The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 11 (Ring of Terror / The Indestructible Man / Tormented / Horrors of Spider Island)

Average customer rating:

Too much Joel...

Mystery Science #11

Four more with Joel, Mike and the 'Bots

Love it!

Solid collection of episodes from TV's greatest show

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 11 (Ring of Terror / The Indestructible Man / Tormented / Horrors of Spider Island)
Starring: Alexander D'Arcy , Barbara Valentin , Rainer Brandt , Harald Maresch , and Elfie Wagner
Director: Vince Rodriguez , and Fritz Böttger
Manufacturer: Rhino Theatrical
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark

The Film Crew: Killers From Space

The Film Crew: Wild Women of Wongo

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 10 (Godzilla vs. Megalon / Swamp Diamonds / Teen-Age Strangler / The Giant Spider Invasion)

The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 9 (Women of the Prehistoric Planet / Wild Rebels / Sinister Urge / The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Zombies)

ASIN: B000PC1PBG
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Amazon.com

Book your return flight to the Satellite of Love and join Joel, Mike and the 'bots for another fearful foursome of flops in this collection of episodes from the Peabody Award-winning series Mystery Science Theater 3000. First up on Volume 11's menu of muck is Season Two's Ring of Terror, with Joel, Crow and Tom Servo riffing furiously on a half-baked story of fraternity pranks gone wrong; it's partnered with another interminable episode of the Bela Lugosi serial The Phantom Creeps. Next is Season Four's The Indestructible Man, in which Joel performs a frightening imitation of the movie's star, Lon Chaney Jr.; an episode of The Undersea Kingdom is also celebrated with a parade that goes predictably awry. Season Four's Tormented features headless ghosts, a guilt-ridden Richard Carlson, and Joel stuck in a ventilation shaft, plus a day-rescuing round of happy thoughts. And last but not least is Season Ten's Horrors of Spider Island, a German-made monster movie about dancers on a deserted island and a giant spider than transforms their manager into a hideous creature; Mike also undergoes a man-to-spider switcheroo after getting trapped in the 'bots' homemade spider web. For veteran MiSTies and pop culture fanatics, it doesn't get funnier than this.

Extras include theatrical trailers for all of the films save Ring of Terror; a brief interview with Tormented director Bert I. Gordon, his daughter Susan, and star Joseph Turkel, and wrap-arounds from the syndicated Mystery Science Hour, with Mike Nelson as an obsequious Jack Perkins, are also included. However, the best supplement is the second MST3K Jukebox, which compiles some of the show's funniest and most memorable musical numbers, including "Sidehackin',"Joel and the 'bots' garage-rock tribute to The Sidehackers and the incredible "Patrick Swayze Christmas" from Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews:

Too much Joel..........2007-09-07

I have bought EVERY one in the series, and as long as they are made I will buy them. After having time to watch the difference between Mike leading the show and Joel, Joel is boring. Mike was a writer and then stared as the lead. Mike's shows just seem to be a great deal funnier than the ones with Joel. There are too many episodes in this pack with Joel. I have watched the first 2 and the movies and the comedy are a bit boring. But I will keep watching and buying one of my all time favorite shows.

Mystery Science #11.......2007-09-04

Quick delivery-good and/or new condition. Haven't watch the whole DVD, but so far-it's very funny

Four more with Joel, Mike and the 'Bots.......2007-09-03

Some movies are so bad, they're good. Other movies are just plain bad. Fortunately, there is Mystery Science Theater 3000 that can sweeten these bitter pills.

In Volume 11 of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, we get another four awful movies. The absolute clunker in the bunch is the first one, Ring of Terror, a story of a fraternity prank gone horribly wrong. As is typically the case, it isn't as much the plot that is the problem as the execution: with bad writing, acting, direction and effects, this supposed tale of terror is around as scary as a rock. This film comes with an episode of the serial, The Phantom Creeps.

The Indestructible Man has Lon Chaney, Jr., who towards the end of his career was in a lot of bad movies. In this one, he is an executed convict who is revived by well-meaning scientists and rampages against the partners who set him up. This one also has a serial episode, in this case an episode of Undersea Kingdom.

