Written By: Ken Hulsey

Way back in 1954 monster movies were going through a renaissance. Over at Universal, they were preparing to unleash the "Creature From The Black Lagoon", the last of their great line of classic monsters, on the world, while over in Japan, Toho was finishing up on their own monster film, "Gojira" (Godzilla), which would launch a 50 year movie series.
Meanwhile, at Warner Bros, director Gordon Douglas and producer David Weisbart were working on their own monster film, "Them!", a movie about colonies of giant ants that were unleashed upon the world due to atomic testing in the New Mexico desert.

Unbenounced to Dougles and Weibart, the film that they were about to release would change the landscape of American monster movies for the next two decades. For you see, after the success of "Them!", film makers on this side of the Pacific would decide to leave the giant dinosaur movies to the Japanese, and instead, focus their attention on what would happen if the bugs decided to step on us humans for a change.

In the early developmental stages of the film, Warner Bros had big plans for "Them!", intending to shoot it in color, and in 3D, to compete with Universal's 3D "Creature" film.

Early 3D tests shots of the mechanical giant ants created for the film proved very promising, but when yet more tests were ordered by the Warner execs, the companies "All Media" 3-D camera rig broke down, causing both 3D and color to be scratched from the film entirely.

Opting to use three 'life-sized' mechanical ants, instead of either stop-motion animation, or men in suites, was a big risk for the production. To date, no other film had attempted something that ambitious. Though, costly, in the end the use of the remote controlled giant ants worked quite well, especially in scenes where they had to interact with their human costars.


Trying to inter cut stop-motion animated ants just wouldn't have worked out as cleanly, and as we have learned from such films as "Empire of the Ants", using real ants, blown up to gigantic size and inserted into scenes, was out of the question.

As a matter of luck, "Them!" would be blessed with a stellar cast, including, James Arness, who would spend the next two decades playing Marshal Matt Dillon on the hit television series, "Gunsmoke", along with James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn and Joan Weldon.

The film would also serve as vehicle to boost the careers of television actors, Fess Parker, who would go on to star in Disney's "Davy Crockett", though the studio originally wanted Arnes for the part, and Leonard Nimoy, who as everyone knows, would go on to play Spock on "Star Trek".

Actor, Booth Colman also had a small part in the film, and he would go on to play Dr. Zaius on the short-lived "Planet of the Apes" television series.

Plot:

The film begins with New Mexico State Police Sergeant Ben Peterson (James Whitmore) discovers a little girl wandering the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico, mute and in a state of shock. More mysterious deaths and disappearances occur in the area. When a store owner named Gramps Johnson is found dead, his store literally torn apart, his empty rifle bent and twisted beside the body, the cops theorize that there is a maniac killer on the loose. But, as Peterson's boss points out (after Peterson's patrol partner Ed Blackburn, played by Chris Drake, disappears without a trace), Gramps' 30-30 was emptied and "Ed Blackburn was a crack shot. He could hit anything he could see. So unless your killer is armored like a battleship, there's no maniac in this case." It's up to the coroner to deliver the verdict that "Gramps Johnson could have died in any one of five ways: his neck and back were broken, his skull was fractured, his chest was crushed, and here's one for Sherlock Holmes. There was enough formic acid in his body to kill twenty men."

The FBI sends in Ellinson's fellow agent Robert Graham (James Arness) to assist. A single strange track is found in the desert. When the FBI is unable to identify the track, they attract the attention of Doctors Harold (Edmund Gwenn) and Pat Medford (Joan Weldon), a father/daughter team of entomologists from the Department of Agriculture.

The elder Doctor Medford arrives on the scene with a theory, but will not disclose it until he tries an experiment on the Ellinson girl, having her smell the contents of a vial of formic acid, which frees her from her state of near-catatonic withdrawal, screaming "Them! Them!" Returning to the destroyed trailer with Peterson, Graham, and his daughter, Medford has his theory dramatically given its final proof when the group encounters a patrol of foraging ants, mutated by atomic radiation to the size of automobiles. The lawmen kill one of the ants with a Thompson sub machine gun after finding that their revolvers have little effect. They aimed for the antennae on Medford's advice that they were helpless without them.


A company of the US Air Force is brought in, led by General O'Brien (Stevens), which locates the ants' nest and exterminates the inhabitants with poison gas. The younger Dr. Medford, who accompanies Peterson and Graham into the nest, finds evidence that two young queens have hatched and flown away to establish new colonies. Trying to avoid a general panic, the government covertly monitors and investigates any reports of unusual activities as sightings of "flying saucers". One of the queens ends up in the hold of an ocean-going freighter loaded with sugar, which is then overrun by the ants and subsequently sunk by a US Navy cruiser. From the rantings of an alcoholic, and an investigation into the death of a father protecting his two young, now missing, sons from an apparent ant attack, the other queen is finally tracked to the Los Angeles storm sewer system, forcing the Army to openly declare martial law and launch a major assault.

During the assault, Peterson finds the two missing boys, named Mike and Jerry, alive, trapped by the ants in a sewer tunnel, which is also the entrance to the nest. Peterson calls in for backup, but instead of waiting for it, he bravely goes in alone, heroically rescuing the two boys and killing numerous ants with his flamethrower. Peterson leads the two boys back to the pipe through which he came, intending for he and they to crawl back through it to safety. After hoisting up the first boy, Jerry, however, another ant appears from behind, and thinking quickly and selflessly, Peterson saves the second boy, Mike, but after lifting the boy into the pipe, Peterson is left without time to save himself. As he tries to climb up into the pipe at the last minute, the ant grabs Peterson in its mandibles and crushes him at the waist, the man crying out in agony all the while.

Graham arrives to the scene quickly with the reinforcements, and kills the ant attacking Peterson, but rushes over to Peterson's side with only enough time to hear Peterson's last words confirming that the boys made it to safety, before Peterson dies in his arms. Graham respectfully orders Peterson's body to remain undisturbed, and then returns to the battle, nearly getting killed himself when a cave-in temporarily seals him off from the rest of the men as they march towards the egg chamber; several ants charge him, but Graham is able to hold them off long enough for the other troops to tunnel through the debris and come to his rescue. The nest's queen and egg chamber are then destroyed with flamethrowers after a short but fierce battle, but the senior Dr. Medford issues a grim warning that the atomic genie has been let out of the bottle, and further horrors may await mankind.

The film would end up being a huge success for Warner Bros, in fact it was their top grossing film for 1954.

The special effects teams decision to go with 'life-sized' giant mechanical ants for "Them!" would net them an Oscar nomination, but ultimately not the trophy.

Ultimately the success of the film would spawn two decades of imitators, including, Universal's "Tarantula" and "Deadly Mantis", American International's "Empire of the Ants", Transcentury Pictures "The Giant Spider Invasion", and even Warner's "The Black Scorpion."

Of all the 'giant bug' films produced throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, "Them!" truly stands out as the best ever produced. Many even regard the film as one of the best science fiction films of Hollywood's golden age.

Indeed, "Them!" is a very well executed monster film. The script, written by Ted Sherdeman, Russell Hughes and George Worthing Yates, is simple and effective. The effects are surprisingly realistic, especially for a film made in the 1950s. The acting is very believable and heartfelt, something not normally seen in many of the decades sci fi outings.

What truly stands out to me, is just how well the film stands up some 50+ years after it was produced, a true testament to the film making talents of Gordon Douglas, David Weisbart and their crew.

If you choose to see one giant monster film in your life........well watch "King Kong" or "Gojira", but if those get ya interested in more, watch "Them!" next.

Yeh, I was going to say, watch "Them!" first, but I couldn't honestly say that the film is better than "Kong" or "Godzilla".

Trust me, though, "Them!" is excellent, and a 'must see' for all sci fi and monster movie fans.

Written By: Ken Hulsey

Many of you may, or may not know, that last November I attempted to write an article about this movie and just couldn't do it. As hard as I tried, I just couldn't come up with anything. It was at that moment that I realised that I was just burnt out and I put this site on a mini hiatus until I could get refocused.

Well I have been getting back into the grove, so I thought that it was time to give it another go.

It is always entertaining to see how the cast from the original "Star Trek" television series tried to move on after the show got the ax. Many of the cast members continued to look for jobs in the industry. DeForest Kelley starred in the giant rabbit flick "Night of the Lepus" and Walter Koenig actually began writing episodes for TV series, including the "The Stranger", which introduced Enik on "Land of the Lost". Nichelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner all attempted singing careers, the less said about that the better.

William Shatner, who is the star of today's film, continued to get sporadic work, post Trek, most of which were bit parts in made for TV movies and cult films, like "The Devil's Rain". Probably the most notable of all of these, is the 1977 John "Bud" Cardos horror, "Kingdom of the Spiders."

American horror film makers have always had an attraction to insects, both huge and regular sized. While the Japanese were focusing on dinosaurs, there North American counterparts were playing with bugs. Films like "Them!", "The Deadly Mantis" and "Tarantula" did very well in the 1950s and though the trend ebbed somewhat in the 1960s, by the early 1970s things were back in full swing. "The Giant Spider Invasion" and "Food of the Gods" are two examples of how Hollywood tried to recapture the magic of the prior decades.....and failed.

Director John "Bud" Cardos and his producers, Henry Fownes, Igo Kantor, Jeffrey M. Sneller made a very important observation, people aren't really afraid a 30-foot tall spider, they are scared of 'real' spiders. If a person is 'freaked-out' by one spider, then they should be crawling out of there skin if they were confronted with a literal army of them.

Armed with 5,000 live tarantulas that cost the production $50,000 to round up, Cardos and company descended upon the town of Sedona, Arizona to begin filming.

If you think that a bunch of actors with huge egos are hard to control, try wrangling 5,000 tarantulas. Each of the 'creepy crawlers' had to be kept warm and separated from their brothers and sisters due to the fact that they would eat each other. Complicating matters even more was the fact that the spiders had to be seen crawling on and towards people when naturally they shy away from humans.

Fans and tubes filled with hot air had to be used to herd the tarantulas into place for shooting. Even so, it can be noted that in many of the scenes that involved their human co-stars, the spiders can be seen trying to flee from them.

Here is the plot:

Robert "Rack" Hansen, a veterinarian in rural Verde Valley, Arizona, receives an urgent call from a local farmer, Walter Colby (Woody Strode). Colby is upset because his prize calf has become sick for no apparent reason, and brings the animal to Hansen's laboratory. Hansen examines the calf, which dies shortly afterward. Hansen tells Colby he cannot explain what made the animal so ill so quickly, but takes samples of the calf's blood to a university lab in Flagstaff.

A few days later, Diane Ashley (Bolling), an entomologist, arrives looking for Hansen. Ashley tells Hansen that the calf was killed by a massive dose of spider venom, which Hansen greets with skepticism. Undaunted, Ashley tells him the problem is serious and that she wishes to examine the animal's carcass and the area where it became sick. Hansen escorts Ashley to Colby's farm. Moments after they arrive, Colby's wife, Birch (Altovise Davis), discovers their dog is dead. Ashley performs a quick chemical test on the dog's carcass and concludes that like the calf, it died from a massive injection of spider venom. Hansen is incredulous, until Colby states that he recently found a massive "spider hill" on a back section of his farmland. He takes Hansen and Ashley to the hill, which is covered with tarantulas. Ashley theorizes that the tarantulas are converging together due to the heavy use of pesticides, which are eradicating their natural food supply. In order to survive, the spiders are joining forces to attack and eat larger animals.


The spiders begin their assault on the local residents, killing Colby's wife and Hansen's sister-in-law, Terri (Marcy Lafferty). Hansen arrives at their home and rescues Terri's daughter Linda from the spiders. Hansen and Ashley take Linda to the Washburn Lodge. They consult with the sheriff, who tells them that the spiders are everywhere and Camp Verde cut off from the outside world. Smith drives into town, while Hansen and the other survivors at the lodge plan to load up an RV and escape. However, the spiders trap them in the lodge, and they barricade themselves inside. Meanwhile, Smith arrives in Camp Verde and finds the town under siege by the spiders. Smith tries to escape, but is killed when another car crashes into a support post under the town's water tower, causing it to fall on the his vehicle.

Back at the lodge, the power goes out, and Hansen is forced to venture into the lodge's basement to change a blown fuse. He succeeds, but is besieged by spiders who break through one of the basement windows, by using their combined weight. He makes it upstairs just in time to be saved by Ashley.

The film concludes the next day, with the survivors rigging up a radio receiver and listening for news of the attacks. To their surprise, the radio broadcast doesn't mention the attacks, indicating that the outside world is oblivious to what has happened. Hansen pries off the boards from one of the lodge's windows, and discovers that the entire building is encased in a giant web cocoon. The camera pulls back, and all of Camp Verde is encased in cocoons as well.


As a whole, the film is quite effective at delivering 'chills'. Despite the fact that the film starts out rather slow, and has a hokey ending, the scenes where everyone is trapped in the lodge are very effective.

Now, I have to admit that I have a mild fear of spiders. That being said, I also have to admit that these scenes made me a bit jumpy.

It's hard not to watch a bunch of people surrounded by spiders and not wonder what may be crawling up from under the couch.

You really have to tip your hat to Cardos for employing the very effective technique of having his heroes trapped with no possible way to escape. This method of generating fear has been used so effectively in such films as "The Thing" and "Alien". There is just something unnerving about having no place to flee to when the monsters come, especially when you don't know when, or where they are going to come from. Let us also remember, these are spiders, they are small enough to creep in from anywhere, and they do.

Gives me the willies.

No article about "Kingdom of the Spiders" would be complete without mentioning the notorious animal......um....arachnid (?) cruelty displayed in the film. During the film tarantulas are seen being squished, stomped on, burned and run over by cars.

Honestly, this upset a few people.

Okay, I can see if it were kittens or something, but spiders? Most people squish em, don't they? I know I do.

Regardless, a film like "Kingdom of the Spiders" couldn't be made today with 'real' spiders.

Overall this one is great for a good 'chill' and also for camp value. C'mon it's got Shatner as a cowboy veterinarian who chases girls in a way that would make Kirk proud.

What more can you ask for?

60. COUNT ORLOCK

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (translated as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror; also known as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror or simply Nosferatu) is a German Expressionist horror film, directed by F. W. Murnau, starring Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The film, shot in 1921 and released in 1922, was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, with names and other details changed because the studio could not obtain the rights to the novel (for instance, "vampire" became "Nosferatu" and "Count Dracula" became "Count Orlok").

In Nosferatu, Count Orlok (who is in actuality a vampire) poses as a nobleman from the Carpathian Mountains who moves to the fictional city of Wisborg, Germany, and brings death with him. He lives in a vast castle high in the mountains, which is badly neglected and has a highly sinister feel to it. Local townsfolk refuse to go anywhere near his castle. Orlok is visited by the film's protagonist, the young Thomas Hutter, the assistant of a Wisborg estate agent, who travels to his castle to show properties for sale in Wisborg. Orlok conceals himself in one of his soil-filled coffins and is loaded onto a ship bound for Wisborg. On board the ship, he kills every crew member until only the captain and his first mate remain. Later when the first mate goes to the cargo hold to investigate, Count Orlok rises from his coffin, terrifying the first mate who jumps overboard in fear. The captain ties himself to the wheel of the ship when Count Orlok creeps up on him and kills the captain. Upon his arrival in Wisborg, he spreads disease and plague, forcing the local authorities to declare a quarantine and provoking hysteria amongst the citizens. At the end of the film, Orlok attempts to attack Hutter's young wife Ellen in her room, but is caught unaware by the rays of the rising sun, which burn him away in a cloud of smoke.


59. DINOSAURS

Since the word dinosaur was coined in 1842, there have been various different cultural depictions of dinosaurs. The dinosaurs featured in books, films, television programs, artwork, and other media have been used for both education and entertainment. The depictions range from the realistic, as in the television documentaries of the 1990s and 2000s, or the fantastic, as in the monster movies of the 1950s and 1960s.

Dinosaurs began appearing in films soon after the introduction of cinema, the first being the good-natured animated Gertie the Dinosaur in 1912. However, lovable dinosaurs were quickly replaced by monsters as moviemakers recognized the potential of huge frightening monsters. D. W. Griffith in 1914’s Brute Force provided the first example of a threatening cinematic dinosaur, a Ceratosaurus who menaced cavemen. This film enshrined the fiction that dinosaurs and early humans lived together, and set up the cliché that dinosaurs were bloodthirsty and attacked anything that moved.

The now-common trope of dinosaurs existing in isolated locations in today’s world appeared at the same time, with Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 book The Lost World and the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs as pioneers. The Lost World crossed into the movies in 1925, setting heights for special effects and attempts at scientific accuracy. It is unusual, even today, for attempting to portray dinosaurs as more than monsters that spent their lives in combat. The stop-motion techniques of Willis O'Brien went on to bring dinosaurs to life in the 1933 film King Kong, which merged the tropes of dinosaur combat and dinosaurs in a lost world. His protégé Ray Harryhausen would continue to refine this method, but most later dinosaurs movies until the advent of CGI would eschew such expensive effects for cheaper methods, such as humans in dinosaur suits, modern reptiles enlarged by cinematography, and reptiles with dinosaur decorations.

Notable:

The Lost World is a 1925 silent film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 book of the same name. The movie was produced by First National Pictures, a large Hollywood studio at the time, and stars Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger. This version was directed by Harry O. Hoyt and featured pioneering stop motion special effects by Willis O'Brien (an invaluable warm up for his work on the original King Kong directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack). Writer Doyle appears in a frontspiece to the film. In 1998, the film was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the fictional Isla Nublar (Spanish for "Cloudy Island"), in Costa Rica, where billionaire philanthropist John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) and a team of genetic scientists from his company have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs.

The Crater Lake Monster is a 1977 B-rated horror film directed by William R. Stromberg for Crown International Pictures, and starring Richard Cardella. The script was also written by Stromberg and Cardella, and their affiliation with The Crater Lake Monster marked the zenith of their careers.

The storyline revolves around a giant plesiosaur, akin to the Loch Ness Monster, which appears in Crater Lake, next to a small Californian town. As people are attacked by the monster, the Sheriff (Cardella) investigates along with a group of scientists in order to stop the creature.

The Land That Time Forgot is a 1975 fantasy/adventure film based upon the 1918 novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The screenplay was written by Michael Moorcock. The film was produced by Britain's Amicus Productions and directed by Kevin Connor. The cast included Doug McClure, John McEnery, Keith Barron, Susan Penhaligon, Anthony Ainley and character actor Declan Mulholland.


58. GRABOIDS

Tremors is a 1990 American science fiction horror comedy film directed by Ron Underwood, based on a screenplay by Brent Maddock and S. S. Wilson, and starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, Finn Carter, Michael Gross and Reba McEntire. It was distributed by Universal Studios.

The story follows Valentine McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Basset (Fred Ward) who work in a small, secluded settlement in the Nevada desert. Strange deaths begin occurring in the area and the pair soon discover that this is due to the presence of large, subterranean creatures stalking the residents living in the area. These underground monsters soon become known as 'Graboids'.

Valentine McKee (Kevin Bacon) and Earl Basset (Fred Ward) work as handymen in Perfection, Nevada, an isolated ex-mining settlement that contains only fourteen residents, among them survivalist couple Burt (Michael Gross) and Heather (Reba McEntire) Gummer, and Walter Chang, owner of the general store. A new arrival is Rhonda LeBeck, a graduate student conducting seismology tests.

Val and Earl tire of their hand-to-mouth existence and leave for Bixby, the nearest town. They discover a man dead at the top of an electrical tower. Jim Wallace, the town doctor, announces that he died of dehydration. As they are leaving again, the duo discover sheepherder Old Fred and his flock horribly butchered. Val and Earl return to Perfection, thinking that a murderer is on the loose. They warn two road-construction workers they encounter, but after Val and Earl leave something pulls one of the workers underground, while a rock slide kills the other and blocks the only road out of town.

Val and Earl discover the town's phones dead and head for the police in Bixby, but are thwarted by the rock slide. They return to Walter's store, where they find something wrapped around their truck's back axle: the severed body of a large snakelike creature. The townsfolk hunker down for the night; the "snakes" attack the doctor and his wife, killing them both and pulling their car underground.

The next morning, Val and Earl leave to get help, this time on horseback. They discover the doctor's buried car. Suddenly one of the attackers erupts out of the ground. Each "snake" is one of three "tongues" employed by an enormous burrowing worm-creature that Walter later names "Graboids". Thrown from their horses, the two men run for their lives. When they jump a concrete aqueduct their pursuer rams into its wall, killing itself. Rhonda determines from her readings that there are three more creatures in the area. They realize the creatures find them due to vibrations, but cannot tunnel through rock. One of the creatures traps the trio overnight at a cluster of boulders. Rhonda has the idea of pole vaulting from boulder to boulder. They reach her truck and return to town.

They are met with disbelief until a Graboid appears, disabling Val and Earl's truck. The humans retreat into their homes or the store, but a Graboid bursts through the store's floor, killing Walter.

The Gummers return to their home after hunting the "snake-things" and contact the others via CB radio, but the noise of the couple's tumbler leads a Graboid to smash into their basement. The Gummers kill it with firearms, but another of the monsters disables their vehicle. In town, the Graboids attack the foundations of the buildings, knocking over the trailer of a resident and dragging him down. Realizing the town is being dug out from under them, Val and Earl plan to escape on a flatbed trailer pulled by a bulldozer, which is too heavy for the Graboids to move. Val reaches the vehicle while the others distract the Graboids. Everyone is collected, including the Gummers, and they set out for the safety of a nearby mountain range.

The Graboids dig a pit-trap in the bulldozer's path, wrecking it. The humans use Burt's home-made explosives to drive the creatures away long enough to reach the safety of a boulder, where Earl has another idea: tricking the Graboids into swallowing Burt's bombs. This works once, but on the second try the last Graboid spits the explosive onto Burt's pile of bombs, sending the humans scattering. Val, Earl and Rhonda are stranded yards from the boulder, with the Graboid blocking their path to safety. Val has one more bomb and one last idea: he lets the Graboid chase him to the edge of a cliff and "stampedes" it with the bomb, then jumps out of its way, sending it through the cliff-face to its death. The group returns to town, and Earl pushes Val into approaching the clearly-interested Rhonda romantically.


57. Pennywise

It (also referred to as Stephen King's It) is a 1990 horror television miniseries based on the novel of the same name. The story revolves around an inter-dimensional predatory life-form that is simply referred to as "It", which has the ability to transform itself into its prey's worst fears, which allows it to exploit the fears and phobias of its victims while also disguising itself when hunting. The main protagonists are "The Losers Club", or "The Seven", a group of social outcasts who discover "It" and vow to destroy him by any means necessary. The series takes place over two different time periods, the first when the Losers first discover "It", and the second when they're called back to defeat "It", who has resurfaced. "It" commonly takes the form of a demonic clown called "Pennywise the Dancing Clown", which it uses to lure children and can kill them. It takes place in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, USA.

Mike Hanlon, the only member of the Seven who never left Derry, summons the rest of the group back to their hometown when "It" returns and kills a little girl . Stan, remembering their attempt to kill "It" 30 years prior and fearful what may happen, commits suicide instead of returning.

As the Seven (now technically six) congregate in Derry, each has another frightening encounter with "It". Henry Bowers, having been placed in a mental hospital after accepting blame for the child deaths in the 1960s, escapes under the influence of "It" (which takes the form of his deceased friend Belch) and attempts to murder the remaining Seven. After escaping, Henry attacks Mike at the hotel where the Seven are staying and stabs him, after which Henry accidentally commits suicide and dies.

At the hospital, Mike gives Bill the two silver slugs they made to use against "It" when they were children. Bill's wife Audra follows him to Derry and is captured by "It" (disguised as a gas station attendant who later turns into Pennywise). Bill, Beverly, Richie, Eddie, and Ben return to the sewers and rescue Audra, who has become catatonic after looking at "It"'s deadlights. They make their way to "It"'s lair, and it is there they discover, to their limited comprehension, "It"'s true form: a massive multi-legged monster, equipped with giant mandibles and menacing eye-stalks, that resembles a giant spider.

During the climax, Bill, Richie, and Ben are paralyzed by the deadlights, located on "It"'s abdomen. Eddie is grabbed and killed by "It" before Beverly shoots out the deadlights with her childhood slingshot and one of the silver earrings. The others mourn Eddie, then kill "It" by disemboweling the "spider" and ripping out its heart.

To conclude the film on a positive note, Richie returns to his showbiz career which extends into movies, Ben and Beverly marry and are expecting a child, Mike is released from the hospital and remains in Derry, but considers whether he ought to move now that Derry no longer has a lighthouse keeper job. Bill helps Audra to come out of her catatonia by taking her on a seemingly suicidal bicycle ride impersonating the Lone Ranger, which is something he had done years earlier to help revive a young Stan who was frozen with fear. As the film closes, Pennywise's evil laugh is heard one last time.


56. SKELETON WARRIORS

Jason and the Argonauts is a 1963 Columbia Pictures fantasy feature film starring Todd Armstrong as the titular mythical Greek hero in a story about his quest for the Golden Fleece. Directed by Don Chaffey in collaboration with stop motion animation expert Ray Harryhausen, the film is noted for its stop-motion monsters. The score was composed by Bernard Herrmann, who also worked on other fantasy films with Harryhausen, such as Mysterious Island and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad.

See Also: 7th Voyage of Sinbad 8 x 10 Studio Still - Skeleton Warrior - Original Studio Image

Pelias (Douglas Wilmer) usurps the throne of Thessaly by killing King Aristo. However, there is a prophecy that he will be overthrown by a child of Aristo wearing one sandal. When he kills one of Aristo's daughters after she had sought and been granted the protection of Hera, Pelias makes an enemy of the goddess.

Twenty years later, Jason (Todd Armstrong), Aristo's son grown to manhood, saves the life of Pelias during a chance encounter, but loses a sandal doing so. He does not know that he has rescued his father's murderer, but Pelias recognizes his nemesis. Pelias keeps his identity secret. However, he cannot just kill Jason; the prophecy also says that he himself would die.

When he learns that Jason is undertaking a dangerous quest to obtain the fabled Golden Fleece to rally the people of Thessaly, Pelias encourages him, hoping that he will be killed in the attempt. Men from all over Greece compete for the honor of joining Jason. Since their ship is named the Argo after the ship's builder Argos (Laurence Naismith), they are dubbed the Argonauts. Among those chosen are Hercules (Nigel Green) and Acastus (Gary Raymond), the son of Pelias, who is sent by his father to sabotage the voyage.

Jason is taken to Mount Olympus by Hermes (Michael Gwynn) to speak to the gods Zeus (Niall MacGinnis) and Hera (Honor Blackman). Hera tells him that she wishes him well, but that Zeus has imposed restrictions on her assistance (Jason, like all mortals, is a piece in the game which the gods play against each other. This is an accurate portrayal of Greek theology and rarely found in any modern medium). Jason is told that he can only invoke Hera's aid five times (the same number of times his sister called on the goddess by name for help before she was slain). In response to Jason's unasked questions, Hera tells him to search for the Fleece in the land of Colchis, on the other side of the world.

Many dangers threaten the expedition. When the Argonauts run perilously low on supplies, Jason turns to Hera. She guides him to the Isle of Bronze, but warns him to take nothing but provisions. However, while chasing some goats, Hercules and his young friend Hylas (John Cairney) find a partially-open treasure chamber of the gods, surmounted by an enormous bronze statue of Talos. Despite Hylas' warning, Hercules steals an enormous brooch pin the size of a javelin. The statue comes to life and attacks, causing much mayhem before Jason can destroy it using Hera's advice. Hylas goes missing and is presumed dead, but the guilt-ridden Hercules refuses to leave until he knows for certain. The other Argonauts will not abandon Hercules, so Jason is forced to call on Hera for the last time. She confirms that Hylas is indeed dead and that Hercules is destined not to continue with them.

Hera also directs them to seek out Phineas (Patrick Troughton), the blind seer, for the way to Colchis. They find him tormented by two blue-skinned, bat-like Harpies sent by Zeus to punish him for misusing his gift of prophecy. In return for imprisoning the flying creatures, Phineas tells Jason what he needs to know and gives Jason his only possession, an amulet. To reach Colchis however, they must pass between the Clashing Rocks, a strait flanked by towering rock cliffs that shake and drop boulders to sink any ships attempting to pass between them. Fortunately for the Argonauts, they learn this second hand. Another ship tries to run the strait from the other direction and founders. In despair, Jason throws Phineas' gift into the water; the god Triton emerges and holds back the rocks long enough to let the Argo pass through. On the other side, they pick up three survivors of the other ship, including Medea (Nancy Kovack), the high priestess of the goddess Hecate.

They sight Colchis the next day. Acastus and Jason disagree on how to approach the King of Colchis. The argument escalates into a swordfight. Eventually Acastus is disarmed and jumps into the sea to escape. Believing him dead, Jason and his men accept an invitation from King Aeëtes (Jack Gwillim) to a feast, but once they are off guard, they are captured and imprisoned. Acastus has betrayed them, telling Aeëtes about their mission. However, Medea helps Jason and his men escape.

Acastus tries to steal the Fleece himself, but is fatally wounded by its guardian, the many-headed Hydra. Jason succeeds in killing the monster and taking the Fleece. But Aeëtes is not far behind. He strews the teeth of the Hydra on the ground and prays to Hecate. The planted teeth sprout out of the ground as armed skeletons who pursue and battle Jason and two of his men (in a famous four minute stop motion sequence that took special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen four and a half months to produce. Seeing that his companions have been slain, Jason escapes by jumping off a cliff into the sea.

The quest fulfilled, he, Medea and the surviving Argonauts start the return voyage to Thessaly.


55. KING GHIDORAH

King Ghidorah (キングギドラ, Kingu Gidora?), sometimes spelled King Ghidrah, King Ghidra or King Ghidora and also known as Monster Zero, is a fictional Japanese monster featured in several of Toho Studios' Godzilla films and (in derivative forms) in their Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. Ghidorah is among the most powerful giant monsters in daikaiju eiga with a reputation that has earned him the title "The King of Terror". He is the main antagonist of the series and is considered Godzilla's archenemy, and has been in more movies than any other opponent of Godzilla, appearing in six films out of the series (seven, if one counts Kaizer Ghidorah, despite the vast difference in size and general appearance between the two). King Ghidorah is so powerful that Godzilla is often required to ally himself with another kaiju, even several, before engaging the three-headed monster in battle, most often with Mothra, Rodan, or Anguirus. The two exceptions to this theme occurred later on in the series, the first being in the 1991 film Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, which resulted in Godzilla defeating King Ghidorah on his own, as well as severing Ghidorah's middle head. The second was in the 2001 film, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, in which Godzilla defeated Ghidorah, Mothra, and Baragon singlehandedly. King Ghidorah is also one of the daikaiju most often mind controlled; he acts completely autonomously in three movies, in other appearances being controlled for most of its screen time by aliens.

See Also: Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster - Godzilla - Movie Poster Print - Limited Edition Numbered Print

Created as an opponent for Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra in 1964's Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Ghidorah is a golden dragon-like space alien with two legs, three heads on long necks, no arms, large fan-like wings, and two tails. It was said to be 100 meters tall with a 150-meter wingspan and to weigh 30,000 metric tons. King Ghidorah was brought to life on the movie screen by a stunt actor inside an elaborate three-piece costume, with a team of puppeteers to control the beast's many appendages. Its alarming shrieks (a different ringing pitch for each of its heads) are among the genre's most recognizable sound effects. Its design is due to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya based on a minimal description in the script: "It has three heads, two tails, and a voice like a bell."

In recent films Ghidorah has undergone several revisions to its origin and appearance. For instance, a 150-meter tall irradiated triplet of genetically-engineered pets called Dorats with a Rodan-like cackle in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and a 49-meter-tall guardian monster in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. He has been realized via CGI as well as traditional suitmation.

54. CHUCKY

Charles Lee "Chucky" Ray (also known as "The Lakeshore Strangler") is the main antagonist in the Child's Play horror film series. He was created by Don Mancini and is voiced by Brad Dourif.

When being chased by Detective Mike Norris (Chris Sarandon), serial killer and voodoo practitioner Charles Lee "Chucky" Ray (Brad Dourif), is shot and mortally wounded. Before dying in his human body, Ray takes cover inside a toy store, finding boxes of "Good Guy dolls", and uses a voodoo ritual to transfer his soul into one of them. The store is then struck by lightning, and it burns to the ground. Chucky is found by a homeless man, and sold to Karen Barclay, who gives him to her son Andy as a birthday gift.

While Karen is working late, Andy's aunt Maggie agrees to baby-sit. When she has Andy go to bed, which keeps Chucky from watching a news story about Edward "Eddie" Caputo (his former accomplice who had left him stranded on foot the night he was killed), he causes Maggie to fall out a window to her death (by hitting her in the head with a childs hammer).

The next day, apparently upon Chucky's request, Andy visits the house of Eddie Caputo (Neil Giuntoli). As Andy urinates outside, Chucky is revealed as being alive. He sneaks into Eddie's house and blows out the pilot light on the stove and turns up the gas; Eddie, in panicked self-defense, fires his gun and the house explodes, killing him.

