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Stars: Ego Mikitas, Maxi Witrak, Terrance Livingston Jr., Lydia Hunter, Michael Deni, Tania Fox, Natasha Goubskaya | Written by Ryan Ebert, Anna Rasmussen | Directed by Glenn Campbell, Tammy Klein

The biggest surprise about Shark Side of the Moon is that, in a genre that’s already seen Sharks of the Corn, Sharkula, Ouija Shark and even Shark Encounters of the Third Kind, it took so long for someone to use the title. What shouldn’t be so surprising is that it was The Asylum that did it!

During the Cold War, the Soviets were experimenting with human/shark hybrids at a launch facility. As is usually the case in these situations the experimental creatures got free. In a desperate bid to keep them from reaching the ocean, Sergey lured them onto a shuttle and took them on a one-way trip to the moon.

Forty years later Commander Nicole Tress is leading...

Say what you will about Max, Paramount+, Hulu, and the like, but when it comes to horror films (and television series), there's one definitive streaming service: Shudder. And, for those who like to feverishly eat popcorn in anticipation of the next scare in June as much as they do in October, don't worry because another new month means another new selection of content for the spooky streamer.

Just as April had a mixture of (relatively) old favorites such as Drag Me to Hell and Shudder exclusives such as Late Night with the Devil, so too does June. And, don't forget, in May, Shudder added B-movie classics like The Toxic Avenger, Gorgo, The Giant Gila Monster, Graduation Day (1981), and Mother's Day (1980). In other words, June's additions make for some particularly red icing on what horror fans are sure to call a delicious cake.

Funeral Home (1980) Streaming June 1 Your browser does not support the video tag.

A new era of the B-movie was born in the 1950s. While the term originally referred to the second film in a double feature that defined much of the moviegoing experience during the Golden Age of Hollywood, a 1948 landmark Supreme Court antitrust ruling against major studios’ monopolistic practices upended the way films were distributed. While the traditional double feature waned, the demands of the burgeoning drive-in theater market gave way to the rise in independent genre films.

Two such low-budget B-movies made a mark in 1959: The Giant Gila Monster and The Killer Shrews. Produced by radio broadcasting magnate Gordon McLendon and future Gunsmoke actor Ken Curtis, the sci-fi horror movies were shot back-to-back in under three months with much of the same crew before being distributed together.

Both films are directed by Ray Kellogg, who had no prior directing experience, but his visual effects work on the likes of...

The Movie Orgy.The title is a kind of ontological dare: can an assemblage of movies all lay on top of each other, swap positions, feel each other? Surely humans love, as they say, “to watch,” to raise voyeurism up as art. But when left to its own devices, does cinema also experience such base urges? Asked another way: when we say “the movie orgy,” don’t we mean “editing”? Disparate parts colliding with and enveloping one another, penetrating and being penetrated, and finally mutating after coming together? Cinema is transformed by—and transforms (us) through—the spaces between the images. A classier writer might cite Robert Bresson, speaking to Cahiers du cinéma at Cannes in 1957: “The cinema must express itself not with images, but with relationships between images, which is not at all the same thing.” A happy vulgarian—I betray that I am one, as I suspect Joe Dante,...

Horror movies always reflect the era in which they were made. Torture horror of the 2000s featured the U.S.'s practices of torturing foreign citizens while 1980s American horror often reinforced very traditional social norms as a part of the Reagan era’s love for yesteryear. Then there were 1950s horror films, which largely focused on nuclear anxiety. The Cold War was in the air during this decade and the prospect of the world coming to a halt because of nuclear annihilation wasn’t a far-out possibility anymore. Inevitably, horror features were going to capture this anxiety with titles like The Giant Gila Monster.

The premiere release from Film Masters—the new vintage film restoration and distribution company, launched in June by industry veteran and film historian Phil Hopkins—is a two-disc collection featuring cult favorite The Giant Gila Monster with bonus film The Killer Shrews, which were originally released as a double-feature, drive-in bill in 1959.

Bloody Disgusting has learned that the Blu-ray & DVD will release on September 26.

