The Naked Monster

Last updated

The Naked Monster
Naked monster key art 4 wiki.jpg
DVD cover
Directed byTed Newsom
Wayne Berwick
Written byTed Newsom
Produced byTed Newsom
Starring Kenneth Tobey
Brinke Stevens
R.G. Wilson
John Goodwin
Cathy Cahn
Forrest J Ackerman
John Agar
Michelle Bauer
Bob Burns
Jeanne Carmen
Robert Clarke
Robert O. Cornthwaite
George Fenneman
Robert Shayne
Paul Marco
Linnea Quigley
Les Tremayne
Narrated by George Fenneman
CinematographyLazslo Wong Howe
Mark Wolf
Edited bySteve Bradley
Ted Newsom
Jeffrey W. Scaduto
Music by Albert Glasser
Ronald Stein
Production
company
Heidelberg Films
Distributed byAnthem Pictures
Imageworks Entertainment International
Release date
  • April 22, 2005 (2005-04-22)(Festival premiere)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Naked Monster is a 2005 American ultra low-budget science-fiction and horror comedy fan film written by Ted Newsom and directed by Newsom and Wayne Berwick as an homage to and spoof of the "giant monster-on-the-loose" films of the 1950s. [1] [2] [3] [4] The final project took 21 years to make, and was the final film for Kenneth Tobey, John Agar, Lori Nelson and Robert Clarke. [5]

Contents

Background

The project originated in 1984, after director Ted Newsom was challenged with a bet to produce a movie for $2,500. [3] [6] In response, he created Attack of the B-Movie Monster, [7] which had a limited VHS release under that name in 1985. [8] [9] [10] In revisiting the project, the filmmakers added scenes from old monster films to make a new version for release on DVD. [5] According to Newsom, he "hauled out the old scripts, took gags and lines, and did a 25-page script, which condensed things to manageable size. That version of the project was designed as a half-hour short that could be shot in about four weekends (plus the time for effects). On that basis, I asked Wayne Berwick to direct Attack of the B-Movie Monster, since I was 'producing' and had drawn the storyboards for both the live action and effects shots." [6] The film was shot on Super-8 film during 18 days of shooting in the summer of 1984, although for some days, they would only shoot for two hours then quit. [6] Over the following months, the animation effects were added and the version was finished by the end of the year. [6] The film was first screened at the now defunct EZTV in West Hollywood. [6]

In 1992, Newsom professed to have "slop-edited a version of the old show together using the original color footage, although the FX shots were still in black and white", stating "I wanted to see if it looked any good." [6] However, several of the original stars had died, including Robert Shayne and John Harmon, and Ken Tobey had severe problems with his back, which made a remake impossible with the original cast members. [6] In 1994, Newsom transferred the Super-8 film to tape on a high-end Rank Telecine apparatus and made a deal with Chuck Adleman of Anthem Pictures to use their editing system to cut the 100 minutes down by 16 minutes. [6] In the cutting process several effects shots were lost, such as the whole Titanic and submarine sequences, but Newsom claimed these needlessly slowed down the film. [6]

The character names of the veteran performers all refer to their own past films. Brinke Stevens stars, with cameos from two of her fellow Scream Queens. Kenneth Tobey returns as Colonel Patrick Hendry, a promotion for his character originally an Army captain in The Thing from Another World , and Les Tremayne reprises his General Mann role from War of the Worlds (1953). [2]

Synopsis

A colossal series of disasters releases something monstrous from a glacier. Strange disappearances in a small California town attract the attention of a thick-headed sheriff (R.G. Wilson), his transparently uninterested scientist girlfriend (Brinke Stevens) and a visiting government agent (John Goodwin). They discover that a giant green monster is at large, the Creaturesaurus erectus.

They turn to experienced monster fighter Colonel Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Tobey), who has been locked in a government asylum for decades. With the help of other monster experts, humanity fights back against the "Thing from Another Time Zone".

