Ryan Watches 50 Movies

One unexpected result of watching a bunch of cheap old horror movies is that I've developed a familiarity with the now long-forgotten studios that released them. On doing some academic research (i.e. clicking around Wikipedia), I've learned a little bit more about " Poverty Row ," which was the collective name given to all the tiny, low-budget studios who used to crank these things out. One such Poverty Row studio was Producers Releasing Corporation. They produced last week's Dead Men Walk , so I had a pretty good idea of what I was in for when I realized that this week's The Mad Monster , from 1942, was also unleashed on the world by PRC. But I watched it anyway. After all, I've come this far. I can't turn back now! Synopsis George Zucco of Dead Men Walk is back again, this time as Dr. Cameron, a mad scientist who lives in a big ol' house in some kind of swampy area. As the film begins, Dr. Cameron is the happiest mad scientist on the block , bec...

I'm back! The dreadfulness of Revolt of the Zombies drove me to take a week off from watching horror classics, but now I'm back in the groove. The Giant Gila Monster is from 1959, and it seems like exactly the type of film that a teenage boy would take his date to, in the hopes that she would scream and grab his arm during the scary parts. It was directed by a guy named Ray Kellogg, but it has nothing to do with Corn Flakes. Most importantly, though: Is it better than Zombies ? Let's find out. Synopsis A young couple, Pat and Liz, are canoodling in a car when suddenly -- BLAPWOM! They're attacked! By a -- well, presumably it's a GIANT GILA MONSTER , but all we see is a scaly claw, so it could be anything... a giant iguana, a giant tuatara, or a normal-sized spinosaur. Meanwhile, a bunch of Pat & Liz's friends are waiting for them while boppin' to the rock 'n' roll at a local hangout when Old Man Harris, the town drunk, comes in. And boy, do th...