CORPORATE LINE: During a solo space mission to Mars, NASA astronaut Col. Frank Saunders (Robert Reilly)—who happens to be an experimental android—is shot down by an alien warship. Frank survives the attack, crash-landing on Puerto Rico. The space aliens—led by Princess Marcuzan (Marilyn Hanold) and her putty-eared lieutenant, Dr. Nadir (Lou Cutell)—decide he must die, so they give chase, but manage to only disfigure him before commencing with their ultimate endeavor: steal bikini-clad young women to re-populate their nuclear-ravaged planet!
THE REVIEW: Dark Sky Films has a knack for unearthing some of the most bizarre cinematic spectacles ever to grace the big screen (the creaky outdoor drive-in screen, to be exact). Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster is no exception. But this B-movie bomb is surprisingly quirky and fun. This film has it all: pool parties, Vespas, disfigured androids and hairy, skull-faced monsters. And astoundingly, it actually works, in a trashy sort of way.
While the costumes are cheap, the special effects negligible and the storyline over-ambitious, the snappy dialog, eerie atmosphere, swingin’ music and buxom bikini babes imbue the film with a peculiar charm reserved exclusively for so-bad-they’re-good classics like Plan 9 From Outer Space and Valley Of The Dolls.
THE EXTRAS:
Aside from a print that looks surprisingly good after 40-plus years, the DVD includes a trailer and still gallery, plus subtitles, which are always nice.
FRANKLY: Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster is a tacky good time—with loads of unintended humor, cheap shocks and an unpretentious shabbiness that’s shockingly refreshing.
+ Jim Kaz
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.