The Seventies Sci-Fi thread

[Inspector Abberline]

Empire of the Ants (1977)

Mysterious men in red boiler suits are shooting barrels of radioactive drums into the sea,I know this because all the drums have radioactive written all over them.But don't worry because they have "don't open" written on them,just in case somebody thought it was a barrel of ice cream or something innocuous like depleted plutonium. But do not worry because Dreamland Shores are selling property right on the coast,so no need to worry about pollution or anything sort of nonsense. Hey wait a minute what are those pesky ants doing,and whats that leaking into the eco system.And why are there a group of television actors and has been's, all dressed in polyester and all acting like it was there first pay check in along time. Thankfully we know when the ants are lurking because they seem to make a shrill noise and the POV goes all multiple vision. I have to say if I was a giant ant and I come across these bunch of cretins swanning around a rather naff looking beach then I would chomp on these idiots as well.Marilyn Fryser (Joan Collins) although attractive,she is not my favorite actress,in fact I find her plain annoying. I have to say im definitely on the side of the giant ants here ,let them eat cake I say,or in this case ~B movie cake. Which incidentally that sugar refinery may come in handy ,oh wait............
Directed by Bert I. Gordon, the big head,decides to re write HG Wells,now I have never read Wells story,but im guessing there wasn't much in the way of Joan Collins and this band of losers .I do enjoy these before CGI creature features,its only when the characters start bickering among themselves,which normally happens in these situations ,that your wishing the giant sized ant/spider/rabbit delete the applicable would hurry up and chow and gnaw the rest of the cast sooner more than later. Fun.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

Empire of the Ants (1977)

Mysterious men in red boiler suits are shooting barrels of radioactive drums into the sea,I know this because all the drums have radioactive written all over them.But don't worry because they have "don't open" written on them,just in case somebody thought it was a barrel of ice cream or something innocuous like depleted plutonium.

Those bastards did the same off Balfe in 1972. Luckily Dr. Shaw and his team were on hand to stop them.



Speaking of which. Only 8 days to the release of Doomwatch.

Colour me ****ing excited.

[Inspector Abberline]

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

While putting aside the debate over the recent remake or re imagining of the series,I do think that the sequels to the original movie are still pretty good,not 100 per cent perfect of course,but still a good deal of fun and a perfect slice of 1970's science fiction.Allot of the fun in the later series is seeing or knowing that under the latex mask have been some major characters actors from cinema.The whole series of course has many undertones,fetishistic fascism,(the all most leather like outfits of the gorillas 's ) torture,human experimentation and of course slavery and even hinting at inter species sex. Battle for the Planet of the Apes is number five in the apes series and see's Caesar (Roddy McDowall) leader of a combined village of both apes and humans struggling to keep peace amongst his mixed tribe,with most of the trouble coming from gorilla general Aldo (Claude Akins) . On top of that we also have the remains of human civilization in the Forbidden City,,ravaged and scarred by radiation and itching to go to war with ape population.Even with there diminishing budgets,Battle for the Planet of the Apes still looks good,the major actors still have suitably good ape makeup and the ravaged city,looks well ravaged even if it is only on a small scale. Obviously the village which is supposed to be some sort of , jungle camp,.is just a few huts in a field, but J. Lee Thompson is an experienced director who makes everything look bigger and better than it really is.Plus we get a bloody great battle at the end where shit (ape probably) blows up. Its easy to pick fault with the sequels,the budgets were getting smaller and I should imagine the public interest was waning by then also,Its all hokum compared to the first two films,but its fun and enjoyable,and you really have to be a sour pus not to enjoy them for what they are.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

Personally i think this is second best in the series. I find it very entertaining.

[Inspector Abberline]

Chosen Survivors (1974)
Nuclear war is upon the planet,bad luck.A group of superior humans have been chosen to live in a nuclear bunker good luck.They share the underground bunker with vampire bats.very bad luck,And just what you all ways want in a bomb shelter is a message every so often from there friendly government representative,telling you what to do. As with most of these type of movies are unhappy band of survivors are about as likable as open cesspit. So basically you have ten people stuck in a underground bunker arguing with each other until they start getting bumped off by some bats., But wait there is a twist in the tale,,no spoiler here move along.Good job to as the plot of this film is so paper thin it needed something else,unfortunately not even the revelation adds anything to the proceedings.If your familiar with Xavier Gens The Divide,its just like that but with very little happening.In fact I hate to be so negative about the film,Cinematography is great,the films sets and minimal effects are all very good even the flying bat attacks are pretty well handled.Unfortunately it just is not enough to make the film very interesting,None of the characters are very likable,so your not really routing for any one (except the bats) your just thinking hurry up bays kill another one of these feckless idiots.The director Sutton Roley (1922–2007) does what he can with the material but theirs very little he can do to interject any excitement into the proceedings. He himself was pretty prolific as a television director in 1970's and 80's. Chosen Survivors does have a unique story,but it fails to be fun or enjoyable and for this viewer it became almost a chore to watch,by the end I to felt I had all my blood drained.


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[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

I have Chosen Survivors bookmarked for a watch at some point... maybe I shouldn't bother now!

[Inspector Abberline]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I have Chosen Survivors bookmarked for a watch at some point... maybe I shouldn't bother now!

I would never say not watch anything,You may see something in it I never,you are damn sight smarter than me you may get something out of it I missed.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I've only seen Chosen Survivors once. It's on an MGM Midnite Movies double set with The Earth Dies Screaming.

I didn't think it was that bad. Certainly better than The Divide.

The Earth Dies Screaming, the reason i bought said disc, is fecking awesome i'll just add.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

The Earth Dies Screaming is another one I need to check out - two for 'Sci-Fi September' methinks

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

The Earth Dies Screaming is another one I need to check out - two for 'Sci-Fi September' methinks

There isn't a blu but this is a good price for the dvd.

Amazon.co.uk: Buying Choices: The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) DVD Reg 2

If you were to blind buy i'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed. Hopefully the Inspector will agree.

It's directed by Terence Fisher so you know you're in good hands.