Tormented has Richard Carlson as a pianist who is responsible for the death of an ex-lover. Facing blackmail is bad enough, but he also has to deal with the woman's ghost. Or is it all his imagination? This one is directed by Bert I. Gordon, a semi-legendary B-movie director also responsible for movies like Village of the Giants and Attack of the Puppet People.

Finally, there is Horrors of Spider Island, a poorly dubbed movie about some dancers shipwrecked on an island with a single semi-large spider who dies rather early on. It does, however, transform a person into some sort of monster who preys on the others. Once again, it's not the premise but the execution that ruins this movie.

All the movies are given plenty of dead-on, funny commentary by humans Mike and Joel and the robot pals Crow and Tom Servo. The idea of quipping wittily over a bad movie is hardly original to Mystery Science Theater, but this show turned it into an art. If you are a fan of Mystery Science Theater, this is another collection worth watching.

Love it!.......2007-09-02

I cannot get enough of MST3K! Oh, bring on those "B," "C," or worse movies! How can anyone NOT appreciate the humor?

I have all the boxed sets and the single releases. Love 'em! Even my sons like them (of course, they can't tell their friends that they do).

Looking forward to the release of Vol 12!!!!!!!!!

Solid collection of episodes from TV's greatest show.......2007-08-31

This is certainly one of the better collections of MST3K. Each of the four episodes is a winner. The Indestructible Man has a nonstop barrage of riffs, the Ring of Terror is great fun for fans of the show, Tormented is a solid episode, and Horrors of Spider island is from season ten when these guys had perfected the art of riffing. The extras are icing on the cake--especially a glimpse into MST history with the MST3K Hour sketches. Enjoy the old-fashioned cheesy horror movies, laugh out loud until you can hardly breathe, and watch in groups to enhance the effect.

Average customer rating:

A family movie? No. Japanese Flight of the Pheonix? Yes
Go after monster the old school way
son of the gogzilla
THE ONLY THING MISSING IS THE WIFE
A Really Well Done Movie

Son of Godzilla
Starring: Tadao Takashima , Akira Kubo , Bibari Maeda , Akihiko Hirata , and Yoshio Tsuchiya
Director: Jun Fukuda
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00066KWCO
Release Date: 2004-12-14

Amazon.com

The monster-about-town becomes doting dad when he adopts orphan lizard Minilla, the result of a radioactive storm caused by a scientific experiment gone wrong. This decidedly juvenile affair shows signs of the series' cost-cutting measures and Godzilla himself has been redesigned to reflect his new, younger audience, with an oversize head and big, doll-like eyes. This kindler, gentler lizard king proceeds to protect the happy-go-lucky kid from the newly mutated giant insects of the island and teaches him how to breathe fire. Much of the film is played for comedy--Minilla blowing smoke rings instead of flames, skipping rope with Dad's tail, skittering about like a mischievous little kid as put-upon Godzilla tries to keep the tyke focused--and is obviously aimed at Godzilla's enormous adolescent audience. But as always, the picture delivers great monster battles, notably with the mutant spider giant Kumonga. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

A family movie? No. Japanese Flight of the Pheonix? Yes.......2007-07-12

I've heard some people say that this is a kids movie. They're wrong. the scientists who live here have to deal with (before the expirement) unusually large praying mantises and after the expirement, giant praying mantises, the son of Godzilla, one of their memebers going mad, Godzilla, and the Spiga (A.K.A. Kumonga) gives a great story and good music, so I suggest adding this to any monster movie collection

Go after monster the old school way.......2007-04-28

This movie has a lot of old school fraknstein monster violence in it. From the old trying to take down a monster with the old shoot gun to the flameing torches. In this movie a gropup of reasearcher are in the middle of wheather project. All goes othe than a couple of attack my 15 feet tall prey mantisis. After a malfucation goes wrong during the experment on of the radioactive capsules goes of wrong. They island is incased in a nuclear storm with nuclear lighting a boil hot water near boil point. Shortly after word a baby godzilla is found and attacked by the now enlarged praying mantisis. Now the scientist with aid of a local reporter and young women must make it off the island will avoid godzilla who comes ashore and adopts the young baby godzilla. Can they scientist get of the island before Godzilla the the pray mantisis or a gigantic spider known as Spiga or Kumoga in godzilla conpedium vaporise crushed or devour them to death. Find out in the thrilling conclusion. A word of advice don't spend more than 25 dollars for a copy of this dvd unless your a real godzilla fantic like me or if the positive rate is very high of the copy your intersted in like say about 90% or higher.

