UNSUNG HORRORS HORROR GIVES BACK 2025: Mars Needs Women (1968)

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Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: 1960s!

Larry Buchanan was making low budget TV movies for American-International Pictures.

He called them with this idea:”We get this signal from outer space… What is it, Mr. Nicholson, what is it? And I said, Mars Needs Women! He said, ‘When can you start?”

As for Tommy Kirk, he had been a Disney kid and when he got the lead when John Ashley was busy, he wanted to make this his comeback. After all, he knew the role. He had already been a Martian seeking Earth women in AIP’s Pajama Party. Buchanan allowed Kirk to create his own soliloquy in the film, which is pretty great. However, Kirk looked back and said that this was “…undoubtedly one of the stupidest motion pictures ever made. How I got talked into it, I don’t know.”

“Mars … Needs … Women.” That’s the message from space and Mars can only make boy chidren, so five of their race, led by Dop (Kirk), come to Earth to steal our most perfect women. Mainly from Texas. Larry didn’t have much of a budget, after all.

The women are an artist (Pat Delaney). a housewife (Sherry Roberts), an air hostess (Donna Lindberg), a stripper (Bubbles Cash, the inspiration for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who is also in Hot Thrills and Warm Chills and according to a fan, signed her aurograph like this: “the B in Bubbles was a pair of breasts with nipples. Her last name was a dollar sign.”) and scientist Dr. Marjorie Bolen (Yvonne Craig!), who Dop falls in love with and of course he does, it’s Yvonne Craig in 1968.

Shot in black and white on 16mm, blown up to 35mm and filled with stock footage, this was shot all over Dallas, which was playing Houston in the movie.

Someday sad, I will run out of Larry Buchanan movies. But that day is not today. Today is a good day.

You can watch this on YouTube.

CHILLER THEATER MONTH: The Man and the Monster (1959)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Man and the Monster was on Chiller Theater on Saturday, June 22, 1968, at 1:00 a.m. It’s the Mexican horror movie El hombre y el monstruo.

If I’ve learned anything from watching Mexican films, it’s that you should never make a deal with el diablo.

If you’re like Samuel Magno (Enrique Rambal, The Exterminating Angel), you finally get your dream of being a concert pianist to come true. Then every time you play Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, you turn into a monster.

Directed by Rafael Baledón, who acted from 1938 to 1994 as well as directing La Muñeca Perversa, Muñecas Peligrosas and Orlak, El Infierno de Frankenstein, this is 78-minutes of Mexican gothic horror, with the curse only stopped by the protagonist’s demanding mother.

It’s literally Faust, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Werewolf all in one movie, with special effects on par with El Baron del Terror. If you aren’t rushing to find this movie right now, what’s wrong with you?

CHILLER THEATER MONTH: Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Mothra vs. Godzilla was on Chiller Theater on Saturday, February 17, 1968, at 11:20 p.m. and Saturday, July 26, 1969, at 11:30 p.m. as Godzilla vs. The Thing. 

With the box office success of King Kong vs. Godzilla and Mothra, Toho chose to send Godzilla against the butterfly in a movie that was meant for children instead of adults. It’s also the last movie — until the Heisei era — that Godzilla would be against humanity.

As a typhoon leaves behind significant damage, a bluish-gray object has been left behind, as well as a giant egg, which is taken by Kumayama, the owner-entrepreneur of Happy Enterprises. He decides that science will have nothing to do with the egg. It’s time to make money off it.

That’s when the twin Shobijin arrive and explain that the egg belongs to Mothra, and if it hatches, Mothra’s larva child will destroy Tokyo as it looks for food. The Japanese government begs them to send Mothra to stop Godzilla, who has come back for the strange object left behind, one that is emitting radiation. Despite all the outside world has done to their island, and even though Mothra is in great pain and dying of old age, they decide that they must help.

While Godzilla does destroy Mothra with his atomic breath, her twin children arise in their larva form and spray the King of the Monsters repeatedly with their sil, allowing Godzilla to be captured.

Henry G. Saperstein acquired the American theatrical and TV rights. He planned on the name Godzilla vs the Giant Moth. Still, American-International Pictures bought the movie and released it as Godzilla vs. The Thing, censoring Mothra from the poster to build audience excitement for who the big green lizard would fight. After so many of their films being released in America, Toho shot footage specifically for export, such as a scene where U.S. troops help the Japanese fight the monsters.

