Volume XIX is the volume of monsters and devils (per se). Robot apes, atomic beasts, evil dummies, and cross-breed sea creatures. Featured are two Joel and two Mike episodes, all of which are fairly strong (though none of which probably classifies as a bona fide “classic”). It’s the consistency of this set that makes it great, however, as all four episodes—including the Season 1 offering—are certainly worth watching.
By now, MST3K should need no introduction. So, let’s get right down to it then, shall we?
Devil Fish
Do sharks bother you? How about an octopus shark? …Kind of anyway. Yes, it’s Devil Fish, the movie that went by like five other names originally, about a creature that hardly even qualifies as an actual fish. But that’s all extraneous, because what really matters here is the terror. And by that, I’m referring not to the beast, but instead to the editing, which happens so excessively (with scenes switching to and fro almost nauseatingly) that even my ADHD was overwhelmed. Servo chides, “just because you can edit doesn’t mean you should.” There’s also some shockingly harsh digs on electricians (see what I did there?), and oh yeah—and just to seal the deal—were it not for MST3K’s gracious censorship, we’d have been treated to a glimpse of some guy’s junk while climbing above the camera. Classy.
Poor and unwittingly obscene as it may be, the movie bore a solid MST3K episode (and one of the very last ever, too). It’s not one of my favorites (in context with the rest of season 9, it’s relatively tepid), but it’s got a firm thread of jokes tying it all together from M&tB. 8/10
Devil Doll
A doctor-turned-pop-hypnotist-slash-entertainer (the great “Vorelli”) discovers how to transfer souls from humans to objects. Handy and all—that is, until all this partying with real-life anthropomorphism leads him to a ventriloquist act featuring a really wicked dummy. The thing even comes close to knifing him on stage, and yet the audience just claps mindlessly. Hell, Vorelli even killed a dude way back when in front of an audience, but that apparently didn’t affect his popularity too much. Whatever—he can hypnotize people and throw his voice pretty well, right? Isn’t that all that matters?
Things get hairy for Vorelli when he tampers with a curious reporter’s girl and throws her into coma. Shortly thereafter, the gig is up, and he’s finally confronted about his closeted skeletons. It’s a pretty creepy (not to mention rather slow) film no matter how you slice it, but it’s also laughably stupid, and even moreso with the help of the frequent and entertaining commentary from the SOL gang (which is mostly consistent throughout the movie). 7/10
Bride of the Monster
The Loch Ness Monster + A swamp + A police chief with a pet bird + Ed Wood and Tor Johnson = great cinematic pain. Some mad scientist has discovered a terrible creature, hired a subhuman ogre, and built a frightful experimental machine in a hidden room in his home (yes, all three!), right in the middle of a swamp. His goal: to create an army of “atomic supermen” to take over the world. Conveniently enough, everyone seems to just drive right into the trouble here in this very swamp, suddenly getting their cars stuck, after which they are subsequently unable to escape the general area. That leads, rather predictably, to either of the two “monsters” assaulting the victim, and just generally causes all sorts of issues for the stranded individual. And, of course, the authorities are out to get this beast—which is all over the news—and thus ensues the usual sequence of events in said early horror films.
True enough, this movie simply drones along with cheesy dialogue and fake German accents, but as with most of the gems in the low-budget Ed Wood library, it’s the generic beast role (played here by none other than Tor Johnson himself) and constant splicing of obviously unrelated video footage with the action of the film that really disrupts here. While mostly entertaining, the jokes here are less frequent and not always as sharp as those of the two Sci-Fi era films.