The classic era of drive-in schlock was near its end at the time, but there remained a dedicated audience for this pair of no-budget howlers from director Ray Kellogg and producer Gordon McLendon.

The Giant Gila Monster (from a new 4k scan of 35mm, original film elements): When two teens disappear from a small Texas town, the locals think they’ve eloped. But soon it becomes clear that something much more sinister is afoot. And if a giant Gila monster isn’t enough for you,...

Film Masters is bringing a pair of classic schlock movies, The Giant Gila Monster and The Killer Shrews, to blu-ray for the first time. The premiere release from Film Masters—the new vintage film restoration and distribution company, launched in June by industry veteran and film historian Phil Hopkins—is a two-disc collection featuring cult favorite The Giant Gila Monster with bonus […]

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Fans of classic and cult movies have a reason to celebrate! According to Variety, a new distribution company is launching to preserve and distribute the beloved titles of yesteryear. The company is called Film Masters and was founded by historian Phil Hopkins, who spoke with Variety on his mission.

“Preserving these films in an increasingly homogenized media world is more important than ever. As a consortium of historians and avid enthusiasts, Film Masters was launched to celebrate the preservation and restoration of vintage movies, many of them cult films, that otherwise might not be seen or experienced by a new generation of film lovers. Each release will feature original bonus materials that contextualize and enhance the enjoyment and understanding of the film.”

Per Variety, the company plans to release a new Blu-ray/DVD title every month to their collection. What will their first entry be? None other than 1959’s The Giant Gila Monster,...

Film historian Phil Hopkins has launched Film Masters, a new vintage film restoration and distribution company.

Each month, one Blu-ray/DVD title will be released, beginning on Sept. 26 with a two-disc collection featuring cult favorite “The Giant Gila Monster” with bonus film “The Killer Shrews,” which were both originally released as a double-feature bill in 1959. Following the pilot slate, the 1959 horror “Beast From Haunted Cove” will release on Oct. 24 followed by the 1934 drama “The Scarlett Letter” on Nov. 21.

Upon each release, films will be restored with new 4k scans of 35mm with original film elements, offered in original aspect ratios while being presented on region-free discs with DTS-hd sound and Dolby AC3s sound.

“Preserving these films in an increasingly homogenized media world is more important than ever,” said Hopkins. “As a consortium of historians and avid enthusiasts, Film Masters was launched to celebrate the preservation and restoration of vintage movies,...

Before Jaws, creature features were relegated to B-movies like The Giant Gila Monster and the occasional groundbreaking entry like Godzilla. However, Jaws showed how a great story could include a creature that ate people and a budget that was greater than any B-movie. What resulted was the beginnings of a phenomenon known as the summer blockbuster and a reinvention of creature features. Now, science fiction didn't have to be the backbone of a great monster movie (though it always helped), and characters could be more layered than ever.

Following Jaws, many knockoff stories tried to capitalize on the trend, such as Piranha and Alligator. While these both succeeded, they didn't really expand beyond their basic premise. That said, the following decades would lend themselves to more Jaws-style stories, including copies that succeeded more as reinventions of what Jaws introduced. The best examples of these include Tremors and Nope, two...

As reported by the New York Times, on March 8, 2023, prolific B-movie filmmaker Bert I. Gordon passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 100 years old. 

Bert I. Gordon is a name many may not be familiar with unless they were prone to visiting drive-in theaters in the 1950s, staying up late and watching monster movies on Uhf TV in the 1980s, or were paying attention to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the 1990s. Gordon was the director behind such low-budget classics as 1955's "King Dinosaur," 1957's "The Amazing Colossal Man," its sequel from the next year, "War of the Colossal Beast," the 1965 outsized J.D. flick, "Village of the Giants," the 1976 H.G. Wells adaptation, "Food of the Gods," and the 1976 giant ant film "Empire of the Ants." One might note that all the films listed above involve giants of some stripe. One might also want to take note of Bert I.

