skinnybert

There's a lot to be said for trash cinema: movies which aren't trying for high art, and don't care, because not all movies need to be that. But they still intend to be entertaining, with a good sense of what timing suits what narrative arc, and how to frame a shot.

Invasion of the Star Creatures has none of that, but is like being stuck in an elevator with someone who thinks they're much funnier than they actually are, and won't stop. The main characters range from annoying to irritating (the men) to dull (the women), which I suppose is something of an achievement when you've got two big beautiful women in your cast. There is no real cinematography here, so there's not much to see, just scenes people did in front of a rolling camera. Acting doesn't really happen in this movie, and the comedy palls from poor timing and stale delivery.

But: for all the many faults here, the Space Commander bit was actually used to good effect. This could have been exploited into a much better movie, as hinted by the role-reversal situations it created. Instead, we got this.

BABY GHOST is the two-star movie par excellence. There actually is some kind of plot, images are in focus, there is some intention behind the camera angles and editing -- which is to say, there is a movie here. After that, we get into just how dismal the acting is, how irritatingly cheap the musical score is, how poorly done the overall result is. The intention is clearly the children's video market, so quality of character and script wasn't pursued. It might as well have been filmed over a weekend in a single building without a crew, and possibly was.

Students of low-budget film should probably be required to have a copy of this, as reference to what their work could end up being -- and use it as template to understand why they might make different choices: understanding production values etc. Because effort was made in creating this, but not effort that paid off very well.

This is just a middling decent one, put up front. But it's a perfect starting point, as it establishes the key characters, relationships and overall tone for the first series. What really stands out in retrospect is how much Rich Fulcher contributed, where later series focused more on the two principals; his appearance here as the boxing instructor is relentlessly funny, in addition to the bizarrely antic Bob Fossil.

Highlights also include the 'roo itself, but the key scene has to be Vince showing vids to Howard of what to expect, and Julian's resigned expression, evoking fellow Brits Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin.