FILM REVIEW: CREATURES FROM THE ABYSS (aka PLANKTON) (1994)

Five teenagers out for a night swim in the middle of nowhere get caught in a freak storm in CREATURES FROM THE ABYSS (1994).  They find shelter in a seemingly abandoned yacht which doubles as a marine research vessel.  As they wait out the storm, they soon discover that something else is on board the yacht with them which may have been the cause for the entire crew of the yacht to abandon the ship out in the middle of the ocean.

Now, unfortunately, this could have been an interesting concept but the film’s plot is flimsy as is the logic for most of what happens in the film not to mention that the monsters are laughable especially for a film from the mid-‘90s.   The film is written by Richard Baumann and directed by Alvaro Passeri (his first film as director before churning out such other great titles as THE MUMMY THEME PARK, PSYCHOVISION and FLIGHT TO HELL).  This is a pretty bad film even by pretty bad film standards. 

There is nothing particularly imaginative or exciting about the film other than the attempt at body horror as the teenagers turn into strange contaminated fish monsters.  This is one aquatic horror film to avoid like day old sushi.

Film Review: ATTACK OF THE BEAST CREATURES (1985)

Danger awaits a group of survivors from a luxury cruise liner who get ship wreaked on a deserted island in Attack of the Beast Creatures (1985).  The survivors are made up of a diverse group of both crew members and passengers (Robert Nolfi, Robert Lengyel, Julia Rust, and Lisa Pak, to name a few) some of who are at each others throats the moment they land on the island but their personal quibbles are nothing compared to the danger on the island from dangerous plants and acid pools that burn your flesh off to the touch to the miniature terror of beast creatures that inhabit the island and feast on the flesh of everything they come into contact to.  Now the survivors must find a way off the island as they are picked off one by one by the little creatures that seem to be everywhere watching and waiting to strike.  

 

This ‘80s film is littered with bad acting and even worse creature FX (even for a low budget film) in this basic premise of man (or woman) verses nature film that’s barely entertaining despite the copious amounts of blood on display.  The film could have been better (in the entertaining area) if not for the look and execution of the creatures as the premise of a group of survivors on an island filled with little killer creatures could have been excellent but this is otherwise a film better left dead and buried.

If you do happen upon it, at least it’s short (at a meager 82 minutes) and lots of the cast meet a gruesome fate even if it is by a crappy looking monster.

Film Review: BIGFOOT (1970)

Actor John Carradine can sometimes be forgiven for some of the schlock that he has been in which will include this 1970 film Bigfoot.  Following in the footsteps of the original ’33 King Kong is this story of the 8^th Wonder of the World as described by Carradin’s character of Jasper B. Hawks a local man who sees dollar signs when the girlfriend of a biker is kidnapped by one of the creatures. 

Jasper and his friend Elmer (John Mitchum) are just trying to make a quick buck when they see dollar signs after local legend becomes reality.  It seems that several women have been abducted by the creatures who may be dying off and need a new way to procreate and keep their species alive.  Jasper and Elmer head into the local woods to track down the creature but soon get more than they bargained for when they realize that there is a family of Bigfoot out there and even something bigger and far deadlier than they could have imagined.

This might actually sound like an interesting film except that the Bigfoot costumes are laughable (even by ‘70s standards) and that the screenplay is incredibly bad in a film filled with horrible performances (not even Carradine survives this).  The film is even made worse by the score which is repeated until it grinds in your ear drums.  There is no suspense anywhere in the film (as the Bigfoot creatures are not at all shy from the sunlight where you can see the imperfections in the costumes) and it is more a comedy by accident than anything else.

This is a highly forgettable film that’s only a curiosity to fans of Carradine and little else.

Book Review: DARK BANQUET by Bill Schutt

Bill Schutt is an associate professor at C.W. Post College of Long Island University and a research associate in Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History in New York whose non-fiction book Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures at first allows him to discuss his main research subject with is the vampire bat but also allows him to delve into all the other world’s blood feeding creatures which includes leeches, bugs, and even a bird that feeds on blood.  

 

An entire book about blood-feeding creatures may not be for everyone but Schutt keeps the style very user friendly dropping the entire technical pretense that could have bogged down the information or made it too informal to enjoy.  It is very apparent that his true expertise is in the vampire bat as his spends more time in the book with these creatures than any other and he has more personal stories to tell (which are sometimes very humorous).  What Schutt really wants to do is dispel all the misinformation about bats and all blood-feeding creatures as there is a lot of information out there that is incorrect.

He also goes into the historical background of blood-feeding creatures especially in the chapters on leeches which have had medicinal usage for centuries.  He also delves into the ecological balance that these creatures have which goes a long way in explaining to the general populace why we need blood-feeding creatures and why they are so important and beneficial.

Dark Banquet is an eye opening book that explains both the negative and positive impact of blood-feeding creatures that will change your ideas on them while also dispelling the fears that you may have.

Book Review: CLIVE BARKER’S NIGHTBREED CHRONICLES

Monsters are nothing new to cinema but when writer/director Clive Barker concocted his twisted fantasy about the creatures and monsters of Midian in his second feature Nightbreed  audiences would experience a whole new world of the fantastic like never before seen.  In the book Clive Barker’s Nightbreed Chronicles Barker and co-authors Murray Close (photographer) and Stephen Jones (editor) have brought the monsters from the film into the pages of this book where the reader gets to know a little bit about all the characters of the film many of which were only glimpsed at in the theatrical version (as it has become public knowledge that there was much of the film left on the cutting room floor). 

A brief look at the film Nightbreed in which a race of monsters, known as the Breed, who have lived in secret for centuries find their lives uprooted when a stranger by the name of Boone (played by Craig Sheffer) finds his way to their sanctuary called Midian.  His presence in Midian disrupts the lives of the Breed and threatens their very existence when the local police catch wind of them hiding out and decide to destroy each and every one of them.  Now Boone must decide how he can help The Breed whose lives he has put in jeopardy while also trying to maintain a life with his girlfriend who is not part of The Breed.

There are many art books out there from Clive Barker showcasing his artwork and paintings but this is one of the few showcasing his work in film especially in terms of the creatures that populate the film and give a purpose to the background of the characters which is either lacking in the film or unnecessary (especially in terms of all the background characters in the film that are touched upon in this book).    Barker gives a brief Introduction to the book before getting into what the fans or the film and the readers of the book really want which is more info on the monsters.

Barker gives a brief background to the creatures of Midian in many cases explaining how they came to find themselves in this world.  This is the most interesting part of the book since Barker is known for populating the worlds of his books with many characters from many different backgrounds and this film is no different.  Close provides a plethora of photos of each of the monsters in the book both production stills from the film and photos crafted specifically for the book so there is plenty here that has not been seen in other books or publication.  Overall, fans of Barker’s will want to add this book to their collection like so many of his other great books.