Monster of the Day #3518

Updated on May 23, 2024 By Ken Begg 36 Comments

Roger Corman got super lazy in 1959, directing only three films that year. What a slugabed. I mean, he directed 20 films in the four years prior to that. One of the 1959 films was one of his classics, though, A Bucket of Blood, starring Dick Miller and setting the making of the satirical Little Shop of Horrors the next year. However, 1959’s actual monster movie was The Wasp Woman, a pretty standard “woman seeks youth and beauty and becomes a literal monster” plot that was reused quite a lot over the years. It’s a cheaper but far more entertaining version of Universal’s moribund The Leech Woman, although the ‘monster’ outfit is pretty dire even for a production like this. Paul Blaisdell, where art thou?

For those keeping track, I did see Castle in the Sky last night for the first time, and if you’re going to see a Ghibli for the first time, it’s nice to see it in a theater. Although they’re magnificent I don’t gravitate towards Miyazuaki’s epics as much, but this one I really liked, rather more than Nausicaa or Princess Mononoke. And it’s not like those are bad films, to say the least. Castle in the Sky really worked for me, though.

Pin It



Related Posts

  • I remember watching Leech Woman as a kid (maybe on Svengoolie) and not liking it for one reason or another.

    This flick’s okay.

  • zombiewhacker

    As we discussed before, I always considered the theatrical poster for this movie to be an enormous ripoff. The movie featured a normal-sized woman with a “wasp” head. The poster featured a giant 20 ft. wasp with a woman’s head. What a letdown for a young tyke like me back in the day!

    At least I was disappointed watching it for free on TV. Imagine paying for it at theater in the 50s and then discovering too late you were had?

  • Ken_Begg

    I think (I mean, we’ve done over 3000 of these) we once did a week or two of film posters that promised waaaaay too much and that was certainly one of them.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    For those of you who like fabulous disks of bizarre movies, Vinegar Syndrome is having a “halfway to Black Friday” sale.

  • Ken_Begg

    Sigh, I just dropped $400, so….

    (I already knew, BC, so this isn’t your fault.)

  • Ken_Begg

    Actually, I might as well….
    If anything I list sounds like something you’d like to see, and you attend T-Fest or come up here on occasion, let me know.

    The Cardona Collection(s) Vol I & II
    Vacation of Terror I & II.
    Unmaking the Idol
    Ninja in the Claws of the CIA
    Beyond the Door III (I know they’re unconnected, but I own the first two Beyond the Doors, so….)
    Werewolf vs the Vampire Woman
    The Cat Creeps
    Tough Guys Don’t Dance
    The Demon Rat
    Made in Hong Kong Vol. 1
    Righting Wrongs (I’ll bring that to Texas, Rev)
    Magic Crystal
    Ghost Nursing
    Burning Paradise
    Santo vs Dr Death

  • Beckoning Chasm

    I spent less, but got a completely different set–
    Scared to Death
    Creature (the Klaus Kinski one)
    From Beyond (I’m meh on it, but why not)
    Liquid Sky
    Paganini (the Klaus Kinski one)

  • Gamera977

    I love this film even if the monster is pretty awful.

  • Gamera977

    Well, for stupid movies I picked a boxed set of the ‘Friday the 13th’ films. I feel kinda embarrassed in never having seen any of them. I watched the first one last night and was pleasantly surprised that I thought it was a pretty decent film. I mean not great or anything but way better than I’d heard it was. I’m bracing myself for what I’m assuming is the plunge into awfulness that I’m assuming the later films were.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Spoiler alert: Number six is actually a good film. And I assume the box doesn’t have nine or ten in it? I like to refer to ten as the Labrador Retriever of the series. It’s dumb and clumsy but it’s so goofy and wants to please you can’t help but be amused.

  • Eric Hinkle

    They’re not the best, but – may Heaven help me – they’re far from the worst slasher flicks I’ve ever seen. That said I felt that I had to stop watching them when I started to find myself rooting for Jason.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    So, a bunch of Saturday movies etc, the main one at the end of Saturday was “Batman Returns.” I agree with Ken that this is the best of the live-action movies, though it’s 2nd in my overall view. Watching it tonight, it’s kind of saddening. Not just for the fate of the Penguin, which is miserable from beginning to end, but for the Batman-Catwoman relationship. I would have love to have seen this explored over the next movie or two, but you know, Happy Meal sales were down, so instead we get Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones chewing the scenery. A great deal was lost, but the box office was gained.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Tonight I watched the Blu-ray of classic Jabootu fare “The Brainiac.” Being a philistine, I watched………………………………..Oh! Sir! The English version. (Though that switched to Spanish for one scene for some reason.)
    It looks better than ever, the monster is goofy but really impressively made. I don’t know why his head pulses, but that couldn’t have been an easy effect, what with the creature being pretty mobile.
    I can’t help but wonder here–who is the bad guy? Yes, the Baron, but despite the fact that he’s horrible looking (and, um, kills several innocent people) he kind of seems like the wronged party here. (Even the trailer says he’s “unjustly accused” by the Inquisition.) Admittedly, none of his present-day victims did him any harm, so I guess there’s that– Still, the film doesn’t give his revenge any nobility, so I don’t know what they’re after.

  • If it makes you feel better I bought the box myself a couple months ago when Big Lots had the first 8 blu-ray set for about 15 bucks. And have been working my way through them with middle son.

    1 and 2 are both significantly better than the ‘Friday the 13th’ reputation Would lead you to expect. A lot of people dislike 3, but I actually thought it was pretty fun. For me 4 was the one where I really stopped caring about the dead meat and just started counting up how many extra characters we could introduce for no reason except to be Jason fodder. And that’s despite the fact that it probably has The most name the most ‘name’ actors in the cast.

