Episode 8 of Tales from The Other Side kicks off with a first in the history of the show (and possibly in the history of horror hosting). Instead of showing a lousy, public domain horror movie we're showing a new movie made up of bits and pieces of 5 other lousy, public domain movies. Brace yourself for Night of the Last Carnival on Earth, aka: Yucca! There's a Gila in My Soup!
20 October 2009
20 January 2009
Phantom from Space
It was the 1950's, and the Cold War was a chilling threat to patriotic Americans. The fear of a possible nuclear attack led to an illogical distrust of anyone culturally different from us. This distrust was a continuation of culturally-induced fears seen a few years earlier when we placed Asian Americans (keyword AMERICANS) in concentration camps because, we reasoned, they might be spying for the Japanese. This was also the pre-Civil Rights era: Racism was strong throughout the land and Jim Crow laws were violently enforced in both the North and the South.
I'm actually going a little too far for this particular movie. In Phantom from Space, the alien ran out of gas. He wasn't actually killed by the Earthlings. He died before they could save him and they would have saved him if they had the opportunity.
Out of this troubled era arose the Science Fiction B-movie, so many of which had a social or political moral embedded into an otherwise mediocre screenplay.
One such film is Phantom from Space.
Like many SciFi movies of the 50's, the plot of Phantom from Space revolves around a UFO landing on earth and the resulting reactions of the public, police, scientists and the news media.
The initial eyewitness reports are sketchy and frightening. Two men were attacked, one was killed, an oil plant was vandalized and others were just plain scared-off by an odd-looking creature in a deep-sea diving suit.
Under these circumstances, it's natural to fear the alien as a hostile invader --- however, if you shoot first and ask questions later you'll never get any answers.
Well, they don't shoot our visitor from space (they shoot at him but they miss). Eventually, the alien comes face to face and attempts to communicate with the Earthlings. Before we can figure out what he's telling us, he runs out of gas (literally!) and we, the audience, come to realize he never meant to harm anybody. He was just trying to survive.
End of plot, beginning of moral lesson. Whether consciously intentional or not; movies like Phantom from Space addressed the issue of our fear of the unknown - a local unknown which dwelt amongst all of us. Whether it was fear of a different skin color, religion or nationality; that fear was palpable and often resulted in evil. Evil perpetrated against the innocent, because too many of us thought it prudent to shoot first and ask questions later.
From the outset, this movie attempts to instill fear in the audience. All initial reports tell us the alien is bad and wants to harm us. We wait with growing anxiety to see what new evil this monster will perpetrate against our neighbors, our co-workers, our family and our nation and in the end, we find that the true evil was really inside of each of us...
I'm actually going a little too far for this particular movie. In Phantom from Space, the alien ran out of gas. He wasn't actually killed by the Earthlings. He died before they could save him and they would have saved him if they had the opportunity.
However, the moral issues are still there as we see the alien attacked, chased, shot at and treated with fear and suspicion. Perhaps we could have saved him if he hadn't wasted all his gas running from us.
The movie doesn't go there, so I guess we'll never know.
Phantom from Space seems content to leave us with the simple moral that not everyone we fear needs to be feared, not everyone we hate needs to be hated and that in the end we're really not all that different from each other - whether the alien we're talking about is legal, illegal or from outer space.
Check out Phantom from Space as hosted by our own favorite alien HYBRID. Now playing at www.tftos.com.
14 June 2008
iTunes Podcasts
Hey - our videos are available for download to your iPod. What a perfect way to watch Tales from the Other Side!
Tales from The Other Side VEOH iTunes feed.
Tales from The Other Side VEOH iTunes feed.
10 June 2008
Hercules Against the Moonmen
Hercules battling aliens? Can it get any weirder than that?
Well, first of all, the original title of this movie was Maciste and the Queen of Samar; but since nobody outside of Italy is familiar with Italian hero Maciste, the international distributors decided to rename the lead character with a name pretty much everyone knows - HERCULES - and let everyone in on the real plot - the wicked plans of the evil Moonmen!
Maciste? Hercules? It really doesn't matter. Either way, the story takes place around the same time as the ancient Greek myths, and although Maciste is merely a superhuman dude and not the son of Zeus; calling him Hercules or Maciste doesn't do anything to make this spaghetti-myth any more or less believable.
Here's the gist of the story: Ages ago Moonmen invaded the Earth, setting up headquarters outside the village of Samar. Initially, all they did was demand child sacrifices; but their real plan is to revive their dead queen and take over the Earth - an act which will make the Earth uninhabitable for humans.
With Samara, the queen of Samar, on their side it's only a matter of time before the Moonmen have their way.