Andy is questioned by police about his presence at the explosion; he blames the doll, and is placed in a psychiatric ward for a few days. Karen believes that Chucky is the culprit after finding that there were no batteries in his back. Karen tells Chucky to talk to her, or else she is going to throw him in the fire. Chucky then comes alive in her hands, bites her, and runs out of the apartment.

Karen contacts Mike, who is now investigating Aunt Maggie's death. Although he initially doubts her story, he becomes a firm believer after he is attacked by Chucky in his car, and survives only by shooting Chucky on his shoulder .

Chucky later meets with John (a.k.a. "Dr. Death"), his voodoo instructor from years past, and asks why his gunshot wound bled. John, under torture through a voodoo doll, informs him that his body is slowly conforming to that of a human's, and that he will soon be trapped in the body if he doesn't transfer his soul into the body of the first person that he revealed himself to (which is Andy, and Chucky says he's going to be 6 years old again).

Chucky murders John and leaves to find Andy. Mike and Karen find John before he dies, learning that Andy is in danger and that the only way to stop Chucky is to destroy his heart.

Andy escapes from the psychiatric unit as Chucky brutally kills the head doctor. Mike and Karen rush back to the apartment hoping that Andy is there. Chucky reaches the apartment through the furnace and knocks Andy unconscious with a baseball bat to possess him. After a prolonged struggle, Chucky is thrown into the fireplace by Karen where Andy drops a match, setting Chucky on fire. Thinking that Chucky is dead, Andy and Karen go to help the injured Mike. The heavily burned Chucky attacks again, finally stopping when Mike shoots him through the heart as John instructed.


53. THE 456

Children of Earth is the banner title of the third series of the British television science fiction series Torchwood, which broadcast for five episodes on BBC One in 2009. The series had new producer Peter Bennett and was directed by Euros Lyn, who had considerable experience on the revived Doctor Who. Torchwood is a series about an organisation known as Torchwood which defends the Earth against alien threats. The plot of Children of Earth deals with aliens demanding the Earth's children, and a related earlier conspiracy; as such, Torchwood is pitted against the British government when it attempts to conceal its past actions and concede to the present-day aliens' demands. The first, third, and fifth episodes of the serial were written by executive producer Russell T Davies, who also conceived its overall storyline. The third episode was co-written by James Moran whilst the second and fourth were penned by newcomer John Fay.

The 456 (Pronounced "four-five-six" not "four hundred and fifty-six") served as the main antagonists during the third series.

They are unnamed aliens with whom the government of the United Kingdom made a deal in 1965; the 456 extorted twelve children in return for a cure to an Earth-bound virus which was about to mutate. They are only known by the frequency they are using, 456. When asked for their species name by John Frobisher, they chose to go by this name. They seem to require (or at least prefer) a highly toxic atmosphere, and to be non-humanoid of form, possessing three insect like heads which appear to spew slime whenever the creatures are aggravated or pressured. In Children of Earth: Day Four, parts of the 456 were briefly seen when a government operative entered its cage with a portable video camera. It had 3 heads, which possessed mandibles. The rest of the body is trunklike, like a giant caterpillar. A swelling is briefly shown at the end of the creature. After the 456 return to Earth over forty years later, an ambassador of the species demanded that 10% of the world's children be given to the race as a gift, or else the entire human race would be destroyed. To ensure humanity would accept this deal, the 456 announced their arrival several days in advance by possessing and speaking through every pre-pubescent child on earth. A closer view of the visiting 456 specimen showed it had incorporated the bodies of human children into its own, the two being connected by four vine-like tentacles, because of an unnamed chemical pre-pubescents produce that the creatures use like a drug. According to the 456 themselves, such children 'feel no pain', and 'live long beyond their natural span'. The children do not appear to have physically grown, although they are wizened perhaps mutated in some way and appear to be aware of their surroundings and their own condition; they breathe using respirators. The 456 are responsible for the death of Ianto Jones when they release a deadly virus into a building where Ianto was present. They are eventually defeated when Jack Harkness manages to reverse the frequency of a previous transmission made by the 456 and turn it into a weapon against them, driving them away from Earth, although he is forced to sacrifice his grandson Steven to use him as the source of the frequency broadcast in the first place.


52. THE CYCLOPS

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is a 1958 Technicolor fantasy film released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Nathan H. Juran. It was the first of three Sinbad films made by Columbia which were conceptualized and animated by Ray Harryhausen and which used a special stop-motion technique called Dynamation (the others being The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger).

Legendary adventurer Sinbad the Sailor (Kerwin Mathews) and his crew are lost on the ocean but accidentally find the island of Colossa. They land for provisions. While exploring, Sinbad encounters Sokurah the magician (Torin Thatcher), fleeing from a giant cyclops. They are able to escape, when Sokurah orders the genie of his magic lamp to create a magical barrier, but Sokurah drops the lamp when the cyclops throws a boulder into the sea, overturning their boat. The cyclops finds and keeps the lamp. Though Sokurah offers Sinbad much to get it back for him, Sinbad refuses. He and Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant), from the kingdom of Chandra, are on their way to Sinbad's native Baghdad to be married. They are in love and the union would also cement ties between their two nations.

When the Caliph of Baghdad (Alec Mango) refuses to provide Sokurah a ship and crew to retrieve his treasure, the magician secretly shrinks Parisa to the size of a hand. Sokurah claims he knows of a potion that can restore her, but it requires a piece of the eggshell of a roc, a giant, two-headed bird that coincidentally nests on the island of the cyclopses. The caliph has no choice but to provide a ship. Sinbad enlists his loyal men from the previous voyage, but they are not enough, so he also has to recruit thieves and murderers from the Caliph's prison.

Before they reach the island of Colossa, the cutthroats mutiny and capture Sokurah, Sinbad, and his men. However, the sounds of screaming demons from an island south of Colossa madden the crew, and the ship is in danger of being dashed upon the rocks. One of the mutineers releases Sinbad so he can save the ship. Afterwards, Sinbad regains control of the men.

On the island of Colossa, Sokurah insists on splitting into two groups, so that if one is caught, the other can try to rescue them. When Sinbad's party is captured by the cyclops, Sokurah refuses to release them from their wooden cage, instead pressing on to retrieve the magic lamp. The cyclops chases him, forcing him to drop the lamp. Meanwhile, Sinbad has the miniature Parisa slip between the bars and unlatch the cage. Sinbad manages to blind the cyclops and trick it into falling off a cliff to its death.

Sinbad still needs Sokurah to guide him, but takes possession of the lamp, though he does not know how to use it. Parisa suggests she enter the lamp. Inside, she finds the unhappy boy genie (Richard Eyer). He tells her how to summon him in return for a promise to try to free him.

The party reaches the nest of the two-headed roc, just as a giant hatchling emerges from its shell. Some of the men slay it, which incites an attack by the infuriated parent. In the confusion, Sokurah kills Sinbad's faithful lieutenant, abducts the Princess, and takes her to his underground fortress.

Sinbad follows, slipping past the chained guardian dragon. Sokurah restores Parisa to her normal size in return for the lamp. However, he reneges, animating a skeleton swordsman (an effect Ray Harryhausen would reuse in Jason and the Argonauts), but Sinbad defeats it by knocking it off the top of a spiral staircase. He and the Princess flee. As they cross over a river of molten lava, Parisa recalls part of the prophecy the genie told her about. She persuades Sinbad to let her throw the lamp into the lava, freeing the genie from his slavery.

Sinbad and Parisa find their escape route blocked by a second cyclops. They release the dragon to fight and kill the cyclops, while making good their escape back to the shore. Sokurah then orders the dragon to follow and kill Sinbad. However, Sinbad has time to organize his men to slay the fire-breathing creature with a giant crossbow ballista, which was ironically designed by Sokurah as a defence against the cyclops. The mortally-wounded dragon falls on Sokurah, killing him. Sinbad, Parisa, and the other survivors depart, joined by the genie, Sinbad's new cabin boy.


51. MONSTER FROM THE ID

Forbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It starred Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting were inspired by those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot has many similarities.

See Also: Forbidden Planet Glossy Photo Quality Lobby Card Lithograph

Early in the 23rd century, the United Planets Cruiser C-57D has been sent to the planet Altair IV, 16 light-years from the Earth. Its mission is to discover the fate of an expedition sent 20 years earlier to establish a colony there. The cruiser is contacted by Dr. Edward Morbius, who radios the crew and warns them to stay away. However, the starship's captain, Commander John J. Adams, decides to land on Altair IV.

The ship is met by Robby the Robot, who takes Adams, Lieutenant Jerry Farman, and Lieutenant "Doc" Ostrow to meet Dr. Morbius. Morbius explains that an unknown phenomenon killed nearly all of the other members of his expedition and destroyed their starship, the Bellerophon. Only Morbius, his wife (who died of natural causes), and his daughter Altaira, now 19 years old, survived. Morbius fears the crew of the C-57D will also meet the same fate. Altaira cannot recall any man but her father and barely remembers her mother. She is interested in learning about human relationships.


Morbius explains he has been studying the "Krell", the natives of Altair IV who, despite being far more advanced than humanity, all died mysteriously during a single night 200,000 years before — just as they had achieved their greatest triumph. Morbius shows Cdr. Adams and his party a device he calls a "plastic educator". Morbius explains that the captain of the Bellerophon had tried it and had been killed instantly.

Morbius used it but barely survived. However, he doubled his intellectual abilities as a result. He says this enabled him to build Robby and the other technological marvels in his house. Morbius takes them on a tour of a vast cube-shaped underground Krell installation, 20 miles [30 km] in each direction and powered by 9,200 thermonuclear reactors. This complex had been operating and maintaining itself ever since the extinction of the Krell. When asked about its purpose, Morbius says he knows only that it can supply a practically limitless supply of power.

One night, a valuable piece of equipment in Cdr. Adams's starship is damaged, though the sentries who had been posted spotted no intruders. In response, Adams commands that a defensive force-field fence be set up around his starship. However, this defense proves to be useless when whatever caused the damage returns, passes unseen, and unharmed through the fence to kill Chief Engineer Quinn. Dr. Ostrow is confused after examining the footprints that it left behind, saying that the creature appears to violate all known evolutionary laws.

The intruder returns again on the next night, and it is discovered to be invisible. Its appearance is revealed only in outline by the beams of the force field and the crewmen's weapons. Several men are killed by the monster, including Lt. Farman. While he is asleep in a Krell laboratory, Dr. Morbius is wakened by a scream from Altaira. At that instant, the creature vanishes.

Later, while Cdr. Adams confronts Morbius at the house, Lt. Ostrow sneaks away to use the plastic educator, but he is mortally injured. Just before he dies Ostrow tells Adams that the underground installation was built to materialize any object that the Krell could imagine. However, the Krell had forgotten one vital thing: "Monsters from the id!". Morbius objects, pointing out that there are no Krell left. Adams replies that Morbius's mind — expanded by the plastic educator and thus able to interact with the gigantic Krell device — had created subconsciously the monster that had killed the rest of his expedition 20 years earlier—after they had voted to return to the Earth. Morbius scoffs at Adams's

When Altaira declares her love for Cdr. Adams in defiance of her father's wishes, the alien monster of the mind comes after them. Dr. Morbius commands Robby to kill it, but the robot freezes, unable to harm a human being. Robby recognizes the monster as an extension of Morbius, and his only way to destroy it would be to kill Morbius; instead, the clash of orders burns out the robot's circuits. The creature breaks into the house and then melts its way through the nearly-indestructible door of the Krell laboratory where Adams, Altaira, and Morbius have taken refuge.

Morbius finally accepts the truth that the creature is an extension of his own mind, and he tries to renounce it. When Morbius is mortally injured trying to intervene, the creature disappears permanently. While Morbius lies dying, he directs Cdr. Adams to press a lever that sets the Krell complex to self-destruct. Adams, Altaira, Robby, and the rest of the starship's crew take off for outer space. From there, they witness the destruction of the entire planet of Altair IV from a safe distance away. Before the film ends, Adams says to Altaira, "We are, after all, not God."
(Monster and movie info from Wikipedia)

Read Also: The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #61 - #70 - The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #71 - #80 - The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #81 - #90 - and -The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #91 - #100

Written By: Ken Hulsey

Creature from the Black Lagoon was the last of a long line of classic movie monsters developed by Universal Pictures. By the 1950's most studios had switched from horror pictures to science fiction. Universal was no exception. Creature would come fresh on the heels of the very popular "It Came from Outer Space." Both films would star Richard Carlson who soon would become the studio's staple playing the role of hero scientist. This would be a twist from most films. Scientists were generally portrayed as evil or misguided. It was only logical for Universal to blend both their popular horror with the science fiction of the time. Creature from the Black Lagoon would be created from the melding of the two.

See Also: Creature from the Black Lagoon Retro Lobby Card Style Poster Print - Limited Edition

Early designs for the Gill-Man (Creature) were very different from the finished product that we are familiar with today. Early on studio executives had wanted a very sleek looking monster. Test shots proved that this design just didn't look right under water. The design was quickly scraped for a more scaly design with gills and more rounded head. Hence fourth the Creature was born. The original costume was kept in limbo in case a sequel was to be made and a possible female Creature would be needed. Of course a sequel was made the next year but, the She-Creature never made it into a film.

Most monster movie fans have believed for decades that the design of the Creature was the work of Bud Westmoore, but that is not the case. The Creature's "gill-man" design actually came off of the pen of artist Milicent (Millicent) Patrick. Although the fetching young illustrator never got her name in the films credits she was paraded from film screening to film screening in hopes that her model-like good looks would drum up more publicity for the film. Her contribution to the history of monster films has never been fully given the credit that it so deserves. Unfortunately there a far too many such "unknown heroes" in the genre of horror and sci-fi films.

Two actors would end up actually playing the Creature. Ricou Browning was used for the underwater shots and Ben Chapman for the scenes on dry land. Browning had been responsible for showing the films producers two areas, one in Silver Springs, and the other in Wakulla Springs, Florida that would end up being used as the Black Lagoon. He was asked to swim in front of the camera for some underwater test shots. A week later he was called and asked if he would like the job. He accepted. Browning worked well for the underwater Creature but, the studio wanted the monster to be a giant and he was less than six feet in height. That's when the six foot seven inch Ben Chapman entered the picture. With the costume on he measured in at well over seven feet tall. That was just what the film makers were looking for. As a result of there being two actors of different sizes two separate Creature costumes were developed. Each would be quite different in design and appearance to fit each actor. On screen these differences are not detectable but, when one costume was next to the other it was obvious. This worked because the viewer would never see the two together and no one ever noticed.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon was shown originally in 3-D. 3-D pictures were becoming popular in Hollywood in the middle 1950's and Creature was filmed to fit this format. A special underwater 3-D camera was developed exclusively for use in this production. Viewers would remark on how they felt like they were underwater with the monster. It was a very unique experience. However showing a film in 3-D was a difficult process. If the two cameras needed to produce the effect were not aligned properly the image would turn blurry and the 3-D effect would be ruined. This forced later releases of the film to abandon 3-D for a more conventional showing.


It is a very interesting story how legendary monster movie fan and writer (Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine) Forrest J Ackerman came into possession of the Gill-man’s mask and claws. After Universal had finished working on Creature from the Black Lagoon and its two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us, the remains of the costume were set out for the trash (!). A studio janitor discovered the costume a thought that it may have been a great present for his young son. The young boy enjoyed scaring the neighborhood children with it for a couple of Halloweens until he outgrew it and sold it to another boy for five dollars (!). Ackerman by this time had learned of the costumes whereabouts and contacted the boy to see if he wanted to sell it. The boy knew who Ackerman was and offered to give it to him for free after he was done with it. Several years down the road the boy, now a grown man, would show up at Ackerman’s door, costume in hand only to discover that he wasn’t home. Knowing full well that he couldn’t just leave it on the doorstep he decided to place it in the trunk of his rental car and return with it in the morning. Unfortunately he returned the rental without removing the costume from the trunk. The monster gods must have been smiling on Ackerman that day because when the gentleman returned to the rental car agency he found that the car had not yet been rented and that the costume was still where he had left it.

There have been numerous attempts at producing a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon; in fact one is production at the time of this article. In the 1980s’ Universal had planned a 3-D remake which would have been directed by Jack Arnold and produced by John Landis. A script was penned by Nigel Kneale and Rick Baker was put on alert to design a new Gill-man costume, but in the end Universal decided to make Jaws 3-D instead. The Creature almost arose from the swamp again in the 1990s’ under the direction of John Carpenter, but again those plans fell through.


An archeological expedition to the Amazon discovers the fossilized remains of the arm and clawed hand of a “missing link” between man and fish. The item is returned to civilization and a research team consisting of marine biologist Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson), his employer Mark Williams (Richard Denning), his assistant Kay (Julia Adams), and the man responsible for the find, Dr. Carlos Maia, are quickly assembled to return to the Amazon to search for the rest of the remains.

Upon returning to the site the group discovers that the campsite has been ransacked and the members of first expedition have been slaughtered. Despite this grizzly discovery the group continues on with the dig to no avail. It is soon discovered that the rest of the remains must have been washed down stream into an area that is known to the local natives as “The Black Lagoon.”

Upon arrival at the mysterious lagoon the young assistant, Kay, decides to take a morning swim when she catches the attention of the ominous Gill-man who instantly becomes fascinated with the delicate creature he sees swimming above him. The young woman soon becomes the Creatures obsession and several attempts are made by the monster to capture her.

The group quickly finds itself in a fight for survival after several attempts are made to capture the Creature. The monster effectively blocks the exit from the lagoon and finally captures the object of its fascination. A rescue operation is immediately put into action and the monster is tracked to its lair where it is shot several times. In the end the Gill-man stumbles back into the lagoon where it is last seen floating lifeless in the murky water.

Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)
Universal Studioes
Directed By: Jack Arnold

Cast:

Richard Carlson as Dr. David Reed
Julie Adams as Kay Lawrence
Richard Denning as Dr. Mark Williams
Antonio Moreno as Dr. Carl Maia
Ricou Browning as The Gill-Man (Under Water)
Ben Chapman as The Gill-Man (On land)
Nestor Paivia as Lucas (Captain of The Rita)
Whit Bissell as Edward Thompson
Bernie Gozier as Zee
Henry A. Escalante as Chico

AKA: Black Lagoon (1954)
Runtime: 79 minutes
Black and White
Mono Sound



The Creature No Longer Walks Among Us

Ben Chapman passed away at 12:15 am Hawaii time on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at the VA hospital in Honolulu. His health began to deteriorate February 12th and he was admitted to the hospital on February 20th. His life support was turned off Wednesday evening and his pacemaker was turned off shortly before he died. He died peacefully with his wife, Merrilee, and son, Ben Chapman III, by his side. I talked to Ben last May, when he was hospitalized for shortness of breath and dizziness. He had thought he was a goner then, and he laughed about feeling "out of water." He seemed to be more concerned that he had missed a convention appearance in New Jersey, than he did for his own well being. That just goes to show how much he loved his fans.


Hey There Monster What's Your Sign?

Creature From The Black Lagoon (March 5, 1954) - Pisces

The sign of the fish ... are you kidding me?

"... Their natures tend to be too otherworldly for the practical purposes of living in this world as it is. They sometimes exist emotionally rather than rationally, instinctively more than intellectually (depending on how they are aspected). They long to be recognized as greatly creative. They also dislike disciple and confinement. The nine-to-five life is not for them. Any rebellion they make against convention is personal, however, as they often times do not have the energy or motivation to battle against the Establishment."

Hence the reason why he lived alone in the swamp.

The story opens with Linus and Lucy going out into a nearby pumpkin patch to find a pumpkin. After rejecting a couple of smaller choices by Linus, Lucy points to the biggest pumpkin in the bunch, which Linus clumsily rolls back home. When they get home, Lucy takes a big knife and slices into the pumpkin to gut it, at which point a mortified Linus says "Ohhhh, you didn't tell me you were going to kill it!", and starts wailing.

With autumn already in full swing, Charlie Brown is busy raking leaves with Snoopy's help. Linus sees the pile and jumps right in the middle of it, forgetting he had a wet sucker in his possession. Moments later Lucy comes with a football for Charlie Brown to kick, but he initially refuses. Lucy shows him a letter, but for the first time she pulls it away when Charlie Brown is about to kick the ball, which sends him landing flat on his back, like always.

Later, Linus writes a letter to The Great Pumpkin, to Charlie Brown's disbelief, Snoopy's laughter, Patty's assurance that the Great Pumpkin is a fake, and even to Lucy's violent threat to make Linus stop ("You better cut it out right now or I'll pound you!"). Linus laments in the letter that "more people believe in Santa Claus than in [The Great Pumpkin], but let's face it; Santa Claus has had more publicity. But being number two, perhaps you try harder" (a tongue-in-cheek jab at Avis Rent-A-Car's popular slogan of the day).

After Linus mails his letter to the Great Pumpkin (using his blanket to open the mailbox after Lucy refuses to help), Charlie Brown dances when he receives an invitation to go to Violet's Halloween party. His bubble is quickly burst by Lucy who mentions there were two lists, people to invite and people not to invite; Lucy is certain Charlie Brown's name was on wrong list.

On Halloween night, the gang gets their costumes ready. Lucy dresses as a witch, while the other kids dress up as ghosts. Pig-Pen is easily recognized by his trademark cloud of dust, while Charlie Brown has eyeholes cut out all over his sheet, matter-of-factly stating he had a little trouble with the scissors.


Before going trick-or-treating, the gang stops off at the pumpkin patch to make fun of Linus's missing out on all the fun as last year (especially when he asks if they came to sing "pumpkin carols"). But Linus is convinced that the Great Pumpkin will indeed come because he thinks the patch he's in is sincere enough and even convinces Sally to stick around to wait with him. The rest of the gang go off leaving Sally and Linus behind.

During trick-or-treating, everyone else gets assorted candy, gum, apples, cookies, popcorn balls, and even money. But at every house, Charlie Brown gets the same thing — a rock. After tricks-or-treats, and another quick stop at the pumpkin patch to rib Linus and Sally again, the gang all go off to Violet's Halloween party.

Meanwhile, Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy, wearing his World War I flying ace gear, climbs aboard his Sopwith Camel (in reality, his doghouse) to do battle with the Red Baron. After being shot down, Snoopy makes his way across the countryside, before briefly crashing the Halloween party. He then makes his way to the pumpkin patch where Linus and Sally are still waiting for the Great Pumpkin to show up. Linus hears Snoopy's rustling, and believes it's really the Great Pumpkin, and when Snoopy (still hidden in the shadows) rises above the pumpkins, Linus promptly faints. When Sally sees it's only Snoopy, she becomes outraged over missing tricks-or-treats AND the Halloween Party, and threatens to "sue" Linus. She storms out of the pumpkin patch with the other kids, leaving Linus by himself, still convinced the Great Pumpkin will come.

When 4:00 a.m. rolls around on November 1st, Lucy gets up to check on Linus. Seeing his bed empty, she goes out to the pumpkin patch to find him lying on the ground shivering, covered in his security blanket. Lucy grudgingly walks him home and to his room, removing his shoes and he passes out in his own bed as she puts the covers on him before angrily walking out of his room.

Later on that day, Linus and Charlie Brown are at the rock wall talking about last night's events. When Charlie Brown tries to console Linus saying "I've done a lot of stupid things in my life, too", Linus blows a fuse and angrily vows to Charlie Brown that the Great Pumpkin will come next year, his ranting continuing as the end credits roll.


"It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" was the third Peanuts special (and first Halloween special) to be produced and animated by Bill Meléndez. Its initial broadcast took place on October 27th, 1966 on the CBS network, preempting My Three Sons; CBS re-aired the special annually through 2000, with ABC picking up the rights beginning in 2001. The program was nominated for an Emmy award. It has been issued on home video several times, including a Remastered Deluxe Edition of the special released by Warner Home Video on September 2, 2008.

Charles Schulz was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grew up in Saint Paul. He was the only child of Carl Schulz, who was German, and Dena, who was Norwegian. His uncle nicknamed him "Sparky" after the horse Spark Plug in the Barney Google comic strip.

Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to the Saturday Evening Post; the first of seventeen single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped in January, 1950.

Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957 – 1959), but abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he also contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God (Anderson).

Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years without interruption and appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.

Schulz died in Santa Rosa of complications from colon cancer on February 12, 2000.

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sponsored By View Obscura Comics
Movie Info From Wikipedia

Halloween is upon us kids so I thought that it was about time for another installment of my ever so popular monster movie poster features. As usual I have collected a nice mix of the classic and the mind numbingly strange for you to feast your blood-thirsty eyes on.

Enough talk lets get to it!

Revenge of the Creature

For the sequel to "Creature from the Black Lagoon" Universal really wanted to play off the success of movies like "Godzilla" and "Them!" by bringing the Gill-man to civilization where he could go on a rampage. The poster for the film echos this with a giant Creature carrying off a woman while a mass of people in the foreground flee in terror.

See Also: The Creature In Chains - Revenge of the Creature Movie Still - Creature from the Balck Lagoon -Classic Horror Movie

A little history:

Revenge of the Creature is the first sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon. The film is notable for being the only 3-D film to be released in 1955; the only 3-D sequel to a 3-D film; and for being the first screen role for Clint Eastwood. The movie was released May 11, 1955, in the United States. It was followed by a sequel in 1956, The Creature Walks Among Us.

Having survived being riddled with bullets at the end of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Gill-man is captured and sent to the Ocean Harbor Oceanarium in Florida, where he is studied by animal psychologist Professor Clete Ferguson and ichthyology student Helen Dobson. Helen and Clete quickly begin to fall in love, much to the chagrin of Joe Hayes, the Gill-man's keeper. The Gill-man takes an instant liking to Helen, which severely hampers Professor Ferguson's efforts to communicate with him. Ultimately, the Gill-man escapes from his tank, killing Joe in the process, and flees to the open ocean. Unable to stop thinking about Helen, he soon begins to stalk her and Ferguson, ultimately abducting her from a seaside restaurant where the two are at a party. Clete tries to give chase, but the Gill-man escapes to the water with his captive. Clete and the local law enforcement must now try to track down Helen and her amphibious abductor.

The Gorgon

To be perfectly honest .... the only reason I posted this was for the tag line "She Had A Face Only A Mummy Could Love!"

Like I could pass that up?

A little history:

The Gorgon is a 1964 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer.

It stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley and Richard Pasco. The film was photographed by Michael Reed, and designed by Bernard Robinson. For the score James Bernard combined a soprano with a little-known electronic instrument called the Novachord. The film marks one of the few occasions when Hammer turned to Greek mythology for inspiration; this time it is the legend of the Gorgon that is respun for the Hammer audiences.

The year is 1910, in the rural German village of Vandorf, seven murders have been committed within the past five years, each victim having been petrified into a stone figure. Rather than investigate it, the local authorities dismiss the murders for fear of a local legend having come true. When a local girl becomes the latest victim and her suicidal lover made the scapegoat, the father of the condemned man decides to investigate and discovers that the cause of the petrifying deaths is a phantom. The very last of the snake-haired Gorgon sisters haunts the local castle and turns victims to stone during the full moon.

She-Wolf of London

Actually I was looking for an excuse to write about this film. When it comes to the classic horror films produced by Universal people always think of Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. One name is always missing from that list, June Lockhart. People often forget that there were some female monsters too!

I got your back ladies!

A little history:

She-Wolf of London is a 1946 horror film produced by Universal Studios, directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring June Lockhart and Don Porter. The title evokes the earlier Werewolf of London (1935), although, unlike its forebear, it is concerned more with mystery and suspense than supernatural horror.

Phyllis Allenby is a young and beautiful woman who is soon to be married to lawyer and boyfriend Barry Lanfield. Phyllis is living at the Allenby Mansion without the protection of a male, along with her aunt Martha and her cousin Carol and the servant Hannah. As the wedding date approaches, London is shocked by a series of murders at the local park, where the victims are discovered with throats ripped out. Many of the detectives at Scotland Yard begin murmuring about werewolves, while Inspector Pierce believes the opposite and suspects strange activity at the Allenby Mansion (which is near the park), where the "Wolf-Woman" is seen prowling at night and heading for the park. Phyllis becomes extremely terrified and anxious, since she is convinced that she is the "Wolf-Woman", deeply believing in the legend of the so-called "Curse of the Allenbys". Aunt Martha tries to convince Phyllis how ridiculous the legend sounds, while she (aunt Martha) and Carol are suspicious in their own ways. Phyllis each day denies of Barry visiting her, and when a suspicious detective is murdered soon after he visits the mansion in the same way the other victims perished, Barry begins believing that something else is beside the so-called "Werewolf murders" and makes his own investigations both to the park and to the mansion.


King Dinosaur

King Dinosaur was hardly the "Mightiest Monster Of Them All" , but he had a great poster!

A little history:

King Dinosaur is a 1955 science fiction film starring William Bryant and Wanda Curtis with narration by Marvin Miller. In this film, four astronauts in 1960 travel to a planet called Nova that has just entered Earth's solar system. The crew begins to study the planet to see if it's able to withstand a possible Earth colony. After first discovering normal Earth animals such as a kinkajou and an alligator, they soon encounter giant insects, dinosaurs, and the titular King Dinosaur.


The Walking Dead

One of my favorite movie posters, it's simple and quite elegant. Well as elegant as a zombie movie poster can be.

A little history:

The Walking Dead is a 1936 horror film starring Boris Karloff as a wrongly executed man who is restored to life by a scientist (Edmund Gwenn). The film was directed by Michael Curtiz, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

See Also: Zombie Maid - Walking Dead - Sexy Zombie - Framed Photo Artwork Print

John Elman (Boris Karloff) has been framed for murder by a gang of racketeers. He is unfairly tried and despite the fact that his innocence has been proven, he is sent to the electric chair and executed. But Dr. Evan Beaumont (Edmund Gwenn) retrieves his dead body and revives it, as part of his experiments to reanimate a dead body.

Dr. Beaumont's use of a mechanical heart to revive the patient foreshadow's modern medicine's mechanical heart to keep patients alive during surgery. Interestingly, although John Elman has no direct knowledge of anyone wishing to frame him for the murder before he is executed, he seems to have an innate sense of knowing those who are responsible after he is revived. Elman takes no direct action against his framers, and in the end it is their own guilt that causes their deaths.


House Of Dracula

No Karloff as The Monster, no Lugosi as Dracula, instead you get Glenn Strange, John Carradine and the pretty Jane Adams as a hunchback. It's safe to say that the Universal horrors got a little watered down in the forties.

Lon Chaney Jr did play the Wolfman though.

A little history:

House of Dracula was an American horror film released by Universal Pictures Company in 1945. It was a direct sequel to House of Frankenstein and continued the theme of combining Universal's three most popular monsters: Frankenstein's monster, Count Dracula and The Wolf Man. The film was a commercial success, but would also be one of the last Universal movies featuring Frankenstein's monster, vampires and werewolves: after 1945, horror moved toward science fiction, Cold War paranoia, and the Hiroshima syndrome of super science creating its own monsters, themes which would be the hallmarks of 1950s horror and science fiction movies.

Godzilla vs The Sea Monster (German)

TomoyukiTanaka really wanted King Kong to battle "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" but couldn't get the rights to use him from RKO. Instead Godzilla was substituted. This German poster for the film echoes the whole "Kong" theme with Big G chasing after the lovely KumiMizuno (The Japanese Fay Wray?).

A little history:

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, released in Japan as Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas (ゴジラ・エビラ・モスラ　南海の大決闘 Gojira, Ebira, MosuraNankai no Daikettō) and known internationally as Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, is a 1966 science fiction kaiju film directed by Jun Fukuda and written by ShinichiSekizawa. This is the first film in the series with special effects directed by SadamasaArikawa. EijiTsuburaya, now very busy with Tsuburaya Productions, supervised the effects shoot. The film is the seventh in the original Godzilla series.

After Yata (TooruIbuki) is lost at sea, his brother Ryota (TooruWatanabe) steals a yacht with his two friends and a bank robber. The crew runs afoul of the giant lobster Ebirah, and washes up on the shore of an island, where a terrorist organization manufactures heavy water for their purposes, as well as a chemical that keeps Ebirah at bay. The organization, known as the Red Bamboo, has enslaved natives from Infant Island to help them, but the natives hope to awaken Mothra to rescue them.

In their efforts to avoid capture, Ryota and his friends, aided by a beautiful native girl, stumble across Godzilla sleeping within a cliffside cavern. The group devises a plan to defeat the Red Bamboo and escape from the island. In the process, they wake Godzilla using a lightning rod. Godzilla fights Ebirah, but the giant lobster escapes. Godzilla is then attacked by a giant condor and a squadron of Red Bamboo fighter jets, but destroys them.

The humans retrieve the missing Yata, free the enslaved natives and Godzilla begins to destroy the base. Godzilla smashes a tower that has a self destruct button that makes the island unstable. Godzilla fights Ebirah and defeats it, ripping off both Ebirah's claws and causing it to retreat into the sea. The natives summon Mothra to save everyone, however, Godzilla challenges Mothra when she gets to the island. Mothra manages to push Godzilla away and carry the people off. Godzilla escapes the island just before it explodes.

The Food Of The Gods

The moral to this story, don't feed the animals, or more importantly don't feed the animals some mysterious goop you find oozing up from the ground!