son of the gogzilla.......2007-04-26

I was impress with the service.the movie, by the way, is cute.The delivery was very fast, including with a tracking #.Amazon has done avery good job in communication.I know there always room for improvements.but done a good job.

THE ONLY THING MISSING IS THE WIFE.......2007-04-19

It's been said many times that this is the worst Godzilla Movie in the series. Seeing as how Godzilla flicks are never striving for great artistic merit along the lines of The Godfather and The Godfather II, there's no need to call any Godzilla movie bad. Let's face it. All Godzilla movies are bad in some way. That's what makes them so fun. Men in rubber suits and monsters on wires destroying tiny models. Probably my least favorite in the series is the Original, which takes itself far too seriously. Although it scared the beejezus out of me when I was 5 years old. I was watching Godzilla movies in the 60's, folks.

But, I have to tell you, when I was a kid, this is the one they would always show on TV along with MONSTER ZERO and DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. It's so bad it's THE BEST!! This is one of my favorites. The costumes and the special effects are so rank they stink up the screen with an amateurish zipper skin monster movie beauty. This movie ROCKS!! Although, I love the whole Godzilla Legacy. The only thing that maybe kills some of the joy is Minya's annoying little whining cry. WAWA. WAWA. Wow, just as weird as GODZILLA VS HEDORAH (or SMOG MONSTER). And far more friendly.

If you have a little boy. Forget Disney or Pixar animation, this should be the first movie he ever sees. How young is too young for SON OF GODZILLA?

LONG LIVE THE KILL OF ALL MONSTERS!!

ENJOY.

A Really Well Done Movie.......2007-01-31

I have been a fan of Godzilla since the 80s and I have to say as far as the movies when Godzilla is a good guy, this is extremely underated. The plot makes sense and the monster battles are as great as always. This is the debut of Minya (or Minilla), which throws people off the movie since he isn't that popular with American fans. However, this film also introduces two fan favorite monsters as well, Kamacuras (Gimantis in this movie) and Kumunga (Spiega in this movie). Another thing that some don't like is the way Godzilla looks, which was intended by the creators to look friendly, just really looks ugly. I highly recommend this movie to fans of the genre and Godzilla fans in general that have heard bad or good things about. I say, give it a try and watch it for yourself. I did, and really enjoyed the movie for it's very interesting plot and new monster that are introduced. For a children's film, this still has an adult feel to it which makes it fun for all ages. I love it!

Average customer rating:

If You Have Too Watch This...There Are Better Options!
No real horrors, not even much spider
Not the best but it was a fun to watch
Sigh...to think I watched this
Garry's friends show real flare

Horrors Of Spider Island
Starring: Alexander D'Arcy , Barbara Valentin , Rainer Brandt , Harald Maresch , and Elfie Wagner
Director: Fritz Böttger
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004Z4VJ
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Description

Eight beautiful women alone with the world's most hideous monster! Eight sexy showgirls and their macho manager survive a plane crash and take refuge on a remote tropical island. As the gals adjust to the heat and humidity by shedding most of their clothes, they also meet one of their new neighbors: a dead scientist found caught in a giant web. Ignoring the obvious, testosterone-fueled Gary blithely takes a midnight stroll until he's bitten by an overgrown, crab-like spider and immediately transforms into a clawed, fanged, hairy-faced bogeyman who does exactly what monsters in horror films are supposed to do: chase women!

Customer Reviews:

If You Have Too Watch This...There Are Better Options!.......2007-08-12

This movie is a really, really bad movie...we're talking so bad that it was used as a film critiqued by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crew. If you really think you have to watch it, that is the only way to go. Just to watch it for it's own merit would be a pointless waste of time. It is sexist, badly dubbed, and has the most stupid plot possible. Get the MST3K version, have a laugh with Mike, Crow and Tom Servo, and remember...a hammer with a long handle must be for excavating uranium! (You have to see the movie to know what I mean by that...!)

