Sunday, February 19, 2006

First, a pair of TCM movies starring Christopher Lee someone burned for me, then the bottom of the rubbersuited monster barrel.

Castle of the Living Dead - 1964

Here, Christopher Lee is NOT a vampire, but he is the bad guy. He's into Taxidermy of the Extreme kind. Now he's invented a formula that freezes and preserves its victims instantaneously. This movie doesn’t appear to have ever been released on DVD, and I kinda understand why. It’s really pretty dull. There’s no nudity, no gore, and no action. It DOES have Donald Sutherland as a VERY young man in his first credited role. And he has to play 3 roles, just to get a credit. And one of them is a woman. I bet you win a trivia contest with this one:

What movie does Donald Sutherland appear in drag?

Anywho, there’s not much else to say here. Since it’s a recording off TCM, there’s no subtitles or commentaries. Pity.

Two beers out of five

Horror Castle – 1963

Aka Back to the Killer / The Castle of Terror (UK) / Horror Castle (USA) / Terror Castle / The Virgin of Nuremberg (International: English title) (literal title)

I own this movie as The Virgin of Nuremberg, and it’s a better transfer than this release. Christopher Lee is a servant, and really doesn’t have a very big part here. Certainly not pivotal. And his voice is dubbed, even in the English prints. Someone explain the reason for THAT to me. I liked the Shriek Show release, but this is another “is she insane, is her husband trying to kill her?” flicks.

Two beers out of five

Yongary, Monster from the Deep – 1967

This is a Korean rip off of Godzilla. And boy, is it a cheap rip-off. The sound the monster makes is like Godzilla and the creature breathes fire (more about that later). This movie must be really embarrassing for the South Korean government, because it doesn’t put their military in a very good light. First off, they only have 4 tanks and 4 jets (both are wiped out in seconds, what a shock), and their soldiers are cowards (ground troops never stand and attack, but ALWAYS run away.).

Seriously, this movie is really sad. The monster’s breath fire is so slow that a helicopter can outrun it. The highlight is when Yongary gets his groove on to some hip 60’s dance tune. Yes, Yongary dances. That’s the highlight. Sad, but true.

This is an Alpha Release. If you’ve ever bought one, you know what that means. No subtitles, no commentaries, and poor transfer. But hey, it only costs $5, so how much can you expect?

One beer out of five