The Incredibly Strange Creatures That Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (1963) 82m.
This one must have been a nightmare for marquee titlers when it was first released. Poverty Row flick is worth seeing as a conversation piece, and worth remembering if you're ever forced into a session of charades. Like KILLER NUN; BILLY THE KID VS DRACULA; HEADS YOU DIE, TAILS I KILL YOU; and SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (which at least features a ten-year old Pia Zadora with her face painted green) this is a film you see only for its title - a marketing tradition which video-schlock producers Troma seem to have adopted as their key selling point. Actually, this one isn't as bad as you might think. It's not that great, either. Three teenagers (one of them played by the films's 24-year-old director Ray Dennis Steckler) visit a fortune teller at a fairground and become involved in her murderous plans. It's a simple enough plot and would take up only half of the film's running time if it wasn't padded out with musical numbers. It's unusual that Steckler throws in so many songs (there is one good pop ballad, 'Someone That's Not You') because he's obviously more at home with action sequences - look at the way he handles the murder scenes, for instance. They're at least better than the dance numbers. The choreography in this film looks like it was done by two twelve-year old girls who learned their craft by dancing in front of the TV set.
Film also looks better than many other indie productions of the time as far as costumes and sets are concerned (i.e. it actually has costumes and sets). It was photographed by Vilmos Zsigmond, of all people, whose cinematography and co-ordinated primary colors help lift CREATURES out of the shoddy, gimcrack appearance of most Z-grade films. To help make his film look less cheap, Steckler emphasises the tackiness of the production. He exploits his low budget by setting his film in tawdry dives, carnies, and strip shows, where we expect everything to look cheap anyway. He also manages to make a monster movie without monsters - although when it was first shown people in rubber masks ran through the aisles at a key point in the screening. Story's definition of 'zombies' is technically correct - human beings that have become automatons (in this case, by hypnosis) that in turn are labelled 'monsters' the moment they are disfigured (by acid). INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES isn't as much fun as the title suggests, but is worth seeing as a curio of fringe cinema. Film's finale on the beach is reminiscent of film noir B-movies.
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