No real horrors, not even much spider.......2007-07-09

A horrid movie obviously made by people with no concept of how to make a film. The amazing plot is a plane carrying 8 female dancers and their manager, crashes, leaving them floating in a life raft. They finally wash ashore on a small island. The manager, Gary, gets bitten by a very large spider and slowly turns into a half man/half spider. I guess you could say that he then terrorizes the women, but it's really only a few scenes. Gary disappears for a good half hour of the film while the women romp around in various stages of undress. The "effects" are below what you would normally see in a high school play. The acting, well, there was no acting. There were a lot of lines being read woodenly and voices dubbed poorly. The whole spider thing was just an excuse to make a movie with a bunch of half naked women. Come to think of it, this movie was genius! If you must see this film, watch the MST3K version. Mike and the Bots give it more life than it deserves.

Not the best but it was a fun to watch.......2006-06-30

The story has 8 beautifiul (well some were) models and their boss crashlanding with the plane they were on in the ocean. They all survive and find an island in the distance. They make it and explore the island finding (no not Polar Bears or a mysterious hatch with a button to push) but a dead scientist all up in a spider web. They seek shelter in a cabin place. Their manager wanders off by himself where he is attacked by a spider transforming him into (no not Spider-Man) but a creature. The girls all giggle and skinny dip and what not. Eventually they are accompanyed by some men who tell them that a boat will come back to the island in which case everyone will be rescused. But their spider bitten manager stalks them in the shadows. It has its fun moments. Especially those skinny dipping scenes. The effects are bad of course but I didnt mind it. Starring Harold Maresch.

Sigh...to think I watched this.......2006-01-11

I nearly gave this 1959/1962 movie one star, and had second thoughts and generously gave it 2 stars. It probably deserves 1 star, but I was feeling generous.

This movie seems to have a combination of English and German speaking actors in a thin plot designed to expose as much flesh as possible. I pondered including the pedigree of some of the actors, but was never able to get enthusiastic enough to do the research. There are some pretty awful B-movies about, and this one is one of the worse.

Supposedly a couple is hiring a bunch of dancers to go to Singapore. After some mildly racy scenes at the beginning of the movie (as in you see some panties), everyone hops on a twin engine propeller plane to head for Singapore. Somewhere along the line the plane gets four engines, and then it crashes in flames. Miraculously, the dancers and the couple survive. The pilots, of course, conveniently died.

Everyone survives to reach an island where they quickly discover a professor in a giant spider web, which yields the original German title, "Ein Toter hing im Netz," which is, roughly translated, a dead one hung in the net. Sadly, that scene was probably one of the high points in the movie. Soon women are shedding clothes, but the only living male on the island wanders off to be attacked by a giant spider. The giant spider was probably mutated by the uranium that may have been on the island, which is what the professor was seeking. Remember that in the 50s and 60s radiation explained nearly everything.

For the rest of the movie we see the now mutated guy looking sinister and occasionally killing someone. The rest of the time the movie focuses on the hot babes wandering about the island in various states of undress, including some nude scenes (depending on which version of this movie you have - some versions delete the nude scenes).

The food starts to run out and things are looking grim when a couple of fellows show up. Then there is steamy romance, the spider guy appears again, there is some running around and screaming and yelling, spider guy kills a couple of people, the movie ends, and you wonder what the heck it was all about.

This silliness seems to be an excuse to see the ladies in their undies and skinny-dipping in the ocean. The plot, what little there is of it, is very thin. We hardly see the spider guy once he is created, and we only see the spider (which looks very sinister) a couple of times at the beginning of the movie. Mystery Science Theater 3000 did a lampoon of this movie, but I have yet to see it. I have to believe the lampoon is better than the original.

I have been watching a lot of these movies. Many of them are weak, or outright bad, but most of them have at least some redeeming characteristics. This movie is just too bland and boring to be very interesting. The picture quality is also poor. Watch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 version and skip this one.

