Ryan Watches 50 Movies

The Brain That Wouldn't Die is a pretty unlikable movie from 1962. I actually own a tape of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring this movie, so I was already pretty familiar with it. But you may not be so familiar with it, and you may be wondering: Why won't the brain die? Good question! I'll tell you all about it. Synopsis Bill Cortner is a doctor with big ideas. As the film opens, he is in surgery, and the patient has just died, but he refuses to give up. He opens up the guy's head and pokes his brain for a while, and whaddyaknow? He comes back to life! Bill's dad is also a doctor, but Daddy doesn't approve of Bill's unconventional methods... and he really doesn't approve of Bill's crazy ideas about transplanting body parts from one person to another. Oh, and he REALLY REALLY doesn't approve of Bill stealing limbs and brains and stuff from the hospital for his experiments. Bill's girlfriend is Jan. She l...

So, here we have The Killer Shrews , a 1959 film directed by Ray Kellogg. Does that name sound familiar? It certainly should if you know anything about anything, because Kellogg was also the director of the horror classic The Giant Gila Monster , which I reviewed in this very space. According to the not-always-impeccably-reliable IMDb, Shrews and Gila Monster were intended to be shown as a double feature. I can see how they both came from the same brain. Synopsis Our hero is Captain Thorne Sherman. That's right, Captain Thorne Sherman. Is that a great hero name, or what? As the film opens, he and his first mate Rock (not the WWE wrestler) are on their way to deliver some supplies to Dr. Marlowe Craigis on a remote island. Ah, but there's a hurricane -- or, as Thorne calls it, a "hurric'n" -- coming, so Thorne decides they'll be staying on the island overnight. Ah, but there'll be no beach party for them... only KILLER SHREWS ! They meet Dr. Crai...

So, you know what's really a horror? Trying to get Blogger to do what I want it to do. As you may have noticed in previous posts, my text sometimes shows up in all different fonts and sizes. This is not an attempt to test your eyesight or a mistake on my part. I just can't get Blogger to get it right, no matter how many times I try to fix it. So... sorry about that, but don't blame me. Blame Blogger, which just might be run by mad scientists. And hey, speaking of mad scientists... First of all, let me make this clear: Harry Dean Stanton is not in this movie. In 1989, NBC aired The Jim Henson Hour , which was sort of a half- Muppet Show , half fantasy anthology affair. One episode was a drama called Monster Maker , and it featured Stanton as a special effects wizard who mentors a teenage boy with aspirations of working in the movies. It was a one-hour show, and it was pretty good. Will the 1944 film The Monster Maker prove to be better? Worse? As good? Let's...

Here's a movie from 1940 called The Ape , starring Boris Karloff. Will Karloff be the title character? Is it about some kind of freaky half-ape, half-human hybrid? Will the titular ape speak? Will it grow to enormous size? Enough with the questions already! Let's look at The Ape . Synopsis The circus is in town! All the local kids are excited, and even Dr. Bernard Adrien is pretty happy about it. He's the town's resident " crazy doctor ," mistrusted by the sheriff and most of the other men, but beloved by his favorite patient, Francis Clifford. Francis's legs are paralyzed, and Dr. Adrien is obsessively determined to cure her. Francis's mom Mrs. Clifford likes Dr. Adrien, but Danny the boyfriend is not convinced. That night at the circus, disaster strikes! After the show, the gorilla attacks his trainer! It's an APE ESCAPE ! In the ensuing chaos, the trainer's cigar starts a fire that burns down the whole circus! The trainer almos...