Monstrosity (aka The Atomic Brain) (1963)
Monstrosity (aka The Atomic Brain) (1963)
Welcome to the late 1950's when mad scientist films, and films about giant monsters were all the rage, in response to the new age of atomic technology, this was the era that gave birth to films like Godzilla, and the numerous giant monster films of the later 1940's-1950's. This era also gave birth to films inspired by the what the power of harnessing atoms could do for the world of science, and it seemed the possibilities were limitless. One of those low budget atomic age mad scientist films was Monstrosity also known by its television release title The Atomic Brain from 1963. This is a film about a rich old lady who wants to live forever, and a mad doctor who has found a way to make it possible, by using atomic power to transplant her brain into the body of a beautiful young woman, his past experiments included him transplanting the brain of a dog into a man, bringing a dead woman back to life (basically creating a zombie), and then putting the brain of a cat into a young woman, but can he succeed in putting the old woman's brain into the body of a young woman?
Monstrosity was directed by Joseph V. Mascelli, with a screenplay written by Sue Bradford, Dean Dillman Jr, Jack Pollexfen, and Vy Russell. The film was distributed by Emerson Film Enterprises, and released in 1963/1964. Though the film wasn't released until 1963, it was actually completed back in 1958 with a low budget and an amatuer cast. The film was plagued with problems from the beginning, and according to co-producer Jack Pollexfen it was the first film that he had worked on that lost money. The film was poorly received by audiences and critics alike, and though it has somehow continued to live on, has never garnered the cult fan base that other similar films has over the years. Even Pollexfen has described it as the least favourite film that he has ever worked on, and when the producer doesn't like even like it, you know that it is scrapping the bottom of the barrel. But is it really that bad?
Monstrosity stars Marjorie Easton as the rich old lady Mrs. Hettie March, Frank Gerstle as Dr. Otto Frank, and Frank Fowler as a "golddigger" in a "relationship" with Mrs. March named Victor. The film also stars three beautiful young women who are chosen as possible bodies for Mrs. March (though they don't know this), Erika Peters plays Nina Rhodes, Judy Bamber plays Bea Mullins, and Lisa Ling plays Anita Gonzales. The film also features two failed of Dr. Frank's experiments, Margie Fisco as the walking corpse, and an unnamed actor plays Hans the dog-man. Bradford Dillman is the voice of the narrator, and maybe the best actor in the film is Xerxes as Dr. Frank's cat (which is never named in the film). It might sound mean to say that the cat in the film is the best actor, however that cat plays a better cat than the people do people, and that isn't a facetious statement. The three foreign girls, can't seem to be consistent in their accents, and the accents always sound bad. None of the actors act quite human, it is very obvious that this film suffers from three major flaws, 1. an amature cast, that are not very skilled actors, 2. a poorly written script, which attributes to the actors in ability to act, and 3. terrible direction that makes it so the first to two issues can't be saved. I don't think that the concept of the film is bad, maybe not super original, but that doesn't make it bad, but the concept is lost in ineptitude.
I'm going to be blunt, this film is indisputably bad, there is no question about it, it is a bad film. I asked before: "Is it really that bad?", and to answer that simply is yes. That being said though, bad films can still be entertaining, and can be fun to watch, there is a reason that we love and talk about Roger Corman and Ed Wood, because bad films can be great, the question then is does the Atomic Brain follow into the "so bad it's good" category. I think that the Atomic Brain or Monstrosity (I'm about as inconsistent in naming the film as the actors are in acting in the film), is an entertaining film, I have always had fun watching it. This film is bad enough to come across as a comedy, almost to the point that it parodies atomic age mad scientist films. I wouldn't say that this is a must-see film, or even that I recommend this film, but it is a fun film, and I found myself laughing out loud in parts of it, and I absolutely love the ending of the film, where everyone of the bad characters gets their just deserts in the end, though I do pity the innocent characters (I won't tell you the ending, because I don't want to spoil it, but I do think the climax makes the rest of the film worth watching). I guess if you come across a copy of this film for $1 at a pawn shop, or as part of a public domain film collection, or even for free online, it is worth watching, as long as you know you are watching a bad movie, and don't expect anything more from it. This is the kind of film you watch with friends, with some drinks, and snacks and enjoy laughing at it's wonderful terribleness. Not a recommended film, but also one I have seen multiple times and have enjoyed it every time. I guess one last point I wanted to leave here, the is some decent effects makeup work done for this low budget film that is actually pretty decent, and the filmmakers should get acknowledged for that, like the face of the girl that is attacked by the cat woman, which you can see in the preview I've posted.
