Tubi Thursday: Day the World Ended (1955)

 As a reminder, last week's Film was a confusingly titled Remake of this Film.

I thought 'You either watch this now or never,' so it's a case of Deja Vu here with...

This original film gives us a few glimpses of the other survivors as they seek shelter and THEN the House with the Father and Daughter.

Richard Denning- aka the blond jerk from Creature from the Black Lagoon- is our Lead here as the good Brother.

Like last time, the duo are mourning the apparent loss of her offscreen and only in a picture fiancee with the residency goes from 2 people to 7!

At least this Dad doesn't look like her Grandpa instead.

The group gathers and the Dad explains that they must ration food to survive until the radiation goes away.

So... several years then?

In this one, he explains via a map why the area is safe, but in the Remake he brought out a diorama (that I guess he made in his spare time).

Both also likely inspired by the Plot of '70s YA Novel Z for Zachariah (and its odd Film adaptation)

Weeks pass by means of the dialog simply telling us that they did.  I guess nothing of note happened, eh?

The Brother- who should have died from the rads- is mutating and this reminds the Dad of Animals he saw mutated via the H-Bomb.

Both versions feature a description of a monkey's skin turning into metal and never showing it.  Boo!

The Brother keeps wandering off (Scenes mostly omitted) and killing game in the area...but so does a barely seen creature!

The Cast dwindles as personal conflicts and tragedy (like the death of a Donkey named Diablo) lead to their deaths.

The Jerk Guy is just as bad here AND he looks like he was auditioning to be Sean Connery's Stunt Double (several years too early).

Eventually, the main creature- they only state that there is one here and not many- kills another mutated guy and then the Brother.

He was at Stage 1 of the change and this fella was at Stage 3 (of 3?)

It finally all comes to a head as the Creature fulfills the quote by carrying the unconscious lady (as regular Suit Designer/Performer Paul Blaisdell did a few times).

Our Hero saves her and hides in the Lake at her suggestion.
The pure water is poison to the creature and the rain kills him.

Dad kills the Jerk Guy and then dies from radiation poisoning (he seemed fine a minute earlier) and the duo walk out into the new world.

The Beginning.

It's like buying one of those dollar store burgers you heat up vs. going to a good (but not great) restaurant for a real burger.

The basics are all the same.

The Plot- even in that Remake- had potential.  

This one does slightly more with it, at least.  It made you feel for the Leads and even the less than pristine Ruby.
The Jerk Guy is still a jerk and our Hero is still pretty milquetoast though.

The Film was not a huge budget affair (about $96,000) and shot quickly (10 days), but looks and feels more expensive than the Remake.

The Creature is a fun oddity too.  Blaisdell didn't realize that the suit was porous btw, so he nearly drowned in his own creation!

Day the World Ended doesn't break the mold or define the Genre, but it is good for fans of the pulp stuff and is notable for being Corman's first Sci-Fi Film.

The original is far better than the Remake.  Thankfully for my sanity, it was a generally decent to good Film all around for its time.

Forgotten TV: The Outer Limits - 'Free Spirit'

 We've finally reached Lucky #10 on the list.

This time, we get the tale of an experiment gone wrong and revenge served very cold.

This is 'Free Spirit'

I couldn't find a Title Card.  Sorry.

A Science Experiment is taking place involving near comatose people being allowed to have their spirits leave their bodies.

What could possibly go wrong?

The Funding got caught.  DOGE strikes again!

They are told to stop the experiments and to turn off life support for the Subjects...only one of them was successfully projecting himself when his body died.

He watched it pass away and...left...

4 years later, a Mental Asylum (with only one Establishing Shot) is facing down Day 5 of a blizzard and they are locked in.

It turns out that 2 of the Experimenters were now working there, including Dina 'Birds of Prey' Meyer.

Things get worse when an unexplained spree killer shows up, says something strange and dies!

She starts seeing and hearing weird things, including literal words appearing on the wall (and then vanishing).

