Atomic Drive-In » invasion-cinema

The Wasp Woman (1960)

cbutlerjr — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:42:14 +0000

The founder and owner of a large cosmetics company, Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot), is disturbed when her firm’s sales begin to drop after it becomes apparent to her customer base that she is aging. Scientist Eric Zinthrop (Michael Mark) has been able to extract enzymes from the royal jelly of the queen wasp that can reverse the aging process. Starlin agrees to fund further research, at great cost, provided she can serve as his human subject. Displeased with the slowness of the results she breaks into the scientist’s laboratory after hours and injects herself with extra doses of the formula. Zinthrop becomes aware that some of the test creatures are becoming violent and goes to warn Janice but before he can reach anyone he gets into a car accident. He is thus temporarily missing and Janice goes through great trouble to find him, eventually managing and then transferring his care to herself. Janice continues her clandestine use of the serum and sheds twenty years’ in a single weekend, but soon discovers that she is periodically transformed into a murderous queen wasp.

Director Corman was clearly influenced by Kurt Neumann’s 1958 film The Fly. The Wasp Woman has the head and hands of a wasp but the body of a woman—exactly the opposite of the creature shown in the film’s poster. In Jack Hill’s prologue, we see a slightly mad Dr. Zinthrop fired from his job at a honey farm for experimenting with wasps.

The Giant Gila Monster (1959)

cbutlerjr — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:36:47 +0000

The movie opens with a young couple parked in a remote, southwestern locale overlooking a ravine. A giant Gila Monster attacks the car, sending it into the ravine and killing the couple. Later, when some friends of the couple decide to assist the sheriff (Fred Graham) in his search for the missing teens, one of the friends (Chase, played by Don Sullivan) locates the crashed car in the ravine and finds evidence of the giant lizard. However, it is only when the hungry reptile attacks a train that the authorities realize that they are dealing with a (roughly) 70-foot poisonous lizard. By this time, the creature attacks the local town (emboldened by its recent attacks and hungry for humans). It eventually makes straight for the local dance hall where all the teenagers had gathered for a sock hop. However, Chase, a young mechanic and hotrod racer, manages to pilot a nitroglycerin charged car straight into the monster, effectively terminating it in a fiery explosion (but only after Chase had jumped from the car).

Mesa of Lost Women (1953)

cbutlerjr — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:37:04 +0000

A couple are found wandering nearly dead in a desert. Recovering, they tell their story. The movie flashes back a year. A mad scientist, Dr. Aranya (Jackie Coogan), has created giant spiders in his Mexican lab in Zarpa Mesa to create a race of superwomen by injecting spiders with human pituitary growth hormones. Women develop miraculous regenerative powers, but men mutate into disfigured dwarves. Spiders grow to human size and intelligence. Aranya invites another scientist, Dr. Masterson, to join him. Masterson visits Zarpa but is horrified. Aranya has him injected with a drug, turning him into a doddering simpleton. Masterson escapes, and visits a cantina. A rich man (Jan van Croft) and his young American fiancee also visit the cantina while their private plane is repaired. Masterson joins them and fawns over Doreen. Tarantella, (Tandra Quinn) one of Aranya’s best spider women, does a strange and sensual dance for Masterson. He shoots Tarantella (although she recovers). Masterson hijacks Van Croft’s group, forcing them to fly in the un-repaired plane. They crash land onto Zarpa Mesa. Soon the small group begins to be killed off one by one by giant spiders. Grant (the pilot), Doreen and Masterson are captured by Dr. Aranya. Masterson recovers from his drug-induced imbecility, sacrifices himself to let the others escape, blowing up the lab. Grant and Doreen wanders into the desert until picked up by the oil surveyor from the movie’s opening scenes.

Destroy All Planets (1968)

cbutlerjr — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:33:30 +0000

All you need to know about this movie is that a rocket powered turtle is fighting to keep earth safe from squid people riding in a bumble bee striped space ship. This is probably the best film to hit Invasion Cinema, a true epic.

A group of aliens from another planet head for Earth with the intentions of conquering it. Their first ship is destroyed in transit by the giant flying turtle Gamera. A second ship makes it to Earth and captures two Boy Scouts and holds them captive so that Gamera will not attack them. The aliens then implant a remote control device into the monster’s neck and use the great turtle to attack Tokyo. The boys then come up with a plan to foul up the remote control device to the point where Gamera does the opposite of what he is ordered to. As a result Gamera destroys the aliens ship, but then has to contend with their giant squid like leader Viras.

Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)

cbutlerjr — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:21:56 +0000

In the Florida Everglades, a pair of larger-than-human, intelligent leeches are living in an underwater cave. They begin dragging local people down to their cave where they hold them prisoner and slowly drain them of blood.

One of the first people to be so taken is the local vixen, Liz Walker, played by Yvette Vickers. After a couple of gratuitous displays of flesh (Yvette appeared as the centerfold in the July 1959 issue of Playboy), and some running around on her husband (Bruno VeSota), Liz finds herself a prisoner of the leeches along with her current paramour. Game warden Steve Benton (Ken Clark) sets out to investigate their disappearance. Aided by his girlfriend Nan Grayson (Jan Sheppard) and her father, Doc Grayson, he discovers the cavern.

The giant leeches are unrealistically portrayed by men in rubber suits, but they do provide suitably disgusting scenes when attacking their victims. The monsters are finally destroyed when Steve, Doc, and some state troopers blow up the cavern with dynamite.

Killers from Space (1954)

cbutlerjr — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:06:15 +0000

Synopsis:

Atomic scientist/pilot Doug Martin is missing after his plane crashes on an reconnaissance mission after a nuclear test. Miraculously appearing unhurt at the base later, he is given sodium amethol, but authorities are skeptical of his story that he was captured by aliens determined to conquer the Earth with giant monsters and insects. Martin vows to use existing technology to destroy them.

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Assignment: Outer Space (1960)

cbutlerjr — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:07:27 +0000

Synopsis:

In the 21st century Ray Peterson, reporter for the Interplanetary News, is assigned to write a story aboard a space station. Tension mounts between Peterson and the station commander, who believes he is in the way, but has orders to leave him alone. Errant spaceship Alpha Two enters the solar system and its photon generators are radiating enough heat to destroy Earth as it approaches. It falls to Peterson to try to figure out a way to enter the spaceship, disarm the generators, and escape before suffocating.

Cast:

Rik Van Nutter		Ray Peterson (IZ41) (as Rik Von Nutter)
Gabriella Farinon		Lucy (Y13) (as Gaby Farinon)
David Montresor		George the Commander
Archie Savage		Al (X15)
Alain Dijon		Archie (Y16)
Franco Fantasia		Sullivan (as Frank Fantasia)
Joe Pollini		King 116
David Maran		Davis
José Néstor		Venus Commander (as Jose Nestor)
Anita Todesco		Venus Control

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