One from the vault

Though we watched these next seven movies in September and October 2008, i.e. prior to starting this blog, we thought they deserved some airtime. All of them can be found on various Mill Creek box sets, though several (Zontar, Battle of the Worlds, and Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory) were omitted from the 250-pack.

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Alpha Incident

Grade: B-

A half-dozen people are quarantined in the middle of nowhere, thanks to an alien microbe which makes your head explode if you fall asleep. Flawed and derivative, but oddly captivating in its way, with effective atmosphere and decent performances, though the last half-hour starts to drag. "Buck" Flower fans should see this one. (Why couldn't you just leave it alone, Hank?)

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Atomic Rulers (of the World)

Grade: C-

Starman takes on nuclear evil in this respectably mediocre effort, edited together from several Japanese shorts (complete with impressive codpiece). Some nice moments, but too bad the whole thing isn't as engaging as that fantastic, spastic opening sequence, which looks like a cross between a galactic Senate and an open casting call for Rain Man 2: To Count The Stars.

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Battle of the Worlds

Grade: D-

Italian take on When Worlds Collide, more or less. Dreadfully talky, this one draaaaags, but saved from total failure by ingenious set design and a pleasantly scenery-chewing performance by Claude Rains, as the brilliant professor who has a lot of what John McEnroe would call "personality" (i.e. he's a total shithead). Skip this one.

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Contamination (aka Alien Contamination)

Grade: C+

Egg-sized plot holes mar this Alien ripoff, but thanks to good atmosphere and decent pacing, it retains a certain charm nonetheless. Many folks seem to admire the score, by Goblin; we weren't so smitten. (Yet another movie about goo that makes people explode: puberty metaphor, anyone?)

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Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory

Grade: C

Between the title and the Monster Bop-style theme music, you'd expect something a bit more shameless, but this Italian production turns out to be a surprisingly low-key murder mystery -- probably too low-key, at that.

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Werewolf Woman

Grade: C+

Yet another Italian effort, and from the crazed opening nude sequence, you know you're in for a wild ride. Teeters endearingly between total exploitation fare and something a bit more ambitious. Gets bonus points for sheer enthusiasm.

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Zontar! The Thing From Venus

Objective Grade: D
Plutonium Ruby Crystal Laser Grade: B+

P. has an odd affection for this goofy little trifle, a made-for-TV remake of a Roger Corman flick from 1956; others should probably beware. Obviously made on the super-cheap, with a great deal of talk and very little action. Tony Huston has a terrific "evil nerd" vibe, kind of a cross between the young Bobby Fischer and P.'s other uncle. Available for viewing on the Internet Archive, but the print is horrendously, absurdly washed out; apparently, the Image Entertainment DVD looks far better.