The Classic Sci-fi Ultimate Collection (Tarantula / The Mole People / The Incredible Shrinking Man / The Monolith Monsters / Monster on the Campus)

Great

This set is a B-movie marathon, so many cliche's in each feature, but at the time of these films, this was cutting edge. They didn't wow the audience on the scale of, say, the original "War Of The Worlds," but they were films which pushed the boundaries of what was considered to be normal.Disc One: "Tarantula," (1955) was directed by Jack Arnold, starring Leo G. Carrol. A story of a scientist who is looking down the road, at the future of the human race; the population is growing, and within fifty years there could very well be too many people to feed. Make your crops bigger, and you can feed more people. But as well, testing is being done on various animals, to see how different ones react to this agent - this way the farmers know what to do with their animals when this becomes commonplace. One of the creatures being tested is a tarantula...why you would want to supersize a spider is beyond me, but this is the case. During a fight which ensues (a byline in the story), the spider escapes, and since different creatures react differently, this little beast is the size of a dog when it escapes. In no time, it's bigger than a house, and everything is tried to kill, or at least, stop it."The Mole People," (1955) directed by Virgil Vogel, is one of the absolute CHEESIEST films of all time; a race of people who live underground, and have, as their slaves, creatures which resemble humans, but have no human features to their faces. They have large clawed hands and hump-backs. They clearly look like costumes, and the people who enslave them look like Star Wars - Dungeons And Dragons rejects. Bad acting and a confusing ending make it a low-budget treat.Disc Two: "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (1956) also directed by Jack Arnold. A somewhat tall, strapping man, due to accidentally inhaling a strange substance, combined with his own body chemistry, causes him to gradually shrink. Soon, he is living in a doll house his wife had to buy so he could sleep safely, as the cat is now seeing him as prey. Even though it's slightly comical, it is a very good script, exceptionally well-written, and very philosophical in nature. When the leading man is believed to be dead by his wife (she thinks the cat killed him), he is actually trapped in the basement, the size of an insect, reduced to trying to take the bait from a mouse trap to avoid starving to death. After winning a death battle with a spider, he shrinks to microscopic, and eventually atomic size, and we wonder just what happens to him after. But the narration talks of all this in the past tense, so just what happens to him?"The Monolith Monsters," (1956) directed by John Sherwood, is probably the most credible of these stories. A strange stone-like substance drops from the sky, and very quickly grows when exposed to water. These stones grow into giant pillars and tumble to the ground, shattering and the pieces grow into new ones. As they grow, they fall over and crush and destroy everything around them. So the town's officials have to band together and figure how to stop this before it destroys their home town."Monster On Campus" (1957) is another Jack Arnold film, the least original of the five featured films, simply a variation on the Jekyll/Hyde story. Nobody knows the main character's alter ego, they just want to know who has been attacking everyone in town. Eventually his secret is discovered at the film's conclusion.I have appeared to give the stories away, but in films this cheesy, knowing the outcomes still doesn't spoil them. They are for the B-movie afficinados who enjoy cheap monster movies. But, as a real plus, all of these films, without exception, are beautifully restored to pristine quality. The original Godzilla film ("Gojira" 1954), as an example, looks like it was filmed during a blizzard, with all the white blotches all over the place. The films in this set are completely devoid of this flaw. They are of the highest quality, with nice, clear sound as well.This is a fairly inexpensive movie marathon for those nights when there isn't much to do. Get some junk food and sit back.

Similar to another reviewer, the reason I bought this set is because it included The Incredible Shrinking Man—that disc alone is worth the price of the set, since it is difficult to find. (I used to own the laser disc version—boy was that gorgeous, too bad that format died. The resolution was wonderful.) Shrinking Man needs no further accolades from me; it is a fine example of late 50’s sci fi, an intelligent script by Richard Matheson (who also penned many classic Twilight Zone episodes, including “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”). It is enjoyable entirely on its own merits (i.e., not for ironic, snarky, Mystery Science Theater-type viewing).If you grew up in the 50s or 60s, then the charm of these movies needs no explanation. The films on this collection that are directed by Jack Arnold (Shrinking Man, Tarantula, Monster on the Campus) are better than the other two. The Mole People is far more plodding than I remembered from my childhood, and even though it has John Agar (whose triumph of B-movie stardom is surely The Brain from Planet Arous—a must watch for fans of this era), Hugh Beaumont, and Nestor Paiva, the pace is glacially slow, though the concept (discovery of an ancient Sumerian-like civilization deep underneath the earth’s crust) is interesting. However, the Mole people themselves do not appear often enough for my liking.Monster on the Campus surprised me. I had never seen it before, and was expecting it was a throw-away item included on the set, but it’s actually quite well done for the genre. It does have some hilarious moments and great lines: Professor Blake: “Do you know anything about paleontology?” Nurse Molly: “Only that very attractive men study it!”, etc. It’s got a coelacanth, a giant dragonfly, a decent professor-turned-monster, and a young Troy Donahue, what’s not to like? Not great acting, but great fun. Monolith Monsters is adequate; the idea (meteorite that grows, cracks, multiplies, and turns to stone all who come into contact with it—just add water) was from Jack Arnold, but unfortunately was directed by someone else—the deft hand of Mr. Arnold would likely have speeded things up. The film does feature Grant Williams, the star of Shrinking Man, and a funny cameo by B-movie stalwart William Schalert, but it lacks punch.