What makes for a great monster movie poster? The answer is simple, a giant rat fondling a woman in a tree.

A little history:

The Food of the Gods is a 1976 film released by American International Pictures and was written, produced, and directed by Bert I. Gordon. He had earlier made a movie based on the same novel called Village of the Giants starring Beau Bridges.

The Food of the Gods starred MarjoeGortner of Earthquake, Pamela Franklin, Ralph Meeker, Jon Cypher, John McLiam, and Ida Lupino. This film was loosely based on a portion of the H. G. Wells novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth. A sequel to the film was made in 1989, entitled Food of the Gods II.

The film reduced the tale to an 'Ecology Strikes Back' scenario, common in science fiction movies at the time. The food mysteriously bubbles up from the ground on a remote island somewhere in British Columbia. The couple that discover it, Mr. and Mrs. Skinner (McLiam and Lupino) consider it a gift from God, and promptly begin feeding it to their chickens. Soon, rats, wasps, and worms consume the substance, and the island is crawling with giant vermin. One night, some of them kill Mr. Skinner.

Morgan, a professional football player (Gortner), and his buddies are camping on the island, and one of them is stung to death by giant wasps. After ferrying his friends back to the mainland, Morgan returns to investigate. Also thrown into the mix are Thomas and Rita, an expecting couple; Jack Bensington, the owner of a dog food company (Meeker) hoping to market the substance; and his assistant Lorna (Franklin), a "lady bacteriologist." Eventually, the survivors are trapped in the farmhouse with the rats swarming around outside, and Mrs. Skinner and Bensington are killed by the rats.

Morgan eventually blows up a nearby dam, flooding the area and drowning the rats, whose size and weight renders them unable to swim. The food, however, survives. It is swept into a river and is consumed by cows, who give tainted milk, which is then drunk by schoolchildren.


Curse Of The Demon

Curse of the Demon features one of the coolest looking monsters to ever grace the silver screen. Unfortunately it only appears in the film for a couple of minutes.

Likewise the poster art featuring the monster is some of the best ever produced.

A little history:

Night of the Demon is a 1957 British horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur, starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis. An adaptation of the M. R. James story Casting the Runes (1911), the plot revolves around an American psychologist investigating a satanic cult suspected of more than one murder.

The film's production was turbulent due to clashing ideas between producer Hal E. Chester on one side and Jacques Tourneur and writer Charles Bennett on the other. Planned to not show a literal demon, producer Chester inserted a monster over the objections of the writer, director and star Dana Andrews. To accelerate the pace, the film was trimmed down to 83 minutes (and retitled Curse of the Demon) in the US where it played the second half of a double feature with films like The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958).

Humanoids From The Deep (Monster)

Slimy monsters always come out of the ocean looking for women with big breasts in bikinis ...... it's part of nature's plan.

Whatever this poster is selling I'm buying!

Humanoids from the Deep (alternatively known as Monster is a 1980 science fiction monster movie, starring Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, and Vic Morrow. Roger Corman served as the film's (uncredited) Executive Producer, and the film was distributed by his New World Pictures. It was directed by Barbara Peeters (aka Barbara Peters). The musical score was composed by James Horner.

Read Also: A Gallery Of Great Monster Movie Posters - Part Dos

50. SLEESTAKS
Land of the Lost was a 1974–1976 TV series relating the adventures of the Marshall family (including Will and Holly and their father, later replaced by their uncle). The Marshalls become trapped in a pocket universe populated by dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni, and anthropomorphic reptilian creatures named Sleestak. This article concerns these characters, along with other human and alien visitors to the Land of the Lost.

See Also: 

Sleestak Wonderland - Land of the Lost - Original Artwork Poster Print

Sleestaks are devolved, green humanoids with both reptilian and insectoid features; they have scaly skin with frills around the neck, bulbous unblinking eyes, pincer-like hands, stubby tails, and a single blunt horn on top of the head, and bear a resemblance to the hypothetical "Dinosauroid". Sleestaks often communicate with a hissing sound that rarely changes in characteristics. However, like their Altrusian ancestors, they possess some rudimentary form of telepathy as well. Sleestaks are more sophisticated than Pakuni and are able to manufacture crossbows, rope, nets, periscopes and other relatively advanced technologies. Sleestak are typically equipped with a crossbow and a quiver full of metal bolts which hang from their waist. The Sleestak have a current population of about 7,000 according to the Library of Skulls, but there were only three Sleestak costumes available for the show's production, which sometimes required creative editing to create the illusion that they were that numerous.

Sleestaks live in the Lost City, an underground tunnel complex originally constructed by the Altrusians. They hate bright light and rarely venture out during the day. Sleestaks also have a "hibernation season" during which they cocoon themselves into rocky alcoves using some sort of webbing; cool air keeps them in hibernation, and the heat from lava in a pool that the character Peter Koenig (see below) dubbed "Devil's Cauldron" inside the caverns of the Lost City revives them again on a regular schedule. The Sleestaks are very defensive of the Lost City. They know that their ancestors built it, but do not know how or why. They have occasionally tried exploring beyond the chasm that separates the Lost City from the rest of the Land, but their expeditions generally do not return; they consider the City to be their only refuge. However, after the earthquake at the beginning of season 3 the Sleestaks are afraid and try to kick the Marshalls out of the temple. Fortunately, Jack gets the door shut and the Sleestaks are trapped outside.

The Sleestaks have encountered many other humans who have become trapped in the Land of the Lost before the Marshalls arrive, and regard humans as a terrible threat; they attempt to capture and sacrifice humans to their god (an unseen beast who dwells in a smoky pit) at every opportunity.



49. MR HYDE
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1931 American horror film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Fredric March. The film is an adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), the Robert Louis Stevenson tale of a man who takes a potion which turns him from a mild-mannered man of science into a crude homicidal maniac.

The film tells of Dr. Jekyll (Fredric March), a kind doctor who experiments with drugs because he's certain that within each man lurks impulses for both good and evil.

Dr. Jekyll develops a drug to release the evil side in himself, becoming the hard drinking, woman-chasing Mr. Hyde. Jekyll quickly becomes addicted to the formula, and unable to control the violent and unstable Mr. Hyde. The film ends when Lanyon, Jekyll's friend, and the police try to capture Jekyll, who slowly begins to transform into Hyde. Realizing that the jig is up, Hyde tries to escape from the lab by climbing to a window, but Lanyon shoots him, causing him to fall onto Jekyll's laboratory table. Hyde begins to transform into Jekyll, while Jekyll's butler, Poole, begins to cry for his late master.


48. THEM!

Them! is a 1954 American black and white science fiction film about man's encounter with a nest of gigantic irradiated ants. It is based on an original story treatment by George Worthing Yates. It was developed into a screenplay by Ted Sherdeman and Russell Hughes for Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., and was produced by David Weisbart and directed by Gordon Douglas. It starred James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon and James Arness.

One of the first of the "nuclear monster" movies, and the first "big bug" film, Them! was nominated for an Oscar for Special Effects and won a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing. It is significant that the film starts off as a simple suspense story, with police investigating mysterious disappearances and deaths, all from no explainable cause. The giant ants are not even seen until almost a third of the way into the film.

The film begins with New Mexico State Police Sergeant Ben Peterson (James Whitmore) discovering a little girl wandering the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico, mute and in a state of shock. They track her back to a trailer owned by an FBI agent named Ellinson, who was on vacation in the area with his wife and 2 children. The side of the trailer is found to have been ripped open from the outside, the sugar bowl is spilled across the table and the parents are missing and presumed dead. The girl briefly responds when strange sounds echo out of the desert wind, but the troopers miss this moment.

More mysterious deaths and disappearances occur in the area. A general store owner named Gramps Johnson is found dead, his store literally torn apart. With all the money left in the register but all of the store's sacks of sugar missing and Gramps' empty rifle bent on the floor, the cops think that there is a maniac killer on the loose. But, as Peterson's boss points out (after Peterson's patrol partner Ed Blackburn, played by Chris Drake, was killed too, while strange ullulating echos mingle with his gunshots and cries), Gramps' 30-30 was emptied and "Ed Blackburn was a crack shot. He could hit anything he could see. So unless your killer is armored like a battleship, there's no maniac in this case." It's up to the coroner to deliver the verdict that "Gramps Johnson could have died in any one of five ways: his neck and back were broken, his chest was crushed, his skull was fractured, and here's one for Sherlock Holmes: there was enough formic acid in him to kill twenty men."

The FBI sends in local agent Robert Graham (James Arness) to assist. A single strange track as big as a mountain lion's is found in the desert near the trailer and a plaster cast of it is made and sent to Washington, DC. When the FBI is unable to identify the footprint, it attracts the attention of Doctors Harold (Edmund Gwenn) and Pat Medford (Joan Weldon), a father/daughter team of entomologists from the Department of Agriculture.

The elder Doctor Medford arrives on the scene with a theory, but will not disclose it until he tries an experiment on the Ellinson girl, having her smell the contents of a vial of formic acid, which frees her from her state of near-catatonic withdrawal, screaming "Them! Them!" Returning to the destroyed trailer with Peterson, Graham, and his daughter, Medford has his theory dramatically given its final proof when the group encounters a foraging ant, mutated by atomic radiation to the size of an automobile. The ants produce loud, distinctive stridulating calls that become the iconic signature of the beasts. The lawmen kill the creature with a Thompson submachine gun after finding that their revolvers have little effect. They aimed for the antennae on Medford's advice that they were helpless without them.

A company of the US Air Force is brought in, led by General O'Brien (Stevens), which locates the ants' nest and exterminates the inhabitants with poison gas. The younger Dr. Medford, who accompanies Peterson and Graham into the nest, finds evidence that two young queens have hatched and flown away to establish new colonies. Trying to avoid a general panic, the government covertly monitors and investigates any reports of unusual activities as sightings of "flying saucers". One of the queens ends up in the hold of an ocean-going freighter loaded with sugar, which is then overrun by the ants and subsequently sunk by a US Navy cruiser. From the rantings of an alcoholic, and an investigation into the death of a father protecting his two young, now missing, sons from an apparent ant attack, the other queen is finally tracked to the Los Angeles storm drain system, forcing the Army to openly declare martial law and launch a major assault.

During the assault, Peterson finds the two missing boys, named Mike and Jerry, alive, trapped by the ants in a side tunnel, which is also the entrance to the nest. Peterson calls in for backup, but instead of waiting for it, he bravely goes in alone, heroically rescuing the two boys and killing two threatening ants with his flamethrower. Peterson leads the two boys back to the pipe through which he came, intending that they all crawl back through it to safety. After hoisting up the first boy, Jerry, however, another ant appears from behind, and thinking quickly and selflessly, Peterson saves the second boy, Mike, but after lifting the boy into the pipe, Peterson is left without time to save himself. As he tries to climb up into the pipe at the last minute, the ant grabs Peterson in its mandibles, "stinging" him with its lethal formic acid.

Graham arrives at the scene quickly with the reinforcements, and kills the ant attacking Peterson. He rushes over to Peterson's side just in time to hear Peterson's last words, confirming that the boys made it to safety, before Peterson dies. Graham returns to the battle, nearly getting killed himself when a cave-in temporarily seals him off from the rest of the men as they march towards the egg chamber; several ants charge him, but Graham is able to hold them off long enough for the other troops to tunnel through the debris and come to his rescue. The nest's queen and egg chamber are then destroyed with flamethrowers after a short but fierce battle, but the senior Dr. Medford issues a grim warning that the atomic genie has been let out of the bottle, and further horrors may await mankind.



47. ALEX
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 British darkly satirical science fiction film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. The film concerns Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a charismatic delinquent whose pleasures are classical music (especially Beethoven), rape, and so-called 'ultra-violence'. He leads a small gang of thugs (Pete, Georgie, and Dim), whom he calls his droogs (from the Russian друг, “friend”, “buddy”). The film tells the horrific crime spree of his gang, his capture, and attempted rehabilitation via a controversial psychological conditioning technique. Alex narrates most of the film in Nadsat, a fractured, contemporary adolescent argot comprising Slavic (especially Russian), English, and Cockney rhyming slang.

In the near-future of London, Alex and his friends, called "droogs", Pete (Michael Tarn), Georgie (James Marcus), and Dim (Warren Clarke), are partaking of "milk plus", a milk with various drugs mixed in, at the Korova Milk Bar prior to an evening of "the old ultra-violence". They proceed to beat up an elderly vagrant (Paul Farrell) under a motorway and interrupt an attempted gang rape of a woman in an abandoned casino by a rival gang of camouflage wearing Walts led by Billyboy[2] (Richard Connaught). They subsequently get in a brawl with their rivals. Upon hearing the sounds of police sirens, Alex and his gang flee, stealing a car and driving into the countryside. They then gain entry to the home of Mr. Alexander, a writer, under false pretenses and assault him while violently raping his wife (Adrienne Corri), all while Alex sings Singin' in the Rain. When they return to the milk bar, Alex strikes Dim when he interrupts a female patron who is singing the Ode to Joy from the final movement of the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, a composer Alex admires.

The next day, Alex skips school and has an encounter with probation officer Mr. P. R. Deltoid (Aubrey Morris). Deltoid is exasperated with Alex and talks about all his hard work with him. Deltoid is the one person who easily sees through Alex's lies. After picking up and having sex with two girls from a record shop, Alex regroups with his droogs in his building lobby, but finds Georgie insisting the gang be run in a "new way" that entails less power for Alex and more ambitious crimes. As they walk along a canal, Alex attacks his droogs in order to re-establish his leadership.

That night, the gang attempts to invade the home of a woman (Miriam Karlin) who lives alone with her cats and runs a health farm. In the process, she gets into a fight with Alex, and Alex bludgeons her with a phallus-shaped statue. Dim smashes a milk bottle across Alex's face, temporarily blinding him and leaving him to be found by the police as Dim, Georgie, and Pete flee the scene. During his interrogation, Alex is told by Mr. Deltoid that he is now a murderer, because the woman died from her injuries.

Alex is tried for murder, convicted, and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Two years into his sentence, Alex becomes friends with the prison chaplain and takes a keen interest in the Bible, primarily the more violent passages. The Minister of the Interior (Anthony Sharp) arrives at the prison looking for volunteers for the Ludovico technique, an experimental aversion therapy for rehabilitating criminals. Alex eagerly steps forward, wanting only to get out of prison, and not caring at all about the technique, much to the disgust of Chief Officer Barnes (Michael Bates). At the Ludovico facility, Alex is placed in a straitjacket and forced to watch films containing scenes of extreme violence while being given drugs to induce reactions of revulsion. The films presented includes real scenes in Nazi Germany as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony plays over it. Alex realises this will probably condition him against Beethoven's music and makes an agonised though unsuccessful attempt to have the treatment end prematurely before the conditioning sets in. Two weeks later, after the treatment is finished, Alex's reformed behaviour is demonstrated for the audience. He is unable to respond to an Irish actor's (John Clive) shouting insults and picking a fight with him, and a feeling of sickness attacks him when he is presented with a young naked woman who sexually arouses him. The Minister declares Alex to be cured, but the chaplain asserts that Alex no longer has any free will.

Alex is immediately released from prison. He returns home only to find that his possessions have been confiscated by the state and his parents have rented his room to a lodger named Joe (Clive Francis), leaving him on his own. On the street, Alex comes across the same vagrant he had assaulted before the treatment, who shouts for his friends and they attack Alex. Two policemen arrive to break up the fight, but Alex discovers the policemen to be his former droogs, Georgie and Dim. They drag Alex out to the countryside, where they brutally beat and half-drown him in a cattle water trough, before leaving him for dead.

Battered and bruised, Alex wanders to the home of Mr. Alexander, who does not recognise him from two years previously, due to the mask Alex had worn at the time. Permanently crippled from that attack, Mr. Alexander now lives with a personal bodyguard, manservant, and physical trainer named Julian (David Prowse). Mr. Alexander takes Alex into his home, aware that he had undergone the Ludovico treatment due to the story published in all of the country's newspapers. Mr. Alexander tends to Alex's wounds, but the memories of his assault return when Alex sings "Singin' in the Rain" while he is taking a bath. Mr. Alexander drugs Alex, locks him in the upper floor of his home and plays Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at full volume through a powerful stereo on the floor below, knowing that the Ludovico treatment will cause immense pain to Alex. In order to escape the torture, Alex becomes suicidal and throws himself out of the room's window.

Alex recovers consciousness days later to find himself in traction, with dreams about doctors messing around inside his head. Through a series of psychological tests, Alex finds that he no longer has a revulsion to violence. The Minister of the Interior comes to Alex and apologises for subjecting him to the treatment, and informs him that Mr. Alexander has been "put away". The Minister then offers Alex an important government job and, as a show of goodwill, has a stereo wheeled to his bedside playing Beethoven's Ninth. Alex then realises that instead of an adverse reaction to the music, he sees images of sexual pleasure. He then states, in a sarcastic and menacing voice-over, "I was cured, all right!"


46. THE THING

The Thing from Another World (often referred to as The Thing before its 1982 remake), is a 1951 science fiction film based on the 1938 novella "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell, Jr. It tells the story of an Air Force crew and scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight a malevolent plant-based alien being. It stars Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite and Douglas Spencer. James Arness appeared.

A U.S. Air Force re-supply crew is officially dispatched by General Fogerty (David McMahon) from Anchorage, Alaska at the unusual request of Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite), chief of a group of scientists working at a North Pole base, Polar Expedition Six. They have evidence that an unknown flying craft of some kind crashed nearby. Ned Scott (Douglas Spencer), a reporter in search of a story, tags along. A minor romantic sub-plot involves Captain Patrick Hendry (Kenneth Tobey) and Carrington's secretary, Nikki Nicholson (Margaret Sheridan).

Doctor Carrington briefs the airmen, and Doctor Redding (George Fenneman) shows high speed photos of an object moving downward, up and on a straight line - not the movements of a meteor. Hendry wonders to the doctor, "Twenty thousand tons of steel is an awful lot of metal for an airplane.""It is for the sort of aeroplane we KNOW, Captain," Carrington responds. From Geiger counter readings, Hendry's crew and the scientists fly to the crash site aboard the supply team's ski-equipped C-47. The craft is buried in the ice, with a vertical stabilizer protruding from the surface. They are shocked to discover that the shape of the craft is that of a flying saucer. They try to free it with thermite heat explosives, but in doing so accidentally destroy the craft. Crew Chief Sergeant Bob's (Dewey Martin) geiger counter locates a body nearby, frozen in the ice.

They excavate the tall body, preserving it in a large ice block and return to the research outpost as a major storm moves in, making communication with Anchorage very difficult. Some scientists want to thaw out the creature immediately, but Hendry orders everyone to wait until he receives orders from Air Force authorities. Feeling uneasy guarding the body, Corporal Barnes (William Self) covers the ice block with a blanket, not realizing it is an electric blanket, and the creature thaws out, revives and escapes to the outside cold.

The creature wards off an attack by twelve sled dogs, and the scientists recover an arm, bitten off by the dogs. As the arm warms up, it ingests the blood from one of the dogs and begins to come back to life. They learn that, while appearing humanoid, the creature is in fact an advanced form of plant life. Dr. Carrington is convinced that the creature can be reasoned with and has much to teach them, but Dr. Chapman (John Dierkes) and other colleagues disagree. The Air Force men are just as sure it may be dangerous.

Carrington soon realizes that the creature requires blood to reproduce. He later discovers the hidden body of a sled dog, still warm, drained of blood, in the greenhouse. He has volunteers from his own team, Dr Voorhees (Paul Frees), Dr Olsen and Dr Auerbach, stand guard overnight, waiting for the creature's return.

Later, Carrington secretly uses blood plasma from the infirmary to incubate and nourish seedlings he has taken from the arm, failing to advise his colleagues or Capt Hendry of what he has done, or of having found the bodies of Olsen and Auerbach, drained of blood. Dr Stern (Eduard Franz) is almost killed, but escapes to warn the others. Nikki reluctantly updates Hendry when he asks about missing plasma. Hendry confronts Carrington in the greenhouse, where he sees that the creature's planted seed pods have grown at an alarming rate. Dr Wilson (Everett Glass) advises Carrington that he hasn't slept, but Carrington is unconcerned. The creature returns and the USAF crew, after gunfire has no effect, trap it in the greenhouse.

The creature escapes and tries to break into another part of the camp. Following a suggestion from Nikki, Hendry and his men set it alight with kerosene, causing it to flee into the night.

Nikki notes that the temperature inside the station is dropping quickly, probably due to a cut fuel line. The cold forces the scientists and the airmen to make a final stand in the generator room. They rig a booby trap, hoping to electrocute the thing. As the creature advances on them, Carrington twice tries to save it, once by shutting off the power, and then by trying to reason with the creature directly. It throws him aside, before falling into the trap and being reduced to a smoldering husk. Its seedlings are also destroyed. Scotty files his "story of a lifetime" by radio to Anchorage, warning his listeners to "Watch the skies!"



45. EUGENE TOOMS
On the 1993–2002 television series, The X-Files, there developed two main types of episodes. "Mytharc" episodes were recognized as the canon "mythology" of the series, comprising the central storyline concerning extraterrestrial life and a conspiracy to hide it, while "MOTW" (Monster of the Week; also "MoW") came to denote the rest of the episodes, a majority of each season. Episodes of this type dealt with all kinds of paranormal phenomena—mutants, science fiction technologies, horror monsters, and comedic episodes that parodied these genres, other TV shows, and even The X-Files itself. Some of these episodes had indirect ties to the X-Files mythology. A number of "monster of the week" characters became notable and were later referenced by other episodes and by fans of the show.

Eugene Victor Tooms, played by Doug Hutchison in the episodes "Squeeze" and "Tooms". An animal control worker in Baltimore, Maryland, Tooms was a mutant, capable of stretching and contorting his body into positions that would be uncomfortable or physically impossible for a normal human. This gave him access to his victims through small openings such as ventilation shafts, chimneys, and toilets. Every thirty years, Tooms came out of hibernation, killing five people to obtain their livers for sustenance. It is possible that Tooms was over one-hundred years old when Mulder and Scully encountered him; he was linked to similar murder sprees in 1963 and 1933, as well as a single murder in 1903. In the episode "Tooms", Mulder tracked him to his "nest" underneath a shopping mall. When he attacked Mulder, Tooms was assumably crushed to death under a moving escalator. He was one of only three MOTW characters to star in more than one episode. In the episode The End, Eugene is seen on a newspaper article in Mulder's office. Eugene was rementioned in the episode Alone.



44. MARTIANS
The War of the Worlds is a 1953 science fiction film starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. It was the first on screen depiction of the H. G. Wells classic novel of the same name. Produced by George Pal and directed by Byron Haskin from a script by Barré Lyndon, it was the first of several adaptations of Wells' work to be filmed by Pal, and is considered to be one of the great science fiction films of the 1950s. It won an Oscar for its special effects.

The story from the 1898 novel of H. G. Wells is updated to the 1950s for this film, and the setting is moved from the environs of London to southern California. Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry), a veteran of the Manhattan Project, is fishing near the town of Linda Rosa when a large meteorite lands nearby. At the impact site, he meets Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) and her uncle, Pastor Dr. Matthew Collins (Lewis Martin). As the meteorite is radioactive and too hot to examine closely, he decides to wait in town for it to cool.

The meteorite unscrews and disgorges a Martian war machine. When the three men who remained behind approach in friendly greeting, it kills them without warning with its Heat-Ray. Forrester and the sheriff are also attacked when they return, but survive. Amid reports of other meteors landing throughout the world, the Marines surround the Martian ship. Three war machines deploy. Pastor Collins approaches them in peace, but they kill him without attempting to communicate. The Marines attack, but the Martians are protected by an impenetrable force field. The invaders use their Heat-Ray and disintegrator rays to vaporize most of the military.

Forrester and Van Buren hide in an abandoned farmhouse but are trapped inside when another meteorite crashes into the house. An "electronic eye" inspects the ruins but fails to spot them. Forrester and Van Buren wound a Martian when the creature leaves its machine; they get a sample of its blood, and the electronic eye. They rejoin Forrester's co-workers at Pacific Tech in Los Angeles, who seek a way to defeat the aliens. With the blood sample and the technology from the farmhouse, the scientists learn about Martian physiology; in particular, that the aliens are physically weak. Their war machines and heat-rays are, nonetheless, defeating all opposition worldwide.

A United States Air Force YB-49 drops an atomic bomb on the Martians' camp as they advance on Los Angeles, without success. The government evacuates cities in danger, but with military force useless the scientists are the last hope for defeating the Martians which, they calculate, will conquer Earth within six days. Widespread panic among the general populace scatters the Pacific Tech group, wrecks its equipment, and separate Forrester and Van Buren.

All seems lost, with humanity helpless before the aliens. Forrester searches for Van Buren in the burning ruins of a Los Angeles under attack. He finds her with others awaiting the end in a church. An approaching Martian war machine suddenly crashes. Forrester realizes that the seemingly all-powerful invaders are dying. As in the book, they have no biological defense against viruses and bacteria which "God in His wisdom had put upon this Earth", saving mankind.


43. RODAN
Rodan (ラドン, Radon?) is a fictional Japanese pterosaur introduced in Rodan, a 1956 release from Toho Studios, the company responsible for the Godzilla series. Like Godzilla and Anguirus, he is designed after a type of prehistoric reptile (the Japanese name "Radon" is a contraction of "pteranodon". Radon is usually referred to as "Rodan" in the United States, possibly to avoid confusion with the atomic element Radon; any time his name is written in English in Japan, it is written as Rodan. He is occasionally portrayed as enemy of Godzilla but is usually depicted as one of Godzilla's allies, much like Anguirus. Rodan and Anguirus both started out as enemies of Godzilla, which explains the occasional enmity between the creatures and Godzilla himself on the rare occasion that they are pitted against one another.

In Rodan, two Rodans were unearthed and awakened by mining operations in Kitamatsu along with a swarm of prehistoric insects called Meganulons. After devouring several people and reducing Sasebo to ruins, one Rodan is maimed in a bombardment of their nest in Mount Aso and falls, apparently fatally, into a volcanic eruption triggered by the attack. The other Rodan, in a doomed attempt to save its mate, flies into the mouth of the volcano as well. Also, as with Godzilla, the American version differs from the original Japanese release by more than simple matters of language translation; the original Japanese version is much darker in tone. It also has one of the Rodans damaged by a jet fighter, hindering its ability to fly at supersonic speeds.

Rodan went on to cross over into the Godzilla series. It is explained that one Rodan from the 1956 film is resurrected by accumulated volcanic gas, appearing in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster to help Godzilla and Mothra defeat King Ghidorah. In this appearance and all subsequent appearances in the Showa series, Rodan is as tall as Godzilla. Rodan appeared with Godzilla again in Invasion of the Astro-Monster, where both were mind-controlled by Xilians to destroy Earth's cities and later fought King Ghidorah again when the mind control was broken.

In Destroy All Monsters, Rodan was again used by aliens to wreak havoc on Earth, this time by the Kilaaks. Again the mind control was broken and the monsters fought King Ghidorah. Rodan would only appear again in the Shōwa series in stock footage used for Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon and Terror of Mechagodzilla.



42. MARIA

Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist film in the science-fiction genre directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and owners in capitalism. The film was produced in the Babelsberg Studios by Universum Film A.G. (UFA). The most expensive silent film ever made, it cost approximately 5 million Reichsmark.

The film is set in the massive, sprawling futuristic mega-city Metropolis, whose society is divided into two classes: one of planners and management, who live high above the Earth in luxurious skyscrapers; and one of workers, who live and toil underground. The city was founded, built, and is run by the autocratic Joh Fredersen.

Like all the other sons of the managers of Metropolis, Fredersen's son Freder lives a life of luxury in the theatres and stadiums of the skyscraper buildings. One day, as he is playing in the Eternal Gardens, he notices that a beautiful girl has appeared with many children of the workers. She is quickly shooed away, but Freder becomes infatuated with her and follows her down to the workers' underworld. There, he experiences firsthand the horrors of the workers' life, and is disgusted when he sees an enormous machine, known as the M-Machine, violently explode and kill dozens of workers. In the smoke, Freder envisions the M-Machine as Moloch, a monstrous deity to which the hapless workers are sacrificed.

Disgusted, Freder returns to the New Tower of Babel, a massive skyscraper owned by his father. There, he confronts his father and starts crying about the accident at the M-Machine, otherwise known as the heart, but Fredersen is more annoyed about hearing about the accident from his son and not from his clerk Josephat. Grot, foreman of the Heart Machine, informs him of papers resembling plans or maps, which have been found in the dead workers' pockets. Again, because he had not heard the news from Josephat first, Fredersen fires him, and also charges his spy, a slim man, to keep an eye on his son.

Freder keeps Josephat from committing suicide and hires him to help with his quest to help the workers. Freder descends to the workers' underworld again and meets someone named Georgy 11811, who works a machine that directs electrical power to the enormous series of elevators in the New Tower of Babel. Freder persuades Georgy to exchange clothes with him, go to Freder's apartment, and let Freder work at the machine. Georgy, who finds large blocks of money in the pocket of Freder's clothing, goes to Yoshiwara, the city's red-light district. While Georgy enjoys a night of wild and passionate partying, Freder works at the machine until he becomes delirious, having visions of being crucified to the factory clock.

Fredersen, wondering about the papers found, decides to consult the scientist Rotwang, his old collaborator, who lives in an old house contained in the lower levels of the city. The two were friends but then became rivals over the love of a woman. Rotwang loved a girl named Hel but when he introduced her to his friend, Hel abandoned him to marry the much more wealthy and powerful Fredersen. Hel died giving birth to Freder, leaving both Rotwang and Fredersen heartbroken and loathing themselves and each other. While Fredersen has moved on, the scientist's love for Hel and his hatred to Fredersen remain as strong as ever. Rotwang introduces Fredersen to a Maschinenmensch he has constructed and which he intends to give the image of Hel and marry her.

When Fredersen seeks Rotwang's counsel about the papers, Rotwang explains that they are maps to the 2,000-year old catacombs that are deep under the lowest levels of the worker's city. The two decide to go exploring the catacombs and climb down a tunnel. From a gap in the rocks, they observe the workers gathering in a cathedral hewn from the rock. There, the beautiful Maria appears and begins preaching to the workers (among them the disguised Freder) about the Tower of Babel and about how they must wait for the coming Mediator and also that the heart must be mediator between the mind (the planners) and the hands (the workers).

At the end of the sermon, Fredersen turns away and begins thinking, while Rotwang notices one worker staying behind, and talking to Maria, revealing himself as Fredersen's son and telling her that he realizes that he is the Mediator that they have been waiting for. Fredersen instructs Rotwang to give the machine-man the image of Maria to then sow distrust between her and the workers. Rotwang agrees but has ulterior motives, intending to use the machine-human to ruin Fredersen's life. While Fredersen returns to his offices, Rotwang captures Maria and imprisons her in his house. There, he performs experiments on her and transforms the machine-human to look exactly like Maria. He then instructs it, by any means that does not hurt Rotwang or herself, to destroy Fredersen's city and murder his son.

Rotwang demonstrates the machine-human's abilities to Fredersen by dressing it up as an erotic dancer at the Yoshiwara, where it drives the sons of the owners into homicidal fits of sexual jealousy. The body count is enormous; meanwhile, the machine-human also visits the workers' city and encourages the workers to rebel. They storm out of the workers' city in a full-scale riot and destroy the Heart Machine, the city's power generator. This results in a complete hydraulic breakdown. The city's reservoirs overflow and flood the workers' city to the brim, and seemingly drown the children of the workers. In fact, the children were saved by the real Maria and Freder in a heroic rescue.

When the workers realize what they have done, and that they have killed their children, they blame Maria. Under Grot's leadership, they dash to the upper city and run through the streets, chasing the real Maria, rather than the machine-human. They run into Yoshiwara and meet the owners' sons, led by the machine-human. In the ensuing confusion, the machine-man is tied to a stake and is burned to death.

Meanwhile, the real Maria is chased by Rotwang, who takes her for the machine-human and now wants to give her the likeness of Hel after all. In a climactic scene, Fredersen watches in horror as Freder and Rotwang fight on the cathedral's roof. Rotwang falls to his death, and Freder and Maria return to the street and unite Fredersen and Grot, thus ending the brutality of the city.


41. PURITY

The Colonists are an extraterrestrial species in the science fiction television show, The X-Files, and also in the first feature film. The mystery revolving around who they are and what they are planning is revealed across the course of the series. In the series' plot, the Colonists are collaborating with a group of United States government officials known as the Syndicate in a plan to take over the Earth and "colonize" it, hence their name.

Purity, more commonly referred to as black oil, and called the "black cancer" by the Russians, was an alien virus that thrived underground on Earth, in petroleum deposits. The virus was capable of entering humanoids and assuming control of their bodies. It had sentience and was capable of communicating. It was revealed to be the "life force" of the alien colonists, which they seemingly used to reproduce their kind, as well as infect other alien races in order to conquer the universe.

The Syndicate in cooperation with the alien colonists, developed a way to quietly introduce the virus into an unsuspecting public, through the use of bees. The colonists would then be able to use human beings as a slave race. The Syndicate, however, secretly try to create a vaccine to protect themselves, which they codename "Purity Control." While the Purity Control project ultimately fails, a rival Russian shadow group was successful in developing a weak vaccine which eventually fell into the hands of the Syndicate.