Ahhhhh --- but they didn't reckon on having to deal with HERCULES (or Maciste, if you prefer)!
No human or mythical beast can match the cunning and strength of our hero, so what makes the Moonmen think they've got a chance?
Watch Hercules Against the Moonmen online at http://www.tftos.com/. Hosted by Nonek, the Barber of Crimenya, this is a low-budget fantasy flick sure to keep you in stitches!
Well, first of all, the original title of this movie was Maciste and the Queen of Samar; but since nobody outside of Italy is familiar with Italian hero Maciste, the international distributors decided to rename the lead character with a name pretty much everyone knows - HERCULES - and let everyone in on the real plot - the wicked plans of the evil Moonmen!
Maciste? Hercules? It really doesn't matter. Either way, the story takes place around the same time as the ancient Greek myths, and although Maciste is merely a superhuman dude and not the son of Zeus; calling him Hercules or Maciste doesn't do anything to make this spaghetti-myth any more or less believable.
Here's the gist of the story: Ages ago Moonmen invaded the Earth, setting up headquarters outside the village of Samar. Initially, all they did was demand child sacrifices; but their real plan is to revive their dead queen and take over the Earth - an act which will make the Earth uninhabitable for humans.
With Samara, the queen of Samar, on their side it's only a matter of time before the Moonmen have their way.
Ahhhhh --- but they didn't reckon on having to deal with HERCULES (or Maciste, if you prefer)!
No human or mythical beast can match the cunning and strength of our hero, so what makes the Moonmen think they've got a chance?
Watch Hercules Against the Moonmen online at http://www.tftos.com/. Hosted by Nonek, the Barber of Crimenya, this is a low-budget fantasy flick sure to keep you in stitches!
15 April 2008
The Brain Machine
Imagine, if you will, a time when movies about government conspiracies were merely fiction. Ahhhhhh...feels nice, doesn't it? Of course, there have been government conspiracies as long as there have been governments - so don't fool yourself!
The Brain Machine, aka Grey Matter, is kind of a pre-1984 (as in George Orwell's 1984) film. This is the lead-up to the Thought Police, the story behind their story.
It's sometime in the near future (near to 1977, that is) and a U.S. senator has decided that the best way to protect our freedom is complete disclosure of every citizen's thoughts. Thus, the Brain Machine.
Cool idea for a movie, huh? Unfortunately, the movie poster is far more interesting than the movie. It's slow, confusing and just plain weird at times. But hey, it was the 70's, right?
If you're into govt. conspiracy movies, go watch The X-Files.
If you're into laughing at stupid movies, check out Dr. Mark Cutimup's treatment of The Brain Machine.
08 March 2008
First Teletubbies on Venus
Whaaaat?
Watch the current episode of Tales from The Other Side and you'll know what I'm talking about ;)
Actually, the title of our current movie (hosted by HYBRID - his very first show!) is the 1960 film First Spaceship on Venus (released in the U.S. in 1962).
In spite of HYBRID's opinion of this movie (and really, as an alien HE is the expert), I found the movie to be fairly enjoyable and very similar in plot to Mission to Mars.
The basic plot is that a stone has been found in the Gobi Desert which obviously is not of Earth origin. Upon closer investigation, it is discovered the stone actually functions as a recorded document containing information from Venus. Having translated a little bit of the message, the scientists of Earth first try to contact Venus using radio signals and when this fails a team of the very best from the global scientific community decide to go straight to the source in their newly-built spaceship - the Cosmo Strata.
On the way there, they translate the rest of the document and discover that Venus was planning on destroying the Earth with a nuclear weapon. Now they have to decide: Do we continue with our mission? Or turn back to Earth?
The special effects used in this movie, while not up to par with 21st Century CGI or even George Lucas' bluescreen FX, are still pretty impressive; especially considering the time period. The film was shot in vivid technicolor instead of the typical B&W used in most low-budget films, and if you can find a good print it's actually quite beautiful.
From a socially conscious aspect, this movie is fairly groundbreaking. 4 years before Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, First Spaceship on Venus presents us with an international crew made up of men and women (well, actually only one woman unless Omega the robot is female as well), a man of African origin, an Asian and an Indian (as in "a man from India") along with the other caucasian characters from America, Russia and France.
So check it out. Click this link to watch our edited version hosted by HYBRID, or if you prefer the original, uncut movie, look for it in the cheapo DVD department at WAL-MART. You can also download it or watch it online for free at www.archive.org
Watch the current episode of Tales from The Other Side and you'll know what I'm talking about ;)
Actually, the title of our current movie (hosted by HYBRID - his very first show!) is the 1960 film First Spaceship on Venus (released in the U.S. in 1962).
