THE MILPITAS MONSTER - Robert R. Berry Jr. - "The Mutant Beast" (1975)

I'm wrapping up my part of this Halloween Countdown with what I feel is one of the indiest of the indie movies, "The Milpitas Monster" aka "The Mutant Beast"! What started out as a high school project somehow turned into a classic example of D.I.Y. film making!!

"The Mutant Beast" has many unintentional things in common with our own film, "The Creep," but that's what happens when you film in a small town, and give some of it's residents a chance to make a movie!! That's just the nature of this beast!!!

The stars of both films are Trash Cans!!!

The main characters in both films smell like garbage!!

There's lots of local colour! (Except "The Creep" was in Black & White!)

And they both have a scene where a kid's sitting in a car reading an issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine!!

But that's about where the comparisons end because "The Milpitas Monster" was able to secure some club/bar interior shots and a rockin' band! The pretty dang cool music was written by Robert R. Berry Jr. (too bad the sound is so muddy and warbly in spots, but it just kind of adds to the overall effect!)......Some of the grungiest rock we've heard since "Driller Killer!"

They had the added bonus of a carnival to use as a backdrop, and also, they came up with a pretty damn good monster!!

I'm going to go out on a electrical high wire, and say I think Toho might have even approved!!

Check out this shot!! It's beautiful, and would make a killer oil on black velvet painting!!!

If you go rummaging through the credits, you've not going to find very many names who ever did anything in the movies again, but one major exception, was the fellow who got credit for the special effects, Ben Burtt! Ben went on to do a number of things, including getting the credit for original sound effects (Droids and all) in the Star Wars movies, and the voice of Wall-E. and E.T. and also the sound designer on all the Indiana Jones movies!! I guess that pretty much makes up for everybody else!!

I think they actually dumped Priscilla House unceremoniously from about half way up that tower, as a very real effect, by the look of things!!

All the big cheeses in Milpitas have to figger out how to deal with the big stank, so they call the authority, the only man who knows anything about crap like this....

And, it's none other than Bob Wilkins and his signature stogie, the local Bay area horror icon and "Creature Features" TV host. (Unfortunately, Bob just passed away in January of this year.)

Bob tells them to use the "Odorola" and that's pretty much all it takes to wrap this stinker up!!!

Final credits roll to expose the names of practically every proud business and organization in town!!

Have an insane Halloween!!

HERMANOS GUZANOS / 2 Halloween Tunes!

So, here's a special Dungeon 'TRICK' for your auditory taste buds from house music dudes, Hermanos Guzanos! Each tune includes the original cassette cover it's from.

This "tune" has caused permanent brain damage in normal people, so... BEWARE!! But, enjoy, anyway!

HELIUM MAN!

Wimmen, way we like 'em!!

CAVEGIRL LOVE!

MASTER MINDS / Monogram Pictures -1949 / Bowery Boys

Tabonga gets the night off as he's having "swell time" on his vacation in Hell and wants to stay an extra day, so, Rodan's filling in for the old oak stump again... Actually he's exotic wood from some unknown island!

All I can say about our classic feature is, find youself a copy of this GEM! and watch it, you will not believe how cool it is, it has some of the funniest moments I have ever seen!!

The musical director is Mr. Edward J. Kay, with an incredible 328 music director credits! Eegah!