Steve Foxe and Piotr Kowalski have teamed up for the must-read creature feature comic book series, All Eight Eyes! With colors from Brad Simpson and letters from Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, All Eight Eyes "takes readers back to the forgotten corners of post-9/11 New York City, where college dropout Vin Spencer floats through life in a drug-and-party-fueled haze until one terrible night sweeps him into a drifter’s reckless war against the giant eight-legged horrors stalking the city’s most vulnerable residents."

With the first (of four) issues hitting comic book shops on April 19th from Dark Horse Comics, I caught up with Steve Foxe, who told me all about the origins of this new series, Vin Spencer, and some of his favorite creature features:

Are you someone who is uneasy or terrified around spiders? What inspired you to write this story?

Steve Foxe: Thankfully, I have zero personal fear of spiders.

Stars: Ego Mikitas, Maxi Witrak, Terrance Livingston Jr., Lydia Hunter, Michael Deni, Tania Fox, Natasha Goubskaya | Written by Ryan Ebert, Anna Rasmussen | Directed by Glenn Campbell, Tammy Klein

The biggest surprise about Shark Side of the Moon is that, in a genre that’s already seen Sharks of the Corn, Sharkula, Ouija Shark and even Shark Encounters of the Third Kind, it took so long for someone to use the title. What shouldn’t be so surprising is that it was The Asylum that did it and it makes its bow as a Tubi Original, part of Bitefest, the streaming service’s Shark Month.

During the Cold War, the Soviets were experimenting with human/shark hybrids at a launch facility. As is usually the case in these situations the experimental creatures got free. In a desperate bid to keep them from reaching the ocean, Sergey lured them onto a shuttle...

A plug for commercial exterminators everywhere, William Alland’s titanic hairy spider provided plenty of chills for 1950s drive-ins, delivering exactly the naïve monster thrills teenagers craved. John Agar and Mara Corday do what they can with the clunker script and Jack Arnold’s direction, while Leo G. Carroll saves face by retreating below a rubber mask that makes him look like Droopy Dog. But for fans that like their monsters as big as the Great Outdoors, Clifford Stine and David Horsley’s startling special effects provide a spider-verse of sensational, surreal insect fear.

Tarantula

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1955 / B&W / 1:75 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date April, 2019 / 29,99

Starring: John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott, Edwin Rand, Raymond Bailey, Hank Patterson.

Cinematography: George Robinson

Special Optical Effects and Cinematography: Clifford Stine, David S. Horsley

Original Music: Herman Stein, Henry Mancini

Written by Jack Arnold, Robert M. Fresco,...

A few weeks ago we got our first look at the new cast of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 revival series. Today we have a new photo that focuses on Felicia Day as Kinga Forrester, who is the daughter of the original mad scientist Clayton Forrester, and Patton Oswalt, who plays the Son of TV’s Frank.

Netflix picked up 14 episodes of the series, which was crowdfunded on Kickstarter. They raised $5.7 million during their funding process. The series will premiere on Netflix on Friday, April 14th.

While we wait for the series to return, Netflix is currently streaming 20 episodes of the original series. Those episodes were revealed to include:

• Catalina Caper

• Eegah!

• Future War

• The Giant Gila Monster

• Hercules Against the Moon Men

• Horrors of Spider Island

• I Accuse My Parents

• Jack Frost

• Laserblast

• "Manos" The Hands of Fate

• Merlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders

• Pod People

• Puma Man

• Santa Claus Conquers the Martians...

The third week of September has a lot of fantastic horror and sci-fi home entertainment offerings coming our way, including an incredible pair of Criterion Blu-ray releases—Cat People (1942) and Blood Simple—as well as the 30th Anniversary Edition of Labyrinth and the Special Edition of Brian Trenchard-Smith’s Dead End Drive-In. Other notable titles being released on September 20th include the horror doc The Blackout Experiments (which premiered earlier this year at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival), Sacrifice, The Rift (1990), Beware! The Blob, and a Blu-ray set featuring all kinds of Twin Peaks goodness.

