Cinema Sub Terra

FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF

1958: This imitation Universal werewolf/mummy movie was originally a Mexican horror/comedy entitled La Casa del Terror, but when distibuted in the U.S., repackager Jerry Warren (Creature of the Walking Dead, Man Beast) cut out all the funny bits. So naturally, the film is just a little disjointed. It starts with a lengthy, pointless segment in which a hypnotist brings a girl back into a previous life where she engages in lengthy, dull Maya dance ceremonies. Then some archaeologists break open a tomb and find two mummies - one looking like the Aztec mummy from The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, the other Lon Chaney Jr. (yes, Lon Chaney Jr.) in makeup resembling that from the Universal mummy films. A scientist unwraps Chaney, only to find that the mummy is also a werewolf. The werewolf (it's undoubtedly not Chaney in the costume) goes on the usual rampage and then, after many dull events happen, the movie ends. Chaney has no lines at all, he just sits around looking confused -- understandably so, since this mindless, almost dialogue-free is a complete and utter mess.. For masochism fans only. Back

FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL

1973: This, the last of Hammer's Frankenstein series, has a young man (Shane Briant) sent to a sanitorium run by the good doctor (Peter Cushing), where the two engage in a series of brain-swapping experiments. Not much happens, but the film is helped by an amusingly gruesome sense of humour and some funny gore scenes, including one in which the doctor kicks over a pan and spreads bloody innards all over the floor. "Oh, drat!" David Prowse (Darth Vader) plays the ape-like monster. Unfortunately, the North American video release has apparently been cut by several minutes. Back

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER

1965: This has been called one of the worst films of all time, but before I saw it, I always figured that the charges were trumped up because of the funny title. But, as it turns out, this is, in fact, v

ery, very, very bad. A robot astronaut (the "Frankenstein" of the title) fights aliens (led by the appropriately named Dr. Nadir) from a dead planet who want to breed with Earth women. There's lots of padding, including a moped tour around San Juan and the expected reams of stock footage. The happenin' soundtrack includes the timeless hit That's the Way it's Got to Be. The bug-eyed alien monster is ok, but otherwise this is a really, really, really rotten movie. And the guy who plays Dr. Nadir is just plain weird. Back

THE FURY

1978: A mediocre spy story/Carrie knockoff has Kirk Douglas as an ex-government agent searching for his super-psychic son who posesses telekenetic powers. It's livened up with some creative photography and gore scenes, as you'd expect from style-conscious director Brian DePalma (Carrie, Dressed to Kill). The climax, in which villain John Cassavetes is shown exploding from thirteen different angles, is pretty amusing; unfortunately, it's often cut for TV. Back

FURY OF THE WOLFMAN

1971: One of a long series of Spanish wolfman movies starring & written by Paul Naschy (Werewolf vs. the Vampire Women, Frankenstein's Bloody Terror), this has him as an innocent man who's just returned from the Himalayas, where he was bitten by a wolf (or something akin to that). Turns out he's being hypnotically manipulated by a jealous female mad scientist, a relation to the Wolfstein family which also popped up in Naschy's Frankenstein's Bloody Terror. The film climaxes in a male werewolf vs. female werewolf battle to the death. Special effects include a human/plant creature which - I exaggerate not - consists of a potted plant with some guy hiding behind it who reaches out to grab people as they pass by. When I first saw this, I thought that this scene was supposed to be showing someone hiding behind the plants, since the hands aren't made up at all; they're just ordinary hands. But, as explained by the characters, this is a half man, half plant ... and it's honestly one of the worst, most half-arsed special effects I've ever seen. But the werewolf makeup, thankfully, isn't so bad. Still, this movie isn't what I'd call 'good', or even 'watchable'. Back