This 1981 monster flick was first on the list. I had always been curious about this one, so when I came across it on YouTube, I gave it a shot. It turned out to be a well made creature feature.
It begins by showing newspaper clippings from the late 1800’s that tell how a construction company started digging into a silver mine and eventually stopped after a mysterious massacre shut it down. 100 years later, a new construction team decides to start excavating into the mine, not realizing that in doing so, they release these monstrous creatures that live deep within its caverns. A mysterious, creepy old man is also lurking around, spying on the miners and their activities. 2 of the young guys on the team, Roger and Mark, have rented a local house and invite Roger’s girlfriend Jessica, who’s bringing her friend Trish to set her up with Mark. They also a bring a dog that starts growling and barking at the basement door and everyone keeps telling him to be quiet, unaware that he senses one of the creatures lurking down there. The monster eventually starts attacking several people, leading to a climax in the mine with the title terrors.
The film plays it seriously, which helps set an effective, suspenseful atmosphere, with creepy music and many POV shots of the monsters stalking their prey. The creatures have these tentacled appendages that they use to whip, grab and slash their victims. You don’t get a full view of them until the end, which is probably a good thing, because they have these goofy faces with red fish-like eyes and mouths filled with razor sharp teeth. I expected them to appear more menacing. Still, the rest of the movie is fun and the attacks are well filmed, with some enjoyably gory, bloody mayhem. The acting is decent all around, it’s clear this flick had higher production value than other low budget efforts of the time. I quite enjoyed The Boogens, an entertaining creature feature that’s worth seeking out if you’re in the mood for a retro monster flick. The print that was uploaded was very clean, so that was an extra plus.
Next up was 1964’s The Earth Dies Screaming, a fun little black & white sci-fi yarn about an alien invasion plot that includes zombies.
The flick opens with a bunch of people suddenly dropping dead in the streets, causing car, train and plane crashes. An American test pilot named Jeff Nolan seems to be the only survivor. He’s walking around an English village, surveying the damage and dead bodies. He eventually finds other survivors, including Peggy, Quinn, Ed and his wife Vi, and young Mel and his pregnant wife Lorna. They shack up in a hotel, trying to figure out what killed everyone, eventually coming to the conclusion that it must have been a gas attack. They see 2 people in space suits walking around outside, and when Vi goes running to them, thinking they’re military members who are there to rescue them, one of them touches her head, causing it to glow a bit, before she suddenly drops dead. Realizing that these spacemen are enemies, the gang arm themselves with guns. Their dire situation gets worse when several of the dead bodies around the village come back to life as white eyed zombies.
The movie is only 1 hour, playing like a long episode of the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits. The alien plot to reanimate the dead corpses is reminiscent of Plan 9 From Outer Space, but played much more seriously, without the dimestore budget, unintentional humor. The film also shows the humans starting off highly suspicious of each other, some with shady motivations, or drinking their anxiety away, while others learn to work together as a team. These themes have been explored in countless zombie and apocalypse films and TV shows, such as Night of the Living Dead. All the actors give good, convincing performances, making their situation realistic and believable.
The Earth Dies Screaming is an enjoyable b-movie, despite the misleading title (everyone who dies as a result of the gas simply passes out, no screaming) and some plot holes; the spacemen are revealed to be remote controlled robots, but it’s never revealed who the aliens are that are controlling them. Still, it’s entertaining enough with an intriguing premise, well acted with some good suspense. And the zombies are effective with their creepy white eyes.
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