When everyone arrives on Infant Island, the skeleton of a turtle can be seen in the background. This character, known as the Mystery Bones of Infant Island, is a living kaiju that was inspired by Mondo Cane.

THE IMPORTANT CINEMA CLUB’S SUPER SCARY MOVIE CHALLENGE DAY 20: Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)

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20. A Horror Film Shot by Jack Cardiff

The fishermen of a village have found the bodies of a man and woman in their nets, as archaeologist Geoffrey Fielding (Harold Warrender) looks to the camera to tell us their story.

Pandora Reynolds (Ava Gardner) is the kind of femme fatale that can watch a man off himself in front of her and then comment on how boring he was. She tests the men of the village, like making them give up something they love just to be with her. For example, race car driver Stephen Cameron (Nigel Patrick) must drive his beloved vehicle into the sea.

But sea caption Hendrik van der Zee (James Mason) may be the man who breaks her. Perhaps he’s not even a man, as Geoffrey thinks that he’s the Flying Dutchman, a 16th-century ship captain who murdered his unfaithful wife and spoke against God at his trial before being given an escape on a new ship. There, the Dutchman learned that his wife was innocent and to atone for his crime, he gets six months every seven years to find a woman who will die for him. Otherwise, he is cursed to sail forever.

Pandora does fall in love with him, but Hendrik refuses to let her die. Another of the many rivals for her affection, Juan Montalvo (Mario Cabré) murders him, only for Hendrik to return in the audience of Juan’s bullfight. Shocked, he doesn’t see the bull coming and it gores him to death.

Despite agreeing to marry Stephen, Pandora loves the boat captain. She swims out to his ship and learns the truth: He is the Dutchman and she looks exacly like his dead wife. She asks how long they have together if she is to die. He replies that the perfectness of their love places them outside of time just as a storm destroys the ship.

Only Geoffrey knows the truth, saying, “May the consummation of your love endure as long as the punishment that made you worthy of it!”

Directed and written by Albert Lewin (The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Living Idol), this film had sets designed by Man Ray. He also painted the painting of Pandora in the movie.

Man, doomed romance, gorgeous art and Ava Gardner, all in one movie. I loved it!

2025 Scarecrow Psychotronic Challenge Day 20: The Toxic Avenger (2023)

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20. DANCE DANCE DEVOLUTION: Today’s viewing soiree must be some kind of mutant, freak, or genetic mishappening.

The Toxic Avenger had some trouble securing a distributor for wide release after its premiere, with one unnamed producer deeming the film “unreleasable” because of how violent it was. So it sat for nearly two years. What emerged is a movie a million times better than I thought it could be.

Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) is struggling. His wife Shelly (Rebecca O’Mara) has died from cancer, he’s raising his stepson Wade (Jacob Tremblay) and he can’t afford the surgery he needs, as he probably also got his cancer by working for Bi-Toxiphetamine Hydroxylate. At a company fundraiser, the owner, Bob (Kevin Bacon), turns him down for help in person.

Meanwhile, the entire city is in the grip of a gang called The Killer Nutz, run by Budd Berserk (Julian Kostov), Fritz Garbinger (Elijah Wood) — brother of Bob — and mobster Thad Barkabus (Jonny Coyne). After the fundraiser, Winston sees the gang try to kill reporter J.J. Doherty, (Taylour Paige) and is shot in the head and dumped into toxic radiation for his troubles. Of course, this turns him into the Toxic Avenger (Luisa Guerreiro in the suit voiced by Dinklage) who makes it his mission to destroy the gang, protect the people of his city and stop big pharma.

This movie feels like its reclaiming Toxie from cartoons, from mainstream fame, from being just another silly 80s movie. This is fun, it’s dark, it’s dangerous and it has a message. It’s punk and instead of having to say that it’s punk, it just is. Also, any movie that has its hero emerge and sing Motorhead’s “Overkill” while murdering movie punks is seemingly made for me.

The best part of this film? The marketing team and distributor, Cineverse, partnered with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt to buy out $5 million of medical debt instead of using the money for marketing. Additionally, for every $1 million the movie makes at the box office, Cineverse agreed to buy out another million in debt (as of this writing — before the physical media release — it’s raised $15 million).

