(1953)
Dir - Byron Haskin
Overall: GOOD
One of the most memorable and influential sci-fi films of the 1950s, The War of the Worlds was Paramount's big budget adaptation of H.G. Wells' novel. An apocalyptic epic for its day, the studio went all out with the special effects and design work, breaking from the stereotypical flying saucer and "little green men" Martian look and instead going with stingray spaceships and insect-like aliens. Extensive use of matte paintings enhance the level of destruction that the invaders lay out over the planet as well, which naturally reaches a peak in the last act once every human attempt at weaponry against them proves futile. Numerous changes were made to Wells' source material, particularly the setting which was switched from Victorian-era England to modern day southern California. Also, the religious angle is intensified with a sympathetic clergyman and a final proclamation that the Martians were ultimately defeated by God's creation of atmospheric bacteria, i.e a "miracle". Though things take some time to get going, director Byron Haskin stages a wonderfully tense alien confrontation in a farm house and generally revs up the hopelessness the entire way through. Given such an A-picture presentation, the film is a shining example of how good such material can be when handled with serious care.
(1957)
Dir - Herbert L. Stock
Overall: MEH
Another entry in American International Pictures teenage horror streak, Blood of Dracula, (Blood Is My Heritage), at least has the distinction of the most misleading title out of the bunch. There is no Dracula; just another grown-up utilizing a poor adolescent to monster-out and murder people for no reason. She does not do this on camera until about fifty minutes into the hour and nine minute running time, so this is yet one more example of a terribly boring drive-in movie that poorly delivers on its genre promises. Herbert L. Stock is behind the director's chair again, but he only manages to shoot some life into the proceedings during those very rare moments where Sandra Harrison's Nancy Perkins goes for the jugular in some ridiculous yet freaky vampire makeup. The performances are fine, particularly Harrison who carries the movie as the head-strong victim, but the whole presentation is far too stiff. To make matters worse, it turns into a musical for a few minutes as one of the stock male heartthrob characters sings a horrendously terrible song at a party while everyone dances and snaps their fingers. Sadly, they would repeat that particularly lame gimmick in the following How to Make a Monster as well.
(1959)
Dir - Ray Kellogg
Overall: WOOF
A wretched companion piece to the comparitvely superior The Killer Shrews, (which was shot cheaply in Dallas, Texas at the same time by producers Ken Curits and Gordon McLendon plus first time director Ray Kellogg), The Giant Gila Monster makes the unforgivable mistake of forgetting that it is supposed to have an actual monster in it. The first on-screen attack by the large title reptile occurs over a full goddamn hour in, though we do get a couple of brief shots of the Mexican beaded lizard slowly crawling around in the meantime; a lizard that stands in for the titular Gila monster. Instead of ANY creature feature mayhem, we follow around a handful of teenagers and grownups in a small, rural town who talk about cars, music, cars again, whether or not some missing kids have eloped, more cars, and various other incredibly exciting things to keep the viewer on the edge of their seats. The already numbingly boring proceedings stop at several instances for Don Sullivan to serenade us in his shaky vibrato, but he could be Frank Sinatra for all the good that it does the movie, which has as close to nothing as humanly possible to offer genre enthusiasts, let alone simply anybody attending a drive-in double feature.
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