY enjoyable. Has some interesting things on the disc such as trailers, behind the scenes shots and another episode of Nite Owl Theater with Fred Olen Ray and Miss Kim. A highly recommended DVD that does not disappoint.

Wish I could have seen it
I'd like to be able to write a review of this, but the widescreen DVD version didn't work in my home player or in my PC. After trying two copies with the same result, I gave up on it and picked up something else. There appears to be a problem with the widescreen release, buyer beware. This was very disappointing, as I'm a big fan of Nite Owl Theater and was looking forward to seeing this one. Maybe next time . . . ... Read more

Amazon.com

"A sex symbol becomes a thing," says Marilyn Monroe, her voice being approximated by Trudi Jo Marie Keck, who also doubles as the editor of We Remember Marilyn, a historical appreciation of the life of the much-vaunted sex goddess. "I always thought symbols were things you clashed together," she continues to muse. "But if I'm going to be a symbol of anything, I'd rather it be sex than some other things there are symbols for. I know how they'll remember me: 'Here lies Marilyn Monroe, 34-24-36.' But, anyway, they'll remember me." And remember her they do, in this concoction written and directed by Ted Newsom (Ed Wood--Look Back inAngora). Newsom doesn't bother to cite the source for the above words ascribed to Ms. Monroe so it's hard to say where they came from, but they pointedly set the tone for any discussion of sex-symbol iconography. The quote is by turns sad and funny--funny because of the lack of self-awareness evinced in the words. And how better to sum up a career that moved between celebrity and the highest seats of power on a vehicle of sex, and ended early and abruptly. Film clips, photos (where Marilyn the icon truly shone), and a rich array of stock footage form the backdrop for the proceedings. At one point, the voice of director John Huston enriches the soundtrack. --Jim Gay ... Read more

Amazon.com

"What frightens me is not so much the obvious monster. What frightens me is the unknown, the fear that my mind is not in control, that there is something out there that nobody knows about." So says Roger Corman, king of the B picture, helping to set the tone for this richly detailed survey of the horror film. Introduced and hosted by veteran horror actor Christopher Lee, and written and directed by Ted Newsom (the director of Ed Wood--Look Back in Angora), this documentary is clearly a labor of love. There is on view a "blood feast" of film clips and sometimes priceless interviews with filmmakers. As our host, Christopher Lee offers up funny anecdotes about his days at Hammer Studios; you might be interested in knowing why being The Mummy was a literal pain. Exploitation film director Herschell G. Lewis is hilarious on why you shouldn't worry about opening gory films in Peoria, and how the censor board was stymied by the bloodiest of films. And John Carpenter tells how Suspiria director DarioArgento worked from his dreams like Luis Bunuel. Notably missing is any mention of Stephen King, Brian De Palma, or Sam Raimi. Raimi alone could have been the focus of a whole section devoted to the influence of H.P. Lovecraft on modern horror films. Also, the filmmakers seem less interested in the sections on science fiction for some reason, despite critics' estimates that half of all science fiction films fall clearly in the horror genre. Nevertheless, the interviews and film clips make this disc worth the price of admission. --Jim Gay ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Christopher Lee at your service
"call them fantasy films...but please don't call them horror" is one of the lines given by the host, Christopher Lee, jokingly looking in utter disgust that the public would call these films 'horror'. his performance is hilarious because of his sophisticated and always serious approach to acting and yet he's offering a self-parody much in the tradition of Vincent Price. although he doesn't go over-the-top, Lee's participation/narration was vital for this program's legitimacy. clips of horror and Sci-Fi films are shown throughout...there's also clips of interviews with Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Roger Corman among others...the so-called drive-in horror titans of the '60s are also spotlighted: American International and Hammer, the two companies that were responsible for 90% of the horror output in the '50s, '60s, and early '70s. this is a great look at horror films and Lee's commanding voice and screen appearances keep it from being too tedious, as it may have been had a contemporary hot shot with little to no affiliation with the genre narrated the show.

Bad Beginning but the middle and the end are really good.
Don't turn it off! But first you need to watch at least five of these movies to enjoy it. With Christopher Lee being your host this makes the movie very fun. It talks about little trivia and cool things to know about tese films.->

1. Halloween
2. Frankenstein, 1931
3. Dracula, 1931
4. The Mummy, 1959
5. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
6. Psycho, 1960
7. Mary Shelly's Frankenstein
8. Mummy's Hand
9. Nightmare On Elm Street
10. The Bride of Frankenstein
11. House of Frankenstein

12. House of Dracula
13. The Lost World, 1925
14. The Mummy's Tomb
15. Tales of Tomorrow: Frankenstein
16. Phantom of The Opera
17. Mystery of The Wax Museum
18. Curse of Frankenstein
19. Werewolf of London
20. 1,000,000 Years B.C.