Nevertheless, there is also a short (or half of one, anyway—you might recognize it from Mr. B’s Lost Shorts): Hired!, Part 1. It’s about a salesman trying (unsuccessfully) to peddle cars door-to-door, and the plight of his sales manager, who still (I guess) lives at home with his parents at age 40. It’s a good laugh leading into an awful film. 7.5/10
Robot Monster
Sometimes referenced in conversations about the worst films ever created (though it isn’t), Robot Monster is a thoroughly entertaining movie all on its own (but for all the wrong reasons, of course). It’s positively absurd for starters, starring a terrible monster called Ro-Man (get it, Robot-Man) who looks like an ape with a robot helmet. Whoever’s playing the part of Ro-Man sure doesn’t seem to get too worked up about their job, as he just sort of slinks his way through the scenes nonchalantly in search of the humans he’s supposed to kill. Eight of them, in fact—the last eight humans on Earth, thanks to the Ro-Men. Anyway, that’s the basis of the entire film: it’s these eight humans versus Ro-Man.
The general stupidity of the execution coupled with plenty of sections between dialogue provides a great pacing mechanism for the then-amateur MST3K crew. Partially thanks to this, Robot Monster goes down as one of the best season one episodes in all, and actually entertaining enough to warrant inclusion in a set (the first to date, in my opinion). Plus, the ending in the theater is one of the best of the entire series!
There are also two Radar Men from the Moon shorts leading off, which are funny in their own right, though not as great as the film. Even the host segments are seemingly ahead of their time, featuring considerably more sophisticated special effects and more thoughtful parody of the film than many of the other season one offerings. All told, it’s a pretty strong episode for the young series. 7.5/10
Extras
Volume XIX features a richer assortment of extras than many of the recent sets. Here’s what you get:
Puppet Master: Richard Gordon on Devil Doll (9:29) – A short interview with Richard Gordon covering all things Devil Doll. The conversation covers everything from the very creation of the concept (which was originally adapted from a short story) to the selection of the cast, all the way to the film’s production.
MST3K: Origins and Beyond at CONvergence 2009 (58:37) – A hilarious live recording of a panel featuring Joel Hodgson, Frank Conniff, and Mary Jo Pehl. A wide range of popular topics are addressed, from the numerous questions by attendees to the types of Blizzards preferred by the cast (and the surprise run to Dairy Queen). A little difficult to hear at times thanks to the echo, but the atmosphere of the crowd is a nice touch. As always, this is a great peek into the minds and ways of the masterminds behind the series.
Inventing the Invention Exchange (6:08) – As you might guess, this short featurette covers the creation of the Invention Exchange idea (Joel used to be a prop comedian, so it just made sense). In addition to that, a little bit of dialogue is had regarding the single-camera production of the franchise.
Citizen Wood: Making the Bride, Unmaking the “Legend” (27:07) – Joel Hodgson, Mr. Lobo (Cinema Insomnia host), Larry Blamire (Cult Filmmaker), Richard Sheffield (Author and friend of Bela Lugosi), Richard Gordon (sibling to the film’s writer), Tom Weaver (B-movie historian), and George “The Animal” Steele (wrestler/actor) carry a dialogue regarding the “masterminds” behind Bride of the Monster. Hot topics include Ed Wood’s legacy as a B-movie legend, Alex Gordon’s role as writer, how the script came to be, the immortal Tor Johnson, Bela Lugosi’s drug addiction, and plenty more. The most entertaining tidbit to me? George Steele’s account of how Tor Johnson got his “white eyes”: Step One, boil an egg; Step Two, peel off the white membrane inside of the shell; Step Three, Profit!
Introduction by J. Elvis Weinstein (6:41) – Dr. Laurence Erhardt himself discusses the importance of Robot Monster as a season-one episode. Among the topics covered in this brief featurette: the power of “air” in the movie in providing opportunities for riffing dialogue and the host segments coming into their own.
Larry Blamire Geeks Out (11:01) – Blamire educates us about Robot Monster’s contextual place in film history, as well as why it clearly isn’t the worst movie ever made. Beyond that, he rips the film apart amusingly piece by piece, bringing up some great trivia.
Plus, if you hunt around a bit, you’ll find a little Easter Egg featuring a chat with Joel about the origin of Movie Sign!
Finally, you also get the requisite movie trailers, amusing animated menus, and the excellent lobby cards illustrated by Steve Vance. And if you score the limited edition, you get a Gypsy figurine, to boot!
In case you’re counting, that’s nearly two hours of special features—all of which is highly welcomed!