Monster of the Day #568

Have I really never done this before? Very neat film, and a great example of the ‘blob’ picture. Basically a Quatermass film sans Quatermass, although Dean Jagger proves an able replacement. Also offers one of the more surprisingly vicious death scenes for a film of this vintage. Every once in a while a ’50s death scene was surprisingly nasty and graphic, and I always thought those had a bit more punch before they were so unexpected.

  • Flangepart

    A bit of British Blob. Loved this one. And I’m sure Tom servo hated to see Anthony Newley get et.

  • The Rev.

    Yeah, caught this a couple of years ago, and enjoyed it.
    Trying to remember which death Ken’s talking about, although I think I know.

  • Ericb

    Monster Island plumber is an unenviable job.

  • Ericb

    Monster Island plumber is an unenviable job.

  • MrTongoRad

    “Kids- if you get your green slime all over you Tonka trucks again, I’m throwing them both out!”

  • Beckoning Chasm

    An unfortunate hospital technician, as I recall. And yeah, pretty shocking for the day.

  • Ken_Begg

    Yeah, its not so much when his face melted (grooooosss!), but when he finger swelled up like sausages. Yuck!

  • Ericb

    It killed two kids as well didn’t it (I haven’t seen it in 10 years even though I own the DVD!)? Though it happened offscreen just the thought of a little kid dying of radiation poisoning was pretty bad for the 1950s.

  • Ken_Begg

    I think one kid, or did the other pass later on? But yes, surprisingly grim even for a Brit sci-fier.

  • You know, this makes me think I need to toss together a week of blob movies this month. X THE UNKNOWN here, ENEMY FROM SPACE, CALTIKI THE IMMORTAL MONSTER, THE STUFF, and THE BLOB! Funny, I’m sure there’s another good candidate I’m overlooking…. (I guess if I’m desperate enough I can go with SON OF THE BLOB, or GODZILLA VS THE SMOG MONSTER…)

  • Ericb

    Couldn’t the Creeping Unknown qualify as a blob? It just randomly absorbs stuff and whatever it absorbs affects its shape so ultimately It doesn’t really have a shape of it’s own.

  • Chad R.

    H-Man?

  • Ken_Begg

    Night of the Big Heat? Flame Barrier? Unknown Terror? I think Chad Johnson is right, though; H-Man.

    Man, I like me a blob movie.

  • That’s a good one!

  • Say!

  • As much as I like ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED (I really need a new copy of that one!), I’m not sure I’d call it a ‘blob’ movie. I guess it’ll do in a pinch, though, and would make a dandy double bill with ISLAND OF TERROR.

    I actually just recently saw UNKNOWN TERROR again, thanks to AC’s recent DVDs (among them the ultra-obscure Ivan Tors/Richard Carlson space opera RIDERS TO THE STARS!).

    As for THE FLAME BARRIER (is that the full title?), I have yet to see that one. I didn’t know it had a blob!

    If I had it, SPACE MASTER X 7 might fit the bill. Getting off base somewhat, but I do have a nice scope copy of FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS.

  • Scared the hell out of me as a child.

  • The Rev.

    I suspected it was that one, but thought the kid(s) could’ve been a possible answer as well.

  • Ericb

    You could do a British Whatzit marathon. In the golden age of B-cinema while the Americans excelled at giant bugs and the Japanese specialized in giant vertebrates the Brits seemed to have a knack for weird beasties that don’t have real life counterparts. See the first two Quatermass films, today’s MOTD, Fiend Without a Face (most of the cast was British and the producer was a British expat working in the State), Island of the Burning Damned, Island of Terror and I’m sure there are others.

  • Ken_Begg

    Trollenberg Terror…Strange World of Planet X….

    The Brits didn’t do a ton of sci-fi, but the ratio of very good stuff is pretty high.

  • Assuming you mean the movies with Forrest Tucker instead of the teleplays, I’m a big supporter of THE CRAWLING EYE. COSMIC MONSTERS didn’t do as much for me, though. It’s not bad, but it isn’t the best of its breed. I think maybe EYE set the bar a bit high, but even THE GAMMA PEOPLE has a better flow than COSMIC MONSTERS. Granted, CM has plenty of monster stuff in the last reel. And the scene where they’re trapped in the school building had some good mood…. I may have to dig that one out too….

  • The first half of THE GIANT BEHEMOTH even, since that was supposed to be a giant blob before the producers demanded a dinosaur. Some good stuff there for sure. I MAY just go British this halloween season…..

  • zombiewhacker

    Crawling Eye: best movie MST3K ever riffed?