Cast

Critical reception

DVD Talk reviewer Glenn Erickson noted, "the generation of baby boomers who grew up watching 'Creature Feature' movies on television has become a substantial fan base, and the audience for all manner of nostalgic movie fare, most of it terrible". He explained that with such topics now being the subject of films with major budgets, the only low-budget genre filmmaking being produced is at the direct-to-video level, and expanded that "finding anything worthwhile in either camp has become an exceptional event". He noted that being assembled by genre enthusiasts, The Naked Monster has an "amusing point of view", and that while it is "Nobody's idea of quality moviemaking, [it] is good fun for the undemanding monster fan", which "follows the tradition of John Landis' Schlock ", but "accelerated with nonstop jokes in the manner of Airplane! ". He clarified that while the jokes are not all funny, "most of the nonsense makes one smile and the occasional mismatched cutaway or individual gag is especially funny", making special note that the film's humor is "fine-tuned to the movie memories of the film's intended audience". [1]

Dread Central wrote, "There is nothing better than a great bad movie", and the film's cast of B-movie horror and sci-fi celebrities sweetened the deal in creating a film "that epitomizes everything that is so scrumptious about all of your favorite B-movie entrees". They also wrote that the film acts as a "compilation/montage/homage..." "...of nearly every early monster or sci-fi film ever made". After viewing it, the reviewer wrote that the film began "beyond cheesy and damn near annoying at first, but once I finally understood what the filmmakers were attempting to do, I just sat back, set my brain on coast, and enjoyed the ride". He enjoyed that the acting was "intentionally atrocious", the monster "unbelievably ludicrous", the plotline and story "full-blown stupidity at its finest", and the use of nudity "relentlessly gratuitous", writing, "you can't help but take pleasure in watching the brilliantly calculated cinematic train wreck." [4]

M. J. Simpson noted that the final film took 21 years to create, [5] and acts as "both an homage to, and a spoof of, 1950s sci-fi and horror movies". The reviewer's initial impression was that the film was "cobbled together using two VHS machines, a stopwatch, and the complete literary works of Bill Warren", and that the story was not what mattered in that the script "is basically what you would get if you threw every monster movie plot filmed between 1955 and 1965 into a blender, then scooped out 90 minutes' worth and baked at gas mark seven." The reviewer praised the film's manner of not taking itself too seriously, as such was the "central conceit of Newsom's hugely entertaining film". The reviewer then listed the number of '50s-and '60s-genre icons that returned to reprise their characters from other films, and noted it as Kenneth Tobey's last film, and that actors John Agar, Les Tremayne, Robert Cornthwaite, George Fenneman, Robert Shayne, and Gloria Talbott died before the film was completed, and that Paul Marco died within a year of the film's release, and remarked that the film "stands as a warm tribute to each and every one of them". [5]

Stuart Galbraith IV of DVD Talk had a small role in the film, writing, "The project began around 1983–84, and was still shooting as late as 1998 or '99, when this reviewer was enthusiastically recruited for a bit part." In reviewing the completed project in 2006, he shared instances where science-fiction and horror films of the '50s and '60s had been the target for satire and parody by "neophyte directors", and wrote, "Rarely are these misbegotten projects made by filmmakers who actually like or understand the nature of the films they're sending up, and rarer still are they actually funny, striking that delicate balance between an affection for the genre with a recognition of its sometimes silly clichés and successfully translating this into humor." He noted that The Naked Monster was successful in striking that balance, but that it was "overlong and will appeal mainly to an audience weaned on the myriad films it references", and that the film's humor "wisely varies" from sight gags and bizarre non sequiturs to plays on words, in-jokes, and unashamed bawdiness, with its dialogue "played with straight faces", and the film dialogue being "often funny precisely because it's only very slightly askew". He concluded by writing that the film "would probably play a lot better cut even tighter, say trimmed of another 15 minutes or so," as "The style of humor tends to tax the viewer after an hour, and the climax drags on much longer than it should." [3]

