War of the Colossal Beast
I was in the mood for some old, classic American International Pictures (AIP - More on AIP in the future on this blog) so I rented the DVD release of WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST the inferior (but entertaining) sequel to the absolute cult classic masterpiece THE AMAZING, COLOSSAL MAN. In the sequel, we get a grunting and facially scared (apparently this was done to hide a different actor in the title role)who causes great mayhem until the puny humans get FED UP!
The original AMAZING film was one more film in a long line of atomic bomb/cold war paranoia films that were all the rage in the 1950's. The theme was a fairly common one: exposure to atomic radiation causes things to grow really big. This started with THEM! where giant ants beseiged humans in a truly frightening and brilliant film. AMAZING was one of the sillier B-Movies that saw a normal army officer turn into a 60 foot tall man who rampages across Las Vegas in his underwear. (No, they don't make movies like they used to) In WAR, we get the mayhem, but none of the pathos. I guess that is what happens when a company is cranking out a sequel in order to make extra money. Regardless, WAR is still an enjoyable film because of how unbelievably creepy "The Beast" looks. (I remember seeing a photo of it in a 1979 issue of CRACKED! MONSTERS - remember those? - and it freaked me out. While AMAZING aired on Saturday Afternoon TV through the late 1970's and the Early 1980's, WAR was pretty much absent and I did not first see it until it debuted on cable TV in the 1990's. Pop it in your netflix queue when you get a chance.
The original AMAZING film was one more film in a long line of atomic bomb/cold war paranoia films that were all the rage in the 1950's. The theme was a fairly common one: exposure to atomic radiation causes things to grow really big. This started with THEM! where giant ants beseiged humans in a truly frightening and brilliant film. AMAZING was one of the sillier B-Movies that saw a normal army officer turn into a 60 foot tall man who rampages across Las Vegas in his underwear. (No, they don't make movies like they used to) In WAR, we get the mayhem, but none of the pathos. I guess that is what happens when a company is cranking out a sequel in order to make extra money. Regardless, WAR is still an enjoyable film because of how unbelievably creepy "The Beast" looks. (I remember seeing a photo of it in a 1979 issue of CRACKED! MONSTERS - remember those? - and it freaked me out. While AMAZING aired on Saturday Afternoon TV through the late 1970's and the Early 1980's, WAR was pretty much absent and I did not first see it until it debuted on cable TV in the 1990's. Pop it in your netflix queue when you get a chance.
posted by AM Caro at 5:03 PM
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