Creatures

The Blob - Criterion Collection

What would the average sensible American do if he encountered a pulsing ball of protoplasm from outer space? That's right: he'd poke it with a stick. Thus begins the endearingly earnest and silly tale of The Blob. Young Steve McQueen takes on his first leading role as, um, Steve, a spunky teenager with plenty of heart. Steve sees the blob kill the local doc, but darn it, none of the town's adults will believe him! Yup, it's up to the teens to save the day! Steve and his trusty girlfriend Jane break their curfews(!) and head off into the night to find the Blob and warn the town. The Blob is a completely enjoyable watch from start to finish, offering the triple pleasures of 1950s morals, gee-whiz acting, and a whole lotta extras running around and screaming. The special effects, though primitive, certainly get the job done, and it is still a treat to watch the Blob ooze its way to its next meal. You may notice that the theme song is surprisingly bouncy for a horror flick ("Beware of the Blob! It creeps, and leaps, and glides and slides across the floor"). It was written by Hal David and a fresh young composer by the name of Burt Bacharach. --Ali Davis

"Beware of the Blob!" One of the great cult classics, The Blob melds '50s schlock sci-fi and teen delinquency pics even as it transcends these genres with strong performances and ingenious special effects. Made outside of Hollywood by a maverick film distributor, a crew experienced in religious and educational shorts, and a collection of theatrical talent from Philadelphia and New York, The Blob helped launch the careers of superstud Steve McQueen and composer Burt Bacharach.

The Tingler

Vincent Price stars as an obsessed doctor who discovers that fear manifests itself as a parasitic creature which grows on the spinal cords of terrified people. If they scream the Tingler can be destroyed. If they don't it will sever the spinal column and kill them. He successfully isolates and removes the Tingler from a deaf mute (Judith Evelyn) who has been scared to death by her devious husband. Once captured the Tingler escapes and runs amok in a crowded movie theater. Terror is loose but can it be stopped? THE TINGLER is legendary horror director William Castle's magnum opus. After the success of The House on Haunted Hill Castle devised a new gimmick called "Percepto" for the Tingler. Participating theaters would wire seats so that random moviegoers would get a tangible electric shock during climactic moments in the film. Another novelty used to maximum effect is the short color sequence depicting blood pouring from a faucet and filling a bathtub. Castle went on to direct more cult classics like Homicidal and 13 Ghosts and gained some mainstream credibility by producing Rosemary's Baby.System Requirements:Running Time: 81 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 043396077799 Manufacturer No: 07779

The Woman Eater

The Woman Eater starts out as all carnivorous plant films should: with a bunch of Brits heading off into the jungle. The intrepid (and just slightly mad) Dr. Moran leads his party to the home of an ancient tribe, conveniently arriving just in time for a sacrifice. ("Stop it, you devils!") Five years later we're back in England, neatly glossing over how Moran got his giant man-eating plant through customs. With the help of native drummer Tanga, Moran is feeding the daughters of England to his plant in the hopes of developing a serum that will bring the dead back to life. (Well, sure!) Soon the lovely Sally arrives to help with the housekeeping, and tension rises as we wait to find out if she'll become Miracle-Gro. The Woman Eater has almost too many pleasures to mention: bubbling beakers, lovely victims, stagehand-powered plant arms, natives wearing costume pieces from every jungle movie ever made, and of course the drums! Oh, the drums! Watch it today and keep an eye on your begonias. --Ali Davis

SEE the nerve-shattering Dance of Death! SEE The Woman Eater ensnare the beauties of two continents! SEE its hideous arms devour them in a death-embrace! It devours only the most beautiful! Half-mad scientist James Moran (George Coulouris--The Long Good Friday, Citizen Kane) returns from the Amazon jungles with a sacred tribal tree which feeds on beautiful, young girls. The sap he extracts from the tree will, he believes, revive the dead. A blonde showgirl, Sally (Vera Day The Prince and the Showgirls, Quatermass II), is slated to be Moran's next sacrifice. Will she become another victim of this woman-devouring tree or can the police and Sally's boyfriend save her from the cannibalistic tree? No beautiful woman is safe from "The Woman Eater!"

Creature Features (Octopus/Spiders/King Cobra/Crocodile)

X - The Unknown

Hammer Studios' attempt to replicate the success of the superior Quatermass films gives us a kinder, gentler hero, the polite and soft-spoken Dr. Royston (played with almost paternal kindness by American Dean Jagger). When the populace of the area surrounding a bottomless fissure in an abandoned quarry is devastated by a rash of lethal radiation burns, Royston tries to convince authorities of the possibility of a life from deep within Earth that has surfaced to feed to a rather skeptical reception. Sure enough, the sludge from 20,000 fathoms is spotted pouring down the road like a self-contained lava flow, headed for the military's own nuclear reactor. Director Leslie Norman can't quite match that taut, wound up quality of his inspirations, The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2, but he creates an inky-black atmosphere with moody night shooting and heaps on the horror with blistery, blotchy burns that culminate in the gooey remains of a man whose flesh is found melting off his skeleton--one of the most startling moments of any Hammer picture. A young Leo McKern can be spotted as a reporter and Anthony Newley is a whining soldier. --Sean Axmaker