Monstrosity was directed by Joseph V. Mascelli, with a screenplay written by Sue Bradford, Dean Dillman Jr, Jack Pollexfen, and Vy Russell. The film was distributed by Emerson Film Enterprises, and released in 1963/1964. Though the film wasn't released until 1963, it was actually completed back in 1958 with a low budget and an amatuer cast. The film was plagued with problems from the beginning, and according to co-producer Jack Pollexfen it was the first film that he had worked on that lost money. The film was poorly received by audiences and critics alike, and though it has somehow continued to live on, has never garnered the cult fan base that other similar films has over the years. Even Pollexfen has described it as the least favourite film that he has ever worked on, and when the producer doesn't like even like it, you know that it is scrapping the bottom of the barrel. But is it really that bad?
Monstrosity stars Marjorie Easton as the rich old lady Mrs. Hettie March, Frank Gerstle as Dr. Otto Frank, and Frank Fowler as a "golddigger" in a "relationship" with Mrs. March named Victor. The film also stars three beautiful young women who are chosen as possible bodies for Mrs. March (though they don't know this), Erika Peters plays Nina Rhodes, Judy Bamber plays Bea Mullins, and Lisa Ling plays Anita Gonzales. The film also features two failed of Dr. Frank's experiments, Margie Fisco as the walking corpse, and an unnamed actor plays Hans the dog-man. Bradford Dillman is the voice of the narrator, and maybe the best actor in the film is Xerxes as Dr. Frank's cat (which is never named in the film). It might sound mean to say that the cat in the film is the best actor, however that cat plays a better cat than the people do people, and that isn't a facetious statement. The three foreign girls, can't seem to be consistent in their accents, and the accents always sound bad. None of the actors act quite human, it is very obvious that this film suffers from three major flaws, 1. an amature cast, that are not very skilled actors, 2. a poorly written script, which attributes to the actors in ability to act, and 3. terrible direction that makes it so the first to two issues can't be saved. I don't think that the concept of the film is bad, maybe not super original, but that doesn't make it bad, but the concept is lost in ineptitude.
I'm going to be blunt, this film is indisputably bad, there is no question about it, it is a bad film. I asked before: "Is it really that bad?", and to answer that simply is yes. That being said though, bad films can still be entertaining, and can be fun to watch, there is a reason that we love and talk about Roger Corman and Ed Wood, because bad films can be great, the question then is does the Atomic Brain follow into the "so bad it's good" category. I think that the Atomic Brain or Monstrosity (I'm about as inconsistent in naming the film as the actors are in acting in the film), is an entertaining film, I have always had fun watching it. This film is bad enough to come across as a comedy, almost to the point that it parodies atomic age mad scientist films. I wouldn't say that this is a must-see film, or even that I recommend this film, but it is a fun film, and I found myself laughing out loud in parts of it, and I absolutely love the ending of the film, where everyone of the bad characters gets their just deserts in the end, though I do pity the innocent characters (I won't tell you the ending, because I don't want to spoil it, but I do think the climax makes the rest of the film worth watching). I guess if you come across a copy of this film for $1 at a pawn shop, or as part of a public domain film collection, or even for free online, it is worth watching, as long as you know you are watching a bad movie, and don't expect anything more from it. This is the kind of film you watch with friends, with some drinks, and snacks and enjoy laughing at it's wonderful terribleness. Not a recommended film, but also one I have seen multiple times and have enjoyed it every time. I guess one last point I wanted to leave here, the is some decent effects makeup work done for this low budget film that is actually pretty decent, and the filmmakers should get acknowledged for that, like the face of the girl that is attacked by the cat woman, which you can see in the preview I've posted.
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