KAIJU FRIDAY

KAIJU (怪獣, kaijū) n. Japanese word loosely translated as "strange beast". Often used in English to mean "monster".

MOTHRA. Born of a giant egg. Looked after by peanut-sized cutie-pie patrons. Wings of fury. Mothra took 'Zilla to the mat, WWE-style. Mothra rocks!

BELA LUGOSI INTERVIEW

Bela Lugosi is seen here in this poignant clip. He is interviewed as he leaves the sanitarium after a 90-day treatment for an addiction to morphine and pain killers. The vibrant Lugosi looks and sounds healthy as he talks frankly about his addiction to pain medication to help alleviate a painful sciatica nerve and working in his next movie with a certain "Eddy Wood". A fascinating historical artifiact.

HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY, RAY BRADBURY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, H.P. LOVECRAFT!

CREATURE MODEL RE-ISSUE RELEASING THIS WEEK

Releasing this week is the re-issued version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon plastic model kit from the Aurora "Monsters of the Movies" series. The 1/12 scale hobby kit will be sold by dealers around the country. The original figure was sculpted by Bill Lemon.

MONSTER VIEWER: NOW PLAYING

Good evening, Monster Lovers!

You may have noticed the new "tabs" addition at the top MONSTER MOVIE WORLD BlogSpot just under the title header. The all-new MONSTER VIEWER item is open for business and waiting for you to take the aisle seat. Now you can watch monster movie clips, feature-length movies, and other monsterous multimedia without ever leaving the comfort of the MONSTER MOVIE WORLD BlogSpot! First up is an underrated classic of the fab 50s. This is not just a clip. It is the full, feature-length film! Watch for more just like this and happy monster viewing!

NOW PLAYING: THE KILLER SHREWS (1959)

 

SCARY SUNDAY FUNNIES

While we're on the theme of THRILLER, presented here is a story from the THRILLER comic book. It is from BORIS KARLOFF THRILLER #2 (Gold Key, Jan. 1963). After two issues, this being the last, it was relaunched as BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY. The writer of the story is unknown. Art is by Alberto Giolotti and lettering by Ben Oda. Grab yourself a cuppa Joe and enjoy the funnies!

ELVIRA RETURNS THIS FALL!

MORE THRILLER

In one of the more well-known episodes of the original THRILLER series, Boris Karloff himself starred as "The Incredible Doktor Markesan". The teleplay was based on the short story by August Derleth (who, along with Donald Wandrei were responsible for popularizing the work of H.P. Lovecraft) and was directed by Robert Florey (MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, THE OUTER LIMITS, THE TWILIGHT ZONE). It also starred Dick York, who played husband Darren to Elizabeth Montgomery's Samantha in TV's long-running fantasy series, BEWITCHED. "Doktor Markesan" is one of the creepier THRILLER shows and is drenched in a suspensful atmosphere. Below is a clip of the opening segment.

KAIJU FRIDAY

KAIJU (怪獣, kaijū) n. Japanese word loosely translated as "strange beast". Often used in English to mean "monster".



What's there not to like about King Ghidorah (in English, Ghidrah)? Three heads, spews dragon-fire, and flies. Certainly an inspiration from the traditional asian dragon, Ghidorah has menaced his way through many a' monster flick.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CONNIE STEVENS!

THRILLER COMPLETE SERIES BOXED SET ON DVD

Amazon.com has announced the release on August 21, 2010 of the original, complete classic TV series, THRILLER in a DVD boxed set. For fans of Boris Karloff and "thrillling" episodes to rival the best of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and THE OUTER LIMITS, this is big news. It also sounds like this release will be "done right", as it has claimed to be remastered.

Amazon offers the following:

Now available for the first time ever in any format, experience the complete series hailed as the most frightening ever created for television. Horror legend Boris Karloff (Frankenstein) guides you through 67 unforgettable episodes of suspense, murder and relentless terror, featuring a stellar cast of stars from the golden age of TV. These tales from the minds of such masterful writers as Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Bloch (Psycho), and Cornell Woolrich (Rear Window) include a murderous cursed painting, a supernatural mirror, a demonic tailor’s suit and much more!


Now remastered and packed with hours of exclusive, fascinating extras, Thriller is the ultimate must-have collection for any horror or classic television fan. Featured Stars Include: William Shatner, Leslie Nielsen, Mary Tyler Moore, Elizabeth Montgomery, Rip Torn, Richard Chamberlain, Cloris Leachman, Alan Napier (“Batman”), Robert Vaughn (“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”), Werner Klemperer (“Hogan’s Heroes”), Russell Johnson (“Gilligan’s Island”), Donna Douglas (“The Beverly Hillbillies”), Richard Kiel (“Moonraker”), Marlo Thomas (“That Girl”), Edward Platt (“Get Smart”), Marion Ross (“Happy Days”), Tom Poston (“Newhart”), Natalie Schafer (“Gilligan’s Island”), Richard Long (“The Big Valley”), Ursula Andress (“Dr. No”), and many more!
 
Contains:
1. All 67 episodes -- remastered, uncut and loaded with exclusive extras

2. 27 new audio commentaries featuring Arthur Hiller, Patricia Barry, Ernest Dickerson, David Schow, Tim Lucas, Gary Gerani, Jim Wynorski, Richard Anderson, Lucy Chase Williams, Steve Mitchell, Marc Scott Zicree, Alan Brennert, Beverly Washburn, Larry Blamire, Jon Burlingame, Daniel Benton, Ron Borst, Craig Reardon
3. Extensive promotional and production still galleries
4. Rare episode promos
5. Thriller series promo
6. Isolated music and effects tracks for select episodes from composers Jerry Goldsmith and Morton Stevens
 
THRILLER enjoyed a relatively lengthy run and, most likely as a result of having the Karloff bling on board for star power, spawned sidelines of everything from books to comic books and even a board game! This ain't yo mama's Michael Jackson THRILLA, this is yo granpappy's scarier'n hell THRILLER!
 

The famous THRILLER title

Karloff in one of his sinisterly contemplative moods

Title from one of the most popular and acclaimed episodes of the series

The THRILLER comic book, published by Gold Key/Western Publishing

The THRILLER board game (!)

Below is a 1960 promotional segment that was intended to sell the THRILLER series to network television

THRILLER HOSTED BY BORIS KARLOFF

MONSTER MOVIE WORLD'S 50TH POST

ENJOY THE WEEKEND!

Scream for some ice cream!

KAIJU FRIDAY

KAIJU (怪獣, kaijū) n. Japanese word loosely translated as "strange beast". Often used in English to mean "monster".

I love Kaiju! Some of them are downright corny, some of them are outrageous, some of them are pretty doggone cool, and some of them are just plain monster classics! Godzilla (or more properly, Gojira) is one of the classics. Here's a few photos and drawings of the monstrously strange beast from various sources around the web. They are big enough to use for wallpaper. The images appear to have gone viral, so it's difficult to tell the chicken from the egg here. So, thanks bunches, whoever you are, and especially the film studios for creating them to begin with!