John Simpson Movies
A beautiful alien is sent from the planet Epsilon to pass judgment on the shameful way in which humans have mishandled their planet. Set in a near future in which humanity has made great strides in cleaning up the Earth, it begins as a grandmother tells her granddaughters a story from the past. Her tale begins in the desert outback during the dark times when people were actively ruining their planet. The naked alien is placed upon the desert where she eventually meets a surveyor who quickly gives her some clothing. As the two travel across the land, the alien constantly admonishes him for his race's carelessness and greed. She informs him that other intelligent life forms consider humans hopeless failures. Using her ability to travel instantly to any of Earth's locales, she takes the bewildered surveyor on a whirlwind tour to prove her point. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
When unexpected radiation raises the dead, a microcosm of Average America has to battle flesh-eating zombies in George A. Romero's landmark cheapie horror film. Siblings Johnny (Russ Streiner) and Barbara (Judith O'Dea) whine and pout their way through a graveside visit in a small Pennsylvania town, but it all takes a turn for the worse when a zombie kills Johnny. Barbara flees to an isolated farmhouse where a group of people are already holed up. Bickering and panic ensue as the group tries to figure out how best to escape, while hoards of undead converge on the house; news reports reveal that fire wards them off, while a local sheriff-led posse discovers that if you "kill the brain, you kill the ghoul." After a night of immolation and parricide, one survivor is left in the house.... Romero's grainy black-and-white cinematography and casting of locals emphasize the terror lurking in ordinary life; as in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963), Romero's victims are not attacked because they did anything wrong, and the randomness makes the attacks all the more horrifying. Nothing holds the key to salvation, either, whether it's family, love, or law. Topping off the existential dread is Romero's then-extreme use of gore, as zombies nibble on limbs and viscera. Initially distributed by a Manhattan theater chain owner, Night, made for about 100,000 dollars, was dismissed as exploitation, but after a 1969 re-release, it began to attract favorable attention for scarily tapping into Vietnam-era uncertainty and nihilistic anxiety. By 1979, it had grossed over 12 million, inspired a cycle of apocalyptic splatter films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), and set the standard for finding horror in the mundane. However cheesy the film may look, few horror movies reach a conclusion as desolately unsettling. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Judith O'Dea, Russ Streiner, (more)
- 1964
This is an unsold pilot for a comedy series based on the famous comic strip. Titled "The Electric Cupid," it has Archie using a computer to match up boys and girls for a big school dance. Also included is a 12-minute sales presentation for potential sponsors. ~ Brian Gusse, Rovi
Adapted from the novel by John Wyndham, this intelligent British monster movie begins with a meteor shower so intensely bright that it blinds the majority of the world's population, rendering them vulnerable to attack from hordes of carnivorous plants known as "Triffidus Celestus" grown from meteor-borne spores. As the plant-monsters continue to multiply and seek human prey, the remaining sighted people join forces to combat the veggie invaders. One such survivor, an American seaman (Howard Keel) whose eyes were bandaged during the meteorite impact, battles his way through the Triffid ranks. Meanwhile, a couple (Kieron Moore and Janette Scott are trapped in a lighthouse. Good production values make this low-budget effort look more expensive than it probably was; the uncredited assistance of Freddie Francis -- who directed several scenes with a second unit -- also helps. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Howard Keel, Kieron Moore, (more)