    5 simply sucks. Highest body count, but no creativity in kills and boring to boot. Also the final reveal makes very little sense.

    Keeping my eyes open To see if I can pick up a cheap used copy of 9 and 10 somewhere, since they are otherwise only available in the super expensive Shout Factory box set.

    That’s as far as I’ve gotten so far. Traveling the next couple of Saturdays, so probably won’t Watch 6 until next month.

  • Eric Hinkle

    I like “The Brainiac” myself. It’s a shame that more of Mexico’s wonderful old B&W B-horror movies haven’t gotten wider fame.

  • Gamera977

    Cool! Yeah my collection only had up to eight. I’ve seen X years ago on the SF channel. Yeah it’s so stupid it’s funny, I can see why fans hate it though.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    My main issue with 1 is that it’s presented as a mystery, and we’re given various “hints” about the murderer that makes it seem like it’s someone we’ve seen. I remember when one of the counselors has car trouble, walks into the woods, and says “Say, what are you doing here?” to the camera before, um spoiler alert.

  • Gamera977

    Cool, I had about the same opinions. I liked one & two. Three was kinda stupid but overall fun. Of course being a THREE in the ’80s it was 3D. The constant pitchforks and baseball bats shoved into the camera didn’t bother me that much. But the stupid friggin’ yo-yo to the face did….

    My boxed set didn’t have the disk for four, looks like it got left out. Guess I’m going to have to write to see if I can get it replaced.

    I watched five last night and yeah, I really didn’t like it. It’s what I’d always assumed the films were, just boobs and blood with a plot that doesn’t really make any sense.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    I’m watching the last of the Mexico Macabre set, “Curse of the Crying Woman.” It’s great, but it struck me when watching Abel Salazar–he looks like a middle-aged Elvis!

  • Gamera977

    I read Liz Kingsly’s review this morning and she commented that it would have been better to have the killer in the diner at the beginning of the film or dropping off supplies at the camp rather than showing up out of nowhere. Seems like a good idea to me.

  • Gamera977

    I liked ‘My Bloody Valentine’ better as well as of course ‘Halloween’ but still they seem better than the other slashers I’ve seen.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    Unfortunately, “good ideas” were way down on the list, far below “blood” and “boobs.”

  • Beckoning Chasm

    “The Burning” is actually pretty good. And much as I do like “My Bloody Valentine,” the first time I saw it, when the teen party-goers said, “Hey, let’s party in the old mine” I actually yelled “That’s it. You deserve to die” at the TV. (My TV understood the meaning and didn’t die.)

  • Is it sad that I know the exact character you’re talking about?

  • Two is a beautiful thing.

  • I love My Blood Valentine. It’s the only Slasher movie I can think of where the Slasher is defeated by a flashback.

  • Ken_Begg

    Again, Corman really knew what he was about. His movies were quick and punchy and more sly than those being made by his competitors. You have to be able to look past the silly monster and general cheapness, but as was demonstrated by our recent Watch Party of Attack of the Crab Monsters, there’s a lot you can do within the confines of a very low budget to make a decent movie if you’re talented and know what you’re about.

  • Ken_Begg

    As usual, I’ll kick in with the only slasher I like, which is Alone in the Dark. Great cast!

  • Kirk Draut

    I saw Jason X at the midnight premiere. It was wonderfully dumb and it knew it. The best part was listening to the youngsters in line that didn’t realize that it was the latest sequel in a long-running series.

  • Gamera977

    I like the fact that none of the characters are really bad people, just stuck in bad circumstances. It’s a nice break from the slasher films I’ve been watching where pretty much the whole cast are jerks.

  • Gamera977

    As I’ve said before I’m not much of a slasher fan. I just got a weird craving for them recently. I’m going to give ‘The Burning’ and ‘Alone in the Dark’ a whirl and finish off the ‘The Friday the 13th’ boxed set and after that think I’m going to move on to other stuff.

  • Ken_Begg

    No, The Brainiac is definitely a film where you want to listen to the English dub, because it is hilarious.

    Black Pit of Dr. M, no, that would be Spanish soundtrack.

  • Eric Hinkle

    One thing I like about “My Bloody Valentine” is how the town authorities are, if not geniuses, then at least competent. When a mad killer starts sending them torn-out human hearts and demanding they stop the Valentine’s Day Dance — they actually stop it! How often is even that much basic common sense seen in slasher films?

  • The Rev.

    I quite like four, partly due to the cast, and partly because Savini has some great moments (especially at the end). Five is trash. Six is a good one, although the kills were heavily neutered. For whatever reason I’ve still never seen the 7th one. Eight is also trash. Nine is an interesting failure with some good points that I’m not sorry I watched but probably never need to see again. Ten…I saw it at B-Fest a couple years ago. I know some people enjoy it but it just didn’t hit me right. Left me as cold as that girl who gets dunked in the liquid nitrogen.

  • The Rev.

    I need to see Alone in the Dark. Anyway, I think the good ones have mostly been covered here. Obviously Twitch of the Death Nerve and Black Christmas should be included if Halloween is. The Prowler is pretty average for the most part, but Savini goes boffo on some of the kills, including my favorite one of his ever. YMMV. Maniac is very grim and gritty, definitely not for all tastes, but it is a solid slasher. As far as newer ones, You’re Next is a fun take on the premise.

  • There’s been quite a few good Slasher flicks of late. Happy Death Day a solid one, as is Final Summer and She Came from the Woods (though you could easily argue that isn’t a Slasher flick). To my mind, though, the best of the new stuff is The Conference, about municipal employees going through the worst form of team building. It’s on Netflix and really worth a look.