SHORT TAKES....

I have been working a lot lately but had time to catch up to two movies I haven't seen in a while. When they first came out I reviewed them here and now I am doing a re-visit.

X FROM OUTER SPACE 1968 (CRITERION) Shochiku was the name of a small Japanese company that made four very odd journeys into the realm of horror and science fiction, and this is probably their most well known effort.

A mysterious UFO covers a spaceship with spores and the crew takes one back to earth which happens to grow into a giant monster that needs raw energy to live. The monster is called Guilala an it is one of the most bizarre monsters ever! It's been called a chicken monster, but I can't see that at all.

The monster tramples Tokyo and surrounding cities before finally being destroyed. This is nothing but a fun film and should never be taken too seriously. Good stuff.

NEANDERTHAL MAN 1953 (SHOUT FACTORY) This ultra low budget feature is one of my favorites as I saw it many, many years ago on TV at just the right time.

Robert Shayne is a scientist who wants to prove man is not getting better thru evolution. He creates a serum that changes a cat into a saber tooth tiger that terrorizes a small California mountain community. Shayne is the perfect ma scientist as he portrays a man with little or no patience for anyone including his girlfriend and daughter.

After the tiger is killed he then decides, after a rather intense meeting with disbelieving colleagues, to change himself into a neanderthal man to prove his theory. He terrorizes the countryside and then is hunted down.

This is a fun and ultra cheap little film and it also marks, sadly the last film appearance of Tandra Quinn. Kudos to Shout who actually gave this a Blu-ray release in early 2014.