The plot to cooperate with the alien colonization plan was implemented with the aim of being given access to the black oil, in order to try and develop a vaccine. This attempt was semi-successful, as the "weak vaccine" administered to Scully while in the Antarctic alien ship caused the entire ship to depart its underground residence.

(Monster Info From Wikipedia)

Vampirella #108 - September 1982 Issue - Warren Magazine

Stories in this issue include: "Vampirella: Spawn of the Star Beast"; "Sweetwater Nessie" part two; "Pantha: Circus Monstrous"; "The Fox: The Beast Lies Sleeping"; "Jeremy" part three; and "Torpedo, 1936." Written by Rich Margopoulos, Don McGregor, David Allikas, Nicola Cuti, Paul Gillon, and Sanchez Abuli. Art by Jose Gonzalez, Auraleon, Jose Ortiz, Luis Bermejo, Paul Gillon, and Alex Toth. Includes 1981 Warren Awards. Cover art by Enrich Torres.

Shop For Horror Comics At View Obscura

Witching Hour #24, October 1972 Issue - DC Comics

Written by Murray Boltinoff (as Bill Dennehy) and drawn by Alfredo Alcala.

A tourist takes a photo of a voodoo ritual which incenses the witch doctor. The witch doctor takes a photograph of the photographer and works evil magic upon it.

A waitress works evenings and both a policeman and the owner offer to walk her home as there is a killer on the loose, but she prefers to accompany a customer. When he offers to walk her home, she accepts. On the way, she pulls a knife out from under her coat and reveals herself as the killer to the policeman who was following her in order to protect her.

A man has a recurring nightmare that he is a spider about to be stung by a scorpion. The dream disturbs him so much it takes a toll on his social life and finally his wife threatens to take the children and leave unless he sees a doctor. The psychologist recommends that he focus on his current life and when he joyfully tells his wife the doctor thinks he can be cured of the nightmare he is startled when she disappears in front of him. His children and his house fade away as well and in its last moments the spider realizes that it was fantasizing it was a man to escape the terror of dying from the scorpion's tail.

Creepy #123 - November 1980 Issue - Warren Magazine

Stories in this issue include: Kiss of the Plague! by Doug Moench, Leo Summers, and Alex Toth; Hands of Fate by Carl Wessler and Martin Salvador; The Don't Make Movies by Gerry Boudreau, Carmine Infantino, and Alfredo Alcala; The Slave by Alabaster Redzone (a.k.a. Jim Stenstrum) and Jesus Blasco (art miscredited to Jaime Brocal); Harriman's Monsters! by Greg Potter and Dan Adkins; Always Leave them Laughing by Michael Fleisher, Val Mayerik, and Rudy Nebres; and Jelly by Nicola Cuti and Herb Arnold. Cover art by Ken Kelly.

Weird Mystery Tales #10, March 1974 Issue - DC Comics

"The Curse" with script by Bill Reily, art by Gil Kane; "Lady Killer" with script by Jack Oleck, art by Alfredo Alcala; and "the Sunken Pearls of Captain Hatch" with script by Michael Fleisher, art by Jess Jodloman. Luis Dominguez cover.

Tomb of Dracula #43 - April 1976 Issue - Marvel Comics

Script by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Tom Palmer.

Paul Butterworth, reporter for the Boston Bugle has run afoul of Dracula and his quickly trying to type up his story before Dracula can find him:

His story begins on the night of New Years Eve as Mary-Ann Travers is heading home from a party, she is attacked and killed by Dracula. When the the police would arrive on the scene Paul would arrive as well trying to get a scoop on this girl who was bled dry, and his presence is less than welcomed by the police. Later, in the early hours of the new year, Margaret Simmons pays her respects to her deceased husband when she witnesses Dracula rising from the grave, and she is also fed upon by Dracula. When these reports go out, Paul begins to wonder if vampires are involved when he hears a radio advertisement for Harold H. Harold's book "True Vampire Stores", which was an eye witness account of Harold's encounter with Dracula.

Werewolf by Night #26, February 1975 Issue - Marvel Comics

Script by Doug Moench, art by Don Perlin.

The Hangman stands on a building ledge holding a rope, at the end of which swings the Werewolf, his neck in the noose. The Werewolf reaches a flagpole then yanks the rope to force the Hangman off the ledge. They both fall to the sidewalk below, and the vigilante swings his scythe for a killing blow. The beast dodges, and the blade severs the rope, allowing him to run away. The Hangman returns to his original objective, the hospitalized scientist, Dr. Winston Ridditch, whose formula transformed him a month before into the evil DePrayve. The vigilante abducts Ridditch and takes him to his lair in an abandoned movie house.

Weird Mystery Tales #15, January 1975 Issue - DC Comics

Written by Michael Fleisher (script) & Russ Carley (script continuity) and drawn by Jess Jodloman.

Doom On Vampire Mountain
Drive-In Death
Blood Moon

This is the first issue in the series to be hosted solely by Eve.

Dr Frankenstein decides to retire, leaving the monster business to his nephew, Felix. Frankenstein plans to announce his decision at a convention of monsters that includes his monster, Dracula, the Werewolf, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and many more. However when Felix proves to be an incompetent (and unsuitably kind-hearted) human, the monsters plot to eliminate him and gain control of Frankenstein's latest discovery: the secret of total destruction!

The film was created using Rankin/Bass'"Animagic" stop motion animation process. The process involved photographing figurines in still shots and re-positioning them after each shot, the same approach used in Art Clokey's Davey and Goliath and to create the giant ape in the original King Kong. Kong, in fact, makes a featured appearance in this film (sporting some rather colorful finger and toenails), although due to rights issues he is known only as "It".

Classic monster movies were enjoying a resurgence in popularity in the late 1960's, and humorous monsters like The Addams Family and The Munsters were enormously popular. This campy film is a spoof of horror themes, complete with musical numbers and inside jokes.

Mad Magazine creator Harvey Kurtzman penned the script, and Mad artist Jack Davis designed many of the characters. Davis was a natural for the job, being famous both for his humor work and his monster stories in the pages of EC Comics. It has long been rumored that Forrest J. Ackerman had a hand in the script, but while the script is rife with Famous Monsters of Filmland -like puns, Ackerman's involvement has never been confirmed. Although mostly intended as a kid's picture, the film does feature some of Kurtzman's typically dark humor and a few mildly risque jokes (in one scene, Francesca falls over, and when Felix struggles to lift her, she says, "I wanted you to know I'm no easy pick-up.") In another scene, a character briefly has his head replaced with a cooked pig's... and this is surely the only "kid's picture" to end with a mushroom cloud!


The cute/ghastly look of the creatures in this film was very influential on The Nightmare Before Christmas and other Tim Burton monster designs; in particular, the little monsters seen in the Stay One Step Ahead number strongly resemble Burton creations.

In addition to the famous monsters seen in the film, Mad Monster Party? also features several celebrity likenesses. Boris Karloff and Phyllis Diller's characters are both designed to look like the actors portraying them, while the hunchbacked lackey named Yetch is a physical and vocal caricature of Peter Lorre. Felix, on the other hand, strongly resembles Jimmy Stewart vocally but not physically.

In 1972, Rankin/Bass produced a sequel of sorts, with the TV special Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters. This special featured many of the same monster characters, including an imitation of Karloff as the doctor ( he died in 1969), although it presumably was not intended as a direct sequel since many of these characters perished at the end of Mad Monster Party?. Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters was created using cel animation, rather than stop-motion. While Mad Monster Party? still enjoys an ardent cult following, Mad, Mad, Mad Monsters has fallen into comparative obscurity.

40. THE FLY

The Fly is a 1958 American science-fiction horror film, directed by Kurt Neumann. The screenplay was written by James Clavell (his first), from the short story "The Fly" by George Langelaan. It was followed by two sequels, Return of the Fly and Curse of the Fly.

Canadian scientist Andre Delambre's head and arm are crushed in a hydraulic press. His wife Helene confesses to the crime. Helene is obsessed with flies, particularly a white-headed fly. Andre's brother, Francois, lies and says he caught it. Thinking he knows the truth, Helene tells how it happened. In flashback, Andre, Helene and their son Phillipe are a happy family. Andre has been working on a matter transporter device -- the disintegrator-integrator. It works, but not quite perfectly. He refines it, and eventually builds a man-sized pair of chambers. Helene, worried since Andre has not come up from the basement lab for a couple days, goes down to investigate. Andre lets her in, but has a black cloth over his head. Communicating with typed notes only, Andre tells Helene that he tried to transport himself, but a fly got caught in the chamber, which resulted in mixing their atoms. Now he has the head and arm of a fly, and the fly has his miniature head and arm.

Andre needs Helene to capture the fly so he can reverse the process. She searches, but cannot find it. His will is fading as the fly's instincts are taking over his brain; which is evidenced by the fly's arm struggling to gain control of Andre's body. Eventually, time runs out, and while Andre can still think like a human, he smashes the equipment and burns his notes. He leads Helene to the factory and sets the hydraulic press. Andre motions for Helene to push the button, wanting to be put out of his misery, but as she presses the button, she walks over to Andre to take one last look at him, he then tries to take Helene with him, due to the fly's attempts to take over his brain. She then pushes Andre away from her, and the press crushes his head, killing him. Helene then proceeds to crush his left arm.

The police, hearing this confession, deem her insane, but guilty of murder. As they are hauling her away, Andre's son Philippe tells Francois he's seen the fly trapped in a web in the back garden. Francois convinces the inspector (Herbert Marshall) to come and see for himself. In a (now classic) disturbing array of imagery, both men see the fly, trapped in the web, with both Andre's head and arm, looking somewhat aged and terrified. It screams "Help me! Help me!" as a large brown spider advances on the creature. Just as the fly is about to be devoured by the spider, the inspector smashes them both with a rock, letting the fly finally rest in peace. He and Francois backpedal on the facts such that Andre committed suicide, as it is noted that the inspector is as guilty as Helene of murder. In the end, Helene, Francois and Phillipe resume their daily lives.


39. THE CYBERMEN

The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more and more artificial parts into their bodies as a means of self-preservation. This led to the race becoming coldly logical and calculating, with every emotion all but deleted from their minds. The Cybermen also have a rivalry with the Daleks.

They were created by Dr. Kit Pedler (the unofficial scientific advisor to the programme) and Gerry Davis in 1966, first appearing in the serial The Tenth Planet, the last to feature William Hartnell as the First Doctor. They have since been featured numerous times in their extreme attempts to survive through conquest.

A parallel universe version of the Cybermen appeared in the 2006 series' two-part story, "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel", and have been ongoing reoccurring characters in the revived series. They also appeared in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood in the episode "Cyberwoman".

Cybermen technology is almost completely oriented towards weaponry, apart from their own bodies. When originally seen in The Tenth Planet, they had large energy weapons that attached to their chests. In The Moonbase, the Cybermen had two types of weaponry: an electrical discharge from their hands, which stunned the target, and a type of gun. They also made use of a large laser cannon with which they attempted to attack the base itself.

The hand discharge was also present in The Tomb of the Cybermen, which featured a smaller, hand-held Cyber-weapon shaped like a pistol that was described as an X-ray laser. In The Wheel in Space, the Cybermen could use the discharge to also operate machinery, and had death rays built into their chest units. They displayed the same units in The Invasion as well as carrying large rifles for medium distance combat. In Revenge of the Cybermen and Real Time, their weapons were built into their helmets. Killing Ground indicates that this type of Cybermen also have more powerful hand weapons. Subsequent appearances have shown them armed almost exclusively with hand-held cyberguns.

The Cybermen have access to weapons of mass destruction known as cobalt bombs, also sometimes as Cyber-bombs, which were banned by the galactic Armageddon Convention (Revenge of the Cybermen). A "Cyber-megatron bomb" was mentioned in The Invasion, supposedly powerful enough to destroy all life on Earth. In Earthshock, the Cybermen also used androids as part of their plans to invade Earth.

The New Series Cybermen electrocute their victims by touching them and at first carried no other weaponry. In "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday", the Cybermen are equipped with retractable energy weapons housed within their forearms (these were actually first shown in "The Age of Steel", but only very briefly and were not used during that episode), but also use modified human weapons to battle the Daleks. The arm mounted guns prove effective against humans but are unable to penetrate Dalek shields. Two Cybermen sent to parley with Dalek Thay at the Battle of Canary Wharf shot the Dalek but were promptly exterminated. In the Torchwood episode "Cyberwoman", the partially converted Lisa Hallett used her electrical touch against the Torchwood team, as well as an energy beam fired from her arm which could only stun the part of the body at which it was aimed. In The Pandorica Opens, the cybermen again have the wrist-blaster, but also regain the modified human weapons.

38. THE INVISIBLE MAN

The Invisible Man is a 1933 science fiction film based on H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The Invisible Man, published in 1897, as adapted by R. C. Sherriff, Philip Wylie and Preston Sturges, whose work was considered unsatisfactory and who was taken off the project. The film was directed by James Whale and stars Claude Rains, in his first American screen appearance, and Gloria Stuart. It is considered one of the great Universal Horror films of the 1930s, and spawned a number of sequels, plus many spinoffs using the idea of an "invisible man" that were largely unrelated to Wells' original story.

In his first American screen appearance, Rains portrayed the Invisible Man (Dr. Jack Griffin) mostly only as a disembodied voice. Rains is only shown clearly for a brief time at the end of the film, spending most of his on-screen time covered by bandages.

The film opens with a mysterious stranger, his face swathed in bandages and his eyes obscured by dark spectacles, taking a room at an inn at the English village of Iping (in Sussex). Never leaving his quarters, the stranger demands that the staff leave him completely alone. However, his dark secret is slowly revealed to his suspicious landlady and the villagers: he is an invisible man. When the innkeeper (Forrester Harvey) and his semi-hysterical wife (Una O'Connor) tell him to leave after he makes a huge mess in the parlor and drives away the other patrons, he tears off the bandages, laughing maniacally, and throws the innkeeper down the stairs. He takes off the rest of his clothes, rendering himself completely invisible, and tries to strangle a police officer.

The invisible stranger is revealed as Dr. Jack Griffin (Claude Rains), a scientist who has discovered the secret of invisibility while conducting a series of tests with a strange new drug called "monocane". He returns to the laboratory of his mentor, Dr. Cranley (Henry Travers), where he reveals his secret to his fiancee Flora Cranley (Gloria Stuart), Dr. Cranley's daughter, and to his one-time partner Dr. Kemp (William Harrigan). Monocane has rendered Griffin's entire body undetectable to the human eye; alas, it also has the side-effect of driving Griffin insane. Cranley has investigated and discovered a single note about monocane (Griffin has burnt all his other papers to cover his tracks) in a now empty cupboard in Griffin's empty laboratory, and realizes that Griffin has recently used it. On the evening of his escape from the inn, Griffin turns up in Kemp's living room and imprisons him in his own house. He forces Kemp to be his partner again, and together they go back to the inn where Griffin stayed and retrieve his notebooks on the invisibility process. While there, he picks up a wooden stool and cracks the police officer over the head, killing him.

Kemp calls Cranley, asking for help, and then secretly calls the police. Flora comes to him and they talk for only a minute, until the police show up. Their conversation reveals that the two are completely devoted to each other, and she is as infatuated with him as he her. In Flora's presence, Griffin becomes more placid, and calls her "darling". He rants about power, but when he realises Kemp betrayed him to the police through the window, his first reaction is getting Flora to flee, and out of danger. She begs to let her stay, but he insists she has nothing to do but leave. After promising Kemp that at 10:00 PM the next night he will murder him, Griffin escapes again and goes on a spree of terror, running down the streets killing, robbing, and reciting nursery rhymes in a malicious voice. The police offer a monetary award for anyone who can think of a way to catch the Invisible Man.

They disguise Kemp as a police officer and lead him away from his house to protect him, but Griffin has been following them all along. He forces Kemp into the front seat of his car with his hands tied and releases the emergency brake. The car rolls down a steep hill, over a cliff, and explodes.

Finally, after derailing a train and throwing off a cliff two men who are searching for him with the police as volunteers, Griffin rests in a barn. The owner of the barn hears the sleeping Griffin stirring and sees the hay in which Griffin is sleeping inexplicably moving. The farmer goes to the police and tells them that "there's breathing" his barn. The police surround and set fire to the barn. When Griffin comes out, the police sight his footprints in the snow and open fire, mortally wounding him. Griffin is taken to hospital where, on his deathbed, he admits to Flora that he has tampered with a type of science that was meant to be left alone. The effects of the monocane wear off the moment he dies, and he becomes visible once again.



37. WEREWOLVES

The twentieth century saw an explosion of werewolf short stories and novels published in both England and America. The famed English supernatural story writer Algernon Blackwood wrote a number of werewolf short stories. These often had an occult aspect to them. American pulp magazines of the 1920 to 1950s, such as Weird Tales, include many werewolf tales, written by such authors as H. Warner Munn, Seabury Quinn, and Manly Wade Wellman. The most renowned werewolf novel of the twentieth century was The Werewolf of Paris (1933) by American author Guy Endore. This has been accorded classic status and is considered by some to be the Dracula of werewolf literature. It was adapted as The Curse of the Werewolf in 1961 for Hammer Film Productions.

The first feature film to use an anthropomorphic werewolf was Werewolf of London in 1935 (not to be confused with the 1981 film of a similar title) establishing the canon that the werewolf always kills what he loves most. The main werewolf of this film was a dapper London scientist who retained some of his style and most of his human features after his transformation.

However, he lacked warmth, and it was left to the tragic character Larry Talbot played by Lon Chaney Jr. in 1941's The Wolf Man to capture the public imagination. This catapulted the werewolf into public consciousness. The theme of lycanthropy as a disease or curse reached its standard treatment in the film.

This movie draws on elements of traditional folklore and fiction, such as the vulnerability of the werewolf to a silver bullet (as seen for instance in the legend of Beast of Gévaudan), though at the climax of the film the Wolf Man is actually dispatched with a silver-headed cane.

The process of transmogrification is portrayed in such films and works of literature to be painful. The resulting wolf is typically cunning but merciless, and prone to killing and eating people without compunction, regardless of the moral character of the person when human.

Lon Chaney Jr himself became somewhat typecast as the Wolfman and reprised his role in several sequels for Universal Studios. In these films the werewolf lore of the first film was clarified. In Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) it is firmly established that the Wolf Man is revived at every full moon. In House of Frankenstein (1944) silver bullets are used for the first time to dispatch him. Further sequels were the House of Dracula (1945) and the parodic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

The success of Universal's The Wolf Man prompted rival Hollywood film companies Columbia Studios and Fox Studios to bring out their own, now somewhat obscure, werewolf movies. The first of these was The Undying Monster produced by Fox in 1942, adapted from a werewolf novel of the same name by Jessie Douglas Kerruish, published in 1936.

In 1981, two prominent werewolf films, The Howling and An American Werewolf in London, both drew on themes from the Universal series.

More recently, the portrayal of werewolves has taken a more sympathetic turn in some circles. With the rise of environmentalism and other back-to-nature ideals, the werewolf has come to be seen as a representation of humanity allied more closely with nature. A prime example of this outlook can be seen in the role-playing game Werewolf: The Apocalypse (1992) from White Wolf Publishing in which players roleplay werewolf characters who work on behalf of Gaia against the destructive supernatural spirit called the Wyrm, who represents the forces of destructive industrialization and pollution. White Wolf's reimagined Werewolf: The Forsaken (2005) depicts werewolves as a sort of border guard between the Material World and the Spirit World. Author Whitley Strieber previously explored these themes in his novels The Wolfen (1978), in which werewolves are shown to act as predators of humanity, acting as a "natural" control on their population now that it has been removed from the traditional limits of nature, and The Wild (1991), in which the werewolf is portrayed as a medium through which to bring human intelligence and spirit back into nature. The heroic werewolf has also returned via the paranormal romance genre, where wolf-like characteristics such as loyalty are shown as positive traits in a prospective mate.

A very popular modern subgenre consists of stories that treat werewolves as separate race or species (either science fictional or magical) or as persons using magic in order to deliberately transform into wolves at will. Such current-day werewolf fiction almost exclusively involves lycanthropy being either a hereditary condition or being transmitted like a disease by the bite of another werewolf. The form a werewolf takes is not always an ordinary wolf, but is often anthropomorphic or may be otherwise larger and more powerful than an ordinary wolf. Sometimes the beast form of the werewolf will have some physical characteristics borrowed from an animal species other than the wolf, as can be seen in the boar-like werewolf of Wild Country (2006). Many modern werewolves are also supposedly immune to damage caused by ordinary weapons, being vulnerable only to silver objects (usually a bullet or blade). This negative reaction to silver is sometimes so strong that the mere touch of the metal on a werewolf's skin will cause burns.

Despite the recent upsurge in the motif of heroic werewolves, unsympathetic portrayals of werewolves as monsters also continue to be common in popular culture. This is especially true in movies, which are only slowly incorporating trends in written fiction. There are very few werewolf movies outside the horror genre.



36. THE YMIR

20 Million Miles to Earth is a 1957 American science fiction film written by Bob Williams and Christopher Knopf from an original treatment by Charlott Knight. The film was produced by Charles H. Schneer's Morningside Productions for Columbia Pictures and directed by Nathan H. Juran. As with several other Schneer-Columbia collaborations, it was developed to showcase the stop-motion animation talents of Ray Harryhausen.

The government of the United States, along with The Pentagon organizes the first interplanetary expedition to the planet Venus. The spacecraft XY-21 with a crew of seventeen successfully reaches the planet 20 million miles away and vast mineral resources and precious raw materials are discovered on the planet, but atmospheric conditions are extremely harsh and cannot support life from Earth, and several members of the expedition die because of the conditions. None of this is actually seen, but is all explained in dialogue later on in the film.

On the return journey, thirteen months after leaving, the rocket is crippled by a meteor and crashes into the Mediterranean Sea off the southern coast of Sicily. The film begins as the two surviving crewmen are rescued by local fishermen before the vessel sinks beneath the waves and are taken to the local hotel. Camped nearby are an Italian zoologist, Dr. Leonardo and his American granddaughter Marisa, who is, fortunately, a medical student. Marissa tends to the crew herself, with mixed results: horribly burnt chief scientist of the expedition Dr. Sharman dies, whilst Col. Robert Calder survives. Calder determines to locate a specimen they brought with them to study how the creature survives and therefore prepare another expedition to tap into the planet's resources. In his dying breaths Dr. Sharman had different thoughts: he considered the creature a dangerous threat and beseeched Calder to find it and destroy it to prevent the creature causing destruction and carnage on Earth. Meanwhile the specimen, an egg, shrouded in jelly within a metal cylinder, washes ashore and is found by a local boy, who then sells it to Dr. Leonardo.

Overnight the egg hatches a Venusian reptilian creature, referred to as the Ymir. The Ymir begins to grow at a prodigious rate due to the abundance of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere. Dr. Leonardo thoughtfully places the Ymir in a cage. Soon, however, the Ymir becomes large and strong enough to free itself. Apparently, the Ymir eats sulfur and passes by horses, poultry and sheep before finding some bags of agricultural chemicals in a barn, one of which is sulfur and begins to eat. The Ymir only attacks when provoked and after being attacked by a dog and a farmer it escapes the barn. This time the Ymir runs to the erupting volcanic crater at Mount Etna.

It is found by the Italian army and American army only to be chased into a trap. However by this point the Ymir has grown over 20 ft high. The army ensnare the Ymir in an electric net and it is and transported to a zoo in Rome. Believing the situation is over, and themselves safe at last, Calder and Marissa begin to develop a romantic relationship.

After studying the Ymir for some time, something goes wrong in the zoo's laboratory when an accident disrupts the flow of electricity. The Ymir escapes and is attacking an elephant. The Ymir, victorious after the battle, then goes on a rampage, smashing through buildings. Calder chases the Ymir down to the Tiber River in Rome, which promptly resurfaces and begins to attack the human threat and smashes through the bridge. Firearms are little use against the Ymir.

The Ymir, after being shot at by powerful explosive rockets, ends up on top of the Colosseum. After tearing into the brickwork and throwing pieces down at people and soldiers, it is eventually shot down by an intense barrage of rockets and falls some fifty meters, whereby it is crushed by falling masonry. The film ends with scientist Dr. Judson Uhl, played by John Zaremba, looking over the dead body of the Ymir and saying "Why is it always, always so costly for man to move from the present to the future?"



35. ROMULANS

The Romulans are a fictional race of alien humanoids within Star Trek. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. In addition, they have appeared in various spin-off media, and prominently in the two films Star Trek Nemesis (2002) and Star Trek (2009).

Throughout the series they are generally depicted as antagonists, who are always at war or in an uneasy truce with the United Federation of Planets, the show's galactic organization of which Earth is a member.

The Romulans also act as a counterpoint to the logical Vulcan race who share a common ancestry. As such, the Romulans are characterized as passionate, cunning, and opportunistic — in every way the opposite of the logical Vulcans. The Romulans are also the dominant race of the Romulan Star Empire, the largest empire in the Beta Quadrant of the Milky Way galaxy (although its positioning in the Beta Quadrant is never mentioned in any film or television episode and indeed several episodes of Deep Space Nine imply it is in the Alpha Quadrant).

The Romulans were created by Paul Schneider, who said "it was a matter of developing a good Romanesque set of admirable antagonists ... an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel". There are some differences in their history and the way they are portrayed on television, in the motion pictures and in several books by Diane Duane, called the Rihannsu series, after the term they use to refer to themselves in their Romulan native language.

The Romulans began as a revolutionary group of Vulcans who were referenced as "those who march beneath the Raptor's wings" and refused to accept the Vulcan philosopher Surak's teachings of complete suppression of emotions. Around 400 AC, the dissident group split off from Vulcan society and began the long journey to the planets Romulus and Remus.

The Romulans are of the Vulcan species. One of three theories regarding how the Romulans arrived at the stellar system that includes the planets Romulus and Remus involves Sargon's people, referred to in conjecture as the "Arretians", as mentioned in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Return to Tomorrow". Sargon claimed that his people had seeded their species throughout the galaxy, and Spock said that could explain some enigmas of Vulcan pre-history. Hanoch, one of Sargon's people and a rival, further claimed that Spock's hybrid Human-Vulcan body was a "good fit" for his alien physiology. If these claims are true, then the Arretians may have been the antecedents for the Romulans — and indeed, they may have also been the species known as the Preservers. The inhabitants of Mintaka III ("Who Watches The Watchers?") seem to support this theory.


34. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 silent horror film adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same title directed by Rupert Julian. The film featured Lon Chaney in the title role as the masked and facially deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House,[1] causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to force the management to make the woman he loves a star. It is most famous for Lon Chaney's intentionally horrific, self-applied make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's premiere.

The film also features Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Gibson Gowland, John St. Polis and Snitz Edwards. The only surviving cast member is Carla Laemmle (born 1909), niece of producer Carl Laemmle, who played a small role as "prima ballerina" in the film when she was about 15.

The film opens with the debut of the new season at the Paris Opera House, with a production of Gounod's Faust. Comte Philip de Chagny (John St. Polis) and his brother, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny (Norman Kerry) are in attendance. Raoul attends only in the hope of hearing his sweetheart Christine Daae (Mary Philbin) sing. Christine, under the tuition of an unknown and mysterious coach, has made a sudden rise from the chorus to understudy of the prima donna. Raoul wishes for Christine to resign and marry him, but she refuses to let their relationship get in the way of her career.

At the height of the most prosperous season in the Opera's history, the management suddenly resign. As they leave, they tell the new managers of the Opera Ghost, a phantom who asks for opera box #5, among other things. The new managers laugh it off as a joke, but the old management leaves troubled.

The managers go to Box 5 to see exactly who has taken it. The keeper of the box does not know who it is, as she has never seen his face. The two managers enter the box and are startled to see a shadowy figure seated. They run out of the box and compose themselves, but when they enter the box again, the person is gone.

After the performance, the ballet girls are disturbed by the sight of a mysterious man (Arthur Edmund Carewe), who dwells in the cellars. Arguing whether or not he is the Phantom, they decide to ask Joseph Buquet, a stagehand who has actually seen the ghost's face. Buquet describes a ghastly sight of a living skeleton to the girls, who are then startled by a shadow cast on the wall. The antics of stagehand Florine Papillon (Snitz Edwards) do not amuse Joseph's brother, Simon (Gibson Gowland), who chases him off.

Meanwhile, Mme. Carlotta (Virginia Pearson), the prima donna of the Paris Grand Opera, barges into the managers office enraged. She has received a letter from "The Phantom," demanding that Christine sing the role of Marguerite the following night, threatening dire consequences if his demands are not met.

In her next performance, Christine reaches her triumph during the finale and receives a standing ovation from the audience. When Raoul visits her in her dressing room, she pretends not to recognize him, because unbeknownst to the rest there, the Spirit is also there. Raoul spends the evening outside her door, and after the others have left, just as he is about to enter, he hears a man's voice within the room. He overhears the voice make his intentions to Christine: "Soon, Christine, this spirit will take form and will demand your love!" When Christine leaves her room alone, Raoul breaks in to find it empty.

Carlotta receives another discordant note from the Phantom. Once again, it demands that she take ill and let Christine have her part. The managers also get a note, reiterating that if Christine does not sing, they will present "Faust" in a house with a curse on it.

The following evening, despite the Phantom's warnings, a defiant Carlotta appears as Marguerite. At first, the performance goes well, but soon the Phantom's curse takes its effect, causing the great, crystal chandelier to fall down onto the audience. Christine runs to her dressing room and is entranced by a mysterious voice through a secret door behind the mirror , descending, in a dream-like sequence, semi-conscious on horseback by a winding staircase into the lower depths of the Opera. She is then taken by gondola over a subterranean lake by the masked Phantom into his lair. When the Phantom admits to who he is and his love for her, Christine faints and is carried into a suite fabricated for her comfort.

The next day, when she awakens, she finds a note from Erik, The Phantom. He tells her that she is free to go as she pleases, but that she must never look behind his mask. In the next room, the Phantom is playing his composition, "Don Juan Triumphant." It is the strangest and most weird music she has ever heard. Christine's curiosity gets the better of her and she sneaks up behind the Phantom. Christine tears off the Phantom's mask, revealing his hideously deformed face. Enraged, the Phantom makes his plans to hold her prisoner known. In an attempt to plead to him, he excuses her to visit her world one last time, with the condition that she never sees her lover again.

Released from the underground dungeon, Christine makes a rendezvous at the annual masked-ball, which is graced with the Phantom in the guise of the 'Red-Death' from the Edgar Allan Poe tale of the same name. While on the roof, Christine tells Raoul everything. However, an unseen jealous Phantom perching on the statue of Apollo overears them.

Raoul and Inspector Ledoux (the mystery man from the cellars) are then lured into the Phantom's underground death-trap when Christine is kidnapped while onstage.

Philippe is drowned by Erik when he goes looking for Raoul in the cellars of the Opera. The Phantom gives Christine a choice of two levers: one shaped like a scorpion and the other like a grasshopper. One will save her lover Raoul and the other will blow up the Opera! Christine picks the Scorpion but it is a trick by the Phantom: it will "save" Raoul and Ledoux from being blown up-by drowning them! Christine begs the Phantom to save Raoul by promising him anything. At the last second the Phantom opens a trapdoor in his floor through which Raoul and Ledoux are saved. The Phantom attempts to flee with Christine in a stolen carriage. However, in the final sequence, while Raoul saves Christine, Erik/Phantom is pursued and killed by a mob on the streets of Paris who after beating him, throw him into the Seine River to finally drown.


33. FREDDY KRUEGER

Freddy Krueger is a fictional character from the A Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams, which ultimately results in their death in the real world. However, whenever he is put into the real world, he has normal human strength and vulnerability. He was created by Wes Craven, and has been consistently portrayed by Robert Englund since his first appearance. In the 2010 remake, however, Krueger is portrayed by Academy Award-nominee Jackie Earle Haley.

Krueger is undead, and can attack his victims from within their own dreams. He is commonly identified by his burned, disfigured face, red and dark green striped sweater, brown fedora, and trademark metal-clawed brown leather glove.

Freddy Krueger is the primary antagonist in all the Nightmare on Elm Street films, and was officially killed off in part six, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. The character was brought back in Wes Craven's New Nightmare by Wes Craven, who had not worked on the film series since the third film. The silver screen is not the only place Freddy Krueger has appeared; there are literary sources that have expanded the universe of Freddy, as well as adapted the films and adjusted various aspects of Krueger's backstory. The character has also hosted his own television show, Freddy's Nightmares, which was an anthology series similar to The Twilight Zone. Freddy also made several guest appearances on the syndicated puppet show DC Follies in 1988. In 2003, Freddy battled fellow horror icon Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th film series in the theatrical release Freddy vs. Jason, a film which officially resurrected both characters from their respective deaths and subsequently being sent to Hell in their respective 'last films'. The ending of the film is left ambiguous as to whether or not Freddy is actually dead, for despite being decapitated, he winks at the viewers. (A sequel featuring Ash from The Evil Dead franchise was planned, but never materialized on-screen. It was later turned into comic book form in Dynamite Entertainment's Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash.)