Beware! The Blob (Kino Lorber, Blu-ray & DVD)

Newly Re-mastered in HD! The Blob returns... more outrageous than ever in this 1972 sequel to the popular sci-fi classic! Plenty of familiar faces, including Robert Walker Jr. (Ensign Pulver), Larry Hagman (Dallas), Sid Haig (Busting), Burgess Meredith (Rocky), Dick Van Patten (Eight is Enough), Godfrey Cambridge...

Glurg garrgle gurgle raaaaw!  It's the razor-clawed reptile-man that scared the bejesus out of little kids, way back when. Jack Kevan's basic monster mash drags its feet a bit, but technically it's as slick as they come. Plus, the encoding is perfect. And did I mention the scary parts? This one inspired plenty of gory nightmares. The Monster of Piedras Blancas Blu-ray Olive Films 1959 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 71 min. / Street Date September 13, 2016 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98 Starring Les Tremayne, Forrest Lewis, John Harmon, Frank Arvidson, Jeanne Carmen, Don Sullivan, Pete Dunn, Joseph La Cava, Wayne Berwick. Cinematography Philip Lathrop Film Editor George Gittens Assistant Director Joseph C. Cavalier Written by H. Haile Chace Produced by Jack Kevan Directed by Irvin Berwick

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

We 'fifties kids love our monster movie memories. I was glued to the set every weekend to see what Science Fiction Theater had to offer,...

Time to add some giant beastie action to your Hump Day! On tap right now is an exclusive clip from the remake of the '50s film The Giant Gila Monster, known simply as Gila! Check it out.

From the Press Release

"Rock 'n roll is here to stay" despite the best efforts of a giant gila monster in Polyscope's sci-fi comedy movie Gila!, scheduled for release on DVD this April 22nd.

Based loosely on the 1959 sci-fi classic Giant Gila Monster, the revived Gila! features a ferocious, rampaging giant gila monster, classy hot rods, vintage 50's rock 'n roll music, cute co-eds, fist fights, drag racing, and an all-star cast who rally to defend their small town.

"A perfect 'date night' drive-in movie," says producer Bill Dever. "Family fun with music, action, a very scary monster, and a terrific cast. Inspirational sci-fi horror."

It's not all the monster's fault since...

That's right! Your talents are being requested to be a part of the craziest, goriest, and blissfully cheesiest show on Earth... The B-Movie Road Tour! The powers-that-be are holding a contest to have one lucky artist create the official T-shirt for the event! Read on for details!

This contest is open to B-Movie fans worldwide. The winner of the contest will win a private double-bill screening and get a drive-in setup in the backyard of their choice!

Designs may include line art and text but no photographs. Your design is for the front of the shirt and may encompass an area up to 10″ x 10″. Design may use a maximum of four colors. The T-shirt for 2013 will be Tech Gold. The design must be your own original, unpublished work and must not include any third-party logos or copyrighted material. By entering the competition, you agree that your submission is your own work.

Never mind the upcoming mega movie events of the summer! It's time to make you aware of an all new event whose combined budget probably wouldn't even be Man of Steel's craft services budget. Wolverine's maybe, but definitely not Man of Steel.

From the Press Release

In the 1950s and 1960s, drive-ins began to spread like wildfire, increasing to more than 4,000 locations. The new sites may have begun as a venue to watch films, but interestingly, the main films that were shown were mostly considered to be B films. Patrons enjoyed them regardless and remained enthralled with what they saw – so much so that the drive-in became a part of American culture where people came together to socialize with each other. It was an experience all of its own making and is considered an important part of Americana.

Today there are fewer than 400 drive-ins currently in operation across the United States.

Time to add some giant beastie action to your Monday as two new trailers and a new one-sheet have arrived for the remake of the '50s film The Giant Gila Monster known simply as Gila! Check 'em out.

The flick, directed by Jim Wynorski, features the star of the original film, Don Sullivan, who with this project is making his return to acting after a 50-year absence. He stars alongside Brian J. Gross, Terence Knox, Madeline Voges, Jesse Janzen, Christina DeRosa, Rich Komenich, Kelli Maroney, Gerard Pauwels, Ellen Kingston, Jenna Ruiz and James Wolford Hardin.