In spite of HYBRID's opinion of this movie (and really, as an alien HE is the expert), I found the movie to be fairly enjoyable and very similar in plot to Mission to Mars.
The basic plot is that a stone has been found in the Gobi Desert which obviously is not of Earth origin. Upon closer investigation, it is discovered the stone actually functions as a recorded document containing information from Venus. Having translated a little bit of the message, the scientists of Earth first try to contact Venus using radio signals and when this fails a team of the very best from the global scientific community decide to go straight to the source in their newly-built spaceship - the Cosmo Strata.
On the way there, they translate the rest of the document and discover that Venus was planning on destroying the Earth with a nuclear weapon. Now they have to decide: Do we continue with our mission? Or turn back to Earth?
The special effects used in this movie, while not up to par with 21st Century CGI or even George Lucas' bluescreen FX, are still pretty impressive; especially considering the time period. The film was shot in vivid technicolor instead of the typical B&W used in most low-budget films, and if you can find a good print it's actually quite beautiful.
From a socially conscious aspect, this movie is fairly groundbreaking. 4 years before Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, First Spaceship on Venus presents us with an international crew made up of men and women (well, actually only one woman unless Omega the robot is female as well), a man of African origin, an Asian and an Indian (as in "a man from India") along with the other caucasian characters from America, Russia and France.
So check it out. Click this link to watch our edited version hosted by HYBRID, or if you prefer the original, uncut movie, look for it in the cheapo DVD department at WAL-MART. You can also download it or watch it online for free at www.archive.org
02 February 2008
1940's Human Sacrifice?
This month's movie is The Corpse Vanishes - directed in 1942 by Wallace Fox and starring Bela Lugosi as Dr. Lorenz, somewhat of a mad scientist (or a "mad botanist" - as I.M. Balm calls him) - who keeps his old and decrepit wife looking young and beautiful by injecting her with a serum made from fluid drawn from the glands of young virgins.
He does this by kidnapping brides on their wedding day, and he has an interesting way of doing this: He delivers a corsage laced with a poison which makes the young lady appear to die - right there at the altar. Then he sends his own van to take her away before the undertaker can show up. Once back at his lab, he removes the necessary fluid from her glands, mixes it with a little chemistry magic and injects his wife.
We find out later that his wife is about 80 years old. Funny, the serum apparently makes her look young on the outside but does nothing for her internal organs!
While the movie is slow in spots, it does carry that general air of creepiness found in other mystery/horror movies of the period. Some things are obviously thrown in just for effect - like Dr. and Countess Lorenz sleeping in open caskets; but overall the combination of classic props like secret passages, a deformed giant and his sadistic midget brother, along with the creepy soundtrack make this movie rather enjoyable - even though it's not really all that scary.
What struck me as I was editing the movie for the show, was how the plot of using brides-to-be to treat Dr. Lorenz's wife wasn't all that different from uncivilized tribes sacrificing young virgins to appease their gods. The "god", in this movie, is vanity; but the cost of an innocent human life is still the same.
Human sacrifice? Unfortunately, yes. The innocent in place of the guilty. The righteous in place of the wicked.
And of course, this is where my review gets spiritual. For who is really innocent enough to die in place of the guilty? Who is really righteous enough to die in place of the wicked. I can think of only One.
He does this by kidnapping brides on their wedding day, and he has an interesting way of doing this: He delivers a corsage laced with a poison which makes the young lady appear to die - right there at the altar. Then he sends his own van to take her away before the undertaker can show up. Once back at his lab, he removes the necessary fluid from her glands, mixes it with a little chemistry magic and injects his wife.
We find out later that his wife is about 80 years old. Funny, the serum apparently makes her look young on the outside but does nothing for her internal organs!
While the movie is slow in spots, it does carry that general air of creepiness found in other mystery/horror movies of the period. Some things are obviously thrown in just for effect - like Dr. and Countess Lorenz sleeping in open caskets; but overall the combination of classic props like secret passages, a deformed giant and his sadistic midget brother, along with the creepy soundtrack make this movie rather enjoyable - even though it's not really all that scary.
What struck me as I was editing the movie for the show, was how the plot of using brides-to-be to treat Dr. Lorenz's wife wasn't all that different from uncivilized tribes sacrificing young virgins to appease their gods. The "god", in this movie, is vanity; but the cost of an innocent human life is still the same.
Human sacrifice? Unfortunately, yes. The innocent in place of the guilty. The righteous in place of the wicked.
And of course, this is where my review gets spiritual. For who is really innocent enough to die in place of the guilty? Who is really righteous enough to die in place of the wicked. I can think of only One.
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