'Target Earth' (1954) – Sherman A. Rose.

The surprisingly compelling Drive-in classic 'Target Earth' has heroic handsome hunk Richard Denning and the duskily voluptuous Kathleen Crowley meeting cute in the midst of an invasion by beautifully prototypical 1950s robots. 'Target Earth' is picture-perfect popcorn Sci-fi with one of the more effectively doomy first acts, Nora (Kathleen Crowley) groggily awakening in a desolate, abandoned city has a palpably nightmarish quality, giving Sherman A. Rose's exciting Sci-Horror 'Target Earth' a far less schlocky tone, instead, being strongly imbued with an oppressive 'Night of The Living Dead' quality, as the silently lumbering, cathode ray-blasting Robots have an eerie, zombie-like demeanour! The exceptionally fine cast, including the stolid Sci-fi icon Whit Bissell, a lively script by James H. Nicholson, and some no less zesty direction from Sherman A. Rose make the frequently thrilling 'Target Earth' well worth a shot for vintage Sci-fi freaks! 

'This blood-curdlingly creepy 50s robot rampage hits the B-Movie bullseye!' - Weirdlingwolf / Dirty Kunst Video.

 

 

 'Patterns' (1956) – Fielder Cook.

Fielder Cook's highly-regarded, executive eviscerating, boardroom-set psychodrama 'Patterns' (1956) is demonstratively one of the most intense, psychologically perceptive dramas surgically exposing the mercenary practices of office politics I can ever recall seeing. Maestro Rod Serling's steely, razor-sharp script is brought to such blazingly vivid life by some truly outstanding 'across-the-boardroom' performances, the uncommonly satisfying, rivet-tight, thematically complex 'Patterns' forcefully culminates in a raw, satisfyingly combative climax! Absolutely flawless adult entertainment! 

Both Van Helflin and Ed Bagley have terrific on-screen chemistry, with the glacially reptilian Everett Sloane is exquisitely ruthless as their almost inhumanly 'efficient' game-playing boss Walter Ramsey. The stark, emotionally bruising impact of 'Patterns' remains wholly undiminished, Van Helflin's earnest performance surpasses 'Shane' in dramatic intensity, and the conspicuously talented Serling's vital, starkly insightful screenplay still feels uncomfortably relevant. There's a palpably insidious quality to the coldly manipulative Walter Ramsey's internecine corporate machinations that is unpalatable, but, somewhat perversely, remains utterly mesmerising to behold. Again, without belabouring the point, Rod Serling's deep and rigorously impactful text is arguably one of his finest works, which is no faint praise indeed!

 

 

 'She' (1984) – Avi Nesher.

Avi Nesher's conspicuously 80s, bracingly free-spirited adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's immortal fantasy classic is a greatly neglected, splendidly schlocky post-apocalyptic actioner that is long overdue some positive recognition. Set in a radiation ravaged wasteland wherein a multitude of fractious tribes ceaselessly battle over the meagre spoils available. After the savage, militaristic Norks, led by the fearsome, slab-faced Hector (Gordon Mitchell) captured beautiful Hari (Elena Wiedermann), her handsome male companions 'Tom' (David Goss) and 'Dick' (Harrison Muller) bravely attempt to rescue her, and to do so they must endure myriad arduous hardships, the most inventive interludes being a sinister, almost fatal sojourn with initially fey, toga-clad werewolves, Bourgeois aristocratic vampires, a tricky tussle with telekinetic, self-appointed deity Godan (Gregory Snegoff) and elude capture by the fearsome matriarchal Urechs warrior clan, charismatically headed by statuesque Amazon She (Sandahl Bergman).

While frequently hampered by its modest budget, this pleasingly eccentric, enjoyably boisterous, personality-packed, episodically exhilarating post-apocalyptic actioner is far from sluggish exploitation fare, as director Avi Nesher gleefully dispenses with cookie-cutter logic, narrative cogency, and indulges in a more explosively eccentric approach to these heroic hi jinks as 'She' is generously endowed with bellicose B-Movie frolics, fabulously fur-flying fisticuffs, daring, close-call escapades, a dazzling array of flamboyant garb, bloodthirsty inter-tribe battles, amorous clinches, and is blessed with one of the more fearsome female protagonists in the striking, sinuously sword-slashing form of Sandahl Bergman the deliriously demented, deliciously camp, audaciously free spirited 'She' strikes a timely blow against totalitarian philosophy, and courageously raises a rebellious flag for the bloodied but unbowed B-Movie underdog! Featuring rousing music by Motorhead, Rick Wakeman, Justin Hayward and Maggie Bell! - 'SHE previously unimagined special effects, beautiful, battle-tempered women, macabre self replicating misfits and a terrifying, tutu-wearing titan clash bloodily in this triumphantly trashy tale of a warmongering world gone mad!