Dir - Robert Hutton
Overall: MEH
Character actor Robert Hutton takes his only, (embarrassing), stab at directing with the unintentionally craptacular The Slime People; a film that allegedly ran out of money quickly and whose cast and crew were not paid for much of the shooting. The results of such shoddy production values are unmistakable on the screen, though to be fair, the title monsters sound and look about as ridiculous and fun as any from the drive-in double bill era. Much criticism has revolved around the poor use of fog which obscures the visuals too much instead of creating an ominous atmosphere. The snore-inducing pacing and monotonous plot finds Hutton and a small group of survivors fending off against a race of grotesque underground humanoids with pointy sticks and everyone goes from one location to another, engaging in lots of talking along the way. The performances are of the goofy and melodramatic variety and everyone behaves like a buffoon most of the time, but not enough to elevate such dull proceedings.
Dir - Ib Melchior
Overall: MEH
Danish-born screenwriter turned-director Ib Melchior takes his second and final crack at a full-length from behind the lens with American International Pictures' The Time Travelers; a science fiction film that is worth a hoot or two for its dated set and costume design, plus some low-end special effects. Lighthearted in tone with a goofy and cartoon-worthy musical score by Richard LaSalle that fits along with the v-neck uniforms, fleshy and rubber-masked androids, toy model work, and Roger Corman-worthy underground cave station, (most of which are brightly-colored and far from ominous in aesthetic), it is all kitschy, cheap, and void of anyone besides white people since the future has apparently done away with minorities. Worry not though, women still have time for dance parties, to work on their tans, and to banter about which cute guys they want to procreate with once they repopulate another planet. It gets by OK for what it has to worth with and at least affords for some quirky details, but like nearly all films of its kind, it is also detrimentally talky and flatly directed. At least the mutants look like Michael Berryman in The Hills Have Eyes and do some damage during the finale, which ups the race-against-time plot that gives the whole thing a much-needed adrenaline shot to go out on.
(1968)
Dir - W. Lee Wilder
Overall: WOOF
The penultimate film to be directed by no-budget schlock-peddler W. Lee Wilder, The Omegans shows that the man has learned absolutely nothing about engaging storytelling in his two decades from behind the lens. Shot on location in the Philippines, (as many bottom barrel exploitation movies from the era were), this is one of a career's worth of missed opportunities in Wilder's filmography that fails to do anything with the exotic setting or even a pre-Hammer Ingrid Pitt brought on board to awkwardly deliver her uninteresting dialog, (which for the last act consists entirely of asking for water, where Chuck is, and wanting to see a painting). Speaking of uninteresting, the title may suggest some sort of otherworldly presence or race lurking about, yet the actual case is far more lame since this is nothing but a woman having an affair with her rich husband who finds out and then poisons her and her lover. It is staggering how uneventful the "drama" is, to the point of being undetected due to Wilder's wretched direction. Even with some glowing things and cheap putty makeup thrown on Pitt and Keith Larson in the final two minutes, the pacing is so dreadful and lacking in agency that there is nothing to recommend here except exhibiting it for film students as an example of what they should never make under any circumstances.
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