Supposedly this flick is actually gonna have a limited theatrical run which will include drive-in theatres nationwide. More on that soon enough. In the interim check out the goods below.

Synopsis

A giant lizard terrorizes a rural Midwest community with a group of heroic young people led by Chase Winstead attempting to destroy the creature.

Hot on the tail of Piranhaconda (pictured, premiering on Syfy this Saturday, June 16 at 9 p.m. and 1 a.m.), director Jim Wynorski is finishing up Gila!, another reptile-run-amok monsterpiece. A remake of Ray Kellogg’s 1959 B-favorite The Giant Gila Monster (and no relation to the Gila! novel written by Kathryn Ptacek under the pseudonym Les Simons), the movie is near and dear to Wynorski’s heart.

Read more...

Hot on the tail of Piranhaconda (pictured, premiering on Syfy this Saturday, June 16 at 9 p.m. and 1 a.m.), director Jim Wynorski is finishing up Gila!, another reptile-run-amok monsterpiece. A remake of Ray Kellogg’s 1959 B-favorite The Giant Gila Monster (and no relation to the Gila! novel written by Kathryn Ptacek under the pseudonym Les Simons), the movie is near and dear to Wynorski’s heart.

Read more...

Beloved genre actress Kelli Maroney (Night Of The Comet, Chopping Mall, Zero Boys) hit Hollywood in the early 80s with a dazzling smile and a flirty shake of the pom-poms as a vivacious cheerleader in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Soon after, the vibrantly talented Maroney worked not only with such low budget drive-in mavericks as Roger Corman and Jim Wynorski, but many of the old school legends of the silver screen as well. On the eve of an upcoming appearance at Chicago’s popular Sci Fi Spectacular 6 and with excitement building about her role in Wynorski’s The Giant Gila Monster remake Gila!, Maroney recently joined Fangoria to look back on her varied career, with much humor and grace.

Read more...

Beloved genre actress Kelli Maroney (Night Of The Comet, Chopping Mall, Zero Boys) hit Hollywood in the early 80s with a dazzling smile and a flirty shake of the pom-poms as a vivacious cheerleader in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Soon after, the vibrantly talented Maroney worked not only with such low budget drive-in mavericks as Roger Corman and Jim Wynorski, but many of the old school legends of the silver screen as well. On the eve of an upcoming appearance at Chicago’s popular Sci Fi Spectacular 6 and with excitement building about her role in Wynorski’s The Giant Gila Monster remake Gila!, Maroney recently joined Fangoria to look back on her varied career, with much humor and grace.

Read more...

Beloved genre actress Kelli Maroney (Night Of The Comet, Chopping Mall, Zero Boys) hit Hollywood in the early 80s with a dazzling smile and a flirty shake of the pom-poms as a vivacious cheerleader in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. Soon after, the vibrantly talented Maroney worked not only with such low budget drive-in mavericks as Roger Corman and Jim Wynorski, but many of the old school legends of the silver screen as well. On the eve of an upcoming appearance at Chicago’s popular Sci Fi Spectacular 6 and with excitement building about her role in Wynorski’s The Giant Gila Monster remake Gila!, Maroney recently joined Fangoria to look back on her varied career, with much humor and grace.

Read more...

Currently a junior studying at Nyu's Tisch School of the Arts, Madeline Voges was home in Tampa, Fla., for Thanksgiving break when she was contacted by co-producer William Dever about auditioning for "Gila!," a remake of the 1959 film "The Giant Gila Monster" that would air on Syfy as a movie of the week. Having seen her multimedia résumé on BackStage.com, Dever thought Voges would be right for the lead role of Lisa, emailed her the script, and asked her to choose a scene and submit an audition video as soon as possible. "I chose a scene in which I talk to my boyfriend and I can tell there's something wrong, but he won't tell me what it is," Voges says. "[It was] a more intense and emotional scene that showed range." After Voges sent her audition via Yousendit, Dever emailed her back to offer her the part. A week...