For those who like trivia, this movie has apparently been released under a variety of names according to imdb:

"Ein Toter Hing im Netz"
"A Corpse Hangs in the Web"
"Body in the Web"
"Girls of Spider Island"
"Horrors of Spider Island"
"It's Hot in Paradise"
"The Spider's Web"

The years vary with the release and re-release. I would think that some of these releases were to fill space in drive-in theater billings.

Garry's friends show real flare.......2005-04-04

This film has many original themes that are played out in the movies of today. For those that watched "Total Eclipse" you remember Damsel Washington sniffing hair from a concealed location. Yep Gary (Alexander d'Arcy was born as Alexander Sarruf in Kairo) did it first. You have seen peeking throw a bush or from a tree at skinny dippers well it is here also. How about things that bite in the night? Yep.
-----------------------
Gary is taking a dance troupe to Singapore. We get to see them audition. On the way the plane crashes in the ocean. Now it is just Garry and the women. They spot an island and setup house. We know they are not alone. It turns out to be a "radioactive" Island. Something is lurking in the bushes and waiting to bite. This something is not Garry; or is it?
---------------------
This movie is so well known and universal that it has many names:
Ein Toter hing im Netz (1960) [A Dead One Hung in the Net]
Body in the Web (1962)
A Corpse Hangs in the Web (1960)
Girls of Spider Island (1960)
Horrors of Spider Island (1965)
It's Hot in Paradise (1962)
The Spider's Web (1962)

Average customer rating:

ALPHA DVD VERSION
No, No, No, I Said "HORRORS" Of Spider Island...
Of Spiders and Exotic Dancers.
Garry's friends show real flare
Almost Unbearable Without the MST3K Treatment

Horrors of Spider Island
Starring: Alexander D'Arcy , Barbara Valentin , Rainer Brandt , Harald Maresch , and Elfie Wagner
Director: Fritz Böttger
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000D1FHR
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Customer Reviews:

ALPHA DVD VERSION.......2006-12-10

CLASSIC BABES STRANDED ON HOT TROPICAL ISLAND FLICK. YES, THEY DISROBE OFTEN, BICKER, CAT-FIGHT, DANCE, GIGGLE, SCREAM & TAKE BATHES AT THE DROP OF A....THEIR MANAGER, MACHO GARY WHO SEEMS PRETTY SLEEZEY RIGHT OFF ACTUALLY BECOMES A RATHER STRAIGHT-UP TAKE CHARGE GUY AFTER A PLANE CRASH LEAVES ALL STRANDED ON SOME DEAD PROFESSOR'S RADIOACTIVE DESERTED ISLAND. HOWEVER, GARY STRAYS OFF ONE NIGHT & GETS BITTEN BY SOME SPIDER-BAT-CAT-SOMETHING AND BECOMES A WEREWOLF-SPIDER-BAT? MAN WHO CHASES & KILLS SOME OF THE ALMOST NAKED GIRLS. I KINDDA FELT SORRY FOR POOR GARY.
THE ALPHA DVD VERSION IS CERTAINLY WATCHABLE, A LITTLE DARK IN SPOTS, A LITTLE JUMPY...IT ENDS ABRUPTLY. I'M SHELLING OUT THE EXTRA BUCKS FOR THE "IMAGE" VERSION. I THINK IT'LL BE WORTH IT.

No, No, No, I Said "HORRORS" Of Spider Island..........2005-07-17

Now, this is my kind of movie! A troupe of exotic dancers and their manager, Gary (Alex D'Arcy) are stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes into the pacific on the way to Singapore. Soon, the heat is unbearable, and our gaggle of strippers must shed most of their clothing. They find a shelterhouse, complete with a man stuck in a giant web! The gals scream. Gary takes a walk, only to be bitten by a huge rubber spider with a mosquito-like proboscus. Gary grows claws and his face turns into burnt toast! The gals search for Gary through the jungle. They insult each other and have occasional catfights. Gary kills the only gal who stayed behind. A small boat arrives with two men on board, one is named Bob. The gals go swimming. Bob watches from some nearby bushes. A party ensues. The gals wiggle, jiggle, and giggle. True love blooms. Bob takes a walk. Gary attacks Bob, killing him instantly. One of the gals finds Bob and screams. Gary kills her. Will Gary be stopped before he totally ruins the party? HOSI is for demented souls like me who enjoy half-naked babes running around screaming and / or dancing. It's like Gilligan's Island with ten Gingers and Mary Anns! So, get out the tanning lotion and get ready for a honeys-in-the-sun fiesta!...

