Skip to main content

Doctor Cyclops (1940) - Ernest B. Schoedsack


Doctor Cyclops is a really interesting film. It's in color even though it was made in 1940. This is made possible through Technicolor. The film goes down the Mad Scientist route with Albert Dekker in that role, and its pretty perfect. Ernest Schoedsack is the director. His previous film had been King Kong. So you know it's in good hands. 

A group of scientists are summoned to Peru to assist a fellow expert, Doctor Alexander Throkel. Thorkel is a maniacal bastard. He has this whole thing planned that ends up with him capturing the group and shrinking them down to 1/5th their original size. He tries keeping these tiny people locked up but they end breaking out and running for their little lives! Now they have to try to figure out how they can get back to their regular sizes while surviving in this crazy, huge world. 


The Doctor has an amazing look. He has this weird James Bond villain-type thing going on. It's pretty sinister. The movie has a really great look and equally entertaining score. It's a high quality picture indeed. The plot is a bit corny but it's actually really suspenseful and really gets the blood pumping. It's a good horror movie. 

Of course this movie is crammed with amazing effects. Not just the obvious shrunken human's thing. But also the practical effects used like the Doctors hand and the jungle sets. Really cool. It isn't bound by the usual genre boundaries either. This movie is as much an Adventure and Fantasy picture as it is a Horror film. It definitely has me looking forward to the next feature by Schoedsack. 


Country: USA

Did ya know... 
This was Albert Dekker's most memorable role.
It was nominated for an Oscar in 1941 for Best Effects. 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Not scared yet? »

Sleepy Hollow (1999) - Tim Burton

Tim Burton's take on the old Sleepy Hollow tale is really interesting. He adds his own flair of course. He delves very deeply into the original story by Washington Irving. The casting is usual for Burton. Johnny Depp of course in your lead. Helena Bonham Carter, thrown in for some flavor. The score is done by Danny Elfman. It's literally just the Ichabod Crane story run through the Tim Burton machine. But in a good way. Sleepy Hollow has a problem with a guy, running around, taking people's heads. Like, a lot of people. The town sends word for assistance and the nervous  Constable Ichabod Crane reports. He starts to unravel clues that take him down an incredibly strange path. With the Horseman still murdering patrons, Crane tries finding who's next before they lose their head.  I've always been a big fan of the Disney cartoon,  The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad . This movie is a far cry from Bing Crosby and quaint animations....
Post a Comment
Not scared yet? »

Le Manoir du Diable (1896) - George Melies

According to Wikipedia in August of 2011, Le Manoir du diable by Georges Melies is the first horror movie. Well, actually its a short film (about three minuets or so) but film was really hard to come by in that time so this counts as a film to me. The plot of the film is basic, you have your hero being tormented by demonic things in a crazy castle room... However, that plot isn't what brought the crowds. The thing that drove the popularity of these films was the fact that you were seeing motion on screen. I suggest going and seeing Hugo. That film is spectacular. It answered so many questions that I had. It really sets the scene and the tone. The film has strong christian overtones and actually ends with Christianity prevailing over the "tides of darkness". I provided a link at the bottom of this review for anyone that would like to see this pioneer in Horror Film. The movie uses very, very early "movie magic" that is an abundance of smoke and m...
Post a Comment
Not scared yet? »