Julie K
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2000
- Messages
- 1,962
This was the day the Earth was disemboweled with terror!
Well, ok, maybe I wasn't disemboweled with terror, but I did nearly split my gut from laughing so hard.
Lost Skeleton is an affectionate re-creation of the Z-grade schlockers of the '50s and '60s. "Spoof" is too hard a word for the movie and "homage" doesn't quite get it right either. Instead of laughing at those old far-too-earnest and far-too-underfunded movies of yesteryear, Skeleton asks the viewer to laugh with it and with them.
Like the movies it copies, the plot isn't simple. We have the dashingly handsome man of science, Dr Paul Armstrong, visiting a mountain forest with his Betty Crocker-like wife in order to "do science" and find a meteorite that's made of atmospherium. Atmospherium is a rare element that will bring many benefits to humanity, many of them good. Alas, also in the area is the evil scientist Dr Fleming, who is trying to find the legendary lost skeleton of Cadavra Cave who, when revived, will help him conquer the world. Amazingly enough, he needs atmospherium in order to fully revive the skeleton. If this isn't enough, at the same time two aliens have arrived in a crippled spaceship and, by astounding coincidence, they need atmospherium to repair their ship. Unfortunately, they let their pet mutant escape, who begins a mutilation spree. The aliens also carelessly leave their transmutatron gun (which looks suspicously like something from Home Depot) lying around for Dr Fleming to find. He uses it to create a woman from four different "forest creatures" in order to blend in at a dinner party.
If you're thinking "what??" at this point, then you probably should never watch Skeleton. Unless you have an overwhelming fondness for movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space, you will hate the bad acting, bad dialogue, cheap props, the mutant wearing combat boots, the ludicrous special effects, the jerky cuts and edits, changing film stock, the stock footage, the same stock footage repeated, and all the other so-bad-it's-good effects of old movies.
I suppose I'm directly in the target audience for this film. While Lost Skeleton has been my most anticipated DVD in quite some time, my second most anticipated release is the upcoming I Married A Monster From Outer Space. If you're even a fraction as excited about I Married a Monster From Outer Space as I am, then you owe yourself a look at Lost Skeleton of Cadavra Cave.
Lost Skeleton is presented in amazing "Skeletorama" which apparently means a film shot in color on a digital camera, converted to black and white, and then presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, enhanced for 16x9 TVs. Being given full Special Edition status, Lost Skeleton boasts two commentaries, two featurettes, a gallery of 50s style movie merchandise, and an actual vintage cartoon - "Skeleton Frolics".
I give it a firm Grade Z+
I SLEEP NOW
Well, ok, maybe I wasn't disemboweled with terror, but I did nearly split my gut from laughing so hard.
Lost Skeleton is an affectionate re-creation of the Z-grade schlockers of the '50s and '60s. "Spoof" is too hard a word for the movie and "homage" doesn't quite get it right either. Instead of laughing at those old far-too-earnest and far-too-underfunded movies of yesteryear, Skeleton asks the viewer to laugh with it and with them.
Like the movies it copies, the plot isn't simple. We have the dashingly handsome man of science, Dr Paul Armstrong, visiting a mountain forest with his Betty Crocker-like wife in order to "do science" and find a meteorite that's made of atmospherium. Atmospherium is a rare element that will bring many benefits to humanity, many of them good. Alas, also in the area is the evil scientist Dr Fleming, who is trying to find the legendary lost skeleton of Cadavra Cave who, when revived, will help him conquer the world. Amazingly enough, he needs atmospherium in order to fully revive the skeleton. If this isn't enough, at the same time two aliens have arrived in a crippled spaceship and, by astounding coincidence, they need atmospherium to repair their ship. Unfortunately, they let their pet mutant escape, who begins a mutilation spree. The aliens also carelessly leave their transmutatron gun (which looks suspicously like something from Home Depot) lying around for Dr Fleming to find. He uses it to create a woman from four different "forest creatures" in order to blend in at a dinner party.
If you're thinking "what??" at this point, then you probably should never watch Skeleton. Unless you have an overwhelming fondness for movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space, you will hate the bad acting, bad dialogue, cheap props, the mutant wearing combat boots, the ludicrous special effects, the jerky cuts and edits, changing film stock, the stock footage, the same stock footage repeated, and all the other so-bad-it's-good effects of old movies.
I suppose I'm directly in the target audience for this film. While Lost Skeleton has been my most anticipated DVD in quite some time, my second most anticipated release is the upcoming I Married A Monster From Outer Space. If you're even a fraction as excited about I Married a Monster From Outer Space as I am, then you owe yourself a look at Lost Skeleton of Cadavra Cave.
Lost Skeleton is presented in amazing "Skeletorama" which apparently means a film shot in color on a digital camera, converted to black and white, and then presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, enhanced for 16x9 TVs. Being given full Special Edition status, Lost Skeleton boasts two commentaries, two featurettes, a gallery of 50s style movie merchandise, and an actual vintage cartoon - "Skeleton Frolics".
I give it a firm Grade Z+
I SLEEP NOW
