The Naked Monster

It's obvious from the opening credits through the cruddy stock shots that it's intended as a spoof of no-budget monster movies. Too bad some people don't have friends to watch it with, because with a group, it's a hoot. Having seen it at conventions, screenings, and living rooms, I've heard people laughing with the gags-- not AT the film, but with it. Ken Tobey is very dry and funny, sending up his roles in The Thing, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, etc.... I think Brinke Stevens is probably at her best here (although she's fine in Teenage Exorcist-- which at least had a couple hundred thousand dollars' worth of budget, unlike this $1.98 miracle), and the cast I just love-- all the oldtimers as well as the young-timers. Yeah, I'm more than a little prejudiced, and believe me, I see and hear the flaws more than anyone else. But I know it works as a silly comedy.

(As cruddy as some people might think it is, it was good enough to get into the CascadiaCon Film Festival in Seattle, WA, the RiverRun Film Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, and the sci-fi fest in Modesto, CA. Yeah, but what do THEY know, anyway, huh? As opposed to some fnork in East Bombfook, Noo Joisey.)

NAKED MONSTER

Ted Newsom has been nursing a It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World homage to Sci-Fi and Horror called NAKED MONSTER . This script is right on,Very funny,Holds up well overtime and that's amazing with it's journey to DVD. 20 years in the making !(edited). There is some awesome scenes, Mostly involving Brinke Stevens. Brinke filmed some scenes 10 years apart,and it's uncanny how little she changed.We are even treated to a NUDE shower scene. Linnea Quigley steals the film playing a deaf girl in a make-out scene,and she throws in a boob flash. One disturbing scene being a huge "Monster of Piedras Blancas" fan,Newsom has Jeanne Carmen playing the wife of John Harmon,Who played her father in MPB. There are other movies like this with less dedication :Vampire Hunter's Club, and Double D Avenger. Imagine all the ways monsters were killed in all your favorite movies, and this film TRIES those methods one more time. NM is the last film of KENNETH (The Thing) TOBEY, JOHN (TARANTULA)AGAR, GLORIA (I Married A Monster) TALBOTT, John (Monster Of Piedras Blancas)Harmon, George (Groucho Marx ) Fenneman, Robert(Superman) Shayne, Les(Them) Tremaine and just a month ago Robert (Hideous Sun Demon) Clarke. There is amazing cameos by stars still with us,Imagine that : Brinke Stevens, Linnea Quigley, Jeanne Carmen, Lori Nelson, Ann Robinson, Forrest J.Ackerman, Paul Marco, Michelle Bauer and DANIEL ROEBUCK. To sum up,Kept on thinking,"Isn't this a fun movie ",and what heroes did they leave off no Hercules or Sindbads...Maybe saving for NAKED MONSTER 2 ,Brinke you up for it ???

You have to approach this movie with humor and nostalgia. If you look only at the technical aspect of the film, yes you will find things to complain about. The humor in it, the one liners, the cameos, the nods to the classic monster movies, that's what this film was to me. Call it "Z-grade" all you want...I thought it was a nice tribute to the genre. There is no doubt this was a low budget film. Yes the SPX can hit the cheese level as can some of the acting. I looked beyond that though and saw some writing and scenes that got me chuckling. Every new cameo from a genre star got me to smile as well. I applaud the film makers for doing what they did on a small budget and doing it with some humor as well as some respect for the classic monster movies.

I thank Ted Newsom for having finished this 12-year effort. Many of us are grateful to him.

I believe that one must be familiar with vintage horror movies to really appreciate the jokes. Thanks to my guy (known as Tim Sullivan (V) to the IMDb crowd), I've been learning about vintage horror films for a couple of years, so I was primed.

From the first moment I started laughing. Here is Ted Newsom, playing 'William Castle' (qv) to the hilt, with all the warnings about what audiences might find under their seats ... and yet parodying that old Castle-y buncum to the hilt! Yay, Ted! I laughed and laughed ... and when you came back to escort us away from the film, I cried.

The dialogue (which I blame on Ted Newsom, though I don't know whether he wrote it with friends) is absolutely delightful. If you enjoyed the puns in "Batman," then you will find this script to be many times more, er, egregious. Since I love bad puns, I laughed out loud even when the delivery was not perfect: because I could see what the actors were *supposed* to carry off, even if they didn't, quite.

Brinke Stevens, who has acted in nearly a hundred movies, is purely delightful (and sexy, for those of you who will enjoy the gratuitous sex; you might even enjoy the discussions among the characters about what constitutes gratuitousness). Ted, that was just plan brilliant.

So many parodistic effects that I admired ... Let me mention the sexy, nearly-terrifying tryst of the young, deaf couple (I wish *I* had thought that one up!); the hilarious discussion between Doctors Howard, Fine, and Howard (breathes there a man, with soul so dead / Who never to himself hath said, / This is the type of movie to throw the 3 Stooges into!); and, of course, all of the veteran scientists recommending what would be best to do, based upon their own past movies! Ted Newsom, you have made me laugh until I cried, and I have seen it only twice. I need several more times to identify Every Single Movie being homaged here.

I loved every pun, both verbal and visual. This is a brilliant movie. I congratulate you, Ted, and I hope that the eggs point toward a sequel!

A gargantuan beast attacks, resulting in a battle for the survival of mankind from land, sea, and air!

THE NAKED MONSTER is a gift beyond price for lovers of sci-fi / monster movies from the 1950's. Both homage and parody, stock footage and inside jokes are the order of the day. A cavalcade of our favorite -remaining- stars of yesteryear make copious cameos! John Agar! Les Tremayne! Gloria Talbott! To name a few. Hell, just seeing Kenneth Tobey back in his bomber jacket made me weepy! Intentionally cheeeze-tacular schlock with a side order of corn!

WARNING: Contains groan-inducing humor, gorillas with machine guns, and unnecessary nudity! Absurd, ridiculous, and possibly fattening!

Co-stars Brinke Stevens as Dr. Nikki Carlton and R.G. Wilson as Sheriff Lance Boiler. Watch for Linnea Quigley as an early victim!