Only for The Most Desperate of "Horror" Fans
Unfortunately, the folks who put this "documentary" together seem to think horror is confined to cheezy Grade Z movies full of excessive "knife across the eyeball" style gore. A somewhat comatose Christopher Lee seems ashamed to be hosting this mess.

Great documentary (saw the DVD version)!
I saw the DVD version of this video and, being a horror film buff, found it very entertaining. The problem with documentaries like these, however, is that they do tend to get sort of dated in just a few years (e.g. although fairly recent films such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, Jurrasic Park and Wolf were discussed, more recent films such as the Mummy remake were not) especially in this genre wherein advances in make-up and special effects play an important role. Still, I would recommend this series to any serious horror film afficionado. Unlike many documentaries which seem to be made up of 90% interviews and 10% (movie) scenes, this is composed primarily of scenes with Christopher Lee's voice-over, interspersed with a few interviews. Notable highlights include hilarious outtakes from the film Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein as well as footage from obscure movies such as the 1960 version of Lost World. There are also interviews with John Carpenter, Peter Cushing and Claude Rains. I found this very enjoyable, although I'm giving just 4 stars for the DVD version since the sound quality was not very good for this medium (for VHS I'd probably let it off with 5 stars). ... Read more

Amazon.com

Aimed more at newcomers to science fiction than aficionados, ACentury of Science Fiction nevertheless provides a thrilling survey of filmed SF, from the early silent days to the modern age of computer-generated spectacle. As the program's host, veteran horror actor Christopher Lee has been inserted optically into the screen à la Max Headroom, leading us through a variety of science fiction themes, usefully grouped into such categories as "Aliens" and "Robots & Computers." Along the way there are engaging interviews with the likes of Vincent Price on TheFly and Ray Bradbury on Fahrenheit 451. The film's real strength is the wealth of clips from little-seen features, such as Larry Cohen's God Told Me To, the silent 1916 version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Brian Donlevy in The Creeping Unknown. All of this goes a long way toward making up for the narration, which sometimes gets its facts wrong. For example, Alien does not owe its storyto The Thing, as they would have us believe, but to It! The Terror from BeyondSpace and its antecedent, A.E. Van Vogt's classic story, "The Black Destroyer." Likewise, TotalRecall was adapted not from a Philip K. Dick novel, but from his acclaimed short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale."Also, Christopher Lee's recitation is pitted with long Shatnerian pauses, making the words "Independence" and "Day" sound like they belong to entirely different sentences. More often than not, we're in Mystery Science Theater 3000 territory here. In other words, devotees of that show might find this disc to be a useful training ground, or home game, for honing their heckling skills. --Jim Gay ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Century of SF Trailers
This DVD contains mostly Trailers and some behind-the-scenes shots and small interviews (like the one with Yul Brynner about "Westworld") from SF movies of the last century, narrated by the great Christopher Lee (with his pleasant voice). There are also some rather rare clips (like the ones from "Fire Maidens from Outer Space" or "The Mysterians").

The 99 minutes are divided in 8 parts of about 12 minutes each with the following categories: Aliens, Time Travellers, Mad Doctors, Robots & Computers, Sci-Fi Lunacy, Lost Worlds, Future Worlds and Weird Worlds.

And yes, it sometimes looks like it was made with the good ol' Commodore 64, but that's rather charming in a certain way ;-)

If you want an overview of SF movies of the last century or you find pleasure in a so-called "Best of" then this is for you. Especially when you can get it at a low price.

Not worth the plastic it was encoded on
This video looks like it was put together in someone's basement with a Commodore 64. The production values are of the poorest quality, but they look good compared to the awful script they force Christopher Lee to mouth.

The film clips look like they were copied from TV trailers and Lee has a blue chromakey halo around him. The only way I can figure they got him to appear in this bottom-of-the-barrel production is that his taxes were due and he was strapped for cash.

The content ignores the history of both print and film science fiction, instead larding on purple prose to cover poor research.

Don't waste your time or money on this one. ... Read more