32.THE RHEDOSAURUS

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a Rhedosaurus, that begins to wreak havoc in New York City. It was one of the first monster movies that helped inspire the following generation of creature features, coining it with the atomic age.

Far north of the Arctic Circle, a nuclear bomb test, dubbed Operation Experiment, is conducted. The explosion awakens a dinosaur known as the Rhedosaurus, thawing it out of the ice where it had been hibernating for 100 million years.

The Beast starts making its way down the east coast of North America, sinking a fishing ketch off the Grand Banks, destroying another near Marquette, Canada, wrecking a lighthouse in Maine, and crushing buildings in Massachusetts. The Beast eventually comes ashore in Manhattan, and after tearing through power-lines attacks the city. The Beast's rampage causes the death of 180 people, injures 1,500 and does $300 million worth of damage.

Arriving on the scene, the military troops of Col. Jack Evans, blast a bazooka hole in the Beast's throat and drive it back into the sea. Unfortunately, it bleeds all over the streets, unleashing a prehistoric germ, which begins to contaminate the populace, causing even more fatalities. The germ precludes blowing the Beast up or burning it, lest the contagion spread. Thus it is decided to shoot a radioactive isotope into the Beast's neck wound with hopes of burning the Rhedosaurus up from the inside, killing it.

When the Beast comes ashore and attacks the Coney Island amusement park, military sharpshooter Corporal Stone takes the potent radioactive isotope launcher, and climbs onboard a rollercoaster. Riding the coaster to the top of the tracks so he can get to eye-level with the Rhedosaurus, he fires the isotope into the Beast's wound. The Beast lets out a horrible scream and crashes to the ground dead, with the surrounding park ablaze.


31. THE JOKER

The Joker is portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the 1989 film Batman. In the film, the character is a psychopathic gangster named Jack Napier, the right-hand man of crime boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance). Napier is disfigured during a confrontation with Batman (Michael Keaton) in a chemical factory, during which he is shot in the face by a ricochet from his own pistol and falls into a vat of chemicals. Although there are many versions of Joker's origins, the filmmakers decided to use one loosely resembling the origin explained in the 1988 graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke. The chemicals bleach his skin and turn his hair green and lips red; his trademark grin is the result of a botched attempt at plastic surgery.

Driven insane by his reflection, he kills Grissom and takes over his gang, launching a crime wave designed to "outdo" Batman, who he feels is getting too much press. He describes himself as a "homicidal artist" who makes avant-garde "art" by killing people with Smilex gas, which leaves its victims with a grotesque grin. When Bruce Wayne confronts the Joker, he later recognizes him as the mugger who murdered his parents. The Joker kidnaps reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) and attempts to massacre Gotham City, but Batman foils his plan. During the ensuing battle, Batman and the Joker realize that they "made each other". As the Joker is about to escape in a helicopter, Batman ties a grappling hook onto the Joker's leg and attaches it to a stone gargoyle; the Joker falls to his death when the gargoyle breaks loose of its moorings.

In the flashback scene showing Napier's murder of Bruce Wayne's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, in an alley. The young Napier is played by Hugo E. Blick.

Nicholson's performance was well-received; Newsweek's review of the film stated that the best scenes in the movie are due to the surreal black comedy portrayed in this character. In 2003, American Film Institute named Nicholson's performance #45 out of 50 greatest film villains. Tim Burton says he wanted to kill the Joker at the end of the film, because he thought having the villain come back would be too unrealistic.

In the 2008 film The Dark Knight, the Joker is portrayed by Heath Ledger, who told Sarah Lyall of The New York Times that he viewed that film's version of the character as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy." In this film, he is a bank robber targeting Mafia-owned banks, whom Gotham's crime families reluctantly hire to kill Batman (Christian Bale) after he brazenly offers them his services. It is gradually revealed that he desires to upset social order and defines himself by his battle with Batman.

Costume designer Lindy Hemming described the Joker's look as being based around his personality, in that "he doesn't care about himself at all." She avoided his design being vagrant, but nonetheless it is "scruffier, grungier and therefore when you see him move, he's slightly twitchier or edgy." Unlike most incarnations, where his appearance is a result of chemical bleaching, this Joker sports a Glasgow smile, and accentuates it through unevenly applied make-up and dyed green hair. Another divergence from other Joker incarnations is his use of black makeup around his eyes. During the course of the film, he tells conflicting stories about how he acquired the scars, which involve child abuse and self-mutilation.

Unlike the previous film and comic-book depictions of the Joker, this one eschews gag-based weapons common to the character, in favor of knives, firearms, and an array of explosive devices. In the film, the Joker is responsible for the death of Batman's childhood sweetheart Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and District Attorney Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart). During the film's climax, the Joker threatens to blow up the city to manipulate people into escaping on two boats that he has rigged to explode, one filled with civilians and the other with prisoners; he threatens to blow them both up at midnight unless one of them destroys the other first. When neither boat destroys the other, Batman tells him that his plan has failed, and throws him off the edge of a building. Batman saves his life, however, by catching him with a grappling hook. As Batman leaves him for the authorities to arrest, the Joker says that he has still won the "battle for Gotham's soul"; when the public learns what Harvey Dent has done, he says, they will lose hope for good.

Ledger's portrayal of the Joker was widely praised by critics. On February 22, 2009, Ledger posthumously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. He was the fourth actor to be nominated for the portrayal of a comic book character, and the first to win.

Read Also: The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #41 - #50, The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #51 - #60, The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #61 - #70 - The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #71 - #80 - The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #81 - #90 - and -The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #91 - #100

Halloween also known is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.

According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain. Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.

Typical contemporary festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related "guising"), attending costume parties, decorating, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing and divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories and watching horror films. In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although in other locations, these solemn customs are less pronounced in favor of a more commercial and secular celebration. Because many Western Christian denominations encourage, although most no longer require, abstinence from meat on All Hallows' Eve, the tradition of eating certain vegetarian foods for this vigil day developed, including the consumption of apples, colcannon, cider, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.

The Trailer For Canawati's Haunted Movie Return To Babylon

Director Alex Monty Canawati was kind enough to send along two new images and a link to the trailer on Youtube, for his latest film "Return to Babylon." The film is an interesting look at the scandalous things that were going on behind the scenes during the golden era of silent films in Hollywood. "Babylon" stars the notoriously sexy Jennifer Tilly as the iconic Clara Bow in this silent movie about silent movies.

Oh, did I forget to mention that this film is 'haunted'?

Indeed Canawati insists that the production of "Return to Babylon" was haunted by the very same silent film stars that the modern day actors were portraying. Reportedly the cast, most notably, Jennifer Tilly, felt as if they weren't alone on the set.

When the film went into post-production, ghostly images were discovered on the film. Some times the apparitions would even manifest themselves over the actors faces creating horrifying images.

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Spirits Of Death In A Sea Of Trees - Japan's Suicide Forest

Aokigahara (青木ヶ原), also known as the Sea of Trees (樹海) or Jukai, is a 14 square mile forest that lies at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. Due to the wind-blocking density of the trees and an absence of wildlife, the forest is known for being exceptionally quiet and for the thickness of its trees. It is a twisting network of woody vines, and has a dangerous unevenness of the forest floor. It is rocky, cold, and littered with over 200 underground caves you could fall into accidentally. The forest is full of paradox and contrast. Its historic association with demons in Japanese mythology has long made it a popular place for suicides.

Japan has more than 30,000 suicides a year for over 14 years— one of the highest rates among industrialized nations. On average, someone in Japan dies by his own hand every 15 minutes, usually a man. The Aokigahara Forest is the most common place to commit suicide in Japan, and it is widely thought to be the second most likely site in the world, after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
The reasons are complex.

In 1960, Seicho Matsumoto wrote a popular novel called ” Nami no Tō” or “Tower of Wave,” in which a couple commits suicide in Aokigahara Forest. These woods are described as the “perfect place to die” by the author Wataru Tsurumi in the book, “Kanzen Jisatsu Manyuaru “or “The Complete Manual of Suicide.” His best seller has been found next to many bodies in the woods with hanging undoubtedly being the most common method of suicide used in the forest. In addition, Mount Fuji is a revered and sacred site in Japan.

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Haunting Of the Hollywood Sign

Deep pain, pain so deep, so intense that it breaks you and soon everything you see, everything you touch cracks. Tragedy has won, despair the victor will forever gloat as the unhappy and unrequited spirit roams life’s last destination. So roams the spirit of Peg Entwistle forever known as the ghost of the Hollywood sign.

When the fog rolls in from the ocean, hugging the ground as it spreads its marine dampness, and the moon rising in the sky curls its pale fingers around fog tendrils that eerily illuminate the hillside of Beechwood Canyon Trail you may notice the soft fragrance of Gardenias wafting on the breeze. Take a moment; look around you may glimpse a lovely blond in vintage 30s clothing walking the trail as well.

September 18th 1932 would be the last night Peg Entwistle would struggle with her demons. As she climbed the steep hill to the ‘Hollywoodland’ sign with each step, she found herself closer to peace. She climbed a 50-foot ladder at the back of the ‘H’ once reaching the top she stood looking down on the shimmering jewels of light below, at a city filled with glamour, money and fame all of which had been denied her. Then she jumped.

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Sex. Beauty. Violence. Elizabeth Short, the “Black Dahlia”

Time has immortalized Elizabeth Short as the pinup girl of LA noir, and the story of the unemployed 22-year-old has inspired dozens of books, Web sites, a video game, a movie, and even an Australian swing band. The quest to pinpoint her killer has become a hobby for generations of armchair detectives.

Aspiring actress, Elizabeth Short nicknamed the "Black Dahlia," was only 22 years old when she became the victim in a notorious 1947 murder case. (The name was a bit of word play based on the title of the 1946 movie ‘The Blue Dahlia’.) On January 15, 1947, Short's body, discovered in a Los Angeles vacant lot, was severed in two at her waist and severely mutilated. The gruesome nature of the crime and the Hollywood connection made the case a public sensation.

Hollywood Boulevard today does not look that different from the Hollywood Boulevard of 1946. Many of the structures built in the 1920′s and 1930′s still line the street. Many of the businesses remain, most notably, the Musso and Frank Grill, between Las Palmas and Cherokee, which has served customers continuously since 1919.

Grauman’s Chinese Theatre at the west end of the Boulevard and the Pantages Theatre at the east end still operate. The Roosevelt Hotel is open, The Snow White Waffle House, now the Snow White cafe, is still in business. The Pig and Whistle has reopened and serves cocktails, lunch and dinner at the same old address. The Hillview Apartments is renting again, after a major renovation.

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Scare The Crap Out Of Your Kids With Illustrations Of Creatures From Japanese Mythology

The Japanese have always loved monsters, and why not, their pop culture has been littered with them for decades and their mythology for centuries.

Today Japanese comic books, television series and movies are filled with all sorts of mysterious spectres and creatures.

It is easy to see where this fascination with strange and mysterious beasts comes from, once you dig deep into Japan's rich folklore. It too is filled with tales of demons, monsters and even visitors from other worlds.

These tales that have been passed down from generation to generation have had a profound effect on the Japanese, which today manifests itself in modern media and fuels the countries fascination with the strange and macabre.

Japanese art also reflects this fascination as well, ancient clay statues called, "Dogu" (Dogoo) are said to represent alien visitors to the island nation (see photo above) around 14,000 BC. Likewise, ancient drawings and paintings depict such unearthly visitors along with dragons, demons, and strange beasts of every size and shape imaginable.

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The Mysterious Movies And Legends Of Dead Man's Point

Victorville is on the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert. Established in 1 895 the downtown area grew around historic Route 66 (now 7th Street). The town soon became known as a prime location for shooting westerns in the 40s and 50s but Victorville was also a memorable setting during the Hollywood heyday of space sagas. Infamous director Jack Arnold (“Creature from the Black Lagoon,” "This Island Earth,” “The Incredible Shrinking Man”) shot the opening scene of “It Came from Outer Space” (1953) here. The UFO flew over the rocks on the east side of the Narrows, near the Rainbow Bridge, and crashed in Old Town Victorville.

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The Mystery of Harry Houdini’s Death

In an age where forensic medicine appears capable of solving nearly any crime, it seems that they are now prepared to take on one of the greatest mysteries of all time: The death of Harry Houdini. Although reports at the time of his death indicate that Houdini died from complications of a ruptured appendix, but it has long been speculated that he was actually murdered.

Born Erich Weisz on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary. One of seven children born to a Jewish rabbi and his wife, Erich moved with his family as a child to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he later claimed he was born. When he was 13, Erich moved with his father to New York City, taking on odd jobs and living in a boarding house before the rest of the family joined them.

It was there that he became interested in trapeze arts. Houdini held several jobs as a young boy one of which was as a locksmith's apprentice, which might account for his unusual ability to pick just about any lock known to man. In 1894, Erich launched his career as a professional magician renaming himself Harry Houdini, the first name being a derivative of his childhood nickname, "Ehrie," and the last an homage to the great French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. Though his magic met with little success, he soon drew attention for his feats of escape using handcuffs.

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Jenifer Ann is an International Costumer/Cosplayer, Host, Artist and Promotional Model based out of Florida. Jenifer Ann has been attending conventions and hosting panels since 2008 and modeling since 2002. Jenifer’s was first introduced into the world of Cosplay by her good friend Candy who owns Three Muses Clothing. She enjoys bringing life to her favorite characters by costume design and portrayal. - Website

30. Mothra

Since her first film, Mothra has been depicted in various stages of the lepidopteran life cycle: Mothra's mammoth egg is decoratively colored in blue and yellow waves. The egg hatches into her larva, a massive brown, segmented caterpillar (resembling a silkworm) with glowing blue—red when angry—eyes. In rare circumstances, twins may emerge from the egg. The caterpillar eventually spins a silken cocoon around itself (the pupa stage), and from this cocoon the imago (adult) Mothra emerges, a gigantic moth-like creature with brightly-colored wings. Mothra's life cycle—particularly the tendency of an imago's death to coincide with its larvae hatching—echoes that of the Phoenix, resembling resurrection and suggesting divinity. Despite having wrought destruction worthy of any Toho daikaiju, she is almost always portrayed as a kind and benevolent creature, causing destruction only when acting as protector to her worshipers on Infant Island or to her egg, or as collateral damage while protecting Earth from a greater threat. She has also fertilized her own eggs.

Mothra has proven a formidable adversary in combat: in larval form she may use her silken spray to wrap and immobilize an opponent, and has a knack for biting and clinging to foes' tails. In imago form her powers vary widely from film to film, including very animalistic scratching and dragging, incorporating several bolt and beam weapons in the Heisei era, and often concluding with a poisonous yellow powder (or "scales") —her last defense.

Mothra is one of the most powerful psychics in the Toho universe. She has had the ability to use this power benevolently, to communicate with humans, or aggressively, to destroy her enemies. As suggested earlier, Mothra is assumed to be divine and draws many parallels to the Phoenix, which makes her one of the more powerful kaiju of the Toho universe.

Mothra has become one of Godzilla's more challenging opponents, having achieved the greatest success rate in battle save Godzilla himself[4]: She has once rid of Godzilla in imago form, and twice Godzilla has fought her to the death only later to be bested by her newborn larvae. It should be mentioned that Mothra has never beaten Godzilla alone (in her Imago Form). The only close to draw by an insect(s), but still won by Godzilla were the Mothra twin-larvae in Godzilla vs. Mothra in the Showa Era, Imago Mothra and Imago Battra in Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth in the Heisei series, and the twin-larvae and Kiryu (MechaGodzilla) in the Millennium Series.

Mothra is the only kaiju other than Godzilla, Junior, and Mecha-King Ghidorah to appear in more than one Heisei Godzilla movie as she appears in Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla when she sends her Cosmos and Fairy Mothras to help out Miki.

In the Heisei Era (1984–1995), Mothra gained her own series of films dubbed in America as the Rebirth of Mothra series (Rebirth of Mothra, Rebirth of Mothra II, and Rebirth of Mothra III). In Japan, the series is simply called the "Mothra Series"(Mothra, Mothra 2: Adventure Under the Sea, and Mothra 3: Attack of Grand King Ghidorah). These series are not connected to the Showa, Heisei or Millennium Godzilla movies and are standalone films aiming towards children. The movies start off as the last Mothra puts the last of her energy into a new egg. From this egg hatches Mothra Leo.

29. Bigfoot

Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, an alleged ape-like creature purportedly inhabiting forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, has had a demonstrable impact as a popular culture phenomenon. It has "become entrenched in American popular culture and it is as viable an icon as Michael Jordan" with more than forty five years having passed since reported sightings in California, and neither an animal nor "a satisfying explanation as to why folks see giant hairy men that don't exist."

Examples of Bigfoot in Films:

The Legend of Boggy Creek is a 1972 horror docudrama about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-type creature that has been seen in and around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1950s. The film mixes staged interviews with some local residents who claim to have encountered the creature, along with fictitious reenactments of said encounters. Charles B. Pierce, an advertising salesman from Texarkana on the Arkansas/Texas border, borrowed over $100,000 from a local trucking company, used an old movie camera and hired locals (mainly high school students) to help make the 90-minute film. It has generated approximately $20 million in revenue and can be found on DVD.

Snowbeast is a made-for-television horror film that was first broadcast in 1977 in The United States of America. The movie details the attacks of a ravenous sasquatch on a Colorado ski resort. The teleplay was written by Joseph Stefano, who wrote the script for Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1960 thriller Psycho. Stefano reportedly used a book by Roger Patterson (who claimed to have encountered a bigfoot in 1967) as his primary inspiration, though no credit is given.

Curse of Bigfoot is a 1978 American film directed by Dave Flocker.

The film is an expanded version of the 1958 film Teenagers Battle the Thing. The two stars from the original appear as adults in the opening scene of the 1978 film. The rest of Curse of Bigfoot consists of the entire 1958 film seen as a flashback.

A college Biology class receives a visitor, who is a good friend of their teacher. He tells them of an encounter that he and their teacher had 20 years before while searching for Indian artifacts in the nearby mountains. They find a mummified corpse in a cave that resembles a rough-hewn statue. The mummy is brought back to their lodge and breaks out of its wrappings. It goes on a short rampage in what appears to be an orchard. The humans gather together to stop the creature before it can kill any one.

28. The Bride

Bride of Frankenstein (advertised as The Bride of Frankenstein) is a 1935 American horror film, the first sequel to the influential Frankenstein (1931). Bride of Frankenstein was directed by James Whale and stars Boris Karloff as The Monster, Elsa Lanchester in the dual role of his mate and Mary Shelley, Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein and Ernest Thesiger as Doctor Septimus Pretorius.

The film follows on immediately from the events of the first film, and is rooted in a subplot of the original novel, Frankenstein (1818). In the film, a chastened Henry Frankenstein abandons his plans to create life, only to be tempted and finally coerced by the Monster, encouraged by Henry's old mentor Dr. Pretorius, into constructing a mate for him.

On a stormy night, Percy Bysshe Shelley (Douglas Walton) and Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon) praise Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester) for her story of Frankenstein and his Monster. Reminding them that her intention was to impart a moral lesson, Mary says she has more of the story to tell. The scene shifts to the end of the 1931 Frankenstein.

Villagers gathered around the burning windmill cheer the apparent death of the Monster (Boris Karloff, credited as "Karloff"). Their joy is tempered by the realization that Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) is also apparently dead. Hans (Reginald Barlow), father of the girl the creature drowned in the previous film, wants to see the Monster's bones. He falls into a pit underneath the mill, where the Monster strangles him. Hauling himself from the pit, the Monster casts Hans' wife (Mary Gordon) into it to her death. He next encounters Minnie (Una O'Connor), who flees in terror.

Henry's body is returned to his fiancée Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson) at his ancestral castle home. Minnie arrives to sound the alarm about the Monster but her warning goes unheeded. Elizabeth, seeing Henry move, realizes he is still alive. Nursed back to health by Elizabeth, Henry has renounced his creation but still believes he may be destined to unlock the secret of life and immortality. A hysterical Elizabeth cries that she sees death coming, foreshadowing the arrival of Henry's former mentor, Doctor Septimus Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger). In his rooms, Pretorius shows Henry several homunculi he has created, including a miniature queen, king, archbishop, devil, ballerina and mermaid. Pretorius wishes to work with Henry to create a mate for the Monster and offers a toast to their venture: "To a new world of gods and monsters!"

The Monster saves a young shepherdess (Anne Darling) from drowning; her screams upon seeing him alert two hunters, who shoot and injure the creature. The hunters raise a mob that sets out in pursuit. Captured and trussed to a pole, the Monster is hauled to a dungeon and chained. Left alone, he breaks his chains and escapes.

That night the Monster encounters a gypsy family and burns his hand in their campfire. Following the sound of a violin playing "Ave Maria", the Monster encounters an old, blind hermit (O. P. Heggie), who thanks God for sending him a friend. He teaches the monster words like "friend" and "good" and shares a meal with him. Two lost hunters stumble upon the cottage and recognize the Monster. He attacks them and accidentally burns down the cottage as the hunters lead the hermit away.

Taking refuge from another angry mob in an underground crypt, the Monster spies Pretorius and his cronies Karl (Dwight Frye) and Ludwig (Ted Billings) breaking open a grave. The henchmen depart; Pretorius stays to enjoy a light supper. The Monster approaches Pretorius, and learns that Pretorius plans to create a mate for him.

Henry and Elizabeth, now married, are visited by Pretorius; he is ready for Henry to do his part in their "grand collaboration". Henry refuses and Pretorius calls in the Monster, who demands Henry's help. Henry again refuses and Pretorius orders the Monster out, signaling him to kidnap Elizabeth. Pretorius guarantees her safe return upon Henry's participation. Henry returns to his tower laboratory where, in spite of himself, he grows excited over his work. After being assured of Elizabeth's safety, Henry completes the Bride's body.

A storm rages as final preparations are made to bring the Bride to life. Her bandage-wrapped body is raised through the roof. Lightning strikes a kite, sending electricity through the Bride. Henry and Pretorius lower her and realize their success. "She's alive! Alive!" Henry cries. They remove her bandages and help her to stand. "The bride of Frankenstein!" Doctor Pretorius declares.

The excited Monster sees his mate (Elsa Lanchester) and reaches out to her. "Friend?" he asks. The Bride, screaming, rejects him. "She hate me! Like others," the Monster dejectedly says. As Elizabeth races to Henry's side, the Monster rampages through the laboratory. "Go! You live!" he tells Henry and Elizabeth. To Pretorius and the Bride, he says "You stay. We belong dead." While Henry and Elizabeth flee, the Monster, shedding a tear as the Bride hisses at him, pulls a lever to trigger the destruction of the laboratory and tower.

27. Gort

Gort is a fictional humanoid robot in the 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still and its 2008 remake.

In the original short story "Farewell to the Master", on which the two films are based, the character was called Gnut.

The eight-foot metal robot accompanies Klaatu, a visitor to Earth from a distant planet, aboard a flying saucer. He does not speak, but uses a beam weapon projected from beneath a visor to vaporize weapons and obstacles. Klaatu describes him as being part of an interstellar police force. He announces that the people of the universe constructed numerous robots like Gort and gave them irrevocable powers to respond to violent actions in order to "preserve the peace." He goes on to say that "There's no limit to what [Gort] could do. He could destroy the Earth."[1]

The character was based loosely on Gnut, a large green robot from outer space in "Farewell to the Master", a 1940 short story by Harry Bates which was used as the basis for Edmund H. North's screenplay. In the story, Gnut is believed to be the servant of his humanoid companion, but reveals himself, at the end, to have been the master.

On screen Gort is a large "seamless" robot that appears to be constructed from a single piece of "flexible metal". He was portrayed by 7'-7" (231 cm)-tall actor Lock Martin wearing a thick foam-rubber suit designed and built by Addison Hehr. Two suits were created, fastened alternately from the front or back so that the robot could appear seamless depending on the camera angle. Another fiberglass statue of Gort was used for close-ups of him firing his beam weapon or when the scene did not call for him to move. In order to maximize the height of the robot, the costume was made with lifts in the boots and was designed so that the figure's helmet stands nearly a foot above the top of Martin's head. Prisms were employed so that Martin could see through the costume's visor and air holes were provided under the robot's chin.

During most of the film, Gort remains motionless in front of the saucer, which rests on the National Mall in central Washington D. C. while scientists and military researchers examine him. At one point Klaatu communicates with him using signals from a flashlight. He also responds to spoken commands, including the famous line "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!", spoken by Patricia Neal's character at the film's climax.

26. Vampires

Vampire films have been a staple since the silent days, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in movies throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptation of vampire fiction has been from Bram Stoker's Dracula, with over 170 versions to date. Running a distant second are adaptations of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. The legend of Elizabeth Báthory, the "Blood Countess" has also been an influence. By 2005, Dracula had been the subject of more films than any other fictional character.

Early cinematic vampires in such films as The Vampire (1913), directed by Robert G. Vignola, were not undead bloodsucking fiends but 'vamps'. Such femme fatales were inspired by a poem by Rudyard Kipling called "The Vampire", composed in 1897. This poem was written as kind of commentary on a painting of a female vampire by Philip Burne-Jones exhibited in the same year. Lyrics from Kipling's poem: A fool there was . . . , describing a seduced man, were used as the title of the film A Fool There Was (1915) starring Theda Bara as the 'vamp' in question and the poem was used in the publicity for the film.

An authentic supernatural vampire features in the landmark Nosferatu (1922 Germany, directed by F. W. Murnau) starring Max Schreck as the hideous Count Orlok. This was an unlicensed version of Bram Stoker's Dracula, based so closely on the novel that the estate sued and won, with all copies ordered to be destroyed. It would be painstakingly restored in 1994 by a team of European scholars from the five surviving prints that had escaped destruction. The destruction of the vampire, in the closing sequence of the film, by sunlight rather than the traditional stake through the heart proved very influential on later films and became an accepted part of vampire lore.

The next classic treatment of the vampire legend was in Universal's Dracula (1931) starring Béla Lugosi as Count Dracula. Five years after the release of the film, Universal released Dracula's Daughter (1936), a direct sequel that starts immediately after the end of the first film. A second sequel, Son of Dracula, starring Lon Chaney, Jr. followed in 1943. Despite his apparent death in the 1931 film, the Count returned to life in three more Universal films of the mid-1940s: House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) both starring John Carradine and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). While Lugosi had played a vampire in two other movies during the 1930s and 1940s, it was only in this final film that he played Count Dracula on-screen for the second (and last) time.

A transition between the Universal tradition and the later Hammer style is exemplified by the 1957 Mexican movie El Vampiro that actually showed the vampire fangs (Universal did not).

Dracula was reincarnated for a new generation in the celebrated Hammer Films series, starring Christopher Lee as the Count. In the first of these films Dracula (1958) the spectacular death of the title character through being exposed to the sun, reinforced this part vampire lore, first established in Nosferatu, and made it virtually axiomatic in succeeding films.[2] Lee returned as Dracula in all but two of the seven sequels. A more faithful adaptation of Stoker's novel appeared as Dracula (1992) directed by Francis Ford Coppola though also identifying Count Dracula with the notorious medieval Balkan ruler Vlad the Impaler.

A distinct sub-genre of vampire films, ultimately inspired by Le Fanu's Carmilla explored the topic of the lesbian vampire. Although implied in Daughter of Dracula, the first openly lesbian vampire was in Blood and Roses (1960) by Roger Vadim. More explicit lesbian content was provided in Hammer's Karnstein Trilogy. The first of these, The Vampire Lovers, (1970), starring Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith, was a relatively straightforward re-telling of LeFanu's novella, but with more overt violence and sexuality. Later films in this sub-genre such as Vampyres (1974) became even more explicit in their depiction of sex, nudity and violence.

Beginning with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) the vampire has often been the subject of comedy. The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) by Roman Polanski was a notable parody of the genre. Other comedic treatments, of variable quality, include Vampira (1974) featuring David Niven as a lovelorn Dracula, Love at First Bite (1979) featuring George Hamilton and Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995), directed by Mel Brooks) with Leslie Nielsen.

Another development in some vampire films has been a change from supernatural horror to science fictional explanations of vampirism. The Last Man on Earth (1964, directed by Ubaldo Ragona), The Omega Man (1971 USA, directed by Boris Sagal)and two other films were all based on Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend. They explain the condition as having a natural cause. Vampirism is explained as a kind of virus in David Cronenberg's Rabid (1976) and Red-Blooded American Girl (1990) directed by David Blyth.

Race has been another theme, as exemplified by the blaxploitation picture Blacula (1972) and several sequels.

Since the time of Béla Lugosi's Dracula (1931) the vampire, male or female, has usually been portrayed as an alluring sex symbol. Christopher Lee, Delphine Seyrig, Frank Langella, and Lauren Hutton are just a few examples of actors who brought great sex-appeal into their portrayal of the vampire. Latterly the implicit sexual themes of vampire film have become much more overt, culminating in such films as Gayracula (1983) and The Vampire of Budapest, (1995), two pornographic all-male vampire movies, and Lust for Dracula (2005), a pornographic all-lesbian adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic.

There is, however, a very small sub-genre, pioneered in Murnau's seminal Nosferatu (1922) in which the portrayal of the vampire is similar to the hideous creature of European folklore. Max Schrek's disturbing portrayal of this role in Murnau's film was copied by Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog's remake Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979). In Shadow of the Vampire (2000). directed by E. Elias Merhige, Willem Dafoe plays Max Schrek, himself, though portrayed here as an actual vampire. Dafoe's character is the ugly, disgusting creature of the original Nosferatu. Stephen King's Salem's Lot (1979), notably depicts vampires as terrifying, simple-minded creatures, without erotism, and with the only desire to feed on the blood of others. This type of vampire is also featured in the film 30 Days of Night.

A major character in most vampire films is the vampire hunter, of which Stoker's Abraham Van Helsing is a prototype. However, killing vampires has changed. Where Van Helsing relied on a stake through the heart, in Vampires 1998, directed by John Carpenter, Jack Crow (James Woods) has a heavily-armed squad of vampire hunters, and in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992 , directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui), writer Joss Whedon (who created TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin-off Angel) attached The Slayer, Buffy Summers (Kristy Swanson in the film, Sarah Michelle Gellar in the TV series), to a network of Watchers and mystically endowed her with superhuman powers.

25. The Daleks

The Daleks (pronounced /ˈdɑːlɛks/ ( listen)) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of genetically manipulated mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals. They are mutated Kaleds integrated within a tank-like or robot-like mechanical casing. The resulting creatures are a powerful race bent on universal conquest and domination, utterly without pity, compassion or remorse. Various storylines portray them as having had every emotion removed except hate, leaving them with a desire to purge the Universe of all non-Dalek life. Occasionally they are shown as experiencing other emotions, primarily fear, although such occurrences are rare. Collectively they are the greatest enemies of the series' protagonist, the Time Lord known as the Doctor. Their famous catchphrase is "Exterminate!", with each syllable individually synthesised in a frantic electronic voice.

The Daleks were created by writer Terry Nation and designed by BBC designer Raymond Cusick. They were introduced in December 1963 in the second Doctor Who serial, colloquially known as The Daleks. They became an immediate and huge hit with viewers, featuring in many subsequent serials and two 1960s motion pictures. They have become as synonymous with Doctor Who as the title character, and their behaviour and catchphrases are now part of British popular culture. "Hiding behind the sofa whenever the Daleks appear" has been cited as an element of British cultural identity; and a 2008 survey indicated that 9 out of 10 British children were able to identify a Dalek correctly. In 1999 a Dalek appeared on a postage stamp celebrating British popular culture, photographed by Lord Snowdon. In 2010, readers of science fiction magazine SFX voted the Dalek as the all-time greatest monster, beating out competition including Japanese movie monster Godzilla and J. R. R. Tolkien's Gollum, of The Lord of the Rings.

The word "Dalek" has entered major dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary, which defines it somewhat imprecisely as "a type of robot appearing in ‘Dr. Who‘, a B.B.C. Television science-fiction programme; hence used allusively." The term is sometimes used metaphorically to describe people, usually figures of authority, who act like robots unable to break from their programming; for example, John Birt, the Director-General of the BBC from 1992 to 2000, was publicly called a "croak-voiced Dalek" by playwright Dennis Potter in the MacTaggart Lecture at the 1993 Edinburgh Television Festival.

24. Gamera

Gamera (ガメラ) is a giant, flying turtle from a popular series of kaiju (Japanese giant monster) films produced by Daiei Motion Picture Company in Japan. Created in 1965 to rival the success of Toho Studios' Godzilla during the monster boom of the mid-to-late 1960s, Gamera has gained fame and notoriety as a Japanese icon in his own right.

In the United States, Gamera attained prominence during the 1970s due to the burgeoning popularity of UHF television stations featuring Saturday afternoon matinee showcases like Creature Double Feature and later in the 1990s when several Gamera films were featured on the television program Mystery Science Theater 3000.

In the Shōwa era series, Gamera was a titanic, fire-breathing prehistoric species of tortoise who fed on flames, reawakened by an accidental atomic blast in the Arctic during an aerial assault by US fighters on Soviet bombers caught crossing into North American airspace. The narrative points out that Gamera had appeared in the past, revealed in an ancient stone etching. Gamera was already capable of flight and breathing fire (rather than atomic rays like Godzilla) when he was reawakened.

