I SAW MANTOPUS!

One of the most enjoyable films of the year has emerged (available now on Amazon Prime, no less): Joshua Kennedy's Gooey Films Production of Mantopus!: a William Castle/Roger Corman-styled, monster flick with traces of Herbert L. Strock's How to Make a Monster, Edward L. Cahn's The She-Creature, Douglas Hikcox's Theatre of Blood, John Lamont's Konga and Freddie Francis' Trog, which truly holds up with the nostalgic best of them.

The movie revolves around a filmmaker who specializes in the macabre, the Michael Gough-inspired Charles Lander, played by the versatile Kennedy. Lander seeks to make the ultimate, monster movie after his Frankenstein in Texas receives studio derision. However, to ensure success, he embarks on employing a real-live creature for his comeback opus.

The enlisted monster (a reputed "god" from the Pacific) is superb. As designed by Mitch Gonzales, its facial features are reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen's test-footage Martian for his unfulfilled War of the Worlds adaptation, crossed with Rick Baker's specimen from the cult favorite, Octaman. The monstrosity comes per a strange, unnamed, "needful things" proprietor, played with sinister relish by Bryan Martinez, who helps churn an atmosphere that taps Lovecraftian lore and the ominous glee of Joe Dante's Gremlins, motivated by crafty, kill-the-critics revenge in glitzy L.A. 

In addition to Kennedy and Martinez, the cast includes the beautiful Valerie Prince as Lander's neglected spouse, Julia; the vivacious Mitzi Venus as promising, leading lady, Cindy Banks; the dashing Jaime Torres as her congenial but sometimes jealous boyfriend, Rick Fallen; and Jonathan Tamez as the titular, frightful Mantopus and detective Troy Sheppard. (John Danziger, Victoria Rose, Hilda Sofia Bautista, Julian Flores, Tom Pearson, Jess Conrad and dear ol' Dani Thompson comprise the rest of the fine cast.)

Kennedy's script and direction are as nimble as his crisp, Gough-ian performance, creating loads of good-natured mayhem, with the production holding a lurid, seasoned look that may have characterized a UHF, Saturday matinee back in the day. The vibrant texture is Creepshow caliber, and Reber Clark's score is menacing as heck with its many Jerry Goldsmith touches: an apt throwback for all its thrilling, melodramatic prompts. 

Kennedy's appreciation for, and familiarity of, chilling classic cinema is indisputable, which in turn can only delight fans such as myself. 

I LOVED this one and will be watching it often. You can watch it right here and now at 

https://www.amazon.com/Mantopus-Joshua-Kennedy/dp/B0F6SRGGDR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2PSAE1RW5SPWL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.d2v4a_y1c2fspEUR3FnqFZPTNBovSmZqYP_Q0WaJS28.TJMfgxYlyQPXcGtkqEpW9-47Uamw2Bic84hPk_WAxRM&dib_tag=se&keywords=mantopus&qid=1750469238&sprefix=man%2Caps%2C988&sr=8-1

I saw Joshua Kennedy's Innsmouth's School For Girls...

Writer/producer/director Joshua Kennedy's latest Gooey Film Production is a sublime salute to H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth.  

In addition to using the yarn's structure, The Innsmouth School for Girls references Satan's School for Girls, A Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory, Blood of Dracula, The Initiation of Sarah, Carrie, Wednesday and even the college-girl spurred City of the Dead (aka Horror Hotel). In other words, it's filled with young ladies, as well as truth-or-dare giggles and ample, nightmarish chills, creating the type of diverse entertainment we've come to expect from Kennedy. 

The movie opens with lovely Roberta Olmstead (get it?), played by talented newcomer, Hilda Sofia Bautista, heading to the eponymous institution via a chauffeured van and sharing a reflective narrative in the Victoria Winters/Dark Shadows vein. This establishes the dread that enshrouds the institution (not to mention, the entire town), even if the exact emanation is difficult to pinpoint...at first.

The strangeness then deepens, unfolding notch by notch, ushered by Innsmouth's no-nonsense dean, Barnabas Marsh, played by Kennedy, who emits a robust voice and wears a Barnabas Collins ring. One might sense that his physicality isn't quite right, even as he lurks in the distant shadows, for it appears he's just a tad too fishy around the lips and eyes. 

The student body is led by callous Suzi Banion (Stephanie Jo Saenez), though even she can't deny the school's imbalanced vibrations. When a teacher is reported missing, the discomfort worsens, leaving Roberta and her only two friends, Lori (Mitzi Venus) and her brother, Andrew (Jonathan Tamaz), to travel Innsmouth's dank crevasses, where scaly insinuations emerge. It thereafter becomes apparent that the town is infected by something beyond this earth, and a legacy of missing females only seals the deal, but how in the world do the youngsters stop the uncanny invasion, even if derisive Suzi does join the cause? 

The plot moves along nicely, and Reber Clark's score gives the events a saturating, Bob Cobert feel. That feel invokes the conciliating quality of classic, Gothic horror, with Cthulhu and R'lyeh references enforcing the aura, as well as the recurring appearance of Bryan Martinez's Greek-chorus wayfarer: a pelagic equivalent to Friday the 13th's Crazy Ralph, but with a distinct, Dan Curtis flavor.

The Innsmouth's School for Girls can be purchased for streaming on Amazon Prime, in addition to DVD through oldies.com. The disc includes outtakes, a deleted scene, a making-of documentary and audio commentary by Kennedy:  

https://www.oldies.com/product-view/1186D.html 

The Innsmouth School for Girls is a wise investment for Lovecraft completists and of course, all Kennedy connoisseurs.