Even the presence of Colin 'Eureka' Ferguson can make her relax.

As people act sporadically strange and they lose power, her Boss- who was also an Experimenter- tells her to chill the hell out.

Things get so bad that even the Guard obsessed with voodoo can help.
This is kind of a weird story, eh?

Meyer finds all but Ferguson did and then he reveals that he's controlled by the Free Spirit, the guy who they thought was dead.
He'd been killing the others- hence the spree killing earlier- and now she's next.

The other shoe drops when he reveals that he possessed HER to kill the others and now she will rot in jail while he watches on.

The (bitter) End.

A strong(ish) Episode with a pretty dark Ending.

I guess I've been lucky to *mostly* get the good Endings so far in my journey.  Even the dark ones have a tinge of hope or happiness.

Not this one.  Punished until death.  Yikes.

This one reminds me a bit of Fallen, what with an evil person possessing bodies temporarily to ultimate get revenge.  
Is it a coincidence?  Maybe.

This one is the only Episode that was Written by Danny McBride. 
No, not that one.  The guy who co-Wrote Underworld.

As a one-off that feels like a riff on an EC Comics Story, I enjoyed it.  They definitely cut some corners- like the constant reuse of the Establishing Shot- and the rushed Ending.

Even so, it's definitely better than a few Episodes I've covered.  Now, if you'll excuse me, it's bath time...

Next time, let me turn this Review Series on its head by covering the Top Ten Highest Rated Episodes.  First up, Season 2 began, it seems, with the best Episode ever!

DTV Trash?: Superman- Braniac Attacks

DC had a great run as the Studio making the best Animated Shows in the '90s.
Inevitably, the Shows had to end and Direct to Video Features followed.

Some are confusing (like Mystery of the Batwoman), some are good (like Subzero) and some hurt us all on a deeper level (like Batman & Harley Quinn).

This one- 2006's Superman- Brainiac Attacks has eluded me for a while.

Which category does this fall into?

To find out, read on...

As a foreword, this is actually NOT a follow-up to the DCAU (Batman to Justice League Unlimited). 

It's just an Animated Film made in 2006- the same year as Superman Returns- that uses the same art assets and half of the OG Voice Cast of the Superman Cartoon.

That's only a lot confusing.

Anyhow, as the Title states, Brainiac attacks!  This looks like a job for, well, you know...

Brainiac hijacks Luthor's anti-meteor satellite (which failed to stop his arrival) to blast the crap out of Superman.

This gives Luthor- voiced here by Powers Boothe channeling Gene Hackman- an idea or two. 

Superman finally wrecks Brainiac's body by freezing it and making it shatter.

That's not usually how this works, but I'll accept it.

Cool shot- no pun intended.

Luthor pockets Brainiac's brain chip from the debris and takes him back to LexCorp.

He makes a deal- he'll give Brainiac a new body with some new tech (including the one piece of kryptonite he has) if he destroys Superman.

In the Cartoons, they were literally fused into one Cronenbergian body.  This is safer.

This new body is formed from the Satellite itself and...now he has arms and legs?

The Satellite had those already or...I'm probably overthinking a Cartoon, aren't I?

Using Luthor's tech, it can track Superman and attacks him while he's out with Lois as Clark.

A fight ensues, but it eventually blasts Superman and Lois with some sort of kryptonite wave beam.

This poisons them both, because...why not?

Superman finds no help in his Fortress of Solitude and Brainiac attacks again.

He blows up the place and vanishes into The Phantom Zone, where the secret lies.

Seen here flying inside the mind of Hunter S. Thompson

While he's in there, Luthor reveals to Mercy that he has a failsafe to destroy Brainiac's body.

He positions himself as a hero to stop Brainiac...who took out the failsafe, because, you know, he's Brainiac.

Things go poorly for him until Superman returns (not that one).

Superman is covered in an orange glow and now resistant to the Kryptonite beams.

He eventually overpowers and overcharges Brainiac for the victory.

One final attack makes Superman have to use up the orange energy to save Lois.

