Showing posts with label John Ashley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Ashley. Show all posts

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Collection Recommendation: Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia (The Eye Creatures)

  

Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia offers a direct-to-UHF, old-time classic on super-sharp Blu-ray: (Attack of) The Eye Creatures (though under the distinct, if not quite "misunderstood" title, The Eye Creatures 1: Return of the Eye Creatures; I'm uncertain of the intent, but for the sake of a wacky mislead, I wouldn't have it any other way.) 

The Eye Creatures is, in truth, Larry Buchanan's 1967, color remake of Edward L. Cahn's 1957, drive-in gem, Invasion of the Saucer Men, with teen idol, John (Blood Island) Ashley as its cool, top-billed star and Cynthia (High Yellow) Hull as his lovely, leading lady. (Buchanan's reliable Warren Hammack is also on hand to enliven the eerie proceedings.) 

Instead of wee, bulbous-headed "Martians" attacking amorous youths, the remake enlists Michelin Man-styled monsters (peppered with multiple orbs) on the lusty loose. As with Saucer Men, Eye Creatures is hip fun, blending silliness with dependable scares.

In addition to the headliner, Mr. Lobo's in-betweens revolve around Gettysburg, PA's Creature Feature Weekend Convention and its sensational stars: Ted Raimi, Vernon Wells, Kathleen Kinmount, Caroline Williams, Crystal Quin, Kyra Schon, Jim Krut, Eileen Deitz, Nancy Loomis Kyes and more. A pretty noteworthy queue, to say the least!

On the whole, this is a terror-ific package for Cinema Insomnia. Add it to your collection today, and to make your purchase all the more collectible, Mr. Lobo will even autograph it to your specifications!

https://osi74.square.site/product/blu-ray-autographed-cinema-insomnia-s-the-eye-creatures-1-return-of-the-eye-creatures-autographed-blu-ray/134?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true

Monday, August 9, 2021

Collection Recommendation: Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia (An American Werewolf in the Philippines)

Get set for another exciting entry in Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia DVD collection (as served by good ol' oldies.com): An American Werewolf in the Philippines, aka the Beast of the Yellow Night, starring the charismatic John Ashley. 

This Eddie Romero epic was released in '71 and performs as a companion piece to Sam Sherman's Independent-International Pictures' Blood Island series, in which Romero and Ashley participated, but with Werewolf/Beast, Ashley plays the monster instead of the hero for a swell twist. 

Ashley's metamorphosis manifests after he seals a body-swapping deal with the Devil (Vic Diaz of Daughters of Satan), thus becoming a mad, fuzzy minion who prowls the night, while his naive lady (Mary Charlotte Wilcox of Love Me Deadly) grows evermore estranged. 

The Hyde-esque persona is, indeed, werewolf-ish, but one might also detect traces of the Incredible Hulk, Atom Age Vampire and Monster on the Campus in the creature's features. To boot, this film's Beast is an ideal successor to Blood Island's celebrated, craggy counterpart. (Incidentally, our antagonist's touching interaction with a welcoming blind bandit {Andres Centenera of Beyond Atlantis} is certain to delight all Frankenstein fans.)

Furthermore, it's important to note that the versatile Ashley gives perhaps his finest performance in this impassioned, drive-in thriller, channeling the great Lon Chaney Jr to mount heaps of murderous sympathy.  

Mr. Lobo (accompanied by the lovely Jessie Seeherman and the menacing voice of GWAR's Don Drakulich) braces the ravenous (and sometimes cleverly censored) melodrama with "misunderstood" aptitude, conjuring Faustian foolishness and lycanthrope laughter to keep the presentation rolling at a howling clip.

Add this one to your collection at 

https://www.oldies.com/product-view/1158D.html