Somewhere along the line, filmmakers decided that humanity should cut back on the wanton destruction and started using plants as an allegory for mans cruelty to nature. That, or it was the ’60s and radiation had magical powers. Either way, lets look at some of the best or worst, its all a matter of perspective organic villains!
Half-man, Half-Jellyfish… Sting of Death
Neil Sedaka has done a lot of things to regret most notably, being Neil Sedaka but of all the things he probably drinks himself to sleep over, its recording the theme to this film, Do the Jellyfish.
Were not here to talk about poor decisions made by outdated musicians. Were here for one of the worst monsters thrown up on screen. Its totally not a guy in a wetsuit with rubber tubing and a balloon over his head or anything. Okay, it is. Regardless of the poor costume design, this film introduces us to the leitmotif of this list, which basically boils down to what hath science wrought? (Watch the trailer.)
My nephew didnt appreciate this years birthday balloon.
Mushroom People, Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People
Since were already talking about Atomic Age monsters, we might as well bring up Matango, a Japanese film that was later titled Attack of the Mushroom People and Fungus of Terror. Another monster that exists because of nuclear testing, Matango actually takes on a heavier tone than many monster movies of the time because of its Japanese origin and the fact that the makeup used as the people slowly turn into mushroom people evokes images of the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Watch the trailer.)
Princess is in another castle, my arse!
Bunnies! Night of the Lepus
Ive written about this movie in the past, but now is as good a time as any to remind you about Night of the Lepus. If you watch the trailer, youll notice something right away. First, science is at fault for everything again. Second, they never show the monster or really allude to what the Lepus is. In the days before the Internet, studios could get away with that kind of thing and maybe get one good weekend out before word of mouth killed whatever box office chances a bad movie had. If you ever want to see rabbits looking ferocious on film Try something else. (Watch the trailer.)
The horror The horror Theyre so fluffy!
Fish Piranha (1978, plus remakes in 1995 and 2010 + sequels in 1981 and 2012)
This loving homage [total rip-off] to Jaws is much better than it has any right to be. Why else would it have more sequels and remakes than Jaws if it werent obviously the better picture? Huh, smart guy? In fact, the original Piranha is actually quite good thanks to a cast of B-movie veterans and the superb directing of Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling). Of course, that doesnt mean that the plot isnt completely ridiculous: military scientists created a strain of piranha that could be introduced to Vietnam to stop the Viet Cong, but some got out dun dun dun! (Trailer: 1978 / 2012)
Its Piranha-fest, only at Red Lobster!
So whats next?
Jaws
No. Too easy. Next!