Cineverse’s SVP of Marketing, Lauren McCarthy, said, “We spent hours brainstorming how to close out the campaign and, while sending Toxie to the moon was appealing, no idea came close to combating unexpected medical debt for families. The Toxic Avenger had his entire life upended by crushing medical costs so, as Toxie says, “Sometimes you have to do something.””

UNSUNG HORRORS HORROR GIVES BACK 2025: Spontaneous Combustion (1990)

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Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: Tobe Hooper!

Back in 1955, Operation Samson had Brian (Brian Bremer) and Peggy Bell (Stacy Edwards) be exposed to a massive nuclear explosion to see how their immune system would work. Well, it works great, because they survive, become national heroes and have a child, David (who grows up to be Brad Dourif) while his parents go up in flames. Yes, spontaneous human combustion, which always showed up in those Ripley’s Believe It or Not books you bought at the book fair and got grossed out over.

David grows up to be a teacher named Sam Kramer and somehow meets Lisa Wilcox (Cynthia Bain), a woman whose parents went through the same death as his. Is it fate? No, it’s another government experiment, and for now, our hero can shoot fire and electricity out of his body.

Made four years after The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and the same year as I’m Dangerous Tonight, this has me rooting for Tobe, even if I know that this isn’t good. But maybe it could have been. Dourif told Fangoria, “You see me playing my heart out in scenes that are not working, and the reason they’re not working is that the movie doesn’t make sense. It’s almost funny. As a matter of fact, the better my acting was in some of the later scenes, the funnier the film was. I found myself at the mercy of people who didn’t know what they were doing. I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but my feeling is that the producers destroyed it. Tobe could have made three different movies with the material he had, and each one would have worked. But by the time he got it, it had changed from a love story to a suspense thriller about my character’s paranoid fantasy, to a guy goes crazy film about this insane killer who becomes a destructive force that’s going to wipe out mankind. We went back and kind of restructured it as a love story, but it didn’t really help. The beginning of the film was great, and a certain portion of my stuff was fine, but then it became stupid when all the flame stuff started happening.”

At least John Landis gets his head set on fire.

You can watch this on Tubi.

CHILLER THEATER MONTH: Voodoo Woman (1957)

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Harry West (Norman Willis) finds gold in an idol worshipped by a tribe in Bantalay and hires treasure hunter Marilyn Blanchard (Marla English) to help get it out of the country. Instead, she murders him and gets Ted Bronson (Mike Connors) to help her get deeper into the jungle to recover the gold.

In that very place, Dr. Roland Gerard (Tom Conway) is trying to make a superbeing and using voodoo and science to keep the natives on his side, as well as his wife, Susan (Mary Ellen Kay), who wants to leave. As soon as the mad doctor meets Marilyn, he knows that he’s found the perfect woman to become his dream monster.

The original make-up for the Voodoo Woman was tossed at the last minute, so they just used the suit from The She-Creature. They got rid of the fins, claws and tail, then wrapped the costume up in a sarong, added a new skull mask and threw on a blonde wig.

Producer Alex Gordon attended the Burbank, California, premiere with his fiancée Ruth Gordon. She was so upset by this movie and how cheap it looked that she threw her ring at him. His brother explained to him the realities of working in Hollywood, and years later, she would write some of Gordon’s films like The Bounty Killer, Requiem for a Gunfighter and The Underwater City.

Larry Buchanan remade this as an AIP made-for-television film, Curse of the Swamp Creature. This meant that when people said how bad this was, they would have something that many think is even worse. Not me. I love them both.

You can watch this on Tubi.

UNSUNG HORRORS HORROR GIVES BACK 2025: Tobe Hooper’s Night Terrors (1993)

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Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will once again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which works to save the lives of cats and dogs across America, giving pets second chances and providing them with happy homes.

Today’s theme: Tobe Hooper!

About the Author: Parker Simpson is a writer and podcaster focusing on cult films and their social impacts. They currently cohost Where Is My Mind, a podcast focusing on underappreciated films from a variety of genres and countries. They have also held panels, chartered local organizations, and written articles to their blog. When not writing or studying, they like to spend time with their pets and go outside. Check out the podcast Linktree and blog.

Being a fan of Freddy Krueger led me to this, and I was very intrigued seeing this in Tobe Hooper’s late output. Surely this will be a compelling feature.

Night Terrors is a direct to video effort that Tobe Hooper was asked to direct after Gerry O’Hara left the project. Featuring Robert Englund as the Marquis de Sade and a slew of actors familiar to the direct to video scene (including William Finley), it follows a young woman visiting her father in Egypt (it’s really in Israel) as she gets wrapped up in a cult run by de Sade’s descendant.