Of Spiders and Exotic Dancers........2004-12-16

Please understand that I am a die-hard cheesy movie buff. Pause with me while I attempt to explain this movie. Around 1960, a European filmmaker blended sci-fi horror with sexploitation. What this premise lacks in originality it usually gains in our twisted curiousity. Hope springs eternal. An exotic dance troupe (i.e.; strippers) and their male manager, stranded on a remote Pacific island, find a dead scientist dangling in a big web. They find the dead man's research notes that reference a strange "hissing" around the perimeter of his camp. This is a promising start. The women are worth viewing as they display ample cleavage and bare legs. The "giant spiders" are not giant. They are about the size of cats. They are as "real" as discount store Halloween decorations. Never mind batteries, you can almost see the windup key turning. Classic sci-fi fans who recall "Tarantula" should adjust their expectations. Low budget is, after all, low budget. I know it sounds an unlikely thing to say, but the script spends too much time on the "girlie" show. Between the basic B&W photography and the constraints of the censor, attractive women just hanging out can get dull. Even the occasional catfight can't ease the tedium. When the boss turns monstrous with spider venom, I thought the story would get moving. No such luck. The mutated guy disappears into the jungle, and only sporadically reappears. The story comes to the inevitable climax. No, I don't mean that kind of climax. Ultimately, the script can't decide between sexploitation and horror. It succeeds at neither. This flick is okay for we of the cheesy movie hall of fame fan club. Not great, just okay. The low priced DVD edition is adequate from a technical quality standpoint. Go slowly into this dark night. ;-)

Garry's friends show real flare.......2004-11-08

Almost Unbearable Without the MST3K Treatment.......2004-03-27

'Horrors of Spider Island' was made in Germany and originally called 'Ein Toter hing im Netz', literally 'A Dead One Hung in the Net', a catchy title that is actually a bit more informative and true to the film than the English version. In this film a group of dancers are enroute to Singapore when their plane crashes vertically (and on fire) into the Pacific Ocean, leaving them totally unscathed along with their manager, Gary. Gary runs afoul of the lamest spider I have ever seen on film and becomes a monster that the box describes as 'half-man and half-insect', but I prefer to refer to as a mangy werewolf in need of braces.

The vast bulk of the film involves the girls walking around the island yelling "Gary!" in badly dubbed voices, although there are a couple of fight scenes and even an occasional glimpse of the monster. I had seen the MST3K version of this film and had enjoyed it, but then again, I like MST3K in general. I thought that I might enjoy watching the original version of the film, but I was wrong. Before watching this version of the film, I had no idea how much the staff at Best Brains suffered to prepare their version for television. I didn't do a timing comparison, but it seems to me that the MST version must have edited out some of the wandering around the island footage, as I didn't recall the movie being this long.

I have almost never been so eager for a film to end, and even though the ending of the DVD version is very abrupt, I was grateful for the conclusion. If you are insistent upon having every bad monster movie ever made, by all means buy this film; otherwise, leave it alone, it is just too painful to watch, and the camp value is not strong enough to numb the pain.

Average customer rating:

For this Price...

Spiders and wasps oh my

Sci-Fi Classics 4-Movie Pack (Horrors of Spider Island; The Wasp Woman; Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet; Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women)
Starring: Sci-Fi Classics 4pak
Manufacturer: Mill Creek Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Sci-Fi Classics: The Astral Factor/The Galaxy Invader/Battle of the Worlds/Unknown World

Sci-Fi Classics: Assignment Outer Space; Laser Mission; Blood Tide; Brain Machine [4-Movie Pack]

Sci-Fi Classics: King of Kong Island/Bride of the Gorilla/Attack of the Monsters/Gammera the Invinc

The Killer Shrews

First Spaceship on Venus / Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet

ASIN: B000ARXFR8
Release Date: 2005-11-08

Customer Reviews:

For this Price..........2006-01-23

This collection of four 50s/60s schlock films might be worth buying if you like watching movies that verge on being awful. If you have ever wandered how bad movies can be, here is a good selection of to find out. However, there are, sad to say, even worse movies than these.

