(1972)
Dir - Lee Frost
Overall: MEH
With equally ridiculous title and premise in tow, Lee Frost's The Thing with Two Heads delivers its advertised absurdity even if the end result is not that memorable. The social commentary is on the nose as Ray Milland's stuffy, bigoted surgeon literally joins heads with a wrongly convicted, African American convict, all while a respectable/also African American doctor tags along for the ride. Frost and his fellow screenwriters, (which include Wes Biship and James Gordon White), hardly bother trying to say anything profound with their setup and eventually just settle on making it a chase film involving one cop car after the other crashing and flipping over while the funky, wah-wah heavy soundtrack by The Incredible Bongo Band sets the proper hi-jinks mood. As a comedy, it gets by to a point with Milland's Archie Bunker-esque uncomfortableness with his situation. Plus the dated, practical production aspects of watching him and Rosey Grier awkwardly smushed together on a bed or in an oversized suite are a hoot to laugh at, most likely intentionally. There are ultimately not enough clever set pieces to keep the chuckles going and the ending is particularly rushed, but B-movie enthusiasts should probably add it to their "to get to" list if they have not done so already.
(1976)
Dir - Ralph Nelson
Overall: MEH
Largely mislabeled as a horror film, Embryo is a mad scientist romp minus the romp. By 1976, a countless number of movies had been made where some brilliant doctor with good intentions unleashes a creation that goes along fine up until a point where unforeseen complications arise that emphasize the cautionary aspects of toying with nature. While Barbara Carrera's incredibly polite, innocently curious, artificially-grown super genius here is a refreshing enough tweak on the Frankenstein monster, the only thing concerning that takes place until about the last fifteen minutes of the film is when a dog kills another dog. This means that the plot is dominated by nothing more besides Rock Hudson simply teaching Carrera the ways of society and life, introducing her to acquaintances and trying to pass her off as just a really smart lab assistant. The only other somewhat memorable instance occurs with Roddy McDowall's cameo when she wipes the floor with him in a game of chess, letting him win in the last move to further infuriate his ego. Ultimately too boring and under-cooked as an engaging, "man playing god" story, it just has all of the makings of a forgettable, modestly budgeted 70s genre movie with a couple of notable names in the cast for good measure.
(1979)
Dir - Lawrence D. Foldes
Overall: WOOF
Out of the roughly seven-hundred and ninety-four "Don't" movies released in the 1970's and 80's, Don't Go Near the Park, (Night Stalker, Curse of the Living Dead), is probably the most amatuerish and relentlessly terrible. Writer/director Lawrence D. Foldes was nineteen during the production and if any case can be made that teenagers should not legally be allowed to make movies in the first place, this is a logical exhibit A. Right from the get go, the Hershell Gordon Lewis vibes come in hot with makeup and gore effects that a grade-school talent show would be ashamed of, awkwardly abysmal acting, a nonsensical story, rambling/completely unnatural dialog, stock cinematography, the same scenes showing up more than once, zero sense of urgency in the pacing department, and such wholesome ingredients as pedophilia, incest, child abuse, and cannibalism sprinkled in for edginess. Though it is forgettable in every area one could imagine, genre fans who are also gluttons for punishment may at least find it to be mandatory viewing since it contains Linnea Quigley's lead debut, (and yes, she does take her clothes off in it). Far too boring to make its tastelessness, ineptitude, and head-scratching stupidity engaging, it deserves all of the "DON'T watch this" jokes that it can get.