The Washington Post noted director Ted Newsom's success in his wish to create a 1950s-style B-movie for 2005 using footage from many earlier films in creating his homage to the genre. [2]

DVD extras

The DVD includes an audio commentary with directors Wayne Berwick and Ted Newsom, with Newsom discussing everything from Tobey's grumpy dissatisfaction with the project to his own realization that years after they had originally shot their scenes, some actors from the cast are no longer speaking to him. Also included is a gallery of film stills, six minutes of deleted scenes, a brief video documentary, and a 16-minute interview with Kenneth Tobey with Dr. Franklin Ruehl. [3] [4] [5]

Recognition

Awards and nominations

Related Research Articles

<i>Airplane!</i> 1980 American satirical comedy film

Airplane! is a 1980 American disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker in their directorial debut, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson. It is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly the 1957 Paramount film Zero Hour!, from which it borrows the plot, central characters, and some dialogue. It also draws many elements from Airport 1975 and other films in the Airport series. It is known for using surreal humor and fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns, gags, running jokes, and dark humor.

<i>Bride of Frankenstein</i> 1935 film by James Whale

Bride of Frankenstein is a 1935 American Gothic science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film Frankenstein. As with the first film, Bride of Frankenstein was directed by James Whale starring Boris Karloff as the Monster and Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein. The sequel features Elsa Lanchester in the dual role of Mary Shelley and the bride. Colin Clive reprises his role as Henry Frankenstein, and Ernest Thesiger plays the role of Doctor Septimus Pretorius. Oliver Peters Heggie plays the role of the old blind hermit.

<i>The Thing from Another World</i> 1951 science fiction film

The Thing from Another World, sometimes referred to as just The Thing, is a 1951 American black-and-white science fiction-horror film directed by Christian Nyby, produced by Edward Lasker for Howard Hawks' Winchester Pictures Corporation, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film stars Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, and Douglas Spencer. James Arness plays The Thing. The Thing from Another World is based on the 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell.

A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that lampoons other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together. Although the subgenre is often overlooked by critics, parody films are commonly profitable at the box office. Parody is related to satire, except that "parody is more often a representation of appreciation, while a satire is more often...pointing ...out the major flaws of an object through ridicule." J.M. Maher notes that the "difference is not always clear" and points out that "some films employ both techniques". Parody is found in a range of art and culture, including literature, music, theater, television, animation, and gaming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Bauer</span> American actress

Michelle Bauer is an American actress, model, and B movie scream queen.

<i>Young Frankenstein</i> 1974 film by Mel Brooks

Young Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Peter Boyle portrayed the monster. The film co-stars Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, and Gene Hackman.

<i>The Howling</i> (film) 1981 American horror film by Joe Dante

The Howling is a 1981 American horror film directed and edited by Joe Dante. Written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless, based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, the film follows a news anchor who, following a traumatic encounter with a serial killer, visits a resort secretly inhabited by werewolves. The cast includes Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, and Elisabeth Brooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Tobey</span> American actor (1917–2002)

Jesse Kenneth Tobey was an American actor active from the early 1940s into the 1990s, with over 200 credits in film, theatre, and television. He is best known for his role as a captain who takes charge of an Arctic military base when it is attacked by a plant-based alien in The Thing from Another World (1951), and a starring role in the 1957-1960 Desilu Productions TV series Whirlybirds.

<i>Howling: New Moon Rising</i> 1995 British film

Howling: New Moon Rising is a 1995 British direct-to-video comedy horror film, directed, produced, and written by Clive Turner, the seventh film in The Howling film series. The film reuses footage from the previous three sequels in the Howling series, and features characters from each film. The plot has a detective in the film uncover several clues that connect events of the latter part of the series. It was followed by The Howling: Reborn in 2011.

<i>The Legend of Boggy Creek</i> 1972 American docudrama horror film

The Legend of Boggy Creek is a 1972 American docudrama horror film about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-like cryptid reportedly seen in and around Fouke, Arkansas, since the 1940s. The film combines staged interviews with local residents who claim to have encountered the creature, along with reenactments of these encounters. Director and producer Charles B. Pierce, an advertising salesman, secured funding from a local trucking company and hired local high school students to help complete the film. Made on a budget of $160,000, the film was released theatrically on August 8, 1972.

