Baby-Boom Beastie Bash.

So, now that we're finally out of the classic era, we get into what I consider the "neo-classics".

They were "the new kids", in the eyes of the old timers in their day, but, they're old enough now, they're classics too.
And, these characters are in the monster-canon as surely as the golden-oldies.
You see 'em in the big monster gatherings, the old Cracked magazines lumped 'em in, Forrest Ackerman grocked 'em....y'know.
All the bells, and whistles.

So much so, well, you'll pretty much recognize 'em when you see 'em....


The Thing From Another World (1951)

The film-

Good flick, but, this iteration of "The Thing", hasn't stuck to the cultural zeitgeist the way the John Carpenter remake has.
But, the remake wouldn't exist without this, so...

Structurally, it's the same flick though.

The history-

Cable.


The Thing (1982)

The film-

See here.

Sticks more closely to the description of the creature in the original short story than the Howard Hawks one did.


The Thing (2011)

The film-

Actually, a prequel to the Carpenter version.

Eh...some people I know have said it's actually fairly decent.

I whined in the Carpenter version review about remakes, and the irony sailed over my head that the Carpenter is a remake.

*Shrug* whatever....


The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

The film-

Excellent, still holds up.
Check it out, speaks for itself.

The history-

Cable again.
USA I think.
Back when USA was like TNT, when TNT was like TCM.
Fuggin' "channel drift".


The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981)

The film-

A comedy remake of the basic idea of "Shrinking Man".

This one is a brutal satire with a feminist message to it, disguised as this goofy/cutesie family thing, and, I've always dug it.

I always totally got it since I was a kid, and this came to HBO.

I miss Lily Tomlin, dammit.

The history-

The above covers it.


The Amazing Colossal Man (1957)

The film-

The counterpart to Shrinking Man.
Nneeever really took off, or stayed in cultural memory the way he did.
..at the time.
But, MST3K kind of gave this one new life.

It's known more as an MST3K episode now.
But, hey, cultural significance is cultural significance.
Fame is fame, immortality is immortality.

The history-

See above.


War Of The Colossal Beast (1958)

The film-

Sequel to "Colossal Man", and also an MST3K episode.

The history-

See "Colossal Man".


The Fly (1958)

The film-

Yep, a lot of these came along in 1958, something magical about that year...

So...this one pretty much popularized the idea of the transporter.

There must have been other matter-transmitters in science fiction before this, but here, it's the guts of the movie, and it's a movie with historical/cultural legs, so, as far as the zeitgeist cares, it starts here.

And...notice the generational difference.

The classic monsters, supernatural, powers are curse-based, here, science-fiction takes the forefront.

It's either extraterrestrials, or, humans with scrambled molecules.
The ones I've covered so far, and the ones coming up, fit that mold to a tee.

And, what was going on in the 50's?
Nuclear arms race, space race.

Although...it kinda comes full circle, Frankenstein was about science running amok, Jekyll/Hyde took a potion.
Those were sci-fi.
It's  kind of the vision of the real classics come to fruition.

Food for thought...

The history-

Cable.


Return Of The Fly (1959)

The film-

Eh, interesting, but...ultimately, it's just a rehash of the first one, with a happier ending.

And...the head of The Fly is meant to be nastier, and therefore, scarier, but...it makes less anatomical sense, the original looked more like a real Fly.

The history-

Cable.


The Curse Of The Fly (1965)

The film-

Has no Fly, it's more about fiddling around with the tech of the teleporter, and making accidental freaks out of test subjects while working the kinks out.

Now, if you're geekily obsessed with the transporter as a concept, like I am, you'll probably dig a whole movie about fiddling with one.

If not, you'll be bored to tears.

The history-

Cable.
Man, I love TCM.


The Fly (1986)

The film/history-

See here.

The Cronenberg remake.

Transporter's Apple-computer-ed up, Fly is gored up.

And...it's an allegory to AIDS.

Marvelous. Love it.


The Fly II (1989)

The film-

Sequel to the remake, and...structurally identical to the sequel of the original, in that, it's about the son of the inventor, and he gets a cure.

The history-

Nicely's rental, and purchase.


The Blob (1958)

The film-

Ah, the quintessential 50's movie.

A thing falls from space, gets big, eats the theater the audience is watching it in, and the grownups are idiots.

And...get this, Blob is the only classic monster that still exists!

Yep, all the old stars are dead, the costumes and masks rotted away, but, real Blob from the actual film, is a silicon gel in a bucket, and is still thriving, and touring with the big Blob anniversary screenings at that old theater!

The history-

Cable.
Gotta own this.


Beware The Blob (1972)

The film-

Allegedly a sequel...
Directed by, and starring, Larry Hagman.
Pitched as "the movie J.R. shot!".

Did not hear about this until I did my research for this.

For it to get under my radar, as compulsive a movie nerd as I am, it's gotta stink.

The history-

N/A


The Blob (1988)

The film-

Blob is slimier, and they let you see the digestions.

Well....you know me, and acid...13 year old me was a haaaappy little camper.

I had that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!

Muahahahaa!!

The history-

Oh, I didn't even fuck around back then, I nabbed the VHS of this baby the second I could!

...I hear Rob Zombie is trying to re-remake this.
Tch...haven't you done enough, Rob?


Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman (1958)

The film-

Well...Nancy Archer isn't quite up there in cultural memory with Fly, and Blob, and doesn't get invited to the monster-parties, but...the TITLE is the ingredient that made it to the zeitgeist.

How many other movies, and episodes of TV shows have we seen with "Attack Of The 50 Foot____", on the banner of some fake theater?
It's a fucking lot.

And, the first 50 Foot thing, was a broad.

Why, I bet a generation of people has amnesia of that.

The history-

Cable.


Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman (1993)

The film-

The made-for-TV remake with Daryl Hanna.

Pretty schlocky, but my Daryl Hanna crush from all the way back to "Bladerunner", gets me through clunkers like this.

The history-

FOX, I think...


IT! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958)

The film-

Okay, now, IT may not seem to be the household name that Fly, and Blob are....BUT...dig this...it inspired Ridley Scott to make "Alien".

You go back, and watch IT, it's so structurally similar, it's damned near as much a remake in the way Howard Hawkes' Thing is in relation to John Carpenter's Thing.

And, as it's own thing, it's very unappreciated, I'd really put it right up there with say, stuff like "Forbidden Planet", and "The Day The Earth Stood Still".

So, yeah, IT is the monster/movie you're familiar with, without even knowing it.

And hey, again, all of this in 1958!

The history-

Good ol' TCM again.


Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

The film-

A flop in it's day, but, like "Colossal Man", with MST3K,  this is another modern renaissance film.

Cult viewings, and "Ed Wood", lift this up as a retroactive classic.
Now, no one remembers when it wasn't.

Who's the monster?
Probably the triumvirate of Bela, Vampira, and Tor.
But, mostly, Tor.
His mug makes it to the merchandise, and movie guides.


And, those are the baby-boom monsters.
Then, as you can see, that generation remade them for my generation, and, then we started making our own stuff.

And, coming up, we come full circle to that stuff.

Up next, Back To The 80's.