Monster of the Day #774

Updated on September 25, 2013 By Ken Begg 25 Comments

Quoth the Rock: “Given the chance to do a MOTD is a thrill, and I came up with several good choices. Ultimately, I felt this was the best one to go with.”

Ken could do a whole week of this theme, Monsters That Were Only On The Poster!”

Editor Ken: Indeed, despite being legitimately chock full of monsters, this movie’s poster not only promises this no-show (and, as Rock mentioned in a subsequent note, the also not in evidence diving bell), but a similarly Godattian giant octopus and bizarrely underwater T-Rex.

UPDATE:

Here’s the shot I mentioned in a note below:

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By Ken Begg

http://jabootu.net

Gamera977

Let me say again how much I love this poster!

Still haven’t seen the film though. In the ‘Monsters That Were Only on the Poster’ category it looks much better than the one that shows flying saucers and giant reptiles destroying a city on the ad and then in the film we get a bunch of ping-pong eyed aliens talking smack to Peter Graves- that one really honked me off!
Ericb

Probably the worst offenders are slurposaur movies that picture relatively anatomically correct dinosaurs on their posters.
Ken_Begg

I was lucky enough to see this as a lad at the Pickwick Theater (a 1920s movie palace right across the street from where I now work), and it was spectacular. I’ll take this over the more ‘realistic’ Jurassic Park any day. Aside from the constant monster action, I will always remember this one shot of the ice-laden sub heading towards the undersea tunnel. It’s probably one of the ten most beautiful shots I’ve ever seen in my life. (See above)

Also seen as a lad at the Pickwick was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. They are showing it again there tomorrow, as my friend Matt Hoffman begins a monthly showing of classic movies there. Can’t wait to see it again.

As you may have surmised, I’ve always like movies with submarines.
Gamera977

Yeah, for all the shoddy cheap sets and costumes there’s stuff like this on the other hand where the FX crew knocked themselves out going the extra mile for a visual extravaganza. Sad that most of this stuff ended up in a landfill except what people like Forry Ackermann fished out of dumpsters.
Flangepart

Laser manta rays. We just don’t see enough of ’em. A weeks work of the best submarines could make a cool MoD week. We start with the Seaview , of course…
SteveWD

I’ll take a Derek Meddings miniature on a budget over CGI any day.

As for 20000 Leagues, that movie holds up so well (from the matte paintings, to the miniature work, to the giant squid, plus…… it’s an awesome movie on top of the effects) it’s incredible. I think my favorite sequence is where the Nautilus rams the ship leaving the prison colony. Not only do the effects shots there look great, they’re downright beautiful, kind of like the submarine entering the ice cave above.
Ericb

So, what movie is this a poster for?
Greenhornet

Land That Time Forgot
It was done as a “Sy-Fy” movie and (As expected) sucked eggs. I saw the one the poster touts at a drive-in, the only way to see some of these pictures.
Rock Baker

Indeed. Meddings was a master of his craft. His rocket launch in JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN is a completely in-camera miniature effect, and it looks absolutely real.
Rock Baker

Well, to be fair, the film DOES feature the giant reptiles, amid a number of other enlarged horrors, seen when Graves tries to escape and finds himself in the breeding tunnels. The poster was more a depiction of what would happen if the invaders were unable to be stopped. While limited by it’s budget, or lack thereof, KILLERS FROM SPACE is actually a neat little picture. Given that all movie posters tend to make their product look much more extravagant than it actually is, I can’t really hold that against it.

Actually, those ping-pong eyes are the cups from egg crates!
Rock Baker

Where did you get that term, anyway? Is “slurposaur” something you came up with? Or is it borrowed from somewhere/someone?
SteveWD

I’ve heard about ‘Journey’, read about it, but I’ve never actually seen it. I need to track it down.
Ken_Begg

Slurposaur is the generally used term (as opposed to, say, suitmation) for the technique of dressing up and optically enlarging lizards and reptiles to impersonate dinosaurs.
Rock Baker

I’ve never run across it any of my reference books. An internet thing?

I wrote my thoughts on the matter in my VAMPIRE MEN OF THE LOST PLANET review. It was just too long to be a Video Cheese piece!
Cullen Waters

This was my second favorite Non-Kong related Lost World film when I was a kid. The first was, of course, The Last Dinosaur. Due to the superior nature of the story, acting, and special effects. Obviously. And not because I only saw Last Dinosaur once back then and only had memories to go by. No. Leave us not be silly.
Gamera977

Ok, I guess KFS is a better movie than I give it credit for, still I wanted to see some giant reptiles smashing a city!!! And the eyes were from egg cartons? Wow, I need to watch it again.
Eric Hinkle

I’ve seen it be used on the Tv Tropes site if that’s any help. I have to admit, when you see these ‘dinosaurs’, it does describe them quite well.
Rock Baker

That was the genius of make-up man Harry Thomas. The teeth of THE NEANDERTHAL MAN were carved out of a piece of orange peel!
Flangepart

And with one of the movies great tough, Richard Boone, guys as star to boot. LAST DINOSAUR used effects by Toho, IIRC.
Flangepart

You should. The acting is kinda wooden, but many of the guilty parties alson acted in the Brit TV Sci-Fi UFO, so…still, the real world space effects are dead on.
sandra

That looks like a manta-shark to me, and is that a laser or a hosepipe ?
Ken_Begg

Sorry, my friend, but Land Unknown takes that crown.
Sandy Petersen

There is also the Italian movie poster for Killers from Space, which features a terrific Bonestellesque alien landscape and a giant spider(?) Man I want to see the movie that poster promised.
Rock Baker

THE LAND UNKNOWN vs THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, what a match! In general I’d give an edge to THE LAND UNKNOWN, but FORGOT stars Doug McClure, so it’s kind of a toss-up in the end….
Rock Baker

And thanks again, Ken, for the chance to select a MOTD!

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