(1964)
Dir - Jack Curtis
Overall: MEH
Relatively gory for the time period, Jack Curtis' The Flesh Eaters has aged as a rather mediocre though still somewhat admirable B movie. As usual with an independent film like this, the lack of convincing special effects are easy to overlook and are actually rather charming in their simplicity. A moment where a corpse is terribly superimposed over a backdrop where you can see through his eaten out rib cage, (see picture), is as ineffective as they get, but it is still complimented somewhat by how sincere the production is. The small cast is pretty solid and professional, all except a disgustingly obnoxious beatnik who shows up midway though and sadly does not get killed immediately. The movie was scripted by comic book author Andrew Drake and it does have that kind of fun, pulp quality to it while incorporating a giant, mutated monster and a Nazi scientist together. All being set on a single island with only a handful of characters though, there is not enough steam in the story to keep things from getting a bit dull. The ending gets messy too with the exposed, untrustworthy German doctor double crossing the manly, chiseled hero and damsel in distress a little too easily and frequently.
(1966)
Dir - Hy Averback
Overall: MEH
Originally proposed as a television series, Chamber of Horrors was turned from a pilot into a theatrical feature with some added, extra bloody scenes and a few William Castle-esque gimmicks such as the red "Fear Flasher" and "Horror Horn" that pop up right before all of the nasty murders that take place. There are a handful of amusing moments here, including a random cameo from Tony Curtis, José René Ruiz as a noble, midget sidekick, Wildfrid Hyde-White's charming wax museum owner/true crime novelist Harold Blount, a bizarre, creepy wedding ceremony at gunpoint opening, and the overall concept of a killer with a missing right hand that he can hook on any type of murder weapon to. All of this said though, comedy actor and radio personality Hy Averback is hardly a master of suspense and the movie never picks up any necessary, heart-racing momentum. The script is rather lazily structured and underwritten, repeatedly slowing down for long intervals and then introducing new characters and situations that are left too open ended. This is most likely due to the fact that it was all originally meant to set up a TV series and would have eventually gotten around to fleshing more things out. As it is though, it does not quite work well enough as a stand alone movie.
(1966)
Dir - Leslie Stevens
Overall: GOOD
A strange history accompanies this strange film from Outer Limits creator Leslie Stevens which was made at the end of that show's run, shortly before star William Shatner was to go on to become iconic as Captain Kirk in Star Trek. Stevens had much difficulty getting it distributed and it ended up only showing in France before it was presumed lost for thirty years, a French print eventually emerging in 1996 and re-subtitled into English. Made deliberately as an arthouse movie with cinematographer Conrad Hall, (who also started on The Outer Limits), Incubus was filmed in the language of Esperanto which the entire cast learned phonetically. It was also shot in black and white and plays like a curious fairytale where witches, demons, and both evil and good magic seem to be toying with everyone's fate. The story is simple yet not necessarily coherent, but the movie's random logic is befitting to the bizarre, atmospheric way that it is presented. People who actually speak Esperanto may find it unintentionally hilarious due to the cast's piss-poor pronunciation and occasionally Stevens lets the pace drag a bit, but overall this is a rather fascinating bit of occult filmmaking.
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