The Gorilla (1939) - Allan Dwan

Horror comedies are always a tough nut to crack. They usually never do very well. It's really tough to mix two genres and do it well. It's even harder when one of those genres is horror. The Gorilla is an example of the two styles cancelling each-other out. It comes to the table with the usual brand of comedy that was running rampant at the time. Fast-paced, high-wit comedy that did really well... back then. The horror is even worse. It's has forced tension and a not-very-scary antagonist.

The all-star cast is completely lost in the crap. Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi, and Anita Louise are just a few names. Not to mention the b-list comedy troupe The Ritz Brothers, who were apparently mistreated by the production. They really exploited Lugosi too. Using his popularity as Dracula they believed that just merely his presence could illicit fear. It doesn't.

A very wealthy old man (Lionel Atwill) is threatened by a killer going by the name of "The Gorilla". He hires some detectives to crack the case. However, the detectives happen to be The Ritz Brothers. A jokester group that doesn't really give any confidence in getting the job done. Their usual witty humor is at times nerve-racking. But parts of their performance actually worked. Bela Lugosi plays the creepy butler and Anita Louise plays the cowardly maid. A combination we are all very familiar with.

I don't think I will ever understand why we thought Gorillas were scary. The whole notion just isn't very terrifying to me. If it sounds like something that might send shivers down your spine then this is probably right up your alley. It's no Abbott and Costello, believe that. You won't be cracking up probably just scratching your head.

Director: Allan Dwan

Country: USA

Style: Suspenseful Ape Thriller

Did ya know...

The Ritz Brothers had suffered the loss of their father shortly before filming this film. Production literally forced them into working so quickly. They were barely aloud to go to the funeral. This was the last Ritz Brothers film for 20th Century Fox. This movie is somehow based on a play. It must have been a boring play.

Comments

The Human Monster (1939) - Walter Summers

Bela Lugosi turns in a fantastic performance. It is right on par with the exact same films that had made him famous like Dracula . My personal favorite being The Black Cat . Like the latter, this film suffered from poor circulation and lack of advertisement. Either that or the public wasn't interested in seeing Lugosi in anything else other than his famous bloodsucker. This film has a broad and well acted plot that was rich with detail. Lugosi has two sides in this picture. His well loved and compassionate side. The other is a strict, brutal lone shark that acts as a sinister villain to blind and handicapped people. He really brutalizes his victims. It's a macabre message to pay your bills. The film is slow moving and plagued by the usual setbacks from its time. Most of the nation wasn't really that concerned with horror at the time. But studios knew that they would always have an audience. This film is a prime example of that. It's sad because it's

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Ju-On (2000) - Takashi Shimizu

Watching Japanese horror is similar to watching British comedy. If you enjoy dry whit then you probably enjoy the boys of Monty Python in drag. That's the joke, they're dressed like women. Get it? Well, that's British humor. But if you're like most Americans you probably prefer Adam Sandler farting his way across a football field and hooking up with chicks that are way out of his league. Americans usually prefer this more in your face, crass brand of humor. My point is funny in England is different from funny in the US. The same goes for J-Horror. What the Japanese consider scary is very different from what Americans consider scary and it shows in this horror film. Japanese horror is generally slow (a little too slow sometimes), suspenseful and creepy. Ju-On is a creepy effing film. The movie has almost no soundtrack. It is incredibly suspenseful and the pay-offs are pretty awesome, but I think that it was done better in the American version (cultural t

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Inseminoid (1981) - Norman J. Warren

What can be said for mindless schlock pictures like this one. They were pumped out in droves during the eighties. Inseminoid !? give me a break! It sounds like some pre-pubescent teenage boys came up with the title. On the plus side the movie isn't horrible to look at and it has a decent amount of gore. If you can separate yourself from the political incorrectness, then you might have a perfectly decent Sci-Fi Monster Feature. A research team exploring caves on Jupiter accidentally awakens an ancient alien that rapes and impregnates one of the team members. She suffers from terrible shock and trauma, leading to a complete mental breakdown as her pregnancy accelerates faster and faster. Feeling threatened she decides to kill anyone she deems a threat. Can the rest of the research team survive or will they all become victims of INSEMINOID! Apparently this movie had a million dollar budget. That's really shocking considering the outcome of the picture. The acting

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