King Kong Escapes is, in fact, one of the cheesiest monster movies of all time — with special effects by Rankin-Bass. No, seriously. It’s enjoyable, cheesy fluff that doesn’t take itself very seriously, which is a good thing. The plot is convoluted, but here goes:
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Kolchak: the Night Stalker. Darren McGavin shines as Carl Kolchak, a reporter who keeps finding himself unwillingly investigating the supernatural
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The 1960 version of 13 Ghosts is a classic B-movie horror film by William Castle — it has little relationship to the 2001 remake, Thir13en Ghosts, starring Tony Shalhoub. For one thing, 13 Ghosts is actually enjoyable to watch 🙂
Reclusive occult expert Dr. Plato Zorba has died, leaving his furnished mansion to his penniless nephew Cyrus and his family — along with the ghosts that he’s managed to collect, who seemingly are out to kill someone in the house.
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A truly great adaptation of the classic vampire novel. Dracula is the story of the European vampire who comes to England to find fresh victims … And stumbles across a young woman who reminds him of his long-lost love. This is actually based on the Broadway play, and not directly on the original novel by Bram Stoker.
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The Mad Ghoul, frankly, is an above-average monster movie, starring some of the recognizable actors from the genre in the 1940’s. In short, Dr. Alfred Morris (George Zucco) is a college professor and researcher, who has uncovered and recreated a poisonous gas first used by ancient Mayans, used to create “death in life” – robbing the victims of their own will, similar to the classic zombie movies of the 1930’s and 1940’s. He hires a medical student named Ted Allison (David Bruce), since he needs his surgical skills for the grisly “cure” to the poison — a fresh heart is a crucial ingredient. The original experiment on a monkey seems successful — at first.
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Village of the DamnedAt a quiet little village in England, something odd has happened — everyone in the village has fallen asleep. Everyone who enters, or flies over, also falls asleep. And afterward, every woman in the village of child-bearing age finds herself pregnant. All of the children born are blond, with strange eyes, who mature extremely rapidly. And they seem … unworldly.
The Village of the Damned is a great many things – science fiction, cold war paranoia, a story of longing for family. But at its heart, it’s about people – like all great stories. And every time I watch it, my heart breaks for George Sanders.
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In short, The Thing That Couldn’t Die is a good example of a truly cheesy monster movie. My children and I enjoyed watching it last week on Svengoolie — primarily making fun of it as it was playing. The acting was wooden, the makeup was mediocre, and it was so totally cheesy that it was completely enjoyable — but probably not in the way that the filmmakers intended.
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First, Revolt of the Zombies isn’t a “zombie” movie in the current sense. There are no shambling undead. There are, however, mentally enslaved people enthralled by the villain of the movie — who is not whom you think
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I have fond memories of watching Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster from when I was a teenager–and, oddly enough, it’s still enjoyable in the same vein as it was then–an odd combination of cheesy movie and environmental doomsday. It’s an odd movie and a cult classic.
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Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. is a sequel to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. One year later, Mechagodzilla is being repaired after the damage inflicted it by Godzilla. Losing consistency from the previous film, a different crew is manning the Mechagodzilla. That’s a robotic Godzilla, built over the skeleton of the original Godzilla, that died at the end of the original Godzilla movie in 1954. The central character in this film is Yoshito Chûjô. He’s the son of Dr. Shin’ichi Chûjô, the star of the original Mothra movie. Yoshito is the chief technician on the “Mecha G” project. He’s trying to get Mechagodzilla repaired in the event of Godzilla’s eventual next rampage. However, Mothra has something to say …
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