classic science fiction movie review

“I’m going to kick your head in if you don’t get it down! That’s what I’m going to do!” A kick in the head turns out to be an effective management technique for Sgt. Grimsdyke. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Whitney Collazo, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, and Jeff Mohr – as they discover all the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns of Hammer’s X the Unknown (1956).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 149 – X the Unknown (1956)

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ANNOUNCEMENT
Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL
Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era!
Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website.
Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

A radioactive, mud-like creature terrorizes a Scottish village.

• Directors: Leslie Norman, Joseph Losey (uncredited)
• Writer: Jimmy Sangster (story) (screenplay)
• Music by: James Bernard
• Special Effects: Bowie Margutti Ltd. (Les Bowie, Vic Margutti), Jack Curtis
• Make-up and Special Make-up Effects: Philip Leakey
• Production Manager: Jimmy Sangster
• Selected Cast:
  • Dean Jagger as Dr. Adam Royston
  • Leo McKern as “Mac” McGill
  • Edward Chapman as John Elliott
  • William Lucas as Peter Elliott
  • Peter Hammond as Lieutenant Bannerman
  • Anthony Newley as Lance Corporal “Spider” Webb
  • Ian MacNaughton as Haggis
  • Michael Ripper as Sergeant Harry Grimsdyke
  • Michael Brooke as Willie Harding
  • Frazer Hines as Ian Osborne
  • Norman MacOwan as Old Tom
  • John Harvey as Major Cartwright
  • Edwin Richfield as Soldier Burned on Back
  • Jane Aird as Vi Harding
  • Neil Hallett as Unwin
  • Kenneth Cope as Private Lansing
  • Jameson Clark as Jack Harding
  • Marianne Brauns as Zena, the Nurse
  • Brown Derby as The Vicar
  • Anthony Sagar as Security Man (uncredited)

It’s time to explore early Hammer Sci-fi films with X the Unknown (1956). The film is part of a trilogy of Cold War sci-fi features along with The Quatermass Xperiment (1955, aka The Creeping Unknown) and Quatermass 2 (1957, aka Enemy From Space) that firmly transitioned Hammer from B-movie thrillers to solid horror/sci-fi excellence. The only thing missing is Bernard Quatermass himself, but not without Hammer trying – writer Nigel Kneale would not agree to the use of the character in this film. Regardless, X the Unknown is notable and well worth the watch. Hammer fans will appreciate an early appearance of fan-favorite character actor Michael Ripper as Sergeant Grimsdyke. Let’s see what the Grue-Crew make of directors Leslie Norman’s and Joseph Losey’s, and writer Jimmy Sangster’s black-and-white creepy classic. 

With this episode, The Classic Era Grue-Crew say adiós a nuestra querida amiga to Whitney Collazo. She has more opportunities than time to pursue them and will be stepping away from her podcast hosting duties. Whitney has participated in over 100 episodes of Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. Grue Believers and Grue-Crew alike will sorely miss her insightful comments, her unique movie choices, and her loving persona. We love you without reservation, Whitney. You will always be welcome here! And if you find a movie you’d like to discuss with us or have a movie you’d like to hear us discuss, just give us a shout-out. Buena suerte, mi querido amigo!

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule, the Classic Era Grue-Crew wanted a fitting topic for their 150th episode. They decided on a film often considered one of the best horror films of all time, Rosemary’s Baby (1968), written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the book by Ira Levin, starring Mia Farrow who is supported by an Oscar-winning performance from Ruth Gordon. You won’t want to miss this one! There is lots of “stuff” to discuss.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

“Twelve minutes left. What a time to run out of sugar!” Especially when you’re having a little coffee with your sugar. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Whitney Collazo, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, and Jeff Mohr – as they gaze in wonder at Fantastic Voyage (1966), remarkable for its special effects and for being one of Raquel Welch’s 1966 breakout roles.

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 146 – Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel!
Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content!
https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT
Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL
Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era!
Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website.
Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

A scientist is nearly assassinated. In order to save him, a submarine is shrunken to microscopic size and injected into his bloodstream with a small crew. Problems arise almost as soon as they enter it.

• Director: Richard Fleischer
• Writing Credits: Harry Kleiner (screenplay); David Duncan (adaptation); (story by) Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby (as Jay Lewis Bixby)
• Music by: Leonard Rosenman
• Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo
• Film Editing: William B. Murphy
• Sound Department: Walter Rossi (Sound Effects) (uncredited)
• Art Direction: Jack Martin Smith, Dale Hennesy
• Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Stuart A. Reiss
• Visual Effects: 
  • Art Cruickshank (special photographic effects)
  • L.B. (Bill) Abbott (special photographic effects) 
  • Emil Kosa Jr. (special photographic effects)
  • Marcel Delgado (miniatures) (uncredited)
• Selected Cast:
  • Stephen Boyd as Charles Grant
  • Raquel Welch as Cora Peterson, the technical asst for Dr. Duval
  • Edmond O’Brien as General Alan Carter
  • Donald Pleasence as Dr. Michaels
  • Arthur O’Connell as Colonel Donald Reid
  • William Redfield as Captain Bill Owens
  • Arthur Kennedy as Dr. Peter Duval
  • Jean Del Val as Dr. Jan Benes
  • Barry Coe as communications aide
  • Ken Scott as a Secret Service agent
  • Shelby Grant as nurse
  • James Brolin as technician
  • James Doohan as Dr. Sawyer (Hypothermia technician) (uncredited)

Raquel Welch passed away on 15 February 2023, so the Classic Era Grue Crew thought a fitting tribute would be to cover one of her first breakout roles. Released a few weeks before One Million Years B.C. (1966), Fantastic Voyage features her as the only woman in a seven-member ensemble cast populated by excellent character actors, and she proves herself up to the task. The film’s crew is also the recipient of two Academy Awards with an additional three nominations. The Grue Crew goes a tiny bit giddy over this influential classic from the 60s. Check out what they have to say.

