The Hideous Sun Demon

Amazon.com

The Hideous Sun Demon is almost too wonderful to be believed. Scientist Dr. Gilbert McKenna drops his sample--oops!--of "a new isotope that has never existed in nature before" and consequently receives a massive dose of radiation. As so often happens in these cases, the results are gruesome and tragic--whenever he is exposed to sunlight Gil turns into a lizard man, driven to kill. "You mean a human being could evolve backwards through time?" asks the plucky Miss Lansing. Alas, her question can only be answered with a yes. Well, a yes and some hilarious "scientific" proof. Even though he becomes a murderous reptile at the pull of a curtain, some obscure legal statute says that Gil can't be kept in the hospital against his will. Full of whiskey and self-pity, he heads out on his own, a time bomb ready to go off the minute he runs out of zinc oxide. The pleasures of The Hideous Sun Demon are many: rubber lizard suits, headlines reading "Weird Killer Still at Large," a lounge singer named Trudy with an unusually lopsided piano playing style, and day-for-night sequences in which the night is so bright that one cannot see the actors' faces. Truly, a movie that must be experienced in DVD. --Ali Davis

Description

Screen star Robert Clarke, legendary science fiction leading man of the 1950s, produced, directed and starred in this Atomic Age chiller about a scientist that turns into a hideous prehistoric creature when exposed to the sun's deadly rays. This is it! The original cult classic, filled with tense radioactive atmosphere, as the Sun Demon stalks his prey while his primordial mating urges go berserk! An excellent modern-day horror screamer filled with murder, monsters, radioactive isotopes and a sizzling blonde babe with gravity-defying assets. Bring your sunglasses and tanning oil because "The Hideous Sun Demon" is on the loose!

Customer Reviews:

COOL CLASSIC MONSTER MOVIE!.......2007-05-03

"This is a pretty good classic monster story with a cool looking monster. The DVD comes with a second DVD which is called "return of" it's the same movie with a voice over dubbed like Mystery Science Theater 3000. Funny and worth picking up."

OK mom, right after they take a commercial brake, I promise.......2007-04-18

Yes it's me again reliving my past,searching for those movies that I liked as a child.
This one is one that I didn't like as well as I did then. To the best of my knowledge not one thing has changed about the movie but I just didn't enjoy it this time around. MY boys love it though, so i'll give it three for that.

Forgettable Fifties Fluff.......2007-02-27

The premise of "The Hideous Sun Demon" is intriguing, but unfortunately this low-budget 1959 film fails to deliver. The central idea here is that an accidental radiation overdose causes a scientist (Robert Clarke) to morph, or "de-evolve," into a scaly reptilian monster whenever he is exposed to sunlight. There are many interesting directions that the filmmakers could have taken this concept, but none of them show up in the film. In the end, "The Hideous Sun Demon" is like an episode of "Seinfeld"--it's really about nothing at all.

Some of today's sophisticated viewers may chuckle at the rubber creature costume, but I have no complaints about the "special effects." By the standards of the day, and considering the small production budget, the monster is actually nicely detailed and quite convincing, for the few brief moments that it appears on-screen. The crisp black-and-white photography is also excellent, featuring some striking, stark, deeply shadowed "noir-like" scenes that look great in this full-screen digital transfer. There are some muddy scenes in which day turns into night through the miracle of gross underexposure, but that technique was common at the time. The biggest problem with "The Hideous Sun Demon" is that there is no meaningful story, and essentially no character development. You never get to the point where you care about the scientist, the monster or anyone else.

On balance, "The Hideous Sun Demon" is not a bad film--it's just not much of a film at all. It's easy to watch, reasonably well-made and the DVD is relatively cheap. Completists can certainly justify buying it to round out their collection of 1950s sci-fi movies. By the way, despite the fact that it is supposed to include "liner notes and personal recollections by producer/director/writer/star Robert Clarke," there was nothing in the case I received except the DVD.

Nostalgic Horror Classic.......2006-03-13

This movie holds a lot of memories for me.

Maybe it's just my imagination but it seems like it always came on during the late afternoon when the sun was still shining brightly.

That's the interesting aspect of the story. It ties in with the mysterious, awesome power of the sun.

The location is a typical American small town from the 50s which is also interesting.

The sun demon looks very similar to the monster in:

IT ! The Terror From Beyond Space

Recommended further viewing:

The Manster
The Thing (from another world)
The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake
Horror Hotel
The Blob (with Steve McQueen)
The Flesh Eaters
The Indestructible Man
The Brain That Wouldn't Die
Not Of This Earth (original)
The Incredible Shrinking Man
IT (The Terror From Beyond Space)
Invasion Of The Saucer Men
The Fly / The Return Of The Fly / The Curse Of The Fly

Jeff Marzano

Great Movie.....................2006-03-07

I Thought This Was A Fun B Movie. It intrest me how some people take these B movies seriously. Just by looking at the title you can tell it's cheesy. For those who appreciate classic b movies from the 50's and 60's this movie is for you,for those who like saw and really modern mainstream horror movies stay away by all means....... this is not your type of movie.

The Hideous Sun Demon/Revenge of the Sun Demon

Average customer rating:

The Hideous Sun Demon/Revenge of the Sun Demon
Starring: Image 2pak
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B0000TAZG0
Release Date: 2003-12-30

DVD:

DVD

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