In the aftermath, a cocky Luthor soon is hoisted by his own petard!

Oh and Superman doesn't stop being Clark.  Cool.

A decent to good Animated Film that does take some adjustments to enjoy.

As noted, this is just a completely separate entity from Superman: The Animated Series, despite using their Character Models, Locations and half of the Voice Cast.

I was distracted quite a bit at first by the new voices- Boothe as Luthor and Lance Henriksen as Brainiac- while others- like Tara Strong as Mercy- were fine.

Boothe- who was great as Gorilla Grodd- plays a campier and sillier Luthor here that I eventually warmed up to.  There's no wrong version of the Character- well, other than Jesse Eisenberg- but seeing the face I know with a different voice was weird.

Henriksen was fine, if unremarkable as Brainiac.  Corey Burton brought a subtle menace that Lance simply didn't.

Canon and Voice issues aside, this one was alright.  It took some big swings in the story and some of them paid off.

A prolonged part where Jimmy Olsen is beaten up- weird.  
Other swings were countered by simply being undone abruptly (the Fortress will be rebuilt and Clark stays). 
If you're not canon, why not stick to these?

Ultimately, this one kind of falls in the middle with these Adaptations/Follow-Ups.  It's just alright and I can see why it isn't talked about much.

Sorry, new Lex.  I did grow to like you.

Next time, I dig into my digital vault to cover a Sequel that is very much forgotten.  Before he made billion-dollar Films, James Cameron went fishing.  Stay tuned...

Shudder Day: Tales from the Crypt- 'Collection Completed'

 37 years (and one day) ago, the 5th and final Episode of Season 1 aired.

Yes, the Season was only 5 Episodes.
I don't know why.

With a big name as the Lead, let's check out the Episode known as...

It is a big day!

A hard-working man is retiring after 47 years and his Wife threw him a party!

However, the guy- who I'm sure that you'll recognize- is a grump and never realized how much his Wife (of many Decades) loved animals.

I guess he was oblivious all of the time between working 6 days a week.

He can't adjust to life at home due to minor slights like sitting on a cat toy or accidentally being fed tuna cat food and not normal tuna!

He can't stand the animals.

Not one bit!

He takes it out on the poor plants in the backyard, while his Wife loves every animal that could come by.

He hides in his basement for about 2 weeks working on his 'new hobby.'

As it turns out, he's decided to take up Taxidermy- starting with every animal in and around the House!

He's down to the final pet- a cat named Mew Mew- now.

She grabs the golden hammer he got as a retirement gift (Chekhov's Hammer) and kills him with it.

Later, the nosy Neighbor shows up and sees that she's Taxidermized him!
The End!

A simple, but quirky tale of insanity.

This one walks the line between being funny and dramatic.  It was co-written by SNL alum A. Whitney Brown, so that makes sense.

The tale is simple enough.  The man never spent enough time at home and awake to see how the Wife really was.
Either he had to learn to live with it or find a way to change things.

Needless to say, his choice was the wrong one!

All of these Tales are based on EC Comics, but this one does remind me of a *different* one about a clean, organized General and his new Wife.

The guy was Terry-Thomas, but he met a similar fate.

See 'The Vault of Horror' for more details.

A quirky little tale about suburban insanity.  The Actors really make the simple narrative get more weight in its shortened runtime.

Forgotten TV: The Outer Limits - 'Descent'

 As we work our way down the Bottom 10 Rated Episodes, do things get better...or weirder.

This is a Season 5 Episode with a notable 'That Guy' in it.
Does the Plot accidentally touch on some modern ideas?

Let's go ahead and take the...

In the Cold Open, we see these Quest For Fire-looking guys fighting over food.

We then see that a Doctor is imagining the Scene entirely while staring at a Display on Primitive Man.

The Doctor- a famous That Guy named Leland Orser- is experimenting with DNA and trying to create the Dominant and Submissive genes.

With a potion, he can- in theory- make someone more of either.

