A Quick Look: THE HUMAN VAPOR (1962 - color)

   THE HUMAN VAPOR remains one of the more obscure Americanized Japanese films. It was imported and drastically re-edited (though reportedly to much improvement) and released in the early 60's. I'm not sure if the film ever saw much play on television, but it was issued on VHS in the 80's. That was the last anyone saw of this fine science fiction/crime thriller. In this one, a man who had his dreams of being an astronaut destroyed by shadows on an X-ray suddenly gets a second chance if he'll submit to an experimental procedure being performed by a mysterious scientist. The experiment instead changes his molecular structure, allowing him to become an invisible human mist. He uses these powers to rob banks and send the money to the woman he loves, an out-of-work dancer who dreams of making a come-back. Strangely touching romance story holds together mixture of police drama and science fiction in a character-driven piece that should be much easier to find. The only way to see it, though, is to own the VHS release -which fortunately is a great tape and still plays well if in good condition. Movies like this are how the rest of us visit Japan!

A Quick Look: THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION (1975 - color)

   THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION remains the most well-remembered picture of Wisconsin-based director Bill Rebane. This is mostly due to it's being a giant spider movie, a genre people always enjoy. In this case, the film is another one of those cheapo quickie messes with a script about as grounded in scientific reality as Ernest P. Worrell. Still, it delivers the cheesy goods, and is a quintessential 70's drive-in movie. The plot involves a meteorite striking the rural farmlands of Wisconsin, and then releasing an army of tarantulas -some of which grow into giants. NASA's Steve Brodie and local scientist Barbara Hale join forces with Sheriff Alan Hale to investigate, while redneck slob Robert Easton plans to make a fortune with the tiny diamonds found inside the geodes which house the spiders. Leslie Parrish guest stars, as Easton's lush wife. As a director, Rebane seems to've kept up on the latest theories and fads, and was generally ahead of the pop culture curve. This film was probably the first feature to discuss black holes (which, of course, are inter-dimensional doorways which allow giant spiders to infiltrate our world). Rebane was also the first to capitalize on the renewed interest in inner earth theories during the 70's with INVASION FROM INNER EARTH. I liken that film to a soap-box derby car built by a young child. It's rough around the edges, but holds together well enough to keep us interested. Then, in the last reel, it turns down the hill and flies apart into a million shards. Other Rebane epics include the not overly memorable THE CAPTURE OF BIGFOOT and the ultra-obscure 80's gillman movie RANA: THE LEGEND OF SHADOW LAKE. They say every director has at least one masterpiece in them, though, and lest you think Rebane a terrible talent, I must make mention of THE ALPHA INCIDENT. It dealt with (on a very small scale) the release of an infectious microbe. If you get a chance, check that one out.

A Quick Look: IT, THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE (1958)

   IT, THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, basically functions as a feature version of a The Outer Limits episode. Marshall Thompson is the only survivor of a Mars expedition, claiming that the rest of his party was struck down by a monster. A second expedition arrives to shuttle Thompson back to Earth to stand trial for murder, as nobody is buying the monster story. Until, that is, the creature stows itself onto the ship, and the crew must combat the thing while floating through space. Another beast by Blaisdell, although the man in the rubber is famed cowboy and gorilla actor "Crash" Corrigan. It's been said for years that the basic story was remade as the visually impressive but ultimately hollow ALIEN in 1979. I suppose there's some validity in that, but the 50's film is far superior in terms of entertainment value.

A Quick Look: IT CAME WITHOUT WARNING (1981 - color)

   One of the first monster movies of the 80's was IT CAME WITHOUT WARNING (a.k.a. WITHOUT WARNING). A good old-fashioned B monster movie, it proved that schlock director Greydon Clark had at least one true masterpiece in him. And just look at the cast he managed to wrangle for this one: Martin Landau, Jack Palance, Neville Brand, Sue Ann Langdon (or was it Ruta Lee?), Cameron Mitchell, Larry Storch! The plot concerns a rural community finding itself the hunting ground for a killer beast from another planet, and as such the film has been called a forerunner to the mega-hit PREDATOR. The films themselves are different animals, though. Another one worth tracking down (and happily it has recently been issued on a BluRay/DVD combo).

Color Cuties

An experiment, Sharpie markers on card stock...

Smoothed out a bit by digital colorist Jim Ludwig

A Quick Look: WAR OF THE MONSTERS (1966/67 - color)

   WAR OF THE MONSTERS was the second film to star Gamera the giant, fire-eating, flying, prehistoric turtle. It's also one of the best Japanese giant monster movies of the boom kicked off by the runaway success of Godzilla. In the previous film, GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE, an atomic explosion released from the ice the monster Gammera, who naturally hit Tokyo while on his world tour. Scientists finally stopped Gammera by trapping him in the nosecone of a tremendous rocket and blasting him into space. As WAR OF THE MONSTERS picks up, a meteor smashes into Gammera's orbiting prison and releases the terror. (Actually, for the rest of the series, his name is spelled with only one M, as they were handled by a different company than the one that released the first film.) While Gamera searches the globe for sources of intense heat to feed on, some explorers trek into a forbidden jungle to recover what one fella thinks is a rare gem. Turns out the gem is actually the egg of a generational dinosaur called Barugon. In times past, the natives would use a big diamond to lure Barugon into the sea where he would dissolve. Unfortunately, this new Barugon is mutated and loose in Japan. Gamera shows up and gives battle, but is quickly outmatched by the new guy. Will he win the rematch? While GAMMERA THE INVINCIBLE had been a successful theatrical release, AIP-TV scooped up the sequel and released it directly to the small screen. It played for decades, until more or less replaced by a new dub issued on video by Sandy Frank, under the title "Gamera vs Barugon" in the 80's. In more recent years, a scope transfer of the Japanese print hit the market, but the release lacked either dub track. The old AIP dub was vastly superior to the later Frank dub, which was the "international dub" if I recall correctly, but AIP's version was also edited for time constraints (which means you can't simply lay the superior dub onto the scope Japanese version). Despite those complications, though, the film was a very well-made, moody, and rather adult drama. Way back in the original Japanese release, it was noticed this more adult take failed to keep the kiddies in their seats, and the following films would get increasingly goofy in their efforts to entertain children.

A Quick Look: THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE (1962)

   THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE predates the disaster cycle of the 70's by nearly a decade, although it captures a lot of the same elements. In it, a divorced newspaperman strikes up a relationship with a pretty secretary as the world starts to suffer bizarre and increasingly destructive happenings. It seems a pair of atom bomb tests have caused a chain reaction that's thrown the planet off her axis and is pushing her nearer and nearer the sun. British film is written for adults (in fact Janet Munro filmed a small nude scene for the film, although it was cut before the film was released). Even so, the story is gripping and it becomes increasingly so as civilization deteriorates in the face of growing cataclysm. Although technically a science fiction picture, it remains serious drama throughout, and actually makes for a pretty good look at newspaper production back when the format was still the main outlet for news on breaking events. Cynicism and earnestness are balanced nicely, with some very natural performances from all. A shame the film is so obscure.