"Horrors of Spider Island"

A couple is hiring a bunch of dancers to go to Singapore. After some mildly racy scenes at the beginning of the movie (as in you see some panties), everyone hops on a twin engine propeller plane to head for Singapore. Somewhere along the line the plane gets four engines, and then it crashes in flames. Miraculously, the dancers and the couple survive. The pilots, of course, conveniently died.

Everyone survives to reach an island where they quickly discover a professor in a giant spider web, which yields the original German title, "Ein Toter hing im Netz," which is, roughly translated, a dead one hung in the net. Sadly, that scene was probably one of the high points in the movie. Soon women are shedding clothes, but the only living male on the island wanders off to be attacked by a giant spider. The giant spider was probably mutated by the uranium that may have been on the island, which is what the professor was seeking. Remember that in the 50s and 60s radiation explained nearly everything.

The food starts to run out and things are looking grim when a couple of fellows show up. Then there is steamy romance, the spider guy appears again, there is some running around and screaming and yelling, spider guy kills a couple of people, the movie ends, and you wonder what the heck it was all about. This movie is just too bland and boring to be very interesting. The picture quality is also poor.

For those who like trivia, this movie has apparently been released under a variety of names according to imdb:

"Ein Toter Hing im Netz"
"A Corpse Hangs in the Web"
"Body in the Web"
"Girls of Spider Island"
"Horrors of Spider Island"
"It's Hot in Paradise"
"The Spider's Web"

"The Wasp Woman"

We see scenes of bees at the start of this movie, and then a scientist-looking character, Eric Zinthrop (Michael Mark), captures a wasp nest. The excitement is so intense you can just feel it. Our scientist is fooling around with wasps while he is supposed to be working on royal jelly. The scientist gets fired (duh!) and encounters Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot in her last movie role; apparently "Wasp Woman" was the kiss of death for her movie career), the aging head of a cosmetics company. When I say aging, I mean she is in her 40s. She is very attractive, but apparently insufficiently attractive to sell cosmetics. Mr. Zinthrop convinces Janice that he can make her young by making a guinea pig young.

Mr. Zinthrop is involved in an accident and ends up being stuck in bed. Janice decides to start taking shots of royal jelly a bit quicker than Mr. Zinthrop had been giving them to her. Janice gets young really quick, but occasionally she gains a black face, claws and a nasty buzz in her voice. When this occurs, she tends to kill people and eat them, which most people would likely consider a serious side effect of Mr. Zinthrop's shots.

I would like to tell you that there are redeeming characteristics to this movie, but unless you are a hard-core Roger Corman fan, you should probably avoid this movie. The movie waits too long for the wasp woman to show up. When she does show up, Corman made up for the cheesy costume by using out-of-focus photography and brief flashes of the wasp woman. The ending was unsatisfying also. The wasp woman put up a really poor fight. After the big husky guys she killed and ate, you would have thought she could have put up a bigger fight at the end. Oh well. Just remember, there are lots of other cheesy movies waiting for you to watch.

"Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet"/"Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women"

In 1965 Roger Corman and a small gang of others took a Soviet movie, added some scenes with Basil Rathbone and Faith Domergue, and created a reasonably serviceable science fiction movie title "Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet." There were some strange moments and a few funny moments, but the movie was a reasonably campy, low-budget science fiction film. Apparently someone (Corman perhaps) decided the movie was insufficiently schlocky and gave it one more shot.

In the original movie we see two groups of men wandering around Venus. The first group crashed and is trying to get rescued. The second group of men is trying to find the first group of men. As both groups wander around they encounter a cheesy looking reptilian bird, a deluge, and an erupting volcano. In the second movie Corman and director Peter Bogdanovich provide an explanation for these happenings; an explanation that probably would have been better left unexplained.

