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Welcome back to the Classic Corner!
This time around
I finally get to review the DVD set that I declared as my
most anticipated release of the year.
The Criterion Collection does it again
with the release of the "Monsters & Madmen Collection"
(M&MC). This is a set of four films produced by brother
producing team Richard & Allen Gordon. In general,
Criterion is known mostly for their art house and
foreign releases, but every once in a while they cut
loose and release editions of blockbusters or cult
films. For example, Criterion has an outstanding
edition of Michael Bay's summer blockbuster, "The
Rock." With "M&MC" they dive head-first into the cult
movie genre, gathering two goofy sci-fi flicks and two
rather chilling horror movies. Goofy sci-fi plus
chilling horror equals fun for viewers!
First up is the Monster half of "M&MC." These two
discs consist of the films "The Atomic Submarine" and
"First Man Into Space." Right off the bat, these are
not good films. They are cheesy science fiction with
really poor model work when dealing with submarines
and space ships. That being said, these movies are
awesome! They fall under the "so bad they're great"
category. "Submarine" tells the story of the
submarine Sea-wolf that is sent to find out why ships
are being sunk and destroyed beneath the Artic Circle.
Now, cue up the cheesy sci-fi music because behind
the disappearances lurks an ALIEN FORCE - wooooooooo!
Turns out there is a flying saucer floating under the
North Pole which is destroying submarines. But why
are they doing this? You'll have to watch and see -
woooooooo!
The second disc in the Monster set is "First Man Into
Space." This one is about the new-born American space
program and follows just what the title says, the
first man in space. The film does have an interesting
back story in that just before it was released, the
Soviets went into space. Anyway, the U.S. Government is
testing the boundaries of space by sending up manned
space rockets into the atmosphere. Their pilot is a
hot-shot that test those boundaries more than he
should. On his trip into space he encounters, you
guessed it, an ALIEN FORCE - wooooooooo! His rocket
careens back to earth and is destroyed re-entering the
atmosphere. Out of the rubble comes a creature with
an insatiable appetite for blood. But what is this
creature? Only by watching "First Man Into Space"
will you solve that mystery – woooooooo!
These are silly movies. "Submarine" and "Space" were
not meant to be Oscar winners. They were meant to
entertain and entertain they did. They have cheesy
writing which translates into cheesy acting. The
special effects are poor, even by the day's standards.
There is a particularly funny scene in "Space" where
the rocket veers off course. I loved watching these
movies, they are terrific fun. They made me feel like
a kid watching cheesy science fiction movies with my
Mom. Both films are silly, ridiculous fun and I
enjoyed every minute.
Now the Madmen half of the set is another matter.
Consisting of "Corridors of Blood" and
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"The Haunted Strangler," these are deeply serious movies that
are exceptional horror films. The main factor in their
credibility is the acting.Both casts are lead by one
of my all-time favorite actors, Boris Karloff.
Karloff is most famous for his iconic portrayals of
the Frankenstein Monster in "Frankenstein (1931)" and
Im-Ho-Tep/Ardath Bey/the Mummy in "The Mummy (1932)."
When both of these films were made, Karloff was 71
years old, but appeared to have the step of a much
younger man. He is in top form in both films.
In "Corridors," Karloff plays Dr. Thomas Bolton, a
surgeon in Victorian England who wants to make surgery
painless. During the time period the film takes place
in, anesthesia had not yet been invented. We get to
see what type of anesthesia they had in those days,
and it consisted of 4 strong mean holding a patient
down while the surgeon worked. Bolton believes he can
develop a way to make surgery painless, but when the
hospital he works for will not help him, he begins to
test chemicals on himself. These chemicals work in
killing pain, but they also become addicting to
Bolton. While on his high, Bolton is tricked into
helping a tavern owner and his accomplice, played by a
very young Christopher Lee, into helping with their
bodies for cash scheme. They kill homeless men and
sell the bodies to the very hospital Bolton works for.
In his trance, Bolton is forced to sign off on the
dead men's death certificates so the two villains can
collect the money. Where the story goes from there
you will have to figure out. This is a really well
made horror film, which works really well as a serious
drama too.
In "The Haunted Strangler," Karloff plays a novelist
researching a serial killer known as the "The
Haymarket Strangler" for his newest book. What he
does is stir up old apprehensions and fears that the
man who was executed as the Strangler was not really
the Strangler at all; Karloff believes the Strangler
is still alive. Karloff's search takes him to the
prison where the supposed Haymarket Strangler is
buried in the prison cemetery. He finds the grave,
digs it up and finds in the Strangler's casket a
knife. When Karloff takes a hold of the knife he
becomes . . . you'll have to watch and see!
Robert Day directed both "Corridors" and "Strangler."
These two films are far from cheesy. They use great
lighting techniques to give the audience a great sense
of dread when watching both films. Now, granted,
these movies are far from scary by today's standards.
Old horror movies were so different in that they let
you know what was coming, but they would drag the
scenes out to make them more agonizing for the viewer.
Both of these films perfect this technique.
This is one of the best sets so far this year and I
have no doubt it will make my top 10 list at the end
of the year. "M&MC." runs at a retail
price of $79.95, which is actually a deal seeing as
one film Criterion DVD by itself runs a minimum of
$29.95. If you love the classics and you enjoy a
great deal of fun, this is the set for you. Until
next time, enjoy the classics!
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