BEASTS UNLEASHED: THE BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES / THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN
***
Directed by David Kramarsky & Edward Nassour.
Starring Paul Birch, Lorna Thayer, Dona Cole, Guy Madison.
Science-Fiction, US, 78 / 79 Minutes, Certificate 12.
Released on Limited Edition Blu-ray on July 20th by Eureka Entertainment.
Fans of such retro thrills as the creature feature, once such an essential and plentiful staple of Sci-Fi and horror films, will no doubt be interested in acquiring this double bill on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment that highlights just how malleable and playful the sub-genre was in its Atomic Age heyday. While both low in budget, these two films could hardly be more different than each other; one in stark black and white dealing with subjects such as PTSD and marital strife and dissatisfaction to compliment its tale of an alien invasion, while the other is a Cinemascope romp from the mind of Willis O’Brien, the animator of KING KONG, that pits a cattle rustling cowboy against a dinosaur who keeps eating said cowboys livestock.
The first of these films, THE BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES, in classic vintage B-movie fashion seems to promise so much and deliver far less. To be fair, even in today's age of digital miracles it would be quite a task to deliver such a creature that the title threatens us with. However there is an elegant and quite smart workaround that actually delivers on its promise in this tale from 1955 of a desert set alien invasion that takes place in the California desert. Long rumoured to be directed by Roger Corman early on in his legendary career, alongside producer David Kramarsky, Lou Place and Donald Myers, the story of an alien intelligence using telepathy to control any living beings in the vicinity to carry out its plan of world domination is threadbare in terms of sci-fi spectacle. It is this spare quality however that lends the film its eerie ambiance, at times lending it a noir-ish atmosphere especially in regards to its small cast spearheaded by leading man Paul Birch’s family man Allan and his wife Carol and daughter Sandra. There is a not so subversive takedown of American family values at play here, most notably with Carol, played by Lorna Thayer, and her simmering resentment not only at her husband and home but more provocatively at her own daughter, jealous of her youth, and innocent attitude. Described in the special features interview detailing the history of alien invasion cinema with science-fiction expert Mark Bould as an “accidental art movie”, this marks itself out as an interesting curio that never outstays its swift running time. The low budget spectacle of the titular beast when it is fully revealed may mark it out fully as of its time and meagre budget but it also carries a certain bizarro quality with surreal direction that fully backs up Bould’s not so outlandish claim.
The second feature is a completely different kettle of fish. THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN is an early example of the cowboys vs dinosaur sub-genre. Co-scripted by Willis O’Brien, there are far more cowboys than dinosaurs on offer here. Not that this is entirely a bad thing, with its elements of duelling cattle ranchers, romantic interest, drunken comic relief and some truly impressive widescreen cinematography that makes expert use of its Mexican locations. Saving the dino action until the last twenty minutes may test the patience of some viewers and when it does appear it is in delightfully clunky fashion, with a cracking shot of what is obviously some bemused stage hand shot from the hips down wearing a pair of dinosaur boots stomping around in a very un-dinosaur like fashion. While co-scripted by O’Brien, the effects and animation work here, completed by an entirely different team, fail to measure up to the work he accomplished two decades before with the immortal Kong. But as Kim Newman so eloquently explains in his own special feature interview that looks at the history of dinosaur cinema, the work here imbues the creature with a lot more personality, character and heart than any number of soulless, blandly animated plug-in CGI monsters that have been flooding our screens since Spielberg brought them roaring back into fashion with JURASSIC PARK.
Packaging these two films together is a smart move on Eureka’s part, highlighting these two examples of the genre. Although the aforementioned special features may seem to be slim pickings they both offer excellent and succinct histories with more than enough personal viewpoints to make them handy reference pieces should you wish to explore any similar works.
Iain MacLeod