At the time of this writing, Fantastic Voyage is available to stream from most PPV sites, and as a very economical Blu-ray treatment from 20th Century Studios.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule is one chosen by Daphne, the BBC TV Live production of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954), starring Pete Cushing, Yvonne Mitchell, Donald Pleasence, and André Morell!

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com. To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

“I was confused. I couldn’t decide what to do. Then… I ate them!” Oh, oh. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, and Jeff Mohr, along with guest host Dirk Rogers – as they journey to a Pacific island and attempt to resist the lure of the deadly mushrooms found in Ishirô Honda’s Matango (Attack of the Mushroom People, 1963) from Toho.

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 135 – Matango (Attack of the Mushroom People, 1963)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel!
Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content!
https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT
Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL
Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era!
Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website.
Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

Synopsis: A group of pleasure-seeking young people is stranded on a mysterious island when their boat crashes. One by one they succumb to the lure of the deadly mushrooms.

• Director: Ishirô Honda
• Writers: Takeshi Kimura (screenplay); Shin’ichi Hoshi & Masami Fukushima (adaptation); William Hope Hodgson (story by, “The Voice in the Night,” Blue Book Magazine, November 1907); Sakyo Komatsu (uncredited)
• Music by: Sadao Bekku
• Cinematography by: Hajime Koizumi
• Director of special effects: Eiji Tsuburaya 
• Chief assistant special effects director: Teruyoshi Nakano
• Special effects unit production manager: Shigeru Nakamura
• Special effects art director/Special effects set decorator: Akira Watanabe
• Costume Design/Art Department: Shigeru Komatsuzaki
• Selected Cast:
  • Akira Kubo as Kenji Murai – Professor
  • Kumi Mizuno as Mami Sekiguchi – Singer
  • Kenji Sahara as Senzō Koyama – Sailor
  • Hiroshi Tachikawa as Etsurō Yoshida – Writer
  • Yoshio Tsuchiya as Masafumi Kasai – Owner
  • Hiroshi Koizumi as Naoyuki Sakuta – Skipper
  • Miki Yashiro as Akiko Sōma – Student
  • Takuzô Kumagai as Doctor  (billed as Jiro Kumagai)
  • Yutaka Oka as Doctor
  • Keisuke Yamada as Doctor
  • Hideyo Amamoto as Skulking Transitional Matango
  • Haruo Nakajima as Matango
  • Toku Ihara as Transitional Matango
  • Kuniyoshi Kashima as Transitional Matango
  • Masaki Shinohara as Matango
  • Kōji Uruki as Matango
  • Tokio Ōkawa as Matango

In this episode, your Classic Era Grue Crew is joined by Dirk Rogers, a special effects artist with KNB EFX Group and a long-time friend of the show. As the guest host, Dirk chose Matango for this episode’s topic and with the movie’s use of effects – miniatures, suits, prosthetics, set dressing – it’s easy to see why this is one of his favorites. 

Dirk was originally drawn to Matango because it featured a lot of the same players from the Godzilla films. He loves the damp (shall we say moist?) atmosphere, the use of color reminiscent of Mario Bava, the sets, and the miniatures. He’s always loved Matango and feels the English title, Attack of the Mushroom People, doesn’t represent the depth of what you get from the film. Dirk also provides valuable insights into the effects work and the documentation of who did what during the production.

Matango is probably Chad’s first exposure to body horror and the horrors of fungus. He loves the way the story ramps up the terror and the cringeworthy fungus-filled sets. As one of Toho’s best, Matango still holds up for him. Daphne is blown away by the colors and the textures of the mushrooms and the fungi, loving it all over again. Jeff agrees that “Attack of the Mushroom People” sounds kind of hokey and doesn’t represent the depth of the story told in Matango. He loves the concept, the story progression, the creepy and downright icky creatures and fungi, and the movie’s cultural and historical relation to the horrors experienced by the Japanese from the atomic bombs of World War II.

Dirk was turned onto the writings of William Hope Hodgson by this movie as it is developed from Hodgson’s short story, “The Voice in the Night.”  During the episode, the crew discusses several versions of this story, all of which are provided through the following links:

• Story: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Voice_in_the_Night
• Audio version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASIfPcyTAH0
• Suspicion (TV series, 1957-1958), Episode 24: “The Voice in the Night” (aired 24 March 1958); from the story by William Hope Hodgson; starring James Donald, Barbara Rush, Patrick Macnee, James Coburn. This is a very poor resolution but the Classic Era Grue-Crew still enjoyed it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssi6_YWrrxc

If you have been motivated by this episode to catch Matango (and you should be), at the time of this writing, it is available to stream from Classic Horror Movie Channel, Tubi, The Criterion Channel, and various PPV sites. In terms of physical media, Matango is available on DVD.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next in their very flexible schedule is one chosen by guest host, the one and only Dave Dreher: The Return of Dracula (1958). 

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for listening!”