Movie Monsters

Creature Feature Genius Dies

The above creature was last seen on drive-in screens in the film Zontar, the Thing From Venus. Movie producer Edwin Tobolowsky, 86, died on July 29, 2006. He was well-known for his involvement in motion pictures dealing with creatures based very loosely, in some cases, on cryptozoological themes or "cryptozoocinema." Above is the ancient thing from Creature of Destruction. The sci-fi movie concerns a mad stage hypnotist Dr. John Basso who “reverts” his beautiful assistant Doreena into the physical form of a prehistoric sea monster “she was in a past life.” The plot for Curse of the Swamp Creature takes [...]

Dr. Carrington of The Thing Dies

The mad scientist, Dr. Carrington, in the 1951 Howard Hawks’ horror thriller, The Thing, has died. The Los Angeles Times reports that Robert Cornthwaite, 89, “a character actor whose more than 50-year career in theater, films and television included roles in classic thrillers and thrilling classics…died of natural causes Thursday (July 20, 2006) at the Motion Picture and Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills.” The “Thing” turned out to be a creature frozen in a block of ice, and in many ways, foreshadowed the Minnesota Iceman. There are several differences, of course, such as alleged origin and the [...]

Comic Con: Skinwalkers

Werewolves are popping up all over. You merely have to go to any theater and find one. There is, for example, Scrunt, a werewolf-like creature, in M. Night Shyamalan’s new Lady in the Water. One of Linda Godfrey’s good illustrations of you-know-what. Reporting from 2006 San Diego Comic-Con, Day One, on Friday July 21st, Dark Horizons’ Garth Franklin writes about another forthcoming appearance of other werewolves: Skinwalkers Director Jim Isaac and character/creature designer Stan Winston were on hand to present “Skinwalkers,” a werewolf horror film starring Rhona Mitra and Jason Behr. The story follows two kinds of the creatures – [...]

Them! and Skullduggery: The Bridge to Johor

Sometimes I start one place, go down a side road, end up elsewhere, and find my way back to say goodbye. The 1950s-1960s movie and television character actor Christian Drake, who played Trooper Ed Blackburn in the classic 1954 film Them!, has died at the age of 82. Is it a coincidence that I just flipped on my television to catch the last hour of this movie on cable? Bizarre! The film Them! was directed by Gordon Douglas, who would later be the director for Skullduggery, a fascinating 1970 cryptozoology film about the Tropi (pictured below), bipedal hairy hominoids, which [...]

“White-Trash Werewolf Smorgasbord”

Yes, that quoted phrase is the subsection title that columnist Melanie Conklin of the Wisconsin State Journal of Madison, Wisconsin, employs in her little segment on the The Beast of Bray Road. It is not often that you see a modern newspaper writer employing what, in essence, is a racial slur with a mention about cryptozoology. But there it is. Actually, to be specific, Conklin is quoting Linda Godfrey who is rather upset these days. Here is what Melanie Conklin wrote on July 12th, even mentioning this humble blog site along the way: ‘White-trash werewolf smorgasbord’ If you attend Wisconsin [...]

Mothman + 40

After the success of The Mothman Prophecies, the sleepy town of Point Pleasant has reawakened. The organizers of the annual Mothman Festival at the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, have announced that they will once again have their event. The 5th annual MOTHMAN FESTIVAL will be held here in downtown Point Pleasant on Saturday and Sunday, September 16th and 17th, 2006. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of MOTHMAN’s debut appearance near the TNT area back in November of 1966 and plans for this year’s festival are already underway. The success and magnitude of the MOTHMAN FESTIVAL [...]