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Creature Features

Question: How do you know CGI is coming down in price?
Answer: Sharktopus


Roger Corman - producer of this postmodern* slice of processed cheese - is no stranger to b-movies. As a writer, director and producer, he's been responsible for some spectacular dross and a few cult classics, including:






Meanwhile, 'Mega Piranha' has just enjoyed a limited release in cinemas (not to be confused with Piranha 3D starring Kelly Brooke!), which follows in the wake of Mega-Shark vs. Giant Octopus - another 'mockbuster' production from The Asylum - and yes, if you visit their website right now that IS a trailer for Titanic II. These knowingly tacky creature features hark back to the big bug movies of the 1950's and the increasingly outlandish Godzilla monster-mash-ups from the Toho Company - like 1962's 'man-in-a-rubber-suit-fest', Godzilla vs. King Kong.


In these post-Avatar times, it's baffling - and even rather wonderful - that the likes of Mega Piranha and Sharktopus are finding an audience. Film-goers are either a) really very stupid, or b) so chic and genre-savvy that they're snacking on this cinematic KFC and enjoying the in-jokes. So, by way of a finale, enjoy the belief-beggaring spectacle of a piranha eating a helicopter and a shark bringing down a 747...




* Postmodernism - more on that later CGAA 2nd Years...

Comments

  1. Ha! - What's this? Postmodernism by the backdoor... ! :)

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  2. If you think CGI is coming down in price watch a film called After the Last season, It had budget of 30-40 thousand USD and the budget because of the special effects (and I use that term loosely) went to 5 million, The special effects in question could have been done by some with about 3 minutes of Maya training.

    Its quite possibly the worst film ever made in fact the distributors told the 4 cinemas they sent it too to burn the copies of the film as it would be cheaper than sending it back to them lol.

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  3. @ Dan - just watched the trailer for 'After The Last Season' : there is hope for all of us if THAT can attract a 5 million dollar budget... what a stinker! Suddenly Sharktopus is looking like Oscar-bait :-)

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  4. Yeah it does make sharktopus look amazing although watching the sharktopus trailer has put my own design of something I was working on into question now might have to go back to the drawing board a bit.

    My favourite part of After the Last season has to be the blatant cardboard MRI machine with the exposed masking tape, I think Button Moon had more production values than that film.

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  6. NO! Piranha 3D. Don't you dare try and ruin Kelly Brooke. Oh hell, nothing can ruin Kelly Brooke :)

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  7. @ Earl - From hosting Celebrity Love Island to a film about prehistoric man-eating fish... she's a supremely talented actress...

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  8. I...wasn't necessarily talking about her acting

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  9. My Dad knew Kelly Brook's Dad and he saw her at her Dad's funeral. FACT. Billy InZane as I like to call him wasnt there though apparently.

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  10. I love these types of films, they are great if you are not in the mood for using your brain for a couple of hours. The monster fims which don't use CG are sometimes better though, I watched 'Deep Blue Sea' again yesterday and it's still great because it's not over the top.

    I worked in an office with Kelly Brook's mum for a summer a couple of years ago in Sittingbourne, but I had to avoid bringing in The Sun in-case I flashed her daughter's boobs at her during lunch.

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  11. @ Sam - ha ha ha! :-)

    I'm also a fan of 'revenge of nature' rubbish; when I was younger, there was a big spate of lurid paperbacks by hack authors such as Guy N. Smith, who wrote books about giant killer crabs and loads of natural nasties. I used to go into WH Smith on Saturday mornings and gawk at all the gruesome cover art and think 'wow' - http://www.guynsmith.com/

    Just do an image search for 'Guy N. Smith' and get a glimpse into my boyhood and the sort of fodder that passed as pop literature when I was 'but a lad'...

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  12. oh, and while I'm getting all nostalgic... check out the cover art for John Halkin's creature feature classics, 'Slime', 'Slither' and 'Squelch'... :-)

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  13. I just did a google search of this Guy N. Smith found this:

    http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/guy-n-smith/human-sacrifice.htm

    One question why does a giant mutant crab need a knife ?

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  14. @ Dan - indeed; Guy N Smith was a complete hack - the equivalent, I suppose of Sharktopus - pulp, lurid stories; definitely check out John Halkin's 'literature' -

    http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/john-halkin/slime.htm

    'Slime' was about a plague of killer jellyfish...

    meanwhile, in a movie entitled 'Squirm'...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyTpkR2cwLo

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  15. @Phil - Yeah it did seem that way, That image I posted did really amuse me though.

    A lot of the Guy N Smith and these trailers remind me of the old goosebumps books (that makes me feel old) and the old horror comics you used to be able to buy.

    but if were talking film I figured I would chuck these links in here:


    Creepshow 2 (one of my favourite films)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPS9V5GLoBc

    A film split into 3 different stories (done by George Romero and Stephen King)and done in a very B-movie / 1950's style comic. Has a very good segment called The Raft which deals with some type of sea monster

    Trick R Treat

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jh0DwJZjz8

    Similar storytelling style and feel to Creepshow 2 In the fact that its a bunch of different stories, but in this one the stories interconnect at some points. Its a good film worth a watch.

    Invader Zim - Fish in a bear suit

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj41TivSTCg

    Just because

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  16. How funny - I was watching The Raft segment a few days back - the acting is SOOOO bad, but it's still impressively nasty - with a fun pay-off. Personally I love the Hitchhiker segment - great fun to watch in a crowd - it's so manipulative and 'boo!' :-)

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  17. @Phil - The Hitchhiker segment is hilarious, I think I watched it with either Jonny or Darren once and we couldn't stop laughing every time he popped up. But if you like Creepshow definitely check out the Trick R Treat film, It went straight to DVD I think but its very good if like that sort of thing.

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