Monster of the Day #246

Updated on May 2, 2011 By Ken Begg 46 Comments

Worst production of The Agony & The Ecstasy ever.

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  • Ericb

    Will someone please release this on friggin Region 1 DVD already!

  • What Ericb said. Great great GREAT movie.

  • John Campbell

    What is it??? (Seems I’ve beenliving under the rock next to the rock that Rock lives under!)

  • Ericb

    The first Quatermass film

  • I love this movie, even though i think it’s the least of the Quatermasses. But the least of a top-notch bunch is still good.

  • roger h

    gee Ken, we know who the real monster of the day is and he is now at the bottom of the ocean. Of course it makes me think of the end of films like “Dinosaurus”

    “The End. . .?”

  • @Roger H
    Osama sleeps with the fishes.

  • Ericb

    Until he reappears as a zombie in a Filipino horror movie.

  • alex

    You could make a kickass Cannon action film out of how President Obama and the Navy Seals took this bastard out once and for all. May he rot in hell. Great to see people celebrating in NYC and Washington for this historic moment.

    Oh,and to that blowhard Donald Trump, take that long form birth certificate and shove it up your ass. The ‘Kenyan socialist’ Prez and the heroes of Team Six got the job done. Suck on that.

    (sorry Ken, I had to get this of my chest).

  • Well, let’s not conflate the two. Obama deserves kudos on the Osama thing (although not nearly as much as the guys who actually got him). Good for him on that. I can’t say there have been a ton of moments during the Obama administration where he hasn’t been a complete embarrassment, but this is definitely one of them. Hats off to him.

    On the other hand, he does NOT deserve kudos on the birth certificate thing, because he should have released the damn thing to start with years ago. In fact, I was surprised this wasn’t mandatory. The constitution stipulates two requirements to be President, that of being a natural-born citizen and being of at least 35 years of age. We should probably change the law so that you have to present a birth certificate–which establishes both facts–before you can be put on the ballot or certified as the winner in the highly unlikely event of winning as a write-in campaign. Considering you have to present a birth certificate to get a friggin’ passport, it’s pretty insane that you don’t have to to assume the office of President.

    Now maybe he can get around to repealing Obamacare and issuing oil drilling licenses. Get a little streak going.

  • Ericb

  • I agree Ken. Its amazing the media is acting like Obama personally flew in and smoked bin Laden. The most he did was probably sign an order. It was a SEAL team guy whose name we’ll probably never know who capped his ass.
    Still, I’ll give Obama a thumbs up this time. Now if he can just do something about the price of gas and get people back to work, my opinion about him might go up some more.

  • roger h

    Right you are Ken, stepping back and letting people do their job can be a winning strategy.

    favorite comment of the day: For the First Time in My Adult Lifetime, I Am Really Proud of Barack Obama

  • Ericb

    It’s Panetta and the CIA who should take the intelligence credit here. Like any operation there is a huge amount of work behind it. And though is’t not a real “risk” in the existential meaning of the word there was some a political risk for Obama here. This was in a Pakistani suburb (sure, they didn’t know where he was) not in some remote Afgan retreat and if this had failed I couldhave been ugly he would have been in as bad shape as Carter in 1980.

  • Rock Baker

    The Creeping Unknown (1956 – Hammer), starring Brian Donlevy. I first saw it one wonderful night back when TNT’s Monstervision was just getting started. Great times! (And I believe MGM did release a domestic DVD -there’s a Midnight Movies VHS for it, at any rate- but the label reads the British title: The Quatermass Xperiment. That was the title of the teleserial, of course. I like the sound of “The Creeping Unknown” quite a lot better myself.) Not that anyone cares now that the political discussion has taken off………

  • Ericb

    I care. It’s my favorite Quatermass, even though I haven’t seen it in at least 20 years. It’s just so damn creepy.

  • Eric — That’s not a birth certificate. Look, I’m just saying he could have released the exact same thing he did last week a few years ago, and cleared the whole thing up then. And he should of; in fact, say what you will about the entire situation, but it’s incredibly weird that he didn’t.

    But yes, on the list of Reasons Obama is a Horrible President, this is indeed well down the list at somewhere around 415.

  • That’s tough, as all three films are really, really good. Even the unofficial Quatermass movie, X the Unknown, is pretty terrific. (And interesting in that it shows what Quatermass himself would be like if he weren’t a raging jerkwad.) I guess I’ll be entirely conventional and throw my hat in for Quatermass and the Pit, but again, I think you could make great arguments for any of the three.

  • Ericb

    There’s my brain and there’s my heart. The Pit is very cool and chock full of ideas (maybe too many) and my brain chooses that one, but Xperiment has a cool monster so I folow my heart. For me #2 is the weak link, good but not as compelling as the other 2.

