Tag: animal attack movies

Really Awful Movies: Ep 202 – The Fly II

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The poster says it all…Like father, like son. The Fly II did gonzo box office but badly with the critics. And that’s a bit of a shame as this one is fun as hell.

Sure there’s no Cronenberg, Goldblum, Davis, etc. And those are big-time names. But director Chris Walas is game and gives us a solid oddball sequel that’s a smashing good time.

Martin Brundle is the son of Goldblum’s Seth. He’s birthed in Bartok Industries in spectacular fashion. Since Gina Davis wasn’t back, the folks behind this sequel did as best they could replicating her…and that was quite ingenious when you think about it.

Martin prematurely ages and is the subject of experimentation. Gradually, he starts to feel more and more fly-like (like pa) and when granted his freedom starts to explore.

The Fly II (1989) then goes really crazy and gory. Much more of a monster movie than the first, a psychological slow-burn, there is nonetheless lots of fun to be had here. And on our show too. Check out our Really Awful Movies Podcast for genre film discussion that’s smart, and mostly sober.

Really Awful Movies: Ep 177 – Grizzly and The Car with Scott Drebit of Daily Dead

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On this special episode of the Really Awful Movies Podcast…two movies “inspired” by the great JAWS, The Car and Grizzly.

We’re gonna need a bigger boat…and we’re going to need a special guest too.

We decided to bring back one of our favorite people in the horror community, a gentleman and a scholar, Scott Drebit from Daily Dead (who’s previously joined us to talk about all sorts of terrific eco-horror films) to chat about these two very similar films.

If there’s ANY type of creature, from the slimiest little protozoa to the largest blow-hole spewing whale, that’s going around killing people…SIGN US UP.

We really dig animal attack fare, and yes, The Car is a a killer sentient vehicle…but in the film, the title car still adopts the mannerisms of a predatory creature…huffing and stalking its human prey. And both films feature the killer POV as a car/grizzly hunts down victims.

The 70s was a fertile time for horror, and it’s easy to forget just how weird and undeniably fun the films were.

On this episode of the podcast, we delve into these topics:

  • Blumhouse offerings, from Get Out to Split and Sinister
  • The Editor
  • The Void
  • Why it is that certain creatures in the animal kingdom are frequently depicted, while others not
  • The excellent square-chin presence of iconic Christopher George
  • The similarities between the characters chasing the giant bear in Grizzly, to the cast in Jaws
  • The awesome force that was the late William Girdler
  • The predatory instincts of sentient vehicles
  • The fantastic facial hair of James Brolin
  • How everyone does not love a parade
  • How it is that someone playing a French horn met their demise
  • Ratings and how films were violent and yet easily accessible to the (younger) masses in the 70s.
  • What’s up with John Carpenter
  • The upcoming summer blockbuster season

And much much more!

Really Awful Movies: Ep 171 – The Giant Gila Monster

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The Giant Gila Monster is not only a 1959 monster movie, there’s a sci fi component too. And hell, it’s a hot rod juvenile delinquent flick too.

The Giant Gila Monster was directed by Ray Kellogg and produced by Ken Curtis.

It’s a decidedly low-budget affair, meant to be an accompaniment to the equally less-than-spectacular The Killer Shrews (another Ken Curtis production), a film perhaps best known for being sent up on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

The film stars failed matinee idol Don Sullivan, a veteran of several low budget monster and zombie films, and Lisa Simone, the French contestant for Miss Universe of 1957 (who had zero acting chops), as well as “comic relief” of Shug Fisher and KLIF disc jockey Ken Knox.

The effects included a live Mexican beaded lizard (not an actual Gila monster) filmed on a scaled-down model landscape.

A drive-in cash-in, the film is a pretty good example of the kind of creature feature the 1950s were famous for.

In our discussion of the film on the Really Awful Movies Podcast, we delve into 50s sensibilities, the singing abilities of Don Sullivan (and the infamous Mushroom Song), our total inability to speak Spanish (which we butcher like a hog), language use, and of course, spinning platters.