As noted elsewhere, the best science fiction and fantasy films reflect their era and cultural environment. Some observers argue that this dictum applies even more strongly to the – how should one put it delicately – to the more offbeat examples of the genre. Let the viewer be the judge (while acknowledging that not every filmmaker can be Bergman).
Don’t miss this week’s movies:
Creature From the Haunted Sea
American crook Sparks Moran sees a chance to make a bundle when a Caribbean island has a revolution.
(USA, 1961, B&W, 69 mins, dir. Roger Corman, with Antony Carbone & Betsy Jones-Moreland)
The Giant Gila Monster
A small town in Texas finds itself under attack from a hungry, fifty-foot-long gila monster.
(USA, 1959, B&W, 74 mins, dir. Ray Kellogg, with Don Sullivan & Fred Graham)
White Zombie
A devilish scientist is hired by a man, to change the girl he likes into a zombie so he can marry her, since she truly does love another. But a twist happens when the scientist captures the man as well to turn him into a zombie as well. But there is a happy ending.
(USA, 1932, B&W, dir. Victor Halperin, with Bela Lugosi & Madge Bellamy)
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die
After a car crash, a man keeps his wife’s head alive in his laboratory. To complicate matters, an evil beast pounds and screams from a locked room adjacent to the lab.
(USA, 1962, B&W, 82 mins, dir. Joseph Green, with Herb Evers, Virginia Leith & Leslie Daniel)
Robot Monster
Moon monsters launch attack against Earth! Only science can keep the astral assassins at bay.
(USA, 1953, B&W, 66 mins, dir. Phil Tucker, with George Nader & Claudia Barrett)
The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari
A man named Francis relates a story about his best friend Alan and his fiancee Jane. Alan takes him to a fair where they meet Dr. Caligari, who exhibits a somnambulist, Cesare, that can predict the future. When Alan asks how long he has to live, Cesare says he has until dawn.
(Germany, 1919, B&W, 51 min, dir. Robert Weine, with Conrad Veidt, Silent)
Visit World Cinema Saturdays on UCSD-TV to see what’s playing in the weeks ahead.