  • See, that’s interesting because I think Enemy from Space is fully as good as the other two. Personal preference, of course.

  • Ericb

    I love Enemy too I just find the pacing to be a bit too frantic.

  • True, but today it would be two and a half hours long, including an hour and a half of explosions.

  • roger h

    I just like saying “Quartermass” and wait to get corrected ;)

  • Ha, I said Quartermass until I was like 20. I assume because of Quartermain.

  • roger h

    Great Solomon’s Mines! you mean they are not the same person? ;)

  • fish eye no miko

    Ken Begg said: “and issuing oil drilling licenses”

    Five minutes with Google shows me that they’ve been doing so since at least March.

  • Really? I knew the moratorium had been officially lifted, but thought they were blocking issuing actual drilling permits. I’m encouraged if this is true. I know that as recently as mid-March Bill Clinton was blasting the Obama administration for not issuing permits, calling their tardiness “ridiculous.”

    How many of these permits has Obama granted? Where? Are we drilling in ANWR yet? And why then when that one fellow asked the President what he was doing about gas prices, and he said “Get a hybrid SUV,” he didn’t crow about issuing these permits? If this is true, Obama’s really bad at publicizing his policies. He should be blabbing about this all over the place.

  • Ericb

    “True, but today it would be two and a half hours long, including an hour and a half of explosions”

    Makes me look forward to the remake. Rob Pattinson will play Quatermass.

  • Brooding Vampire Quatermass! Cool!

  • GalaxyJane

    Man oh man am I sad that I have never managed to catch any of the Quatermass flicks. Although if the plot summary of this one that I’ve seen is correct, “The Incredible Melting Man” is pretty much a rip-off of this flick and since I’ve seen that, it’s just like I saw this, right? Right? Um, guys?

  • fish eye no miko

    Ken Begg said: “I’m encouraged if this is true.”

    …
    Why did I bother?
    God…

  • Rock Baker

    ‘Melting Man’ is like the Sci-Fi Channel version of Creeping Unknown. Okay, it isn’t THAT bad, but it falls short a mile or two when measured against Creeping Unknown.

    I have to place myself in the (supposedly smaller) camp that finds Enemy From Space to be the best of the three.

    I’m in the even smaller camp of finding Five Million Years To Earth is monstrously over-rated. That’s just my take, however, I won’t try to de-throne the film in anyone’s hearts. (I will ask, for like the sixth time, what IS the big deal about Five Million Years to Earth for so many?)

    Long Live Brian Donlevy!

  • Fish Eye: What, I’m being honest. If his administration is going to start issuing a year’s backlog of permits–to make up for the pointless sustained moratorium after the BP spill–I’ll be the first to tip my hat. I just want to know that they aren’t going to stop after a token half dozen, ass-covering permits. Also, he should take concrete steps to encourage the building of additional refining capacity. And start building some nuclear power plants, to boot, to power these electric cars we keep hearing about.

    You can roll your eyes over my “show me” attitude, but what has Obama done to earn my, or anyone’s, trust? This is the guy who boasted he was going to cause energy costs to skyrocket, a rare promise he’s kept. If he honestly intends to start issuing permits out in a quick, sustained manner after not doing so for a year, again, good. Seriously, good for him.

    Even if he’s just doing it to raise his chances of reelection, it would still be a very good thing, and I’d have absolutely no beef with it. He’s a politician, after all, and I’m more concerned that he do the right thing than over why he’s doing it. In any case, though, assuming this is his intention, he should really get out there and trumpet the fact, because this would represent a complete change of policy. I hope he does.

  • fish eye no miko

    “Fish Eye: What, I’m being honest. If his administration is going to start issuing a year’s backlog of permits”

    Yeah, that wasn’t what you originally said, though. I answered your original complaint.

  • Fair enough, so let me be more clear: I’m not seeking a cosmetic change, but would actually like the Obama administration to completely change course on issuing permits, which they have failed to do for an entire year now. (And remember, Bill Clinton criticized Obama on this.) I suspect they are merely issuing a few permits in an attempt to defuse the issue, what with an election looming. IF they have in fact decided to go in the opposite direction, and begin to aggressively issue permits, then I am entirely glad, and will be happy to give them credit for it. I hope they do.

    One way to reassure people on this issue would, again, be for the President to make public hay on the matter. Get on TV and crow about it. (Even better, of course, would be a reversal on the ludicrous drilling moratorium in ANWAR.) It would certainly be good politics, because the Republicans are going to kill him on these gas prices, just as Bush took a sustained beating when this happened under him.

  • The Rev.

    I should really see the Quatermass movies sometime. I tried to watch the third one once but it was quite late and I quickly zonked out.

    I did enjoy X the Unknown, though.

    God, my list of movies to see will never stop growing, will it? *sigh*

  • Oddly, mine roughly has. I’m just not interested in seeing 99 plus % of any movies made today.