In the Heisei era series, however, the origin of Gamera was tweaked to make the theme much more directly heroic: a bio-engineered Guardian of the Universe created by Atlantis with the purpose of defeating Gyaos, another ancient creation capable of killing all human life. The giant turtle is found floating adrift in the Pacific, encased in rock and mistaken for an atoll. Within the rock, investigators discover a large monolith explaining Gamera's purpose, as well as dozens of magatama, which allow a psychic link between Gamera and humans. In the third film of the series, an undersea graveyard is found with many other Gamera fossils, suggesting Gamera was not the only member of his kind created. One character in the film refers to these fossils as "beta versions" of Gamera, possible failures in Atlantis' attempts to create the final version. Another scene provides Gamera with a link to Asian folklore, with a character relating a story in which a giant tortoise is considered the Guardian of the North, with separate, rival creatures defending the East, West and South.

Gamera's continuity was rebooted again in the only film of the Millennium era. The film begins with the original Gamera sacrificing himself to destroy several Gyaos in 1973. 33 years later, a young boy finds a strange, glowing red rock near his home, with a small egg lying on top of it. A fairly normal looking baby tortoise soon hatches from the egg, but begins to grow at an alarming rate. The turtle, now named "Toto" by his preadolescent owner, quickly develops Gamera's classic abilities to breathe fire and fly, and attempts to ward off another attacking monster, Zedus, but is too weak to succeed. Only after eating the glowing rock found with his egg does the new Gamera achieve his full power, defeating Zedus and flying off into the sky.

23. The Apes

Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and based on the novel La planète des singes by Pierre Boulle, released in 1963. The film stars Charlton Heston and features Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison. It was released by 20th Century Fox.

The film tells the story of an astronaut crew who crash land on a strange planet in the distant future. Although the planet appears desolate at first, the surviving crew members stumble upon a society in which apes have evolved into creatures with human-like intelligence and speech. The apes have assumed the role of the dominant species and humans have been subjugated into slavery.

Astronauts Taylor (Heston), Landon (Robert Gunner), Stewart (Dianne Stanley), and Dodge (Jeff Burton) are in deep hibernation when their spaceship crash-lands in a lake on an unknown planet in the year 3978 A.D. after a 2006-year voyage at near-light speed (during which the crew ages only 18 months due to time dilation). The planet has no moon and the clouds at night are luminous. The astronauts awaken to find Stewart's decomposed body, and that their ship is sinking. They use an inflatable raft to reach shore. Once there, Dodge performs a soil test and pronounces the soil incapable of sustaining life. Taylor suggests they are on a planet in the constellation of Orion some 320 light years from Earth but admits he is not sure.

The three astronauts set off through the desert, finding first a single plant and then others. They find an oasis at the edge of the desert where they decide to go swimming, ignoring strange 'scarecrows'. While they are swimming, their clothes are stolen. Pursuing the thieves, the astronauts find their clothes in shreds and the perpetrators — a group of mute, primitive humans — contentedly raiding a cornfield. Suddenly, gorillas on horseback charge through the cornfield, brandishing firearms, snares, and nets, which they use to capture whatever humans they can and kill those they cannot. While fleeing, Dodge is killed, Landon is bashed in the head and knocked unconscious, and Taylor is shot in the throat. The gorillas take Taylor to "Ape City," where his life is saved by two chimpanzee scientists,"animal" psychologist Zira (Hunter) and surgeon Galen. Upon awakening, Taylor—now housed in a cage with a girl whom he later calls Nova (Harrison), who was captured on the same hunt—discovers that his throat wound has rendered him temporarily mute.

Taylor discovers that the apes, who can talk, are in control and are divided into a strict class system: the gorillas as police, military, and hunters; the orangutans as administrators, politicians, and lawyers; and the chimpanzees as intellectuals and scientists. Humans, who cannot talk, are considered feral vermin and are hunted and either killed outright, enslaved for manual labor, or used for scientific experimentation.

Zira and her fiancé, Cornelius, an archaeologist, take an interest in Taylor after he tries to communicate by mouthing words. While Cornelius and Zira are talking to their boss, an orangutan named Dr. Zaius (Evans), Taylor writes in the dirt and attempts to call Cornelius and Zira's attention to it. Nova runs her hands over it, to which Taylor pulls her away, but when a primitive man ruins it as well Taylor kicks him away. This angers the man, and he attacks Taylor. A gorilla comes in with a torch and burns Taylor, but only Zaius sees Taylor's writing. Realizing that Taylor is intelligent, he destroys the writing with his cane. Eventually, Taylor steals paper from Zira when she comes close to his cage and uses it to write messages to her. Zira and Cornelius are convinced that Taylor is intelligent; upon learning of this, Zaius orders that Taylor be castrated.

Taylor manages to escape before the procedure can be carried out and flees through Ape City, which he discovers to be an architecturally primitive version of 20th Century Earth. During his flight, he finds himself in a museum, where Dodge's corpse has been taxidermied and put on display. Shortly thereafter, Taylor is recaptured by gorillas; finding that his throat has healed, he angrily addresses them, shouting, in what has become one of the most memorable film lines, "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!"

When back in his cell, Nova is then transferred to a cell across from Taylor's cell as the warden Julius (Buck Kartalian) sprays Taylor with water. The shocked apes hold a tribunal to determine Taylor's origins (in a parody of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial) run by the President of the Assembly (James Whitmore), Dr. Zaius, and Dr. Maximus (Woodrow Parfrey) with Dr. Honorious (James Daly) as the prosecution. Taylor tells of his two comrades and explains that one was killed and the other lost. At this point the court produces Landon, who has been subjected to a primitive lobotomy that has rendered him catatonic.

After the tribunal, Dr. Zaius holds a private meeting with Taylor, where he threatens to lobotomise him if he doesn't lie about where he came from. With help from Zira's socially-rebellious nephew Lucius (Lou Wagner), Zira and Cornelius intervene early the next morning and "kidnap" Taylor and Nova, taking them to "The Forbidden Zone," a region outside of Ape City. Cornelius explains that no one knows why it is called The Forbidden Zone; it is merely an ancient taboo and has remained quarantined for centuries. Some years earlier, Cornelius had been digging near the zone and found artifacts of a previous generation that were not simian, thereby postulating his theory. Upon arriving, the party travels down a river that flows into a nearby sea, but they are intercepted by Dr. Zaius and his men. Taylor threatens to shoot him, but Zaius complies and the party goes inside the cave. Cornelius shows them the remnants of a technologically advanced human society buried in the cliff by the sea, which he discovered a year earlier while on his archaeological expedition. The tell-tale artifact turns out to be a human doll, which Nova begins playing with, but all of a sudden, the doll "cries," much to the shock of everyone. Taylor angrily confronts Zaius, imploring why an ape would make a human doll that talks. The truth is revealed that the apes' world was, at one time, controlled by humans, but at some point in history, apes developed sentience and the roles of apes and humans were inverted, with apes becoming the dominant species and man becoming the apes' household pets, and later becoming animals living in the wild, incapable of speech.

Dr. Zaius soon admits that he has always known about man and the fact that human civilization existed long before apes ruled the planet. He explains that The Forbidden Zone was once "a paradise," but man's destructive tendencies caused it to be annihilated thousands of years earlier. Zaius agrees to exile Taylor and Nova. Taylor can't help but question why it is called "the Forbidden Zone." It then becomes apparent that there is one discovery to be made, as Zaius implies that somewhere within the zone lies something that completely reveals the truth (that human civilization reigned before). To protect the dignity and identity of the ape civilization, this area was considered "forbidden" so that no one would discover what lay in it. Zaius advises Taylor not to look for it because he will not like what he finds. When asked by Zira, "What will he find out there, Doctor?", Zaius replies: "his destiny." Once Taylor and Nova have ridden away on horseback, Dr. Zaius has the gorillas lay explosives and destroy the evidence of the human society. It is implied that Dr. Zaius doesn't go after Taylor because Taylor had spared his life when he could have easily killed Zaius, or that Dr. Zaius figured out that since Taylor didn't come from a jungle on the other side of the Forbidden Zone, he would die in the desert anyway.

After an unspecified time spent following the shoreline, Taylor and Nova finally do discover the truth that Dr. Zaius warned them about; Taylor stops the horse and dismounts, staring up in disbelief at an object not quite clear to the viewer yet. He begins approaching the object before descending into a fit of rage and screaming: "We finally really did it. You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you. God damn you all to hell!" The picture zooms out to reveal the charred remnants of the Statue of Liberty, half-submerged in the shoreline, revealing that the planet he was on was actually Earth the whole time, and that the paradise that became The Forbidden Zone was once New York City.

22. Raptors

Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the fictional Isla Nublar (Incorrect spanish meant for "Cloudy Island", it would be "Isla Nublada" properly), in Costa Rica, where billionaire philanthropist John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) and a team of genetic scientists from his company have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs.

The wealthy billionaire and dinosaur enthusiast John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), CEO of InGen has recently created Jurassic Park; a futuristic theme park populated with dinosaurs cloned from DNA taken from fossilized mosquitoes preserved in amber. The park is situated on Isla Nublar, an island 87 miles north-west of Costa Rica; for security purposes, the island is surrounded by fifty miles of electric fence, and the dinosaurs have had their chromosomes altered to make them all female to prevent reproduction.

After an incident in the park, where a worker is fatally savaged by a Velociraptor, Hammond is advised by his lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) to have two experts sign off on the island for the benefit of health and safety. To that end, Hammond invites paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and paleobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) along with Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), a chaotician, and Hammond's grandchildren—Timothy "Tim" Murphy (Joseph Mazzello) and Alexis "Lex" Murphy (Ariana Richards)—to Jurassic Park, in order to convince his lawyers the park is safe. The group is sent into the park as part of a safari experience to observe most of the animals. Hammond, meanwhile, observes his guests along with Head Technician Ray Arnold (Samuel L. Jackson) and his Head of Security, Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck).

However, it transpires that one of the computer programmers, Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight), is in the employ of BioSyn, a corporate rival of InGen, and has been paid a substantial price to steal fertilized dinosaur embryos. To allow the theft, Nedry infects the park's security measures with a computer virus to allow him access to the embryo storage, inadvertently deactivating the electrified fences containing the dinosaurs. The rest of the group, who have been stranded in the park due to the system shutdown, are attacked by the Tyrannosaurus escaping from its paddock; Gennaro is killed and Malcolm is badly injured. Grant survives and escapes with the children into the park. Nedry flees with his prize, but his jeep gets stuck, and while trying to winch it out Nedry is blinded and eventually killed by an escaped Dilophosaurus. The embryos are lost.

With the virus affecting the entire park's systems, Hammond recommends a total shutdown of the park's systems. He, along with Sattler, Arnold, Muldoon and Malcolm, shuts down the park's system and retreats to the emergency bunker, from where Arnold heads to the maintenance compound to reboot the system. When he doesn't return, Muldoon and Sattler head for the compound; on the way, they pass the raptor paddock, and discover the raptors (whose fence wasn't shut off by Nedry but was affected by the park-wide shut-down) have escaped. At the same time, Grant and the children discover a nest full of hatched eggs; the dinosaurs are breeding. Grant theorizes this is due to using frog DNA to fill in gaps in the dinosaur gene sequence, as some frogs are able to change gender in a single-sex environment.

As Muldoon and Sattler proceed to the maintenance compound, Muldoon realizes they are being hunted by Velociraptors. The pair split up; Muldoon goes after the raptors, while Sattler heads for the maintenance shed. She manages to reactivate the park's systems (narrowly escaping a Velociraptor hiding inside the shed, which has killed Arnold) inadvertently at the same time, Tim, Lex and Grant climb the electrified fence out of the park's animal zone and Tim is nearly killed upon the reactivation of the electricity; meanwhile, Muldoon is ambushed and killed by the Velociraptors. Grant and the kids head for the visitor's centre; he leaves the kids alone in the kitchen while he reunites with Sattler and the others. The kids find that two Velociraptors have entered the visitor centre, but they are able to evade the dinosaurs, reunite with Grant and Sattler and get the park's security systems working from the control room. Grant contacts Hammond and tells him to call the mainland for rescue, but the two raptors find the group and attack.

The group flees, only to be cornered in the entrance hall by the Velociraptors, who get ready to pounce. As all seems lost, the Tyrannosaurus breaks into the hall and seizes one of the raptors in its jaws, killing it. The second raptor charges the T-Rex as Sattler, Grant and the kids run for safety as the two dinosaurs fight; they are rescued by Malcolm and Hammond, who have fled the emergency bunker in a Jeep, where Grant tells Hammond he will not endorse Jurassic Park, a decision with which Hammond agrees. As they drive away, the Tyrannosaurus finishes off the Velociraptor and roars in triumph.

The group reaches the helipad, where they are evacuated from the island. As their helicopter flies across the ocean back to the mainland, Grant sees a flock of pelicans flying past, reminders of the connection between birds and dinosaurs.

The Velociraptor is portrayed as the film's antagonist. The animal's depiction was not based on the actual dinosaur genus in question (which itself was significantly smaller), rather the related (and larger) genus Deinonychus, which had been synonymised with Velociraptor by Gregory S. Paul in 1988. Crichton's writing followed this, but by the time production of the film took place, the idea had been dropped by the scientific community. Coincidentally, before Jurassic Park's theatre release, the similar Utahraptor was discovered, though was proved bigger in appearance than the film's raptors; this prompted Stan Winston to joke, "We made it, then they discovered it." For the attack on character Robert Muldoon, the raptors were played by men in suits. Dolphin screams, walruses bellowing, geese hissing, an African crane's mating call, and human rasps were mixed to formulate various raptor sounds.Following discoveries made after the film's release, most paleontologists theorized that dromaeosaurs like Velociraptor and Deinonychus had feathers.


21. The Klingons

Klingons (Klingon: tlhIngan, pronounced [ˈt͡ɬɪŋɑn]) are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe. They are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films. Initially intended to be antagonists for the crew of the USS Enterprise, the Klingons ended up a close ally of humanity and the United Federation of Planets in later television series.

As originally developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon, Klingons were darkly colored humanoids with little honor, intended as an allegory to the then-current Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, though Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry did not aspire to any political parallels. With a greatly expanded budget for makeup and effects, the Klingons were completely redesigned in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), gaining ridged foreheads that created a continuity error not explained by canon until 2005. In later films and the spin-off series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the militaristic traits of the Klingons were bolstered by an increased sense of honor and strict warrior code.

Among the elements created for the revised Klingons was a complete language, developed by Marc Okrand off gibberish suggested by actor James Doohan. Klingon has entered popular culture; the works of William Shakespeare and even parts of the Bible have been translated into the guttural language. A dictionary, a book of sayings, and a cultural guide to the language have been published. In addition, according to Guinness World Records, Klingon is the most popular fictional language by number of speakers.

All monster info from Wikipedia

Read Also: The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #31 - #40 - The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #41 - #50, The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #51 - #60, The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #61 - #70 - The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #71 - #80 - The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #81 - #90 - and -The 100 Greatest Monsters From Movies And Television #91 - #100

Our comrade Tim Knight of Hero Press from across the pond decided to celebrate Halloween this year with a week long tribute to the sexy women of Hammer Films.

Today the featured actress in Caroline Munro.

Caroline Munro is an English actress and model known for her many appearances in horror, science fiction and action films of the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1977, Munro turned down the opportunity to play villainess Ursa in Superman in favor of what would become her most celebrated film appearance, the ill-fated helicopter pilot Naomi in the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, who seductively winks at Bond while trying to gun him down from her helicopter. In her role as Naomi, she holds the distinction of being the first woman ever undeniably killed by James Bond. Cubby Broccoli urged Caroline to make her way to America in search of more lucrative offers. She declined, preferring to stay close to her family.

Munro continued to work in numerous British and European horror and science fiction films through the 1970s and 1980s, most notably Starcrash (1979) with David Hasselhoff, Christopher Plummer and Marjoe Gortner.

Munro's career continued to thrive well in the 1980s, appearing in many slasher and Eurotrash productions. Her first film shot on American soil was the William Lustig production Maniac (1980). This was soon followed by the low-budget shocker The Last Horror Film (1982), in which she was reunited with her Maniac co-star Joe Spinell. She had a cameo role in the cult classic slasher Don't Open 'Til Christmas as a singer (1984), Slaughter High (1986), Paul Naschy's Howl of the Devil (1987), and Jess Franco's Faceless (1988), followed in rapid succession. She reteamed with Starcrash director, Luigi Cozzi, for Il Gatto nero in 1989. This would be Caroline's last major film appearance.

Throughout the 1980s, Munro was often cited by the press as being a candidate for the co-starring role in a proposed (but never produced) feature film based upon Doctor Who. The feature was being co-produced by her second husband George Dugdale. At various times, press reports linked her with numerous actors touted to play the role of The Doctor, including David Bowie.

Wanna see more ... like I have to ask?

Veronica Carlson - Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968)

Valerie Leon - Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb (1971)

Stephanie Beacham - Dracula AD 1972

Pauline Peart - The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

Mary and Madeleine Collinson - Twins Of Evil (1970)

Ingrid Pitt - Countess Dracula (1971)

The Sexy Side Of UK Horror - The Vampire Lovers (1970)

20. Zombies

A zombie is asserted to be a reanimated corpse, or a human who is being controlled by someone else by use of magic with some media renditions using a pandemic illness to explain their existence. Stories of zombies originated in the West African spiritual belief system of voodoo, which told of the people being controlled as laborers by a powerful wizard. Zombies became a popular device in modern horror fiction, largely because of the success of George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead and they have appeared as plot devices in various books, films and in television shows.

The modern conception of the zombie owes itself almost entirely to George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. In his films, Romero "bred the zombie with the vampire, and what he got was the hybrid vigour of a ghoulish plague monster". This entailed an apocalyptic vision of monsters that have come to be known as Romero zombies.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times chided theater owners and parents who allowed children access to the film. "I don't think the younger kids really knew what hit them," complained Ebert. "They were used to going to movies, sure, and they'd seen some horror movies before, sure, but this was something else." According to Ebert, the film affected the audience immediately:

The kids in the audience were stunned. There was almost complete silence. The movie had stopped being delightfully scary about halfway through, and had become unexpectedly terrifying. There was a little girl across the aisle from me, maybe nine years old, who was sitting very still in her seat and crying.

Romero's reinvention of zombies is notable in terms of its thematics; he used zombies not just for their own sake, but as a vehicle "to criticize real-world social ills—such as government ineptitude, bioengineering, slavery, greed and exploitation—while indulging our post-apocalyptic fantasies". Night was the first of six films in the Living Dead series.

Innately tied with the conception of the modern zombie is the "zombie apocalypse", the breakdown of society as a result of zombie infestation, portrayed in countless zombie-related media post-Night. Scholar Kim Paffrenroth notes that "more than any other monster, zombies are fully and literally apocalyptic ... they signal the end of the world as we have known it."

Night made no reference to the creatures as "zombies". In the film they are referred as "ghouls" on the TV news reports. However, the word zombie is used continually by Romero in his 1978 script for Dawn of the Dead, including once in dialog. This "retroactively fits (the creatures) with an invisible Haitian/African prehistory, formally introducing the zombie as a new archetype".

Movie poster for the 1968 film Night of the Living DeadDawn of the Dead was released under this title just months before the release of Lucio Fulci's Zombi II (1979). Fulci's gory epic was filmed at the same time as Romero's Dawn, despite the popular belief that it was made in order to cash in on the success of Dawn. The only reference to Dawn was the title change to Zombi II (Dawn generally went by Zombi or Zombie in other countries.)

After the mid-1980s, the subgenre was mostly relegated to the underground. Notable entries include director Peter Jackson's ultra-gory film Braindead (1992) (released as Dead Alive in the U.S.), Bob Balaban's comic 1993 film My Boyfriend's Back where a self-aware high school boy returns to profess his love for a girl and his love for human flesh, and Michele Soavi's Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) (released as Cemetery Man in the U.S.). Several years later, zombies experienced a renaissance in low-budget Asian cinema, with a sudden spate of dissimilar entries including Bio Zombie (1998), Wild Zero (1999), Junk (1999), Versus (2000) and Stacy (2001).

In Disney's 1993 film Hocus Pocus, a "good zombie", Billy Butcherson played by Doug Jones, was introduced, giving yet a new kind of zombie in an intelligent, gentle, kind, and heroic being.

The turn of the millennium coincided with a decade of box office successes in which the zombie sub-genre experienced a resurgence: the Resident Evil movies in 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2010; the Dawn of the Dead remake (2004), the British films 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later and the homage/parody Shaun of the Dead (2004). The new interest allowed Romero to create the fourth entry in his zombie series: Land of the Dead, released in the summer of 2005. Romero has recently returned to the beginning of the series with the film Diary of the Dead (2008).

The depiction of zombies as biologically infected people has become increasingly popular, likely due to the 28 Days Later and Resident Evil series. More recently, Colin (UK, 2008) has taken the step of using an artisanal hand-held camcorder to provide the zombie point-of-view of the eponymous central protagonist, who is bitten (twice), turns yet retains some residual memories of his pre-revenant life. The short film screened at Cannes in 2009 and was released by Kaliedoscope Entertainment in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2009.

2006's Slither featured zombies infected with alien parasites, and 2007's Planet Terror featured a zombie outbreak caused by a biological weapon. The comedy films Zombie Strippers and Fido have also taken this approach.

As part of this resurgence, there have been numerous direct-to-video (or DVD) zombie movies made by extremely low-budget filmmakers using digital video. These can usually be found for sale online from the distributors themselves, rented in video rental stores or released internationally in such places as Thailand.

19. Hannibal Lecter

Hannibal Lecter, MD is a fictional character in a series of novels by author Thomas Harris. The character is introduced in the thriller novel Red Dragon (1981) as a psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. The novel and its sequel, The Silence of the Lambs (1988), feature Lecter as one of two primary antagonists. In the third novel, Hannibal (1999), Lecter becomes the main character. His role as protagonist and anti-hero occurs in the fourth novel, Hannibal Rising (2006), which explores his childhood and development into a serial killer. Lecter's character also appears in all five film adaptations.

The first film, Manhunter, based on the novel Red Dragon, features Brian Cox as Lecter, spelled as "Lecktor". In 2002, a second adaptation of Red Dragon was made under the original title, featuring Anthony Hopkins, who had previously played Lecter in the motion pictures The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. Hopkins won an Academy Award for his performance of the character in The Silence of the Lambs in 1991. In 2003, Hannibal Lecter (as portrayed by Hopkins) was chosen by the American Film Institute as the #1 movie villain

Red Dragon was first adapted to film in 1986 as the Michael Mann film Manhunter. Due to copyright issues, the filmmakers changed the spelling of Lecter's name to "Lecktor," who was portrayed by Scottish actor Brian Cox.

In 1991, Orion Pictures produced a Jonathan Demme-directed film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, in which Lecter was played by Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins' Academy Award–winning performance made Lecter into a cultural icon. In 2001, Hannibal was adapted to film, with Hopkins reprising his role. The ending for the film was changed from the novel due to the controversy that the novel's ending generated upon its release in 1999: in the film adaptation, Starling attempts to apprehend Lecter, who cuts off his own hand to free himself from her handcuffs. In 2002, Red Dragon was adapted to film again under its original title Red Dragon, with Hopkins once again as Lecter and Edward Norton as Will Graham.

In late 2006, the script for the film Hannibal Rising was adapted to novel format. The novel was written to explain Lecter's development into a serial killer. In the film, the young Lecter is portrayed by Gaspard Ulliel. Both the novel and the film received generally negative critical reception.

18. The Borg

The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe.

Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world (and in recent times the real world) to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg voluntarily submit to cybernetic enhancement as a means of achieving what they believe to be perfection (they also force their idea of perfection on others).

Aside from being the main threat in Star Trek: First Contact, the Borg also play major roles in The Next Generation and Voyager television series, primarily as an invasion threat to the United Federation of Planets and the means of return to the Alpha Quadrant for isolated Federation starship Voyager, respectively. The Borg have become a symbol in popular culture for any juggernaut against which "resistance is futile". The Borg manifest as cybernetically enhanced humanoid drones of multiple species, organized as an interconnected collective, the decisions of which are made by a hive mind, linked to subspace domain. The Borg inhabit a vast region of space in the Delta Quadrant of the galaxy, possessing millions of vessels and having conquered thousands of systems. They operate solely toward the fulfilling of one purpose: to "add the biological and technological distinctiveness of other species to [their] own" in pursuit of perfection. This is achieved through forced assimilation, a process which transforms individuals and technology into Borg, enhancing - and simultaneously controlling - individuals by implanting or appending synthetic components.

In their first introduction to the franchise (Q Who?), little information is forthcoming about the Borg or their origins and intents. In alien encounters, they exhibit no desire for negotiation or reason, only to assimilate. Exhibiting a rapid adaptability to any situation or threat, with encounters characterized by the matter-of-fact statement "Resistance is futile", the Borg develop into one of the greatest threats to Starfleet and the Federation. Originally perceived on screen as a homogeneous and anonymous entity, the concepts of a Borg Queen and central control are later introduced, while representatives for the Borg collective are occasionally employed to act as a go-between in more complicated plot lines.

In Star Trek, attempts to resist the Borg become one of the central themes, with many examples of successful resistance to the collective, both from existing or former drones, and assimilation targets. It is also demonstrated that it is possible to survive assimilation (most notably Jean-Luc Picard), and that drones can escape the collective (most notably Seven of Nine), and become individuals, or exist collectively without forced assimilation of others. They are notable for being a main antagonist race in more than one series who never appeared in the original Star Trek.

17. The Terminator

"The Terminator" refers to a number of fictional characters portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger – a cyborg, initially portrayed as a programmable assassin, main protagonist, and military infiltration unit. "The Terminator" character first appeared in the 1984 movie of the same name, directed and co-written by James Cameron, and its sequels. The first film in the series features only one cyborg: the one portrayed by Schwarzenegger, although a second Terminator played by Franco Columbu is shown in a future flashback scene. In two sequels, Schwarzenegger's Terminator is pitted against other Terminators, and appears briefly in the fourth as a CGI model.

In the sequels, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Schwarzenegger reprises the role, but with a twist: Schwarzenegger is the hero instead of the villain playing a different but visually identical Terminator in each of the three films. Within the Terminator universe created by Cameron, Terminators of the same "model" share identical characteristics. In the production of the films, this has allowed multiple Terminators to be portrayed by Schwarzenegger. In the context of the stories, this plot device provides a certain continuity for the human characters, by exploiting their emotional familiarity with a particular "human" visage.

"The Terminator" is the name of Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in the credits of the three Terminator movies. At different times, the character is given more specific designations such as model and series numbers, in efforts to distinguish Schwarzenegger's character from other Terminators.

The Terminator appears in Terminator Salvation. Schwarzenegger reprises the role via facial CGI, while the character itself is physically portrayed by Roland Kickinger.

16. HAL 9000

HAL 9000 is the sentient on-board computer of the Discovery One spacecraft in Arthur C. Clarke's fictional Space Odyssey saga.

HAL (Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer) is an artificial intelligence which interacts with the crew, usually represented only as a red television camera "eye" that can be seen throughout Discovery. He speaks in a soft voice and a conversational manner, in contrast to the ship's crew who speak in a terse way, with little inflection. The voice of HAL 9000 was portrayed by Canadian actor Douglas Rain.

HAL became operational on 12 January 1997 (1992 in the film) at the HAL Laboratories in Urbana, Illinois as production number 3. His first instructor was Dr. Chandra (Mr. Langley in the first film). HAL is capable not only of speech, speech recognition, facial recognition, and natural language processing, but also lip reading, art appreciation, interpreting and expressing emotions, reasoning, and playing chess, in addition to maintaining all systems on an interplanetary mission.

HAL was ranked No. 13 on a list of greatest film villains of all time on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains.

In the French-language version of 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL's name is given as "CARL", for Cerveau Analytique de Recherche et de Liaison ("Analytic Brain for Research and Communication"). The camera plates, however, still read "HAL 9000".

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL begins to malfunction in subtle ways, and as a result, the decision is made to shut HAL down in order to prevent more serious malfunctions. The sequence of events and manner in which HAL is shut down differs between the novel and film versions of the story. He is the film's main Antagonist.

In the film, astronauts David Bowman and Frank Poole consider disconnecting HAL's cognitive circuits when he appears to be mistaken in reporting the presence of a fault in the spacecraft's communications antenna. They attempt to conceal what they are saying, but are unaware that HAL is capable of lip reading. Faced with the prospect of disconnection, HAL decides to kill the astronauts in order to protect and continue its programmed directives. HAL proceeds to kill Poole while he is repairing the ship. When Bowman goes to rescue Poole, he is locked out of the ship, and HAL proceeds to disconnect the life support systems of the other hibernating crew members, killing them in their sleep. Dave manages to force his way back onto the ship by jumping through space and prying open an emergency airlock, outside of HAL's control.

In the novel, the orders to disconnect HAL come from Dave and Frank's superiors on Earth. After Frank is killed while attempting to repair the communications antenna, Dave begins to revive his hibernating crewmates, but is foiled when HAL vents the ship's atmosphere into the vacuum of space, killing the awakening crew members and almost killing Dave. Dave is only narrowly saved when he finds his way to a spacesuit which has its own oxygen supply.

In both versions, Bowman then proceeds to shut down the machine. In the film, HAL's central core is depicted as a crawlspace full of brightly lit computer modules mounted in arrays from which they can be inserted or removed. Bowman shuts down HAL by removing modules from service one by one; as he does so, HAL's consciousness degrades. HAL regurgitates material that was programmed into him early in his memory, including announcing the date he became operational as 12 January 1992. When HAL's logic is completely gone, he begins singing the song "Daisy Bell" (this being a reference to the first song played on a computer, the UNIVAC I, was "Daisy Bell"). HAL's final act of any significance is to prematurely play a prerecorded message from Mission Control which reveals the true reasons for the mission to Jupiter, which had been kept secret from the crew and not been intended to be played until the ship entered Jovian orbit.

15. Predator

The Predator is a fictional extraterrestrial species featured in the Predator science-fiction franchise, characterised by its trophy hunting of other dangerous species for sport, including humans and its fictional counterparts, Aliens. Other franchises that have been based on this film include the comic books "Aliens vs. Predator" and the "AVP" film series as well.

First introduced in 1987 as the main antagonist of the film Predator, the Predator creatures returned in the sequels Predator 2 (1990), Alien vs. Predator (2004), Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), and Predators (2010). The Predators have also been the subject of numerous novels, video games, and comic books, both on their own and as part of the Alien vs. Predator crossover imprint. While a definitive name for the species is not given in the films, the names yautja and Hish have been alternatively used in the expanded universe.

Created by brothers Jim and John Thomas, the Predators are depicted as large, sapient and sentient humanoid creatures who possess advanced technology, such as active camouflage and energy weapons, and are capable of interstellar travel.

Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the Predator, the idea being that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the Predator an agile, ninja-esque hunter. When compared to Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, and Jesse Ventura, actors known for their bodybuilding regimens, it became apparent a more physically-imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Ventura's autobiography also alleges that Van Damme intentionally injured a stunt man. Eventually, Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by actor and mime artist Kevin Peter Hall. Hall, standing at an imposing 7 foot 2, had just finished work as a sasquatch in Harry and the Hendersons. Peter Cullen did the creature vocals in the original film, and said the inspiration for the Predator sounds were horseshoe crabs. Hal Rayle did the Predator vocals in the second movie.

Hall played the Predator in the first and second movies. He was trained in the art of mime and used many tribal dance moves in his performance, such as during the fight between Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Predator at the end of the first movie. In Predator 2, according to a "making of" featurette, Danny Glover suggested the Los Angeles Lakers to be the other Predators because Glover himself was a big fan. Hall persuaded some of the Lakers to play background Predators because they couldn't find anyone on short notice. Hall died not long after Predator 2 was released in theaters.

In Alien vs. Predator, Welsh actor Ian Whyte, a fan of the Predator comics and movies, took over as the man in the Predator suit, portraying the "Celtic" Predator during Celtic's fight with an Alien warrior. Whyte returned to portray the "Wolf" Predator in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

In Predators, actors Brian Steele and Carey Jones both portrayed a new breed of Predator known as the "Black Super Predators", who have been dropping humans on their planet for many years to play a survival game against them. In a nod to the first film, Derek Mears played the Predator as the creature appeared in the original, dubbed the "Classic Predator".

14. Norman Bates

Norman Bates is a fictional character created by writer Robert Bloch as the central character in his novel Psycho, and portrayed by Anthony Perkins as the villain of the 1960 film of the same name directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The character was inspired by serial killer Ed Gein.

Both the novel and Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film adaptation explain that Bates suffers severe emotional abuse as a child at the hands of his mother, Norma, who preaches to him that sex is evil and that women (except herself) are whores. The two of them live alone together in a state of total codependence after the death of Bates' father. When Bates is a teenager, his mother takes a lover, Joe Considine, driving him over the edge with jealousy; Bates murders both of them with strychnine and preserves his mother's corpse. Bates develops dissociative identity disorder, assuming his mother's personality, repressing her death as a way to escape the guilt of murdering her. He inherits his mother's house, where he keeps her corpse, and the family motel in fictional Fairvale, California.

