Has there been a more tragic figure portrayed on film than the Ymir? (Named for the first of the giants in Norse mythology) The poor creature is kidnapped from its native planet of Venus, attacked by a dog, attacked by a farmer with a pitchfork, tortured with electricity and finally is sent plummeting to its death by a barrage of bazooka fire. Welcome to Earth.The first manned flight to Venus is struck by a meteor on its return and is forced to crash in the Mediterranean Sea. The crew’s only survivor, Col. Calder, is quickly taken to Sicily while a young boy named Pepe makes an interesting discovery among the crashed ships washed up debris. Little Pepe doesn’t realize that the metal canister he holds in his hands contains an unborn creature from the planet Venus. Dr. Leonardo, a local zoologist, examines the discovery a finds it interesting enough to purchase it from the youngster. As soon as it is returned to the lab the egg hatches and the young Ymir begins growing at an amazing rate. The creature soon outgrows the confines of the lab and escapes into the countryside. Col. Calder and Major General A.D. Macintosh from the Pentagon soon come looking for the canister and its cargo only to learn that they are too late. The young Ymir however leaves a trail of accidental death and destruction for the two to follow and is soon discovered hiding in a nearby cave. The military uses bags of sulfur, the creatures only known source of food, to lure the now giant Ymir out for capture. The monster is flown to Rome where it is kept at bay by large doses of electricity. A malfunction in one of the generators causes the creature to awaken and make another escape into the streets of the Italian capitol. The confused Venusian soon becomes cornered atop the famed Roman Colosseum. A barrage of military firepower brings both the wall of the great landmark and its alien occupant crashing to the ground ending the life of Earth’s first alien visitor.
While the Japanese studios were cranking out giant dinosaur movies in the 1950's, American movie makers were playing with the idea of what would happen if the bugs stepped on us for a change. The first, and best, of these films was the 1954 classic Them. None of the other films made directly after captured the honesty of what was attempted in this film. The film makers took the idea seriously and it showed in the final product. The script was well written and quality actors were chosen to play key parts. James Whitmore, James Arnes, and young Sandy Descher all put forth memorable performances. The film really does an excellent job of portraying just how people thought and acted in that time period. Most notable was the style of clothes used in the film. Men and women in the blazing desert dressed in suites, ties, dresses, and heels. Also humorous is the fact that no matter how hard a wind gust a hat never left the head of lady or gent. Also, it never is questioned how a FBI agent and a Highway Patrolman would know how to use a bazooka and a flame thrower. It would also seem odd that the same two would be included in military operations to kill off the giant ants. These things wouldn't have seemed far fetched to the naive public of the 1950's. Yet the film still does stand up today. I found that the use of radio controlled "life size' monster ants worked well and that as a whole the special effects were top notch. Them is the best of the giant insect movies. Once again nuclear tests would bring about giant mutations. This time turning the smallest of creatures, ants, into huge killing monsters. People in the remote New Mexico desert begin to disappear. A young girl is found wandering in total shock a few miles from where family's camper was destroyed. Two Patrol Officers with the aide of a FBI agent begin to look into the deaths and destruction. Casts of strange tracks are sent to Washington DC for analysis. Two entomologists, Pat and Howard Medford, arrive to see if their fears are correct. It's not long before those fears are proven facts. The ants have mutated to monstrous size. Their nest must be located and destroyed before Queen Ants can hatch and begin new ant colonies. Is there enough time to save mankind?
8. The Host - The Host (2006)
Gang-du (SONG Kang-ho) works at a food-stand on the banks of the Han River. Dozing on the job, he is awakened by his daughter, Hyun-seo ( KO A-sung), who is angry with him for missing a teacher-parent meeting at school. As Gang-du walks out to the riverbank with a delivery, he notices that a large crowd of people has gathered, taking pictures and talking about something hanging from the Han River Bridge. The otherwise idyllic landscape turns suddenly to bedlam when a terrifying creature climbs up onto the riverbank and begins to crush and eat people. Gang-du and his daughter run for their lives but suddenly the thing grabs Hyun-seo and disappears back into the river. The government announces that the thing apparently is the Host of an unidentified virus. Having feared the worst, Gang-du receives a phone call from his daughter who is frightened, but very much alive. Gang-du makes plans to infiltrate the forbidden zone near the Han River to rescue his daughter from the clutches of the horrifying Host…
7. Gorgo - Gorgo (1962)
It would seem that the British felt left out on the giant monster movie trend of the 1950's. The international success of the Japanese monster epic Godzilla (Gojira) would inspire many clones across the globe. Gorgo would end up to be one of the better ones. The film makers would take the standard theme of a monster being taken from it's natural habitat and being brought to civilization and add a twist. Just like in the classic King Kong greedy circus owners parade the monster in front of the masses to the sounds of cash register rings. The only thing they don't realize is that their monster is not an adult of the species. The toddlers mother is much larger and on the war path.
As in almost every film of this type the mother Gorgo reaches London and manages to locate every important landmark in the city and reduce it to a pile of ruble. Weapons are no match for the creature. Again something borrowed from Godzilla. So her destruction goes on until her infant is located. Once she has what she wants the carnage stops and the two return to the see with mankind hopefully learning it's lesson.
The scenes of monster vs man in the streets of London are nothing that you haven't seen before, although the special effects for the shots are quite good. The scenes do however add an average tone to what would seem to be an above average monster film with a more heart felt storyline.
The film has some pretty strong historical value. It would inspire more than a handful of clones of it's own. The two most notable are Gappa (Monster From A Prehistoric Planet) and Steven Spielberg's cash cow The Lost World.
More To come Over The Next Few Days!
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I think Gorgo should be remade.
ReplyDeleteThat movie was awesome.
The visual effects for back then were stunning.
Especially for a British film.
The FBI agent and highway patrol officer in the movie "Them" were both WW2 veterans, that's how they knew about bazookas and flamethrowers.
ReplyDeleteyou never finished this list? so far i like it the best of the ones i have seen!
ReplyDeleteGorgo ! one of the top heavys of all time ! A great monster from a time when there was a fair bit of cometition. Would love to see a deluxe DVD edition released .....those Red Eye's !!
ReplyDelete