Anything is scary when you make it monster-sized. But when you take a creature that has the word "monster" in its accepted, everyday name, you're really raising the bar. Gila! is a remake of the '50s film The Giant Gila Monster, and we've got some concept art and promo posters for you to feast your eyes on. Read on!

The conceptual designs of the monster you'll see below were created by Charles Chiodo (of the Chiodo Bros.), co-writer of Killer Klowns From Outer Space and puppet art director on Trey Parker's Team America: World Police. As you can see, the artwork is quite realistic with a creature feature feel to it.

The rumor we've heard is that Gila! is going to open in drive-in theaters across the United States when the official release date (yet to be announced) arrives. The film has wrapped production so Gila! can't be that far off.

We all know remakes are all the rage these days – after all mainstream Hollywood has pretty much run out of ideas. But I never thought the remake trend with hit B-movies as well. Turns out it has! Yes, director Jim Wynorski, whose probably best known for helming Chopping Mall, has finished fiming a remake of the 1959 creature feature The Giant Gila Monster, which is now just called Gila.

The folks at Undead Backbrain, who are always on the ball when it comes to Wynorski’s work, have got the scoop on a whole heap of images from Gila, which retains the 1950s setting, along with two posters for the film. Check out the posters below, along with a few images and click here to visit Undead Backbrain to view the rest.

If the big studios can be all about remaking classics, then why can’t b-movie makers remake classic bad movies? That seems to be Jim Wynorski’s newest niche. The Chopping Mall director has already wrapped a remake of the 1959 creature feature The Giant Gila Monster, and now he’s revealed plans to remake something even more dubious: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

We’ve previously told you about Wynorski’s Giant Gila Monster remake – now simply titled Gila! - that he cooked up with Hellbound: Hellraiser II helmer Tony Randel. Now the fine folks at Undead Backbrain got hold of the first artwork and some production stills for this shot in color but still set in the 1950’s updating of one of the cheesiest movies of all time.

Ex-Playboy Playmate Julie McCullough (2012: Ice Age), Terence Knox (Children of the Corn 2: The Final Sacrifice), Matt Austin (“Power Rangers S.P.D....

Indie legend and Corman go-to-guy Jim (Chopping Mall, Return Of The Swamp Thing) Wynorski is helming a remake of the notorious 1959 Ray Kellogg creature feature The Giant Gila Monster. Famous Monsters sat down with Jim to chat about the project and share some production pics. The film, aiming for SyFy release in 2012, is currently shooting in Franklin, Indiana, just outside Indianapolis.

Despite wearing it’s meager budget on it’s sleeve, the original Gila made an impression on Wynorski that endured as he made his way in Hollywood. “I saw it on TV when I was a kid, and even then I understood it was a cheaply made movie,” shares the director. “It didn’t have a big budget, but it had a cool premise with the hot rods and rock n’ roll. When the film fell into public domain, it was always in the back of my mind to...

Tony Randel (Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Fist of the North Star) and Jim Wynorski (Chopping Mall, Not of This Earth, The Return of the Swamp Thing, Dinocroc vs. Supergator) will be co-directing a remake of The Giant Gila Monster, the public domain (meaning you too can remake this movie) black and white horror flick from 1959. Playboy Playmate Julie McCullough will starring alongside Terence Knox, Matt Austin, Ellen Kingston and Jenna Ruiz, reports Robert Hood. Bill Dever and Jim Nielsen are producing. The original, directed by Ray Kellogg, follows a giant lizard that terrorizes a rural Texas community with a heroic teenager attempting to destroy the creature.

What motion picture could possibly be so epic it would require the combined directorial talents of the director of Hellbound: Hellraiser II and the director of Chopping Mall? Would you believe a remake of the 1959 bad movie classic The Giant Gila Monster?

If you’re going to remake a movie, you might as well remake a bad one, and The Giant Gila Monster is most definitely a bad movie. Sure, the ultra low budget 1959 drive-in creature feature that used footage of a real live gila monster as its greatest special effect has marked its place as a classic b-movie; let’s just not kid ourselves about it actually being a good movie.