Bloch sums up Bates' multiple personalities in his stylistic form of puns: "Norman", a child dependent on his mother; "Norma", a possessive mother who kills anyone who threatens the illusion of her existence; and "Normal", a (barely) functional adult who goes through the motions of day-to-day life.

Bates is finally arrested after he murders a young woman named Mary Crane (called Marion Crane in the film) and Milton Arbogast, a private investigator sent to look for her. Bates is declared insane and sent to an institution, where the "mother" personality completely takes hold; he essentially becomes his mother.

In Bloch's 1982 sequel to his novel, Bates fakes his death in a car accident while escaping from the asylum and heads to Hollywood, where a film based on his murders is in production. In the next book, Psycho House, Norman appears only as a novelty animatronic on display in the Bates Hotel, which has been converted into a tourist attraction.

The characterization of Bates in the novel and the movie differ in some key areas. In the novel, Bates is in his mid-to-late 40s, short, overweight, homely, and more overtly unstable. In the movie, he is in his early-to-mid-20s, tall, slender, and handsome. Reportedly, when working on the film, Hitchcock decided that he wanted audiences to be able to sympathize with Bates and genuinely like the character, so he made him more of a "boy next door." In the novel, Norman becomes Mother after getting drunk and passing out; in the movie, he remains sober before switching personalities.

In the novel, Bates is well-read in occult and esoteric authors such as P.D. Ouspensky and Alistair Crowley. He is aware that "Mother" disapproves of these authors as being against religion.

Bates was portrayed by Anthony Perkins in Hitchcock's seminal 1960 film adaptation of Bloch's novel and its three sequels. He also portrayed Norman Bates, albeit more lightheartedly, in a 1990 oatmeal commercial.[10] Vince Vaughn portrayed Bates in Gus Van Sant's 1998 remake, while Kurt Paul took on the role in Bates Motel. Henry Thomas played a younger version of the character in Psycho IV: The Beginning.

13. Jason Vorhees

Jason Voorhees is a fictional character from the Friday the 13th series of slasher films. He first appeared in Friday the 13th (1980), as the son of camp cook-turned-murderer, Mrs. Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S. Cunningham, and Tom Savini, Jason was not originally intended to carry the series as the main antagonist. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, comic books, and a cross-over film with another iconic horror film character, Freddy Krueger.

The character has primarily been an antagonist in the films, whether by stalking and killing the characters, or acting as a psychological threat to the lead character, as is the case in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. Since Lehman's portrayal, the character has been represented by numerous actors and stuntmen, sometimes by more than one at a time; this has caused some controversy as to who should receive credit for the portrayal. Kane Hodder is the best known of the stuntmen to portray Jason Voorhees, having played the character in four consecutive films.

The character's physical appearance has gone through many transformations, with various special makeup effects artists making their mark on the character's design, including makeup artist Stan Winston. Tom Savini's initial design has been the basis for many of the later incarnations. The trademark hockey mask did not appear until Friday the 13th Part III. Since Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, filmmakers have given Jason superhuman strength, regenerative powers, and near invulnerability. He has been seen as a sympathetic character, whose motivation for killing has been cited as driven by the immoral actions of his victims. Jason Voorhees has been featured in various humor magazines, referenced in feature films, parodied in television shows, and been the inspiration for a horror punk band. Several toy lines have been released based on various versions of the character from the Friday the 13th films. Jason Voorhees's hockey mask is a widely recognized image in popular culture.

12. Jack Torrance

John Daniel "Jack" Torrance is a fictional character, the antagonist in the 1977 novel The Shining by Stephen King. He was portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the 1980 movie adaptation of the novel, and by Steven Weber in the 1997 miniseries. The American Film Institute rated the character (as played by Nicholson) the 25th greatest film villain of all time. In 2008, Jack Torrance was selected by Empire Magazine as one of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters. Premiere Magazine also ranked Torrance on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Jack Torrance is a writer and former teacher who is trying to rebuild his and his family's life after his alcoholism and volatile temper costs him his teaching position at a small preparatory school. Having given up drinking, he accepts a position maintaining the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado for the winter, in the hope this will salvage his family, re-establish his career, and give him the time and privacy to finish a promising play. He moves to the hotel with his wife, Wendy, and young son, Danny, who is telepathic and sensitive to supernatural forces. Danny receives guidance from an imaginary friend he calls "Tony."

Jack Torrance is portrayed in a less sympathetic manner in the 1980 film. In the novel Jack is a tragic hero whose shortcomings lead to his defeat, while the film implies that he is insane from the start. It also omits his traumatic childhood.

The film's first major deviation from the source material occurs when Jack attacks Hallorann. Instead of merely injuring him with the mallet, Jack brutally kills Hallorann with an axe wound to the heart.

In the film, Jack hears Danny scream, and chases his son to a hedge maze outside the hotel (in the novel topiary animals come to life and threaten Danny). Danny walks backwards in his own footprints to mislead Jack, then jumps to a side path and slips out of the maze. While Wendy and Danny escape the hotel in Hallorann's Snowcat, Jack gets lost trying to pick up Danny's tracks, sits down to rest, and quickly freezes to death.

While Jack redeems himself in the book, in the 1980 film, he succumbs to his demons and is ultimately damned (much to Stephen King's chagrin). The film ends featuring an old photograph of a dance at the hotel from the 1920s that shows Jack in the event.


11. Jaws

Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. The police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town council, which wants the beach to remain open to draw a profit from tourists during the summer season. After several attacks, the police chief enlists the help of a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter. Roy Scheider stars as police chief Martin Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as marine biologist Matt Hooper, Robert Shaw as shark hunter Quint, Murray Hamilton as the Mayor of Amity Island, and Lorraine Gary as Brody's wife, Ellen.

Jaws is regarded as a watershed film in motion picture history, the father of the summer blockbuster film and one of the first "high concept" films. Due to the film's success in advance screenings, studio executives decided to distribute it in a much wider release than ever before. The Omen followed suit in the summer of 1976 and then Star Wars one year later in 1977, cementing the notion for movie studios to distribute their big-release action and adventure pictures (commonly referred to as tentpole pictures) during the summer. Jaws is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. It was number 48 on American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movies, a list of the greatest American films of all time, dropping down to number 56 on the 10 Year Anniversary list. It ranked second on a similar list for thrillers, 100 Years... 100 Thrills and was number one on Bravo's list of The 100 Scariest Movie Moments. The film was followed by three sequels, none with the participation of Spielberg or Benchley. A video game titled Jaws Unleashed was produced in 2006.

During a late night beach party on the fictional Amity Island in New England, a 23-year-old woman named Chrissie Watkins (Susan Backlinie) goes skinny dipping only to be dragged under by an unseen force. Amity's new police chief, Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), is notified that Chrissie is missing, and deputy Lenny Hendricks (Jeffrey Kramer) finds her remains. The medical examiner informs Brody that the death was due to a shark attack. Brody plans to close the beaches but is overruled by town mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), who fears that reports of a shark attack will ruin the summer tourist season. The medical examiner reverses his diagnosis and attributes the death to a boating accident. Brody reluctantly goes along with the explanation.

A short time later, a boy named Alex Kintner (Jeffrey Voorhees) is brutally killed by a shark at the beach. The boy's mother (Lee Fierro) places a bounty on the shark, sparking an amateur shark hunting frenzy and attracting the attention of local professional shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw). Brought in by Brody, ichthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) examines Chrissie's remains and concludes she was killed by a shark.

A large tiger shark is caught by a group of fishermen, leading the town to believe the problem is solved, but Hooper is unconvinced that the shark is the killer and asks to examine its stomach contents. Vaughn refuses to make the "operation" public, so Brody and Hooper return after dark and discover the dead shark does not contain human remains. Scouting aboard Hooper's boat, they come across the half-sunken wreckage of a boat belonging to local fisherman Ben Gardener. Hooper explores the vessel underwater and discovers a sizeable shark's tooth, and also Gardener's severed head, which makes him drop the tooth in a panic. Vaughn refuses to close the beaches, and on the Fourth of July numerous tourists arrive. A prank by two boys causes panic, before the real shark enters an estuary, kills a man and causes Brody's son go into shock after witnessing it. Brody forces Vaughn to hire Quint. Brody and Hooper join the hunter on his fishing boat, the Orca, and the trio set out to kill the shark.

Brody is given the task of laying a chum line while Quint uses deepsea fishing tackle to try to hook the shark. As Brody continues chumming, an enormous great white shark looms up behind the boat; the trio watch the great white circle the Orca and estimate it weighs 3 short tons (2.7 t) and is 25 feet (7.6 m) long. Quint harpoons the shark with a line attached to a flotation barrel, designed to prevent the shark from submerging and to track it on the surface, but the shark pulls the barrel under and disappears.

Night falls without another sighting, so the men retire to the boat's cabin, where Quint tells of his experience with sharks as a survivor of the World War II sinking of the USS Indianapolis. The shark reappears, damaging the boat's hull before slipping away. In the morning, the men make repairs to the engine. Attempting to call the Coast Guard for help, Brody is stopped by Quint, who destroys the radio with a baseball bat. The shark attacks again, and after a long chase Quint harpoons another barrel to it. The men tie the barrels to the stern, but the shark drags the boat backwards, forcing water onto the deck and into the engine, flooding it. Quint harpoons the shark again, adding a third barrel, while the shark continues towing them. Quint is about to cut the ropes with his machete when the cleats are pulled off the stern. The shark continues attacking the boat and Quint heads toward shore with the shark in pursuit, hoping to draw the animal into shallow waters, where it will be beached and drown. In his obsession to kill the shark, Quint overtaxes Orca's engine, causing it to seize.

With the boat immobilized, the trio try a desperate approach: Hooper dons his SCUBA gear and enters the ocean inside a shark proof cage in order to stab the shark in the mouth with a hypodermic spear filled with strychnine. The shark destroys the cage but gets tangled in the remains, allowing Hooper to hide on the seabed. As Quint and Brody raise the remnants of the cage, the shark throws itself onto the boat, crushing the transom. As the boat sinks, Quint slides down the slippery deck into the shark's mouth and is eaten alive. Brody retreats to the boat's partly submerged cabin. When the shark attacks him there, he shoves a pressurized air tank into the shark's mouth, then takes Quint's M1 Garand and climbs the Orca's mast. Brody begins shooting at the air tank wedged in the shark's mouth, causing it to explode and blow the shark to pieces.

As the shark's carcass drifts toward the seabed, Hooper reappears on the surface. The survivors briefly lament the loss of Quint, then cobble together a raft from debris and paddle to Amity Island.

10. The Mummy

The Mummy is a 1932 horror film from Universal Studios directed by Karl Freund and starring Boris Karloff as a revived ancient Egyptian priest. The movie also features Zita Johann, David Manners and Edward Van Sloan. It was shot in Cantil, California, Universal City, and the Mojave Desert.

An Ancient Egyptian priest called Imhotep is revived when an archaeological expedition finds Imhotep's mummy and one of the archaeologists, despite a warning, recklessly reads an ancient life-giving spell. Imhotep escapes from the archaeologists, taking the Scroll of Thoth, and prowls Cairo seeking the reincarnation of the soul of his ancient lover, Princess Ankh-es-en-amon.

Ten years later, Imhotep calls upon two archaeologists, claims that his name is Ardath Bey, a modern Egyptian, and shows them where to dig to find Ankh-es-en-amon's tomb. The archaeologists find the tomb and give the mummy and the treasures to the Cairo Museum. The archaeologists thank Imhotep for giving them the information of where to find the tomb.

Imhotep was once mummified alive for attempting to resurrect her, and, upon finding a woman bearing a striking resemblance to the Princess, attempts to mummify her and make her his bride. In the end, she is saved when she remembers her past life and prays to the goddess Isis to save her. The prayer causes a ray from the statue of Isis to burst out and burn the scroll that gives Imhotep life. He crumbles into a heap of bones.

9. Michael Meyers

Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween series of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers. In the original Halloween, the adult Michael Myers, referred to as The Shape in the closing credits, was portrayed by Nick Castle for most of the film, with Tony Moran and Tommy Lee Wallace substituting in during the final scenes. He was created by Debra Hill and John Carpenter. Michael Myers has appeared in ten films, as well as novels, a video game and several comic books.

The character is the primary antagonist in the Halloween film series, except Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which is not connected in continuity to the rest of the films. Since Castle, Moran, and Wallace put on the mask in the original film, six people have stepped into the role. Tyler Mane is the only actor to have portrayed Michael Myers in consecutive films, and one of only two actors to portray the character more than once. Michael Myers is characterized as pure evil, both directly in the films, by the filmmakers who created and developed the character over nine films, as well as by random participants in a survey.

Michael Myers is the primary antagonist in all of the Halloween films, with the exception of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, as that film did not feature any of the characters from the original two films and had nothing to do with Michael Myers. Michael would return immediately following Halloween III, in the aptly titled Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. The silver screen is not the only place Michael Myers has appeared; there have been literary sources that have expanded the universe of Michael.

Michael Myers made his first appearance in the original 1978 film, Halloween, although the masked character is credited as "The Shape" in the first two films. In the beginning of Halloween, a six-year-old Michael (Will Sandin) murders his older sister Judith (Sandy Johnson) on Halloween. Fifteen years later, Michael (Nick Castle) escapes Smith's Grove Sanitarium and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois. He stalks teenage babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) on Halloween, while his psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) attempts to track him down. Murdering her friends, Michael finally attacks Laurie, but she manages to fend him off long enough for Loomis to save her. Loomis shoots Michael six times in the chest, before Michael falls over the house's second-story balcony ledge; when Loomis goes to check Michael's body, he finds it missing. Michael returns in the sequel, Halloween II (1981). The film picks up directly where the original ends, with Loomis (Pleasence) still looking for Michael's body. Michael (Dick Warlock) follows Laurie Strode (Curtis) to the local hospital, where he wanders the halls in search of her, killing security guards, doctors and nurses that get in his way. Loomis learns that Laurie Strode is Michael's younger sister, and rushes to the hospital to find them. He causes an explosion in the operating theater, allowing Laurie to escape as he and Michael are engulfed by the flames.

8. The Wolfman

The Wolf Man is a 1941 American Monster/Werewolf/Horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner. The film stars Lon Chaney, Jr. as The Wolf Man, and it also stars Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Béla Lugosi, and Maria Ouspenskaya. The title character has had a great deal of influence on Hollywood's depictions of the legend of the werewolf. The film is the second Universal Pictures werewolf movie, preceded six years earlier by the less commercially successful Werewolf of London. A remake was released in early 2010 starring Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.

Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) returns to his ancestral home in Llanwelly, Wales to reconcile with his father, Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains), after learning of the death of his brother. While there, Larry becomes romantically interested in a local girl named Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), who runs an antique shop. As a pretext, he buys something from her, a silver-headed walking stick decorated with a wolf. Gwen tells him that it represents a werewolf (which she defines as a man who changes into a wolf "at certain times of the year.")

Throughout the film, various villagers recite a poem that all the locals apparently know, whenever the subject of werewolves comes up:

Even a man who is pure in heart
and says his prayers by night
may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
and the autumn moon is bright.

That night, Larry attempts to rescue Gwen's friend Jenny from what he believes to be a sudden attack by a wolf. He kills the beast with his new walking stick, but is bitten in the process. He soon discovers that it was not just a wolf; it was a werewolf, and now Talbot has become one. A gypsy fortuneteller named Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) reveals to Larry that the animal which bit him was actually her son Bela (Béla Lugosi) in the form of a wolf. Bela had been a werewolf for years and now the curse of lycanthropy has been passed to Larry.

Sure enough, Talbot prowls the countryside in the form of a two-legged wolf. Struggling to overcome the curse, he is finally bludgeoned to death by his father with his silver walking stick. His father watches in horror as his son transforms back into a human as the police rush to the scene.

7. Dracula

Dracula is a 1931 horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Béla Lugosi as the title character. The film was produced by Universal and is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Renfield (Dwight Frye), a British solicitor, travels through the Carpathian Mountains via stagecoach. The people in the stagecoach are fearful that the coach won’t reach the local inn before sundown. Arriving there safely before sundown, Renfield refuses to stay at the inn and asks the driver to take him to the Borgo Pass. The innkeeper and his wife seem to be afraid of Renfield’s destination, Castle Dracula, and warn him about vampires. The innkeeper's wife gives Renfield a crucifix for protection before he leaves for Borgo Pass, whence he is driven to the castle by Dracula's coach, which was awaiting him at Borgo Pass, with Dracula himself disguised as the driver. During the bumpy ride, Renfield leans out and starts to ask the driver to slow down, but is startled to see that the driver has disappeared, and a bat is leading the horses.

Renfield enters the castle welcomed by charming but odd nobleman Count Dracula (Béla Lugosi), who unbeknownst to Renfield, is a vampire. Renfield expresses concern about the strange disappearance of the coach driver and his luggage, but Dracula assures him that he has arranged to have his luggage delivered. They discuss Dracula's intention to lease Carfax Abbey in London, where he intends to travel the next day. Dracula then leaves and Renfield goes to his bedroom. Dracula hypnotizes Renfield into opening a window and then causes him to faint. A bat is seen at the window, which then morphs into Dracula. Dracula's three wives suddenly appear and start to move toward Renfield to attack him, but Dracula waves them away, and he attacks Renfield himself.

Aboard the schooner Vesta, bound for England, Renfield has now become a raving lunatic slave to Dracula, who is hidden in a coffin and gets out for feeding on the ship's crew. When the ship arrives in England, Renfield is discovered to be the only living person in it; the captain is lashed on the wheel and none of the ship’s crew is discovered. Renfield is sent to Dr. Seward’s sanatorium.

Some nights later at a London theatre, Dracula meets Dr. Seward (Herbert Bunston), who is with a group in a box seat area. Dr. Seward introduces his daughter Mina (Helen Chandler), her fiancé John Harker (David Manners), and the family friend Lucy Weston (Frances Dade). Lucy is fascinated by Count Dracula, and that night, after Lucy has a talk with Mina and falls asleep in bed, Dracula enters her room as a bat and feasts on her blood. She dies in an autopsy theatre the next day after a string of transfusions, and two tiny marks on her throat are discovered.

Several days later, it is seen that Renfield is obsessed with eating flies and spiders, devouring their lives also. Professor Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) analyzes Renfield's blood, discovering Renfield’s obsession. He starts talking about vampires, and that afternoon chats with Renfield, who begs Dr. Seward to send him away, because his nightly cries may disturb Mina’s dreams. When Dracula awakes and calls Renfield with wolf howling, Renfield is disturbed by Van Helsing showing him a branch of wolfbane. It stops wolves, as Van Helsing says, and also is used for vampire protection.

Dracula visits Mina, asleep in her bedroom, and bites her, leaving neck marks similar to those on Lucy. The next morning, Mina tells of a dream in which she was visited by Dracula. Then, Dracula enters for a night's visit at the Sewards. Van Helsing and Harker notice that Dracula does not have a reflection in a mirror. When Van Helsing shows this "most amazing phenomenon" to Dracula, he reacts violently, smashes the mirror and leaves. Van Helsing deduces that Dracula is the vampire.

Meanwhile, Mina leaves her room and runs to Dracula in the garden, where he wraps his cape around her and attacks her; the next morning, she is found and awakened from unconsciousness. Newspapers report that a "mysterious, beautiful woman in white" has been luring children from the park with chocolate, and then biting them. Mina recognizes the beautiful lady as Lucy, who has risen as a vampire. Harker wants to take Mina to London for safety, but he is finally convinced to leave Mina with them. Van Helsing orders Nurse Briggs (Joan Standing) to take care of Mina when she is sleeping, and not to remove the wreath of wolfbane from around her neck.

Renfield again escapes from his cell and listens to the three men discussing vampires. Before Martin (Charles K. Gerrard), his attendant, arrives to take Renfield back to his cell, Renfield relates to Van Helsing, Harker and Seward how Dracula convinced Renfield to allow him to enter the sanitorium by promising him thousands of rats with blood and life in them.

Dracula enters the Seward parlour and talks with Van Helsing. Dracula states that because he has fused his blood with Mina's, she now belongs to him. Van Helsing swears revenge by sterilizing Carfax Abbey and finding the coffin where he sleeps; he will then thrust a stake through his heart. Dracula tries to hypnotize Van Helsing, almost succeeding, but Van Helsing shows a crucifix to the vampire and turns away.

Harker visits Mina on a terrace, and Mina speaks of how much she loves "nights and fogs". Harker notices Mina’s changes and says he likes them, not realizing that she is slowly transforming into a vampire. A bat (Dracula) flies above them and squeaks to Mina, to which she responds: "Yes? ... Yes? ... I will". Mina then tries to attack Harker. Fortunately, Van Helsing and Dr. Seward arrive just in time to save him. Mina confesses what Dracula has done to her, and tries to tell Harker that their love is finished.

Later that night, Dracula hypnotizes Nurse Briggs into removing the wolfbane wreath from Mina's neck and opening the French windows so he can enter her room. Van Helsing and Harker see Renfield, having just escaped from his cell, heading for Carfax Abbey. They see Dracula with Mina in the abbey. When Harker shouts to Mina, Dracula sees them, thinking Renfield had trailed them. He strangles Renfield and tosses him down a staircase, and is hunted by Van Helsing and Harker. Dracula is forced to sleep in his coffin, as sunrise has come, and is trapped. Van Helsing prepares a wooden stake while Harker searches for Mina. He finds her in a strange stasis. Dracula moans in pain when Van Helsing impales him, and Mina returns to normal. Harker leaves with her while Van Helsing stays. Church bells are heard, implying that they will be married.

6. The Creature

Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes. The film was released in the United States on March 5, 1954.

Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed and originally released in 3-D requiring polarized 3-D glasses, and subsequently reissued in the 1970s in the inferior anaglyph format (this version was released on home video by MCA Videocassette, Inc. in 1980). It was one of the first Universal Pictures films filmed in 3-D (the first was It Came from Outer Space, which was released a year before). It is considered a classic of the 1950s, and generated two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us. Revenge of the Creature was also filmed and released in 3-D, in hopes of reviving the format.

A geology expedition in the Amazon uncovers fossilized evidence from the Devonian period of a link between land and sea animals in the form of a skeletal hand with webbed fingers. Expedition leader Dr. Carl Maia (Antonio Moreno) visits his friend, Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson), an ichthyologist who works at a marine biology institute. Reed persuades the institute's financial backer, Dr. Mark Williams (Richard Denning), to fund a return expedition to the Amazon to look for the remainder of the skeleton.

They go aboard a tramp steamer, the Rita, which is captained by a crusty old codger named Lucas (Nestor Paiva). The expedition consists of Dr. Reed, Dr. Maia and Williams, as well as Reed's girlfriend, Kay Lawrence (Julia Adams), and another scientist, Dr. Thompson (Whit Bissell). When they arrive at Dr. Maia's camp, they discover that his entire research team has been mysteriously killed while he was away. Lucas suggests it was done by a jaguar, but the others are unsure. The audience is privy to the attack upon the camp, which was committed by a living version of the fossil the scientists seek-curious upon seeing the expedition, the creature investigates the camp site, but its sudden appearance frightens the members, who attack it, whereupon the enraged creature kills them in response.

The excavation of the area where Maia found the hand turns up nothing. Mark is ready to give up the search, but David suggests that perhaps thousands of years ago the part of the embankment containing the rest of the skeleton fell into the water and was washed downriver. Lucas says that the tributary empties into a lagoon known as the "Black Lagoon", a paradise from which no one has ever returned. The scientists decide to risk it, unaware that the amphibious "Gill-man" that killed Dr. Maia's assistants earlier has been watching them. Taking notice of the beautiful Kay, it follows the Rita all the way downriver to the Black Lagoon. Once the expedition arrives, David and Mark go diving to collect fossils from the lagoon floor. After they return, Kay goes swimming and is stalked underwater by the creature, who then gets briefly caught in one of the ship's draglines. Although it escapes, it leaves behind a claw in the net, revealing its existence to the scientists.

Subsequent encounters with the Gill-man claim the lives of two of Lucas's crew members, before the Gill-man is captured and locked in a cage on board the Rita. It escapes during the night and attacks Dr. Thompson, who was guarding it. Kay hits the beast with a lantern; driving it off before it can kill Dr. Thompson. Following this incident, David decides they should return to civilization, but as the Rita tries to leave they find the entrance blocked by fallen logs, courtesy of the escaped Gill-man.

While the others attempt to remove the logs, Mark is mauled to death trying to capture the creature single-handedly underwater. The creature then abducts Kay and takes her to his cavern lair. David, Lucas, and Dr. Maia give chase to save her. Kay is rescued and the creature is riddled with bullets before he retreats to the lagoon where his body sinks in the watery depths, presumably dead (the creature's death was left open to allow for a sequel).

5. Alien

The Alien (sometimes referred to as a xenomorph) is a fictional endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that is the primary antagonist of the Alien film series. The species made its debut in the 1979 film Alien, and reappeared in its sequels Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997), two crossovers Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), as well as the various literature and video game spin-offs from the series.

Unlike many other recurring enemy extraterrestrial races in science fiction, the Aliens are not an intelligent civilization, but predatory creatures with no higher goals than the propagation of their species and the destruction of life that could pose a threat. Like wasps or termites, Aliens are eusocial, with a single fertile queen breeding a caste of warriors. The Aliens' biological life cycle, in which their offspring are violently implanted inside living hosts before erupting from their chests, is in many ways their signature aspect. Their design deliberately evokes many sexual images, both male and female, to illustrate its blurring of human sexual dichotomy.

Films:

Alien (1979)

The spaceship Nostromo visits the desolate planetoid LV-426 after receiving an unknown signal, discovering that it comes from a derelict alien spacecraft. Whilst exploring the ship, one of the Nostromo's crewmen discovers an egg-like object, which releases a creature that attaches itself to his face and renders him unconscious. Some time later, the parasite dies and the crewman wakes up, seemingly fine. However, an alien creature later bursts out of his chest and, after rapidly growing into an eight-foot creature, starts killing other members of the crew.

Aliens (1986)

Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, the only survivor of the Nostromo, awakens from hypersleep 57 years later, aboard a new space station. She discovers that LV-426 is now home to a terraforming colony. When contact with the colony is lost, Ripley accompanies a squad of space marines there aboard the Sulaco.

Alien 3 (1992)

Due to a fire aboard the Sulaco, an escape pod is released. It crash-lands on the refinery/prison planet Fiorina "Fury" 161. Ripley is the only survivor. Unknown to her, an egg was aboard the ship. The creature is born in the prison and begins a killing spree. Ripley later discovers there is also an alien queen growing inside her.

Alien Resurrection (1997)

Two hundred years after the events of the previous film, Ellen Ripley is cloned and an Alien queen is surgically removed from her body. The United Systems Military hopes to breed Aliens to study on the spaceship USM Auriga, using human hosts kidnapped and delivered to them by a group of mercenaries. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley and the mercenaries attempt to escape and destroy the Auriga before it reaches its destination, Earth.

The Alien design is credited to Swiss surrealist and artist H. R. Giger, originating in a lithograph called Necronom IV and refined for the series' first film, Alien. The species' design and life cycle have been extensively added to throughout each film.

4. King Kong

King Kong is a fictional monster resembling a gorilla that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films. The character has become one of the world's most famous movie icons and, as such, has transcended the medium, appearing in other works outside of films, such as a cartoon series, books, comics, various merchandise and paraphernalia, video games, theme park rides, and even an upcoming stage play. His role in the different narratives varies from source to source, ranging from rampaging monster to tragic antihero. The rights to the character are currently held by Universal Studios, with limited rights held by the estate of Merian C. Cooper, and perhaps certain rights in the public domain.

In the original film, the character's name is Kong, a name given to him by the inhabitants of "Skull Island" in the Pacific Ocean, where Kong lives along with other over-sized animals such as a plesiosaur, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs. An American film crew, led by Carl Denham, captures Kong and takes him to New York City to be exhibited as the "Eighth Wonder of the World".

Kong escapes and climbs the Empire State Building (the World Trade Center in the 1976 remake) where he is shot and killed by aircraft. Nevertheless, as Denham comments, "It was beauty killed the beast," for he climbs the building in the first place only in an attempt to protect Ann Darrow, an actress originally offered up to Kong as a sacrifice (in the 1976 remake, the character is named Dwan).

A mockumentary about Skull Island that appears on the DVD for the 2005 remake (but originally seen on the Sci-Fi Channel at the time of its theatrical release) gives Kong's scientific name as Megaprimatus Kong, and states that his species may have evolved from Gigantopithecus.

The King Kong character was conceived and created by U.S. filmmaker Merian C. Cooper.

Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) agrees to star in a film directed by Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong). The two set sail on the S.S. Venture for filming on a mysterious island in the Indian Ocean. During the course of the voyage, Ann falls in love with First Mate Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot). The island is reached but the natives kidnap Ann and prepare her as a sacrifice to Kong, a huge gorilla-like creature who dwells on the island. Kong discovers Ann tied to a native altar and carries her to his jungle lair.

Driscoll, Denham, and the crew set out to rescue Ann. They are menaced by dinosaurs, first by a Stegosaurus, and then a Brontosaurus, along the jungle trail and many crew members are killed. Driscoll finds and snatches Ann from Kong's lair but the two are pursued by Kong as they race through the jungle to safety. Kong destroys the native village in his search for Ann. He is finally subdued by hand-tossed gas bombs. Denham returns to civilization with Kong in tow. When Kong is exhibited on the New York stage, he breaks his chains, retakes Ann, and climbs to the top of the Empire State Building. He dies in a hail of machine gun fire from a squadron of military airplanes. Ann is reunited with Driscoll. Below on the street, Denham makes his way through the gathered crowd to look upon the fallen Kong. A police lieutenant says to him, "Well Denham, the airplanes got him." The movie ends with Carl Denham's reply, "No, it wasn't the airplanes... It was Beauty that killed the Beast."

3. The Monster

Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code horror film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features Dwight Frye and Edward van Sloan. The Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston and the screenplay written by Francis Edward Faragoh and Garrett Fort with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. The make-up artist was Jack Pierce.

Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), an ardent young scientist, and his devoted assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye), a hunchback, piece together a human body, the parts of which have been secretly collected from various sources. Frankenstein's consuming desire is to create human life through various electrical devices which he has perfected.

Elizabeth (Mae Clarke), his fiancée, is worried to distraction over his peculiar actions. She cannot understand why he secludes himself in an abandoned watch tower, which he has equipped as a laboratory, and refuses to see anyone. She and her friend, Victor Moritz (John Boles), go to Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan), his old medical professor, and ask Dr. Waldman's help in reclaiming the young scientist from his absorbing experiments. Elizabeth, intent on rescuing Frankenstein, arrives just as Henry is making his final tests. They all watch Frankenstein and the hunchback as they raise the dead creature on an operating table, high into the room, toward an opening at the top of the laboratory. Then a terrific crash of thunder, the crackling of Frankenstein's electric machines, and the hand of Frankenstein's monster (Boris Karloff) begins to move.

Through Fritz's error, a criminal brain was secured for Frankenstein's experiments which results in the monster knowing only hate, horror and murder. The manufactured monster despite its grotesque form, initially appears not to be a malevolent beast, but a simple, innocent creation. Frankenstein welcomes it into his laboratory, and asks his creation to sit, which it does. Fritz, however, enters with a flaming torch which frightens the monster. Its fright is mistaken by Frankenstein and Dr. Waldman as an attempt to attack them, and so it is taken to the dungeon where it is chained. Thinking that it is not fit for society, and will wreak havoc at any chance, they leave the monster locked up where Fritz antagonizes it with a torch. As Henry and Dr. Waldman consider the fate of the monster they hear a shriek from the dungeon. Frankenstein and Dr. Waldman rush in to find the monster has strangled Fritz. The monster makes a lunge at the two but they escape the dungeon, locking the monster inside. Realizing that the creature must be destroyed Henry prepares an injection of a powerful drug and the two conspire to release the monster and inject it as it attacks. When the door is unlocked the creature emerges and lunges at Frankenstein as Dr. Waldman injects the drug into the creature's back. The monster knocks Dr. Waldman to the floor and has nearly killed Henry when the drug takes effect and he falls to the floor unconscious.

Henry leaves to prepare for his wedding while Dr. Waldman conducts an examination of the unconscious creature. As he is preparing to begin dissecting it the creature awakens and strangles him. It escapes from the tower and wanders through the landscape. It then has a short encounter with a farmer's young daughter, Maria, who asks him to play a game with her in which they playfully toss flowers into a lake and watch them float. The monster enjoys the game, but when they run out of flowers, tragedy occurs. Due to his defective brain, the monster thinks Maria (unable to swim) will float as well as the flowers, so he picks her up and throws her into the lake, and the girl drowns. Realizing he has made a terrible mistake, the monster walks away feeling troubled and remorseful. This drowning scene is one of the most controversial in the film, with a long history of censorship.

With preparations for the wedding completed, Frankenstein is once again himself and serenely happy with Elizabeth. They are to marry as soon as Dr. Waldman arrives. Victor rushes in, saying that the Doctor has been found strangled in his operating room. Frankenstein suspects the monster. A chilling scream convinces him that the monster is in the house. When the searchers arrive, they find Elizabeth unconscious on the bed. The monster has escaped. He is only intent upon destroying Frankenstein.