As you can probably guess, he doesn't take the Submissive formula.

He's already got too much of that, he thinks.

The first dose makes him more confident and more assertive.

It's not enough, however, and he takes a second dose.

That one makes him very aggressive, to the point where he attacks his Boss like it is the Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey!

He also gives the female Doctor he's obsessed with a dose of the Submissive stuff when the Office is just all getting flu shots- as you do.

The combination doesn't work, however, and he regrets what he did by trying to force himself on her.

She agrees to help him, making an antidote while he regresses.

Unfortunately, he can't accept a normal life without her and gives himself ALL of the formula he had left over.

After being shot by Security, we see his final fate..

He's now on Display in place of the mannequins!
The End.

A fairly simple Episode, but a pretty effective one.

As a reminder, these kinds of Shows tend to be little Morality Plays.
This is definitely one of those.

Poor Leland learns that power comes at a cost.  At first, he's willing to pay it.
Eventually, he sees the error of his ways...right?

This one has a pretty tight focus, only giving us Leland, the Lady, a Male Coworker and a Boss to focus on.  It helps make this easy to follow.

While it is somewhat of a universal idea- see those old Ads about He-Men on the Beach-, this one does feel a bit topical with the Tates and others doing their things online about being 'real men' or being 'man enough.'

While it is Sci-Fi (and replayed on said Channel), it's a good lesson in going too far for the wrong reasons.
Take us away, reused Newspaper Prop!

Next up, we get to lucky #10 on the lowest rated Episodes.  In this one, crazy people under care may not end up being the ones who are truly insane!  See you then...

Tubi Thursday: In the Year 2889 (1969)

 On June 16, 1979, Svengoolie (then Son of) ran his first Episode.
He featured the 'classic' Film known simply as In the Year 2889.

On June 25, 2026, I watched said Film.

Nuclear War!

Survivors!

An old guy and his Daughter are hidden out in a Valley (sounds familiar) and survived.

Sadly, her Fiancee is dead, but they suddenly get lots of company in the form of 2 Brothers, a sneaky Couple and a drunk dude.

The Dad bonds with the non-irradiated Brother (who looks like Elvis' Stunt Double) and thinks that he can trust him.

He also wants him to bang his Daughter, but that comes later.

The drunk guy- who perved on the Daughter- and the creep- who first pulled a gun to blast open the door- are no help.

The former keeps going out to the yard for his jug of booze (why not put it in your room?) and the other guy lusts after the Daughter.

He's also no help.  At all.

The irradiated brother keeps wandering out at night and has weird urges (raw meat, but no water).

They learn that the radiation is making him evolve and, like everything in this Film, it takes forever!

The group is all worried that it will rain and bring down the radiation from the clouds.

That...doesn't sound like a thing.

Who cares- ladies in a pool!

It all comes down to them saying that a bunch of mutants- more mutated versions of the brother- are just outside of the fog surrounding the Valley.

We see one.

He carries the girl- in 1950's Cliche #27- and gets shot.
They all figure out that the water- being clean- can kill them.

The young couple walk towards the camera hand-in-hand.
The...Beginning?

A Film whose Plot has potential, but it never lives up to it.

For starters, the Title is a lie.  Here's the short version...

AIP optioned the Jules Verne Story of the same name...in 1961.  Years later, they hired Larry Buchanan to Remake a 1955 Film and just used this Title, since they already owned the rights.

No, really.

The concept- again- is not a bad one.  The Acting is just alright.  The Budget is super low.  The Pacing is really bad.  The payoff is not great.

The Film is dated in so many ways.  That is what happens when you do a line-for-line Remake of a 1955 Film in 1969.
It is like how I Eat Your Skin was dated in 1971, since it was made in 1964.

I really like to either find a hidden gem or give a new shine to an old Film like this.
No such luck- it's just kind of dull and generic.

Why can't we just get THIS instead?

A Film that is historic as Svengoolie's first Film and for being played so often.  That said, it kind of sucks.