If you read that and thought “what the fuck?” to yourself, you’d be correct! How de Sade’s family ends up in Egypt is never explained, nor is the formation of his cult. The film reeks of unexplained bullshit thrown in just to happen. Naked dude on a horse? Painted snake lady? Exorcisms during an orgy featuring snakes? Cool, I guess. I’m ok with weirdness, but after a certain point it needs to make some sense.

Another choice is to intercut the modern day storyline with de Sade’s ramblings from his prison cell. I’m all for giving Robert Englund more screentime, and to his credit he is very fun to watch. But the back and forth makes no sense; it would work better as a straight period piece like it was originally intended.

Englund’s performance excluded, the acting from most of the cast is questionable at best. Zoe Trilling as Genie (a play on Eugenie, ha ha) overacts and screams a lot. I don’t like that her character is constantly a damsel in distress and is saved by forces outside her control, but she doesn’t make it any more watchable. Most everyone else phones it in. No one, not even Englund or Finley, truly attempts to elevate this nonsensical script; they all just play into its absurdity (intentionally or not). Combined with the silly premise, it’s really quite fun to watch.

The whole movie looks cheap. 90s DTV has a certain charm that I find irresistible, but even with the on location filming, the budget is painfully clear. The dungeon/basement settings are particularly hard to look at. A 4:3 ratio does nothing to help the film, and there is a distinct orange tinge over everything, likely indicative that this needs a restoration. 

I feel bad not liking this. Tobe Hooper, Robert Englund, and de Sade should have been a match made in heaven (or hell, depending on what you believe). Turns out none of them can help a lousy script. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen, but watching this is akin to watching a car crash. At least it was fun.

CHILLER THEATER MONTH: The Monolith Monsters (1957)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Monolith Monsters was on Chiller Theater on Saturday, October 20, 1973 at 11:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 8, 1975 at 2:30 a.m.; Saturday, November 15, 1975 at 1:00 a.m. and Saturday, December 10, 1977 at 11:30 p.m.

A large meteorite crashes into the Southern California desert and explodes into hundreds of black fragments that, when exposed to water, end up growing. It also makes people petrified. What happens if you feed them after midnight?

Perhaps I’m not crazy. Both this movie and Gremlins were made at Universal and used the studio lot’s famed Courthouse Square as their on-screen town centers. They also feature William Schallert in an uncredited role.

Well, these black rocks are drawing silicon from everything, including a schoolgirl who took one on a field trip. You know what saves the day? Saline solution. You could defeat the monolith monsters and clean your contact lenses at the same time.

Playing on a double feature with Love Slaves of the Amazons, this is also the movie playing in the unhoused camp in They Live. Director John Sherwood also made The Creature Walks Among Us.

You can watch this on Tubi.

THE IMPORTANT CINEMA CLUB’S SUPER SCARY MOVIE CHALLENGE DAY 19: Haxan (1922)

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19. A Horror Film That Takes Place on a Non-American Holiday

Director and writer Benjamin Christensen did a study of Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th-century German guide for inquisitors also known as Hammer of Witches. He believed that the burning of witches was more about mental health and mass hysteria than witchcraft. While initially this ran into censorship issues in the U.S. due to its torture, nudity and sex, it was re-released in 1968 as Witchcraft Through the Ages with a new English-language narration by William S. Burroughs.

By the end, we’ve seen Satan lure women away from their husbands’ beds, murdering women by choking them and attacking monks and a woman claiming to give birth to children fathered by Satan, then being smeared with witch ointment, desecrating a cross, having dinner with demons and kissing Satan’s buttocks.

Actress Maren Pedersen told the director, “The devil is real. I have seen him sitting by my bedside.” Yet there’s no square-up reel here. Instead, if anything, sexual repression is the cause of many of the possessed moments.

A contemporary review said that Haxan had a “…satanic, perverted cruelty that blazes out of it, the cruelty we all know has stalked the ages like an evil shaggy beast, the chimera of mankind. But when it is captured, let it be locked up in a cell, either in a prison or a madhouse. Do not let it be presented with music by Wagner or Chopin to young men and women, who have entered the enchanted world of a movie theatre.”

Haxan has been used to show demons or the supernatural in many movies since it was made and it’s still powerful a century later.