  • The Rev.

    I keep finding older movies that I haven’t seen and need to. Maybe I’ll find myself in your position someday. It seems to be a long way off, though.

  • John Campbell

    Anyone know what’s being done with the, if I remember correctly, 1000’s of abandoned unattened oil wells in the gulf? Or to change the laws so people have police up their messes regardless of cost?

    How about passing laws and finding the alternatives to fossil fuels. I think it’s a fair bet the oil companies bought/covered up quite a few alternatives. And when I say pass laws I mean laws with teeth. And tell the big oil companies to fu…

    Whoops slipped into fantasy land!

    No democrat or republican or tea bagger politician would do that!

    Lost my mind!

    Ken – why don’t you like movies that come out today? (Asking honestly what is about them that makes you go “ehhh no!”)

    Production values? Writing? Longing for the days of yesteryear?

    Just curious.

  • John — We have such an alternative fuel. It’s nuclear power. I’d be glad to get behind a crash course of building such plants, as would many republicans and tea baggers and faggot democrats*, I’m sure.

    [*No worse than ‘tea bagger,’ right?]

    And let me fix this for you: “I think it’s a fair bet the oil companies bought/covered up quite a few alternatives…Whoops slipped into fantasy land!” There, that’s better. I think the speech you’re looking for is the one Steven Seagal gives at the end of On Deadly Ground.

    I’m off to lunch now, but I’ll get back to your movie question later. Can’t just dash out a reply to such a complicated question.

  • John Campbell

    Actually I’m a registered Republican, always have been, always will be. So say what you want about democrats. (I’ve not always voted that way, but I think you’ll find it hard to argue that any election isn’t simply picking who we as individuals feel is the lesser of two evils.)

    And as I remember, it was the Tea Party’ers who first referred to themselves as “Tea Baggers”.

    (Okay I was going to argue I was merely using their own terminology, but I can’t bring myself to believe me either! It was a low shot I admit, but the temptation was just so tempting!)

    Do you honestly believe the fossil fuel industry hasn’t bought up or covered up discoveries that would have negated their value?

    (By the way, I LOVE the Steven Seagal reference, I went back and re-read it, you were spot on! I bow to the master there.)

    I agree on nuclear energy, but I still ask the same question, how do we clean it up properly. No one wants to pay for it or have it sitting in their back yard.

    We could shoot it into space, but what if the rocket explodes before leaving earth, we just basically set off a nuclear bomb. Or (not to start a debate here) what if we end up shooting a rocket full of nuclear waste onto a planet somewhere. I don’t want to be responsible for dumping trash in the neighbor’s yard. Because they could be the neighbor’s who pop over and use a sonic melon baller to nosh on our brains! Wonder if we could shoot it into the sun…

    Sadly people don’t want to pay for the infrastructure they want. (I work for state government, see this all the time. I maintain individual income, corporate, property tax systems for the DOR.) Hell I don’t like paying taxes and they pay my salary! But we have too.

    Crap…we’re thread-jacking again…

    I still want to know what it is about modern movies that puts you off so bad.

    I enjoy a lot of them. Maybe I’ve still got some plausible belief to suspend…

    Yes, I love the Transformer’s movies. There I said it! I also enjoy all of the Resident Evil movies.

    The Priest, Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America, new X-Men (thank god it’s not the Wolverine show anymore), the Conan remake, The Immortals, Thirteen Assassins, Stakeland all look good. (I know, remains to be seen but…)

    I’m also not a purist though. You won’t find me having apoplectic seizures because THERE WERE NO ELVES AT HELM’S DEEP!

    Hope lunch went well!

  • John — I appreciate the reply. Lots there. I think (and I hope this doesn’t sound like ducking) I’ll wait until I’m home tonight so I can answer at length. Perhaps I’ll turn the movie question into a blog post, since it will cover a lot of ground.

  • zombiewhacker

    John, it was Anderson Cooper of CNN who stuck the Tea Party with the tea-bagger label, not the Tea Party themselves.

    Rock – I too think Five Million Years to Earth is overrated. Good, movie, yes, but only until the climax does it become the least bit exciting and even frightening. (If only the whole movie had been like the last fifteeen minutes.)

  • John Campbell

    How did Anderson Cooper get away with that? I thought I remembered seeing pictures from the first Glenn Beck Million Moron March saying “Tea Bagger’s for Glenn Beck” or something.

    Regardless, I stand dutifully corrected.

    PLEASE NOTE – I am NOT saying people in the Tea Party are ALL as psychotic as those who believe the feces Glenn Beck spews.

    Anyway…movies anyone?

  • John Campbell

    And I confess I’ve always thought it said “QuarteRmass”…

  • So did I. Many people, apparently, did too. Odd.