Monster of the Day #3501

Updated on April 26, 2024 By Ken Begg 12 Comments

“I swear, if one more guy asks if I’m friggin’ Zontar….”

After Monster on the Campus we watched the rather grisly pre-code horror film Murders in the Zoo. This features Lionel Atwill as a murderously jealous big game hunter. The film opens with a guy whose lips have been graphically sewn together, which must have been a shock to kiddies in 1933. It’s not great but it’s pretty good and certainly worth a watch. I like actor Charles Ruggles fairly well, but his comic relief here is overplayed. Presumably this was in an effort to cut some pretty gruesome content. A young Randolph Scott is the stalwart hero.

Back to monsters with Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare, the second of three Yokai films. This one features a powerful evil demon looking to take over the local samurai clan and feed on the locals. Since Daimajin isn’t available, the hordes of weaker but more lovable Yokai band together to take him down. It’s pretty great.

Happy Friday, everyone. Watch something stupid this weekend. Or something really good. I’m going to see Spirited Away in a theater tomorrow as part of this year’s Ghibli Fest. Watch Party next Friday.

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  • 🐻 bgbear_rnh

    Oh, darn, I might miss next Friday. May be visiting in-laws.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Watching the blueray version of Exorcist II–the review used to be here, but I guess it got purged with the rest of “DM”s review. For a brand new 2K scan of the film, this looks terrible. I would say it’s barely DVD quality.
    As for the film itself, there are a number of very interesting visuals–I especially liked the face-on view of the jet taking off, as it contrasted with the face-on view of the locust–but overall it’s underwhelming at best, dumb at worst. And like all movies about the devil, the devil always wins.

  • The Rev.

    So, I watched a movie from 1989 called Slash Dance. After the first 15 minutes I thought I had a future Fest offering between the incompetency and the genuinely funny jokes. And then it got really dull with only one or two moments of fun. So, no go on that one. Would not recommend.

  • Gamera977

    Say what you will but as far as I know it’s the only movie I know to see James Earl Jones dressed as a giant grasshopper…

  • Gamera977

    I liked these films, not sure if it were you or Sandy that recommended it but thanks!

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Saturday’s 4K feature, “Batman and Robin,” the infamous film that killed comic book movies for a decade. You’ve all seen it, I’m sure. It looks absolutely fantastic in 4K–if nothing else, this film goes through the entire rainbow, like “The Wizard of Oz” or the 80’s “Flash Gordon.” And if you ever wished that the 60’s Batman show got a theatrical film, this is YOUR movie. Otherwise, Alicia Silverstone has a really weird face, the editing looks like it was supposed to induce seizures, Uma Thurman does a bad Mae West imitation, and Arnold is kind of fun, though his one-liners are the worst of his career. And B&R sure let a lot of frozen people die in this one. Nice callbacks to the Batman animated episode “Heart of Ice.”
    And one other thing–everyone was livid over the Bat-nipples, but no one had a second thought about the giant breasts on Arnold’s costume?

  • I watched Boy Kills World, which is as a misleading a title as ever was one. The boy doesn’t kill any world at all. Just people.

    Lots of people.

    In a wide variety of ways.

    Deeply entertaining action flick. I had one plot twist guessed after watching a trailer, but got caught off guard by another. Well worth seeing in theaters.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Tonight’s 4K feature is “Phase IV,” the only theatrical film directed by noted graphic designer Saul Bass. It’s about ants becoming a super-collective intelligence, and has an early Quint character in Nigel Davenport’s Dr. Hubbs. Much like Apocalypse Now and Blade Runner, it’s much more of an audio-visual experience than a narrative film. Though there is a narrative here, it’s basically overwhelmed by the visuals and the sound. It’s still fascinating, well worth a watch, and much better than Bert I. Gordon’s giant ant film.

    I basically came to this film backwards, as I am a huge fan of Barry Malzberg, and I read his novelization before seeing the film. In fact, being a young doof, I didn’t even know there was a film until later. (I am clearly not as intelligent as an ant colony.)

    Vinegar Syndrome has released a beautiful 3-disk set of this film, packed with bonus stuff and obviously crafted with care. Picture and sound are great. If you have fond memories of this and want to see it again, it’s better bought through VS’s website than Amazon as it’s somewhat cheaper. And if you’ve never seen it, I recommend it.

  • Ken_Begg

    We’re clearly heading back to a period of stripped-down action films. They are cheap and thus nearly guaranteed to make a profit, and people are increasingly tired of elephantine-sized CGI movies. Unfortunately, I don’t think films of that size and draw can keep theaters alive.

  • Kirk Draut

    I watched a couple stupid things on my last flight.

    Meg 2 – This one felt like two completely different movies that were squished together. First half is a tense action thriller, second half is dumb horror comedy. Jason Statham pretty much has one expression through the entire film.

    Equalizer 3 – Pretty much Death Wish 4, but in Italy. Denzel Washington is getting a little old for action movies and they make use of that in the film.

  • Gamera977

    I saw it decades ago, I really need to watch it again. All I really remember is the ants killing the poor praying mantis.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    There’s an even more graphic killing of a spider.