Search - Directed By Roger Corman on DVD

Ten by Roger Goreman

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 06/20/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The first disc of ST. CLAIR's DIRECTED BY ROGER CORMAN contains the three horror/comedies that have made Mr. Corman the legend he is.

"Creature from the Haunted Sea," was an afterthought, created during a Puerto Rico vacation/film shoot. Our narrator-hero does his worst Bogart imitation, there's plenty of bad jokes throughout, and the "Cuban" soldiers are laughably inept. This may be the first-ever movie where the MONSTER wins!

"A Bucket of Blood" is a creepy tale of a nebbish cafe busboy who becomes an instant celebrity among the local beatnik artists when he exhibits as a statue a cat he accidentally killed, complete with the knife that did it in.

"Little Shop of Horrors" is undoubtedly Corman's best-known work. It's about another nebbish (this time a flower shop employee) who creates a potted plant with an insatiable appetite for human flesh. Filled with quirky characters (like Jack Nicholson as the masochistic dental patient), this is a movie you can never forget once you've seen it.



As for the rest of the set:

Corman himself appears as a VERY bad skiing extra in "Ski Troop Attack." He also plays a Greek soldier in the rarely-seen "Atlas," a swords and sandals "epic" made on a 50 cent budget-- and it shows! Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson have a go at gothic horror in "The Terror." You'll be totally "bugged" by "The Wasp Woman," a movie so bad it's almost laughable. "Last Woman on Earth" concerns a love triangle on a depopulated planet, while the last two films ("Swamp Women" and "She-Gods...") illustrate Corman's fetish for dominating females.





If you enjoyed this fine ST. CLAIR product, you're certain to also like their 10 movie pack, FRIGHT NIGHT, which features classic horror stars like Bela, Lon and Vincent.





Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.



DISC ONE--

(2.9) Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961) - Antony Carbone/Betsy Jones-Moreland

(6.8) A Bucket of Blood (1959) - Dick Miller/Barboura Morris/Antony Carbone/Ed Nelson

(6.2) The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) - Jonathan Haze/Jackie Joseph/Jack Nicolson (bit part)

BONUS: Roger Corman Trivia Quiz



DISC TWO--

(3.6) The Wasp Woman (1959) - Susan Cabot/Anthony Eisley

(4.9) The Terror (1963) - Boris Karloff/Jack Nicholson/Jonathan Haze

(4.7) Last Woman on Earth (1960) - Betsy Jones-Moreland/Antony Carbone

BONUS: Roger Corman Trailers-- House of Usher, Tales of Terror, X, The Creature From the Haunted Sea, Last Woman on Earth, The Little Shop of Horrors



DISC THREE--

(2.2) She Gods of Shark Reef (1958) - Bill Cord/Don Durant

(2.3) Swamp Women (1955) - Beverly Garland/Mike Connors/Ed Nelson

(1.8) Ski Troop Attack (1960) - Michael Forest/Frank Wolff/Wally Campos/Richard Sinatra

(4.2) Atlas (1961) - Michael Forest/Barboura Morris/Roger Corman/Dick Miller

BONUS: Poster Gallery"