Leading an enraged band of peasants, Frankenstein searches the surrounding country for the monster. He becomes separated from the band and is discovered by the monster who, after the two stare each other down for a curious moment, attacks him. After a struggle, in which Frankenstein's torch fails to save him, the monster knocks Frankenstein unconscious and carries him off to the old mill. The peasants hear his cries and follow. Finally reaching the mill, they find the monster has climbed to the very top, dragging Frankenstein with him. In a burst of rage, he hurls the young scientist to the ground. His fall is broken by the vanes of the windmill, saving him from instant death. Some of the villagers hurry him to his home while the others remain to burn the mill and destroy the entrapped monster.

Later, back at Castle Frankenstein, Frankenstein's father, Baron Frankenstein (Frederick Kerr) celebrates the wedding of his recovered son with a toast to a future grandchild.

2. Godzilla

Godzilla is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games, novels, comic books, television series, and an American remake. Another separate American remake is currently in production by Legendary Pictures.

With the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was conceived as a monster created by nuclear detonations and a metaphor for nuclear weapons in general. As the film series expanded, the stories took on less serious undertones portraying Godzilla in the role of a hero, while later movies returned to depicting the character as a destructive monster.

Godzilla is the main character of all of the Godzilla films, though there are numerous different versions of the monster. The silver screen is not the only place Godzilla has appeared; there are literary sources that have expanded the universe of Godzilla. Godzilla and the Godzilla universe have also starred in comic books, manga, Japanese television, and many cartoons.

Showa series

The Showa-era Godzilla films were the first of the film series. In total, there are fifteen Showa-era films, amounting to over half the total Godzilla movies currently in existence.

The first film was simply titled Godzilla (1954). In the original film, Godzilla was portrayed as a terrible and destructive monster. Following the success of Godzilla, Toho started filming a quickie sequel called Godzilla Raids Again. In this film, a new Godzilla was set up to fight another dinosaur-like creature, Anguirus. This second film started a trend for Godzilla films, where Godzilla would fight other giant monsters. In his fifth film, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla took the role of a hero. From that point on, to the end of the Showa series, Godzilla stayed a hero, protecting Japan against attacks from other monsters, aliens, etc. At one point, Godzilla even adopted a son, Minilla, in Son of Godzilla, who would make appearances in later Showa-era films.

The Showa-era movies played on a lot of fears and interests of people during the period in which they were made. For instance, Godzilla was a movie designed to warn people about the use and testing of nuclear weapons. Likewise, Godzilla vs. Hedorah was designed to carry a message about the dangers of pollution. As space exploration and the Space Age were extremely popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many of Godzilla's films revolved around Godzilla fighting alien monsters, or involved an alien invasion in some shape or form. For instance, in the movie Destroy All Monsters, an alien race had managed to take control of all of earth's monsters, who were eventually freed from their control, and destroyed the aliens who had put them under control.

Heisei series

The Heisei-era Godzilla films were the second of the film series. In total, there were seven Heisei-era films, making them amount to one fourth of the total Godzilla movies in existence.

The Heisei-era films differed drastically from the Showa-era films in a variety of ways. The most prominent difference is that Toho did away with Godzilla being the hero of the films. While occasionally Godzilla would take the role of an antihero, he was still consistently portrayed as hazardous to humanity throughout the films. The Godzilla outfit was updated to look more realistic and much more intimidating than previous suits. Another significant difference is that the series was given an overall plotline with story arcs. Each movie happened in some sort of sequence, and generally referenced previous movies to further the plot of the series.

As in the Showa era, in the first Godzilla movie of the Heisei era, The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla was the only monster to make an appearance. All succeeding Heisei-era movies would have Godzilla fight other giant monsters. Like the Showa series, Godzilla adopted a son, Baby Godzilla, as his own child. In the final Heisei-era movie, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, Godzilla dies after undergoing a nuclear meltdown, and his son (by that point almost half as tall as his father and called Godzilla Junior) absorbs the radiation and quickly matures to become the new King of the Monsters.

In much the same way that the Showa-era played on fears and interests of people during the time period of production, Heisei-era Godzilla films made some attempts at making statements on popular topics for their time period. One good example would be Godzilla vs. Biollante, which made explicit warnings against research involving genetic engineering. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah touched on US-Japanese relations stemming from World War II and introduced a time-travel plot. Other themes in the movies included commenting on research into hazardous material and making environmental statements.



1. Darth Vader

Darth Vader (born Anakin Skywalker) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He appears in the original trilogy as a pivotal figure, as well as the prequel trilogy as a central figure.

The character was created by George Lucas and has been portrayed by numerous actors. His appearances span all six Star Wars films, and he is an important character in the expanded universe of television series, video games, novels, literature and comic books. Originally a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force, he falls to the dark side of the Force and serves the evil Galactic Empire at the right hand of his Sith master, Palpatine (also known as Darth Sidious). He is also the father of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa.

Introduced in the original Star Wars, Darth Vader is depicted as a ruthless cyborg who serves the Galactic Empire. Early in the film, Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker that Vader is a former Jedi who "betrayed and murdered" Luke's father and helped the Empire destroy the Jedi Order. Along with Grand Moff Tarkin, Vader is charged with recovering the Death Star's technical schematics, which were stolen by the Rebel Alliance. To that end, he captures and tortures Princess Leia Organa, and stands by while Tarkin destroys her home planet of Alderaan with the Death Star's superlaser. While the princess is being rescued, Vader fights Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel and kills his former master. During the film's climactic battle scene, Vader leads a squadron of TIE fighters and destroys several Rebel fighters. Vader pursues Luke's X-Wing fighter, but a surprise attack from Han Solo's Millennium Falcon clips him and sends him flying into deep space.

In The Empire Strikes Back, set three years later, Darth Vader leads an Imperial starfleet in pursuit of the Rebels. He leads an invasion of the Rebel base on Hoth, but the protagonists escape. He later confers with the Emperor, who tells him that Luke Skywalker has become a threat to the Empire and must not become a Jedi. Vader persuades the Emperor that Luke would be a great asset if turned to the dark side of the Force. Vader makes a deal with Cloud City administrator Lando Calrissian to capture Han, Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 on Cloud City, and uses them as bait for Luke. He has Han tortured, frozen in carbonite and delivered to bounty hunter Boba Fett, but Leia, Chewbacca and the droids escape thanks to a repentant Calrissian. Vader engages Luke in a lightsaber duel, which ends when Vader cuts off Luke's right hand and reveals that he is Luke's father; he then entreats Luke to turn to the dark side so they can "rule the galaxy as father and son". Horrified, Luke throws himself into Cloud City's reactor core and ultimately escapes aboard the Millennium Falcon. Onboard his Star Destroyer, Vader telepathically tells Luke that it is his destiny to join the dark side.

In Return of the Jedi, set one year later, Darth Vader arrives aboard the half-constructed second Death Star. He intimidates the battle station's commander, Moff Jerjerrod, into stepping up construction. When Emperor Palpatine personally arrives, he assures Vader that the two of them will turn Luke to the dark side.

Luke surrenders himself to Vader in the hope that he can turn his father back "to the light side". Vader brings Luke onto the Death Star, where the Emperor tries to seduce Luke to the dark side. A lightsaber duel erupts between father and son, during which Vader learns that Leia is Luke's twin sister and threatens to turn her to the dark side if Luke will not submit. Enraged, Luke attacks and overpowers Vader, severing his mechanical right hand. Realizing he is close to suffering his father's fate, Luke refuses the Emperor's command to kill Vader and take his place, declaring himself a true Jedi.

Enraged, the Emperor fires continuous streams of Force lightning at Luke, intending to slowly torture him to death. The sight of Luke's agony breaks the dark side's hold on Vader, and he kills the Emperor by throwing his treacherous master down the Death Star's reactor shaft. In the process, however, he is fatally injured by the Emperor's lightning. The redeemed Anakin Skywalker asks Luke to remove his helmet and mask so he can look at Luke with his own eyes. With his dying breath, he tells his son that there was good left in him after all. Luke escapes the Death Star with his father's remains, which he later ceremonially burns in a funeral pyre. As the Rebels celebrate the destruction of the Death Star and the fall of the Empire, Luke sees his father's spirit, standing alongside those of Obi-Wan and Yoda.

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Rumour: Star Wars: The Force Awakens to bring back another classic character

We all know that Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to bring back a host of characters from the Original Trilogy, with Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO – and even the likes of Admiral Ackbar and Nien Nunb – all confirmed as returning.

There have of course been some wild and crazy rumours thrown out there too, such as the potential return of Emperor Palpatine and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now thanks to Star Wars News Net, we have another rumour, and one that should also probably be marked as “dubious”.

So, according to a source for the site who claims to have worked on the foreign dubbing of the movie, The Force Awakens contains a scene with the Jedi Master Yoda, which will presumably be as part of a flashback, or as a Force ghost given his fate in Return of the Jedi.

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Ghostbusters International to Hit Stores in January

This January there’s something strange in the neighborhood… and whether that neighborhood is in New York City or Venice, Italy, the Ghostbusters will be there! After a bust at the United Nations, the boys in gray are engaged to investigate an Old-World haunting, where they begin to unravel a mystery that sends them around the globe (while still trying to keep their contract with the City, County, and State of New York!). Series writer Erik Burnham and artist Dan Schoening invite you to join them for the next chapter in the Ghostbusters history!

Anne Hathaway Monster Movie Colossal Settles Lawsuit From Godzilla Studio

The legal action taken by Japanese film studio Toho against upcoming US independent production ‘Colossal’ has been settled in court.

Announced at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with Anne Hathaway in the lead role, ‘Colossal’ came under fire from Toho - owners of Godzilla - almost immediately.

This was due to early publicity on ‘Colossal’ heavily emphasising its similarity to the iconic Japanese monster movie series, pitching writer-director Nacho Vigalondo’s film as ‘Godzilla meets Being John Malkovich.’

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HUMBLE BUNDLE AND DYNAMITE LAUNCH ARMY OF DARKNESS COMICS BUNDLE

Dynamite Entertainment has unleashed the Army of Darkness comics into one giant-size Humble Bundle featuring more issues than you can shake a boomstick at. Based on the 1992 cult classic movie from visionary director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) starring Bruce Campbell as "Ash," this collection of comics continues the adventures of Ash, the "chosen one," as he does battle with the deadites possessed by the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead.

The stories bundled here feature legendary crossovers with other icons of the horror genre including Re-Animator, Dracula, and Hack/Slash - not to mention a groovy guest spot as Ash saves President Barack Obama. When he's not bailing out the commander in chief, follow Ash on his many misadventures as he goes from ancient Egypt to entering a video game, blasts off into SPAAAACE, not to mention his scariest destination of all - the altar.

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‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’: Why Luke Skywalker Had to Go

With just months until the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, anticipation for the first film in the franchise in a decade — and the first one set after the original trilogy — is higher than ever before. As the film’s final trailer hit, advance ticket sales crashed leading purchasing platforms like Fandango and AMC Theatres, breaking records in the process. However, one fan-favorite character has been noticeably missing from the marketing campaign: Luke Skywalker, the farmboy-turned-Jedi who served as the hero and audience proxy throughout the first three films.

Director J.J. Abrams has stated that actor Mark Hamill — who has long been confirmed to be part of the film’s cast — was purposefully left out of the film’s pre-release marketing, admitting that the plot of The Force Awakens ultimately centers on the question of who Anakin and Padmé’s son has become since the end of Return of the Jedi. So, while fans may be frustrated at the absence of their favorite hero, there are several legitimate reasons why returning stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher are featured on the poster and in the film’s trailers, with little sign of Hamill to be found.

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Give Bigfoot A Kickstart

How cool would it be to have Bigfoot the star of his own epic feature film series? Now what if that film series was also part of a "shared universe" with other famous cryptid creature's films? Well that's the aim of "The Legends' Anthology"! An ambitious film franchise being brought to life by the creative minds of Matt Sommerfield and Jerad Beckler which will feature the infamous sasquatch and several other famous cryptids like you've never seen them before.

Batman Movie Reboot Rumored to be ‘Under the Red Hood’

The DC Extended Universe will kick off in a big way next year, starting with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice in the spring, and continuing with the villain team-up film, Suicide Squad, in the fall. After that, we have years of DC Comics movies to look forward to, introducing heroes like Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg to the big screen for the first time, as well as some offering fans big event films like Justice League 1 & 2 and the supernatural themed Justice League Dark.

In the midst of this massive superhero universe rollout, there’s been vague info on when the two primary staples of the DCEU – Batman and Superman – might once again grace movie screens in their own respective solo films. It seems like it could be 2020 before we’ll see Man of Steel 2 and The Batman reboot; and while we’ve heard lots of plot rumors about the Superman sequel, it’s only today that we’re hearing some first rumored details about the Batman reboot.

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Star Wars Villain Captain Phasma 'Very Progressive' Says Gwendoline Christie

Gwendoline Christie has been discussing her upcoming villainous role in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ describing her character as “very progressive”.

The 'Game of Thrones’ star plays Captain Phasma, the instantly-iconic chrome-plated Stormtrooper leader.

“We know very little about her at this stage,” Christie told Entertainment Weekly. “What I think people are drawn to is that this is a very progressive female character.

"We see Captain Phasma, and we see the costume from head to toe, and we know that it is a woman. But we are used to, in our media, connecting to female characters via the way that they look, from the way they are made flesh.”

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Looks like someone got their DeLorean up to 88.8 mph:


Time Traveler Who Spent 2 Years in The Future 2749 Tells All

Al Bielek discusses what he remembers from his 6 weeks spent in the year 2137 and 2 years he spent in 2749. One thing that I should stress is that many of the events he described as having happened, is happening now in our present time. The New World Order takeover and devastating climate change to name a few.

The Montauk Project was a series of secret United States government projects conducted at Camp Hero or Montauk Air Force Station on Montauk, Long Island for the purpose of developing psychological warfare techniques and exotic research including time travel. Jacques Vallée describes allegations of the Montauk Project as an outgrowth of stories about the Philadelphia Experiment.

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Meet Ayumi Kim a 23 year old model from Los Angeles, California.

Height: 6' 6"
Weight: 112 lbs
Bust: 34"
Waist: 24"
Hips: 35"
Cup: B

See more of her at Model Mayhem

This Just Happened: Man of Steel, Keepin it Real!

Have you been reading SUPERMAN? A criminal syndicate called Hordr discovered Superman's secret identity, which led to Lois Lane revealing his alias to the world (she's a journalist, and she was trying to help!), which led to Clark Kent losing his job, losing access to the Fortress of Solitude, and more.

Superman is powerless (mostly), penniless (mostly), and ready to track down Hordr and take them down! Superman might be less powerful than before, but he's still the Big Blue Boyscout! Get ready for a Super-Whuppin, Hordr!

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This battery commercial reveals bigger secrets than the Star Wars trailers

Trusted everywhere from Coruscant to Kessel

The battery maker Duracell might've just given away some serious Star Wars: The Force Awakens secrets in a new commercial.

Spoiler alert: We understand if you want to go into The Force Awakens blind, padawan. That's why we've added this warning. You need to be mindful of the living force, but not at the expense of the moment, so don't scroll ahead if you don't want to see something new. And if you'd rather not take part in a lighthearted version of the speculation game, be warned: Here be (krayt) dragons.

Set at home on Christmas morning, the commercial follows the adventures of a blonde brother and his brown-haired sister playing with their new Star Wars toys, powered by Duracell's Quantum batteries line. These Duracells retain the copper top of old but replace the black bottom with a red sleeve.

That's appropriate, given that, at the beginning of the commercial, we see C-3PO and his new red arm, in motion for the first time.

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I had this Christmas fantasy way back in 1977, 1978, 1979 ... 1995, 96 ... 

This Star Wars Fan Theory Will Make You Rethink The Entire Saga

Reddit user Lumpawarroo has come up with an extraordinary theory that Jar Jar isn’t the incompetent sideshow he portrays himself to be, but is in fact the one pulling the strings of the Dark Side.

It’s established that, according to Obi-Wan in ‘A New Hope’, luck doesn’t exist (”In my experience, there’s no such thing as luck.”), yet Jar Jar seems to have more than his fair share. Is it luck, or is has he been deceiving us and manipulating our perceptions the whole time?

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Wait ... is that an action figure?

Marvel Press Unleashes New Novels Set for 2016

Critically acclaimed and bestselling literary talent take on Black Widow, Captain Marvel, and more

Like Bruce Banner transforming into the Incredible Hulk, a new selection of Marvel comics favorites are becoming bigger, badder, and more exciting than ever! Marvel Press is proud to present five brand-new young adult and middle-grade novels coming in 2016!

Hot on the heels of her “New York Times” bestselling debut “Black Widow: Forever Red,” Margaret Stohl will pen a sequel to add to her Natasha Romanov saga, entitled “Black Widow: Red Vengeance!” This bold new adventure will bring Agent Romanov together with her fellow vigilante operative, Ana Orlova…the Red Widow.

Next spring, the bestselling author behind “Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side” and the “Origami Yoda” series, Tom Angleberger, will take readers on the trip of a lifetime with none other than Guardians of the Galaxy favorites Groot and Rocket Raccoon. The most unusual tag-team in the universe will join forces in a rollicking new novel titled “Rocket & Groot: Stranded on Planet Strip Mall”!

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TV for all you mods and rockers.

TWO Never Before Seen Episodes of CINEMA INSOMNIA on MR. LOBO’s OWN Brand New Channel, OSI 74! Now on ROKU! More Platforms Soon! 

Check It Out!

Rumour: Hugh Jackman On Board For X-Men: Apocalypse Reshoots

Hugh Jackman’s days as Wolverine are numbered - so if makes sense that 20th Century Fox would want to make the most of him while they can.

To date there has been no official confirmation that Jackman will appear in the upcoming ‘X-Men: Apocalypse,’ but word has now got out that the iconic actor will indeed reprise his signature role in the 2016 sequel.

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Holy smokes is that all her?

Heidi Klum Dressed as Jessica Rabbit Is Terrifying for All the Wrong Reasons

If there is one thing Heidi Klum has become known for since retiring from the runways, it's her extravagant Halloween parties, and more importantly, her equally extravagant costumes. She used to involve ex-husband Seal in the festivities, but divorce doesn't exactly encourage people to have fun and dress up together.

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Spider-Man: The High School Years

As told by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man spent about 30 issues attending class at Midtown High School, but those years proved important ones to his mythos, introducing many of the traits, supporting characters, and villains we associate with the Wallcrawler to this day.

With Robbie Thompson and Nick Bradshaw preparing to tell new stories of Peter in high school with SPIDEY, here's a rundown of some important milestones from that era…

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Justice League of America (1960 1st Series) #81, June 1970 Issue

As Hawkman and the Atom resume their mission to Thanagar to find a cure for the insane Jane Loring, the cosmic menace known as Jest-Master (who brings insanity wherever he goes) is en route to Thanagar as well. When the two heroes make a stop at a Thanagarian space station they are greeted by the soldiers stationed there. Suddenly the soldiers (due to Jest-Master's proximity to the station) go mad and begin attacking Hawkman and soon the two heroes also lose their sanity. Aboard the vessel, the Thanagarian criminal Norch Lor remarks about how this is the doomsday prophecy that he learned of and attempted to capture people's souls for.

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And here is something to think about:

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.”

- Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948)


Oh crap this probably should have been our top story!

Shin-Godzilla Wraps Shooting, Begins FX Work

As usual, Gormaru Island is on top of the world regarding Shin-Godzilla. Satomi Ishihara (Attack on Titan Part I & II) recently posted that she's wrapped filming—This is in line with reports about Shin-Godzilla's principle photography wrapping by November.

For those keeping count this is more or less the same amount of time Godzilla 2014 had which started filming mid-March of 2013 and wrapped mid-July. If you include the upcoming November effects work, it's certainly a longer shoot than Godzilla 2014. The live action footage will be sent to post as another important phase in the film's production begins.

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The Dyson Sphere -- Not Just Science Fiction

A few years ago I wrote on The Huffington Post about author Raoul Peter Mongilardi's Next To The Gods, a complex, world-building four book series of science fiction. In it, the Aurocerians, an alien race of beings have created a Dyson Sphere, an impenetrable constructed barrier encompassing an entire solar system serving a dual purpose of protection while harnessing the power of a star. The recent news of Kepler Space Telescope's discovery of KIC 8462852, an oddly dimming star 1,500 light years from Earth, which has been speculated to harbor a potential Dyson Sphere-like alien megastructure made me reflect on Mongilardi's series, and other works of science fiction that have, over time, become more in the realm of science than fiction.

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‘Doctor Who’ exec teases Clara’s ‘shocking and terrifying’ exit

Steven Moffat has revealed that Clara will “never return” when Jenna Coleman departs Doctor Who on screen later this season.

Coleman filmed her final scenes this summer but it has not been announced in which episode Clara will leave.

Moffat told Italian fans: “Clara is gone and will never return. I will not reveal any forecast about her fate.”

The Doctor Who showrunner hinted: “I can only say that what will happen will shock, terrify and surprise you. Strictly in that order.”

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CARLO BARBERI TAKES THE GUARDIANS TO INFINITY

Dan Abnett and Carlo Barberi plan on bringing plenty of space cases together in GUARDIANS OF INFINITY. The new series launches in December and will focus on a wide range of characters from the original Guardians line-up to the present day team and even a brand new squad known as Guardians 1000.

With so many Guardians—including fan favorites Rocket Raccoon and Groot—Abnett and Barberi will have their work cut out for them, but both creators stand ready for the challenge. Barberi discusses the thrill of working on such varied characters, designing everything from the ground up, and working with Jim Cheung.

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Wait a minute ... isn't this the plot from an X-Files episode?

Russia Announced They Have Found a UFO in the Ice

The first class of Admiral Vladimir Prikhodko, who is currently the director of the secret organization of the Russian navy, said that powerhouses such as the U.S, China, Germany and even Russia, are investing million dollars in the outer space, to gain the ownership.

However, why we have to spend too much money and waste time to research it, if we could have a great investment in the underground to find out the true stories of our origins.

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Stan Lee’s POW! Media is teaming with Taipei-based Hualien Media and Mission Control Entertainment on development of “Arch Alien” as an action franchise.

Lee and the companies announced the producing alliance Friday. Ralph Hemecker will direct from a script he co-wrote with Bill Macdonald. Plot details are being kept under wraps.

The project was unveiled in advance of Lee’s annual Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles. Principal photography is set to start on March 7 with shooting taking place in the U.S. and China.

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Today Godzilla would have turned 61 if he hadn't been killed by the Oxygen Destroyer ... fell in a volcano ... blew up ...

Godzilla (November 3, 1954) - Scorpio

"...charismatic "twice-born" characters such as they can sink into the extremes of depravity if they take the wrong path, and the intensity of their nature exaggerates their harmful tendencies into vices far greater than the normal.

Rebelliousness against all conventions, political extremism to the point where hatred of the Establishment makes them utterly unscrupulous terrorists. Brooding resentment, aggressive and sadistic brutality, total arrogance, morbid jealousy, extreme volatility of temperament, these are some of their vices.."

Duh...um he loves to stomp cities flat and kicks the crap out of any other critter who wanders into his turf!

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Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1954)(Toho)

Our tale begins dramatically amidst the smouldering ruins of what was once a great city. Twisted girders, cracked, blistering sidewalks and the skeletal frames of demolished buildings paint a grim portrait of this smouldering memorial to the unknown. Tokyo, once a proud metropolis of six million people, is now a graveyard.

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What the heck is this thing?



'Sea Monster' Photographed In Waters Off Greece

A Scottish tourist visiting Greece snapped an image of a mysterious creature in the water that some are calling a "sea monster."

The image captured by Harvey Robertson shows what looks like a cross between a hippopotamus and a dolphin:

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More proof that you should never go camping

"GITASKOG" - Found-Footage Supernatural Lake Creature Horror!!!!

Here's a very cool looking new indie found-footage mysterious supernatural lake creature horror film!

Five friends, up north for three days, one creature ... NO CHANCE !

Five friends embark on a camping trip to sacred Native territory and are warned to stay away. When they choose to ignore the warning they are confronted with strange occurrences, seductive apparitions, vengeful locals and a deadly behemoth. Their weekend of fun becomes a descent into hell.

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High Adventure in Deep Space with Venom: Space Knight #1

Flash Thompson is a lot of things. Soldier. Veteran. Double amputee. Host to a powerful alien symbiote. Guardian of the galaxy. Spider-Man’s biggest fan. But now, apart from his fellow guardians, he’s going solo for a brand new ongoing series in VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT!

From creators Robbie Thompson and Ariel Olivetti comes a tale of action, adventure, and alien intrigue. Now an ambassador of Earth and an Agent of the Cosmos, Flash Thompson is getting to be the one thing he always wanted. A BIG. DAMN. HERO. Strap in, hold on, and blast off – you won’t want to miss the start of a brand-new adventure as Venom swashbuckles across the universe in VENOM: SPACE KNIGHT #1 this November!

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As long as it's not as bad as 'Enterprise'.

CBS is creating a new Star Trek TV series, but there’s a serious catch

CBS has announced an all new Star Trek TV series, which “will introduce new characters seeking imaginative new worlds and new civilizations.” It’s not known just how this series will exist alongside the new era of Star Trek from producer/director JJ Abrams, but what is clear is that CBS is banking on the franchise’s pull to help its fledgling streaming service along.

This won’t be just any TV series. CBS will debut the inaugural episode of the untitled new series in January 2017 on its regular network stations, but that’s where the fun will end for regular viewers — the rest of the season will only be available via the company’s streaming service, CBS All Access.

The new series appears to be as much about capitalizing on the recent resurgence of one of the most storied sci-fi franchises of all time as it is about giving CBS a viable competitor to streaming services like Netflix. CBS’ press release for the announcement describes the new Star Trek series as “the first original series developed specifically for U.S. audiences for CBS All Access.” And a series with such mammoth name recognition and a built-in fan base appears to be a fantastic way to bring in new viewers.

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FYI: He was the only guy who was warm when they were filming 'Empire Strikes Back' in Norway.

How Peter Mayhew Really Feels About The New Star Wars 7 Cast Members

While the new Star Wars film is going to reunite fans of the original trilogy with many of our old friends, it will also introduce us to some new ones. So how does the old cast feel about these new kids getting involved in their movies? Well Chewbacca for one thinks they’re pretty great.

Peter Mayhew has played Chewbacca since the beginning. In an interview with Australia’s Bmag, he spoke about working with some of the newest parts of the Star Wars saga, actors John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. He and John Boyega apparently got on famously. Mayhew says Boyega has a comic’s sense of timing, which gives him a significant advantage in his acting.

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NEW TEAM. NEW MISSION. ALL-NEW INHUMANS #1!

She's Inhuman royalty. She’s been an Avenger, served alongside the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. She is Crystal…and this December she steps into her new role for a new Marvel Universe in ALL-NEW INHUMANS #1! Writers James Asmus and Charles Soule join forces with artist Stefano Caselli to expand the world of the Inhumans across globe!

Part diplomatic emissaries, part covert strike force, Crystal and her team have a new mission: protect their growing race by any means necessary! As the Terrigen Cloud rips across the planet, leaving new Inhumans in its wake – Crystal, Gorgon, Flint, Naja, and Grid travel the world in search of Inhumans in need, and pursue those would harm them. But as mysterious obelisks called Skyspears begin to appear across the globe, they could have cataclysmic and dangerous consequences for their race.

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Eyes ... you can never have enough of them.

THE MAN WITH TEN THOUSAND EYES!

This is the show you really need to be watching!

The Flash Stars Talk Barry and Patty's 'Effortless' Relationship, Iris' Feelings

So while The Flash‘s Barry Allen has his hands full with Zoom, multiple Earths and now King Shark — can’t this kid ever catch a break? — this Tuesday’s episode (The CW, 8/7c), finds him somehow making time to take Patty out on their first date.

“They just get along really well, and it’s kind of effortless,” star Grant Gustin says, when asked about the couple’s dynamic during a set visit last month. “They are interested in a lot of the same stuff. And it’s an escape for Barry right now because everything else is heavy in his life, other than his relationship with Patty.”

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Ya know, Lois is looking kinda sexy ...

Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #114, September 1971 Issue - DC Comics

When the 100 turns a protest by black Metropolis citizens against an office building project into a riot, Lois Lane, the Thorn, Superman, and Dave Stevens help unmask the guilty parties and bring them to justice. Later, Superman builds both an office building and a much-needed low-rent apartment building for the area. Dave Stevens is hired as the Daily Planet’s first black columnist.

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There's a Hole in the Sun That's Going to Make the Skies Dazzle

The sun’s about to spit charged particles our way. And that solar wind of protons and electrons will interact with the Earth’s magnetic field to light up the skies with a dazzling display of color through Wednesday.

The solar wind coming out of a hole on the sun will almost certainly spark an aurora that may be seen by millions of people. The hole contains less material than other parts of the sun, allowing the wind to flow outward much faster than normal -- “more than two and a half times” faster, according to Robert Rutledge, a forecaster at the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.

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Meet Miri Kotori a 23 year old model from Orlando, Florida

See more of her over at Model Mayhem

And finally here's something to think about:

“We’ve been in the mountain of war. We’ve been in the mountain of violence. We’ve been in the mountain of hatred long enough. It is necessary to move on now, but only by moving out of this mountain can we move to the promised land of justice and brotherhood and the Kingdom of God. It all boils down to the fact that we must never allow ourselves to become satisfied with unattained goals. We must always maintain a kind of divine discontent."

- DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING

A must have album for any fab playlist is definitely Nancy Sinatra's 'Boots', it's a ultra hip groove!

In the mid 1960s, with songs like “So Long Babe” and “How Does that Grab You, Darlin’?“, Nancy Sinatra took the image of a girl crying over her diary for a boy who wouldn’t behave and changed it to a woman who let her men know, in no uncertain terms, just how things were going to be.



“These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” kicked open the doors for a whole new category of women in music. Nancy’s tough girl attitude preceded women’s liberation and created the first rebel chick pop/rock singer. The era of the female rocker was born. Nancy cites among her influences, Ruth Brown, Laverne Baker, Doris Day, Peggy Lee, Elvis, Brigitte Bardot, and her Mother. One of Nancy’s continuing inspirations is Diane Keaton.

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GREATEST AMERICAN HERO REBOOT GETS SECOND CHANCE AT FOX

Last year, The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord were behind an attempt to reboot Stephen J. Cannell’s classic comic book inspired series Greatest American Hero. Despite having a put pilot order from Fox, the new Greatest American Hero did not take flight.

However, Fox is reportedly giving Lord and Miller a second shot at Greatest American Hero with a pilot production commitment this go-around, but that doesn’t mean things aren’t changing. This time, writer and director Rick Famuyiwara has come up with his own take on Greatest American Hero, replacing Rodney Rothman on the project. The initial report indicates that Fox is already looking for an actor to fill out the garish red superhero costume that provides its user with powers.

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And since we are on the subject of music, isn't it about time that someone covered 80s new wave hits mariachi style ... oh look someone has.

Mariachi Band Brings Morrissey To Dia De Los Muertos


In Los Angeles, one of this year's largest Day of the Dead celebrations was held at Hollywood Forever Cemetery where Rudolph Valentino, Jayne Mansfield and Dee Dee Ramone are buried. It featured plenty of the day's usual customs — folkloric dancers, face-painting and elaborate Huichol yarn paintings and beadwork. But this year's celebration also brought an unexpected addition: A mariachi band that plays covers of songs by The Smiths' lead singer, Morrissey.

El Mariachi Manchester is an L.A. band devoted to Moz. Morrissey made Los Angeles his home, and his music continues to enchant Angelenos — especially Mexican-Americans, according to Gloria Estrada, who plays guitarrón in the band.

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Funny, she doesn't look Druish

The Dumbest Thing The Star Wars Expanded Universe Did To Princess Leia

Star Wars’ old Expanded Universe is no more. Under the Disney regime, it has been relegated to the “Legends” banner, and the new official canon includes just the movies and TV shows, along with a whole new set of books, comics, etc. But somehow, one of the absolute worst EU books still has an enduring influence on Star Wars canon.

The Courtship of Princess Leia may not have the most outlandish plot twists (I give that to The Corellian Trilogy) or the most absurd tech (the Sun Crusher is a thing that exists), but as a whole, I think it fails the most out of all the old Star Wars books. On every conceivable level. But this book’s terribleness has proved to be shockingly influential.

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‘Star Trek Beyond′: Everything We Know (And Don’t Know)

As revealed by Simon Pegg, the third installment in the rebooted Star Trek series recently wrapped up principal filming. Like all big franchises these days, the movie is shrouded in as much secrecy as Paramount can manage, but as reported by CinemaBlend, there have still been multiple photos and video leaked that show extras and stars from the movie on outdoor sets. There have also been studio sanctioned “leaks” from stars like Zoe Saldana and Zachary Quinto, who have shared photos from the set in order to hype up fans for round three.

Not surprisingly, there are many facts and rumors about the film that are floating around the Internet. Here’s a look at some of what we know about Star Trek Beyond, which is due out in theaters next summer to mark the 50th anniversary of the original TV show’s debut in 1966.

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