It turns out that there were a bunch of blond Barbie clones wandering the planet with telepathic powers and excessive chest development. These women, who spend a lot of time lying around with 60s-looking pants and shell tops, walk around acting like a coven of witches with too much makeup, false eyelashes, and too little in the way of prehistoric attributes. Mamie Van Doren, one of the three M's of the 50s and 60s (Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe included), is the leader of the Venusian blonde babes, who include a cluster of women who may have been so embarrassed by this movie that most of them never appeared in a film again.

Spiders and wasps oh my.......2005-09-04

Horrors of Spider Island

Garry's friends show real flare

This film has many original themes that are played out in the movies of today. For those that watched "Total Eclipse" you remember Damsel Washington sniffing hair from a concealed location. Yep Gary (Alexander d'Arcy was born as Alexander Sarruf in Kairo) did it first. You have seen peeking throw a bush or from a tree at skinny dippers well it is here also. How about things that bite in the night? Yep.
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Gary is taking a dance troupe to Singapore. We get to see them audition. On the way the plane crashes in the ocean. Now it is just Garry and the women. They spot an island and setup house. We know they are not alone. It turns out to be a "radioactive" Island. Something is lurking in the bushes and waiting to bite. This something is not Garry; or is it?
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This movie is so well known and universal that it has many names:
Ein Toter hing im Netz (1960) [A Dead One Hung in the Net]
Body in the Web (1962)
A Corpse Hangs in the Web (1960)
Girls of Spider Island (1960)
Horrors of Spider Island (1965)
It's Hot in Paradise (1962)
The Spider's Web (1962)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Wasp Woman

Maintaining that wasp waist

Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot) head of a cosmetics company was told the she needs to stay young to promote the product. What can she do? Enter garage scientist Eric Zinthrop (Michael Mark) with a dubious formula made from wasp royal jelly. He explains that "just a little dab will do you." She gets greedy and shoots up with the extra strong stuff. This gives her a BUZZ and can have biting consequences.

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Horrors of Spider Island

Manufacturer: Synergy Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000REWYW6
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Sci-Fi Movie Marathon Volume 2: 8 Movie Pack

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Sci-Fi Movie Marathon Volume 2: 8 Movie Pack

Manufacturer: RightNow Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video
Product Features:

BONUS: Each movie comes with a portable-media friendly version that can be downloaded to your Apple iPod!
Eight feature films on four DVDs
Phantom from 10,000 Leagues,Track of the Moon Beast,Horrors of Spider Island,Robot Monster,Bride of the Gorilla,Hercules and the Captive Women,Assignment: Outer Space,Blood Tide

ASIN: B000GT8NAE

Product Description

The legends of Science Fiction are gathered here for you in this definitive DVD collection of some of the greatest Sci-Fi classics to ever come out of Hollywood. This 8 DVD collection is sure to provide you with countless hours of entertainment. Volume 2 includes: Phantom from 10,000 Leagues directed by Dan Milner and starring Kent Taylor; Track of the Moon Beast directed by Richard Ashe and starring Chase Cordell; Horrors of Spider Island directed by Fritz Bottger and starring Harald Maresch; Robot Monster directed by Phil Tucker and starring George Nader; Bride of the Gorilla directed by Curt Siodmak and starring Raymond Burr; Hercules and the Captive Women directed by Vittorio Cottafavi and starring Reg Park; Assignment: Outer Space directed by Antonio Marghereti and starring Rick Van Nutter; Blood Tide directed by Richard Jefferies and starring James Earl Jones

Man in the Attic / Juggernaut / House of Mystery / Bloodlust / the Rapist / Devil's Express / I Eat Your Skin / the Sadist / Mesa of Lost Women / Horrors of Spider Island [[[10 HORROR CLASSIC MOVIES]]]

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Man in the Attic / Juggernaut / House of Mystery / Bloodlust / the Rapist / Devil's Express / I Eat Your Skin / the Sadist / Mesa of Lost Women / Horrors of Spider Island [[[10 HORROR CLASSIC MOVIES]]]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVD:

DVD

DVD