Roger Corman is said to be the world’s most successful director. It is said that he never has made a movie from which he did not profit. Almost everything with which he has been involved has made money and been a success. In realty, he is probably the most successful independent producer/director of all time, having made many of his films on shoestring budgets and very short shooting schedules.
Shout Factory, within the past year, has acquired the DVD rights to distribute many of the classic films Corman has produced. The latest double feature release is The Terror Within and Dead Space. Both films have a very similar style in terms of story and both can be considered low-budget version of the Alien films.
The Terror Within takes place after a chemical weapon has destroyed almost all life on earth. There are very few survivors who take refuge in an underground lab in the Mojave Desert. However, they don’t seem to be alone as an alien creature is among them and threatens to eradicate all life that comes across its path.
The Terror Within plays like a poor man’s Alien. Once this organism gets inside you, it incubates and then it pops out of you. Although it does not have the great set design and visuals of the Alien films, is does hold its own as a low-budget science fiction film. It is a fun movie with really great monster and effects and has a classic sci-fi feel to it even though it is in color. The film also has some good acting and stars Academy Award-winner George Kennedy, Andrew Stevens and Terri Treas.
Dead Space is about a deep space research facility known as Phaebon. That is, until a distress signal calls out for Commander Kreiger and Tinpan, his robot companion. As they make their way to the planet and research facility, they encounter a spreading virus and a cocoon that seems to be growing. What they encounter is something that is unexpected and may threaten their very existence.
Dead Space is not a film I enjoyed. I found the story to be slow and the characters lacked real development. Everything about the film seems one-dimensional, and once again, it feels like a giant Alien rip-off with the robot that looks like the torture droid in Jabba the Hut’s palace in Return of the Jedi. Not even Marc (The Beastmaster) Singer could save this film, and he is an actor I grew idolizing. Don’t get me wrong; it has its fair share of action and suspense, but the film plays off more as an undeveloped talkie with boring characters, not to mention the theme of an Aliens rip-off.
The DVD is put together very well. It captures the Grindhouse experience with its menus, which are set up just as if you are walking into a Grindhouse. The main menu is of a ticket booth outside with a marquee, and once you enter the building, the lobby and snake stand are present while you are given the option to watch just one film or both as a double feature. The downfall of the disc is that there is not much in terms of special features. There are trailers for the films, and a commentary by the director of Dead Space, Fred Gallo.
Overall, this disc does capture the feel of being at the Grindhouse while sitting right in your own living room. Roger Corman-produced films may not be the best, but when you think of low-budget grindhouse horror and science fiction, you can’t help but think of the legend’s name. Shout Factory will be releasing a lot more Corman films in the next year, some in double feature format and others as stand alone discs. If you’re a fan of Corman, you cannot pass up owning these films on DVD.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