<i>Jack-O</i> 1995 American horror film by Steve Latshaw

Jack-O a 1995 American horror film directed and co-produced by Steve Latshaw and executive produced by Fred Olen Ray. It is the third collaboration between Latshaw as director and Ray as executive producer, following 1993's Dark Universe and 1994's Biohazard: The Alien Force.

<i>The Giant Claw</i> 1957 film by Fred F. Sears

The Giant Claw is a 1957 American monster film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Fred F. Sears, that stars Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday. Both Sears and Katzman were well known as low-budget B film genre filmmakers. The film was released as a double feature with The Night the World Exploded.

The Monster of Piedras Blancas is a 1959 American horror monster film. It was produced by Jack Kevan, directed by Irvin Berwick, and stars Jeanne Carmen, Les Tremayne, John Harmon, Don Sullivan, Forrest Lewis, and Pete Dunn. The film was released by Filmservice Distributors Corporation as a double feature with Okefenokee.

"A Day in Beaumont" is the first segment of the twenty-fourth episode of the first season of the television series The Twilight Zone. In this segment, a couple spends an entire day trying to convince the people of a small town that aliens have landed nearby.

<i>Deep Freeze</i> (film) 2001 American film

Deep Freeze is a 2001 horror film directed by John Carl Buechler. Written by Robert Boris, Dennis A. Pratt, and Matthew Jason Walsh, the film was shot in Germany in 2001. The film was retitled Ice Crawlers for United States release.

Creature of Destruction is a 1967 American made-for-television film produced and directed by Larry Buchanan. It is an uncredited color remake of the 1956 movie The She Creature directed by Edward L. Cahn.

<i>Invisible Invaders</i> 1959 film by Edward L. Cahn

Invisible Invaders is a 1959 American science fiction film starring John Agar, Jean Byron, John Carradine and Philip Tonge. It was produced by Robert E. Kent, directed by Edward L. Cahn and written by Samuel Newman.

<i>The Face of Marble</i> 1946 film by William Beaudine

The Face of Marble is a 1946 American horror film directed by William Beaudine and starring John Carradine, Claudia Drake and Robert Shayne.

<i>Hybrid</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film

Hybrid is a 1997 American science fiction horror film, directed by Fred Olen Ray. It is a remake of the 1987 film Creepozoids.

<i>Hand of Death</i> (1962 film) 1962 film by Gene Nelson

Hand of Death is a low-budget 1962 American horror film directed by Gene Nelson, and written and produced by Eugene Ling. The film stars John Agar, Paula Raymond, Stephen Dunne and Roy Gordon. The narrative follows a scientist who develops a military nerve gas. After accidentally exposing himself to it, he not only turns into a grotesque monster, but anyone who touches him dies. The scientist goes on the run but is killed by police before a curative serum can be tried on him.

References

  1. 1 2 Glenn Erickson (August 16, 2006). "DVD Savant review: The Naked Monster". DVD Talk . Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Mike Keefe-Feldman (August 15, 2006). "It Came From the DVD Bin". Washington Post. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Stuart Galbraith IV (August 1, 2006). "review: The Naked Monster". DVD Talk . Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 Melissa Bostaph (December 18, 2007). "DVD review: The Naked Monster". Dread Central . Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "review: The Naked Monster". M. J. Simpson . Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Ted Newsom Interview:Part 1". M. J. Simpson . Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  7. ↑ "The Naked Monster Video". OV Guide . Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Attack of the B-Movie Monster (1985)". Movies and TV. The New York Times . 2012. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Attack of the B-Movie Monster overview". AMC . Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  10. ↑ Gary Westfahl. "John Agar". Gary Westfahl's Bio-Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Film . Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  11. 1 2 Shockerfest 2005, wins and nominations
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.