804 - THE DEADLY MANTIS

Genre:  ’50s Monster (1957, B&W)

Synopsis:  A volcano erupts in the south Atlantic which causes ice to break off the polar icecap, unleashing a giant prehistoric preying mantis frozen there.  The Mantis then starts heading south, wreaking havoc in its wake as it starting preying on man.  The usual ‘50s monster movie clichés kick in:  (1) An army guy/hero who is investigating the incidents of destruction, trying to figure out what is causing them,  (2) A scientist (played by William Hopper from Perry Mason) who figures out that it is a giant mantis that’s destroying everything in its path, and (3) the female character, in this case a reporter, who’s there to scream and fall in love with the hero.  This movie really isn’t that bad when compared to some of the other monster films of the era but the effects of the Mantis flying are very cheesy.  Eventually, the Mantis gets to Washington D.C. where it is wounded by a jet fighter and retreat inside a highway tunnel.  Inside, the tunnel, the army – lead by our hero – moves in and kills the giant insect with what looks to be some powerful RAID bug bombs.

Don’s Review:  The riffing on this was decent while the host segments feature the doomsday device destruction of the Earth in homage to Beneath the Planet of the Apes (finally, the lame Planet of the Apes spoof is over!).  Overall, a good episode from the Sci-Fi era (although this is high on my rewatch list, so I expect this one’s stock to rise on repeat viewings).

Don’s Rating: 

Forrest’s Review:  Early Season Eight was very fun for me. These films are classic cheese, and I wish there were more episodes with classic ’50s B movies.  The movie featured here is pretty much routine for an old 50’s giant monster film.  Half-baked morals, bad special effects, stupid dialogue, the handsome scientist, the senile army general – it’s all here.  The riffing was damn good throughout, though not the highlight of Season Eight, this episode inspires big laughs, and it’s mostly because the comic timing in this one is near perfect.  It did slow up a lot towards the end, and I mean a lot, for the most part, it was excellent.  Don, I like the Planet of the Apes segments!  Come on, sure they’re goofy, but the Star Wars reference by Crow was worth it all: "It was as though millions of monkeys cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced."  Bill Corbett is getting better and better as Crow, and Trace will soon meet his match.

Forrest’s Rating: