SCI-FI September!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

X... the Unknown (1956)

The film that firmly moved Hammer out of the thriller market and into the horror one playing as much on Cold War anxieties and Britain's standing in the world at the time as it does with typical monster movie tropes of the era.

As with many Hammer efforts at the time, X... The Unknown stars an American in this case Dean Jagger as a scientist investigating a strange fissure with radioactivity in deepest darkest Scotland. Said fissure contains a prehistoric giant blob like creature which feeds off the radioactivity nearby.

I've always preferred this to the Quatermass films that surround it. Probably because it is that much more horror orientated with one or two genuinely grisly scenes. Jagger is a likable lead even if he's not exactly the quintessential heroic leading man whilst Leslie Norman (Barry's dad) keeps the action, intrigue and suspense rolling along just nicely. The creature when it arrives is oozily primitive but looks great in the stark black and white photography.

[MrBarlow]

The Toxic Avenger. 1984.

Melvin who is a 90 lbs weakling becomes the butt of a prank and ends up head first in a batch of toxic waste and is transformed into a new superhero and begins to go after the gangs and corrupt officials.

Daft, stupid, cheesy as hell yet this is why we love Troma movies, everyone acts way too much over the top even with Robert Pritchard as the main bully but he was a laugh in Class Of Nuke 'Em High. There is a deprived bad sense of humour all the way through with some funny one liners and a superhero not to be taken seriously.

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Thanks for all the likes throughout this month, away to start on the horror.