So can a low budget remake of The Giant Gila Monster actually make a good movie out of hallmark of bad cinema? It certainly can’t tarnish its legacy.

Undead Backbrain broke the news that shooting on a...

With Monsters out on DVD and Blu-ray today, we look at how the giant monster movie’s evolved since the 1950s…

Men in rubber suits trampling cardboard cities. The jerky yet beautiful stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen. Mention the words "giant monster movie", and these are almost certainly the images that immediately spring to mind.

While King Kong (1933) could be described as the first giant monster movie, with its giant ape going berserk in Manhattan, it was writer Ray Bradbury who inadvertently invented the genre as we now understand it. His short story, The Fog Horn, first published in a Us newspaper in 1951, was used as the basis of the 1953 movie, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (which was also the original title of Bradbury's story).

Featuring some great special effects from Ray Harryhausen, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms sees an angry dinosaur woken up from its slumber by nuclear testing. Understandably upset,...

Since the earliest days of American cinema there has been a shadowy counterpart to the commercial mainstream: exploitation movies — pictures whose appeal lies in their sensational treatment and leering promotion of often lurid and prurient material. Pre-1960, when mainstream Hollywood worked within severe restrictions on content, exploitation movies offered audiences titillating glimpses of the deliciously taboo, usually under the guise of being some sort of instructional cautionary against the very subject matter being exploited i.e. sex in “hygiene” movies like The Road to Ruin (1934), drugs in anti-drug movies like Tell Your Children (1936, re-released in the 1960s/70s as camp classic Reefer Madness), and gambling in the anti-vice Gambling with Souls (1936).

By the 1950s, as the studios entered their long post-war decline, downscale producers launched a new vein of exploitation moviemaking, churning out low-budget thrillers (mostly sci fi and horror) aimed squarely at the burgeoning youth audience. Again, the movies were cheap,...

Syfy has a gift for all of us this Christmas: four exclusive clips from Mega Python vs. Gatoroid. Warring gargantuan reptiles: truly the gift that keeps on giving.

Mega Python vs. Gatoroid: A smackdown so titanic it could not happen until Syfy's and The Asylum's wonder twin powers combined. A January 29th premiere date has been set.

Starring Eighties pop singers Debbie Gibson and Tiffany, both survivors of previous Asylum "mega" movies, in this tale a fanatical animal rights activist unleashes giant pythons into the Florida Everglades, forcing a distraught park ranger to fight back by feeding alligators steroids to eventually create one stupendous "gatoroid".

The first clip appears to be Tiffany's Emmy "For Your Consideration" reel. Just 1:28 of the former teen pop singer turned "mega" actress doing Susan Lucci melodramatics to the max as she repeatedly screams "They ruined everything!" at the old lady from "Desperate Housewives".

The...

Are you tired of having to set up your Vcr to watch your favorite old tapes of Mystery Science Theater 3000? Does the thought of syncing up Mike Nelson's Rifftrax audio to a movie make your brain feel like its time for a nap? Do the convenience and reliability of DVDs seem like too much hassle to fulfill your MST3K itch?

Now the laziest human beings on the planet can enjoy the classic MST3K series on the web, that is if they don't consider moving a mouse and a minimal amount of typing too much physical activity for one day.

Hulu has picked up five episodes of the series from the fourth, fifth and sixth season including such famous episodes as Super Agent Secret Dragon, Monster-a-Go-Go and (my personal favorite both on and off the Satellite of Love's screen) The Giant Gila Monster. Watch it, then get some exercise,...

Five episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 are now on Hulu! Honk if you love Eegah, friends. Weirdly, I tweeted about these MST3K glasses just yesterday, so my nerd senses are seriously tingling. So far, "The Starfighters," "Secret Agent Super Dragon," "Monster A-Go-Go," "The Rebel Set," and "The Giant Gila Monster" (from seasons 4, 5, and 6) are up, but alas, my two faves have not yet made the cut: "Boggy Creek II: And The Legend Continues" and "Eegah," lovingly quoted above. What about you, PopWatchers? What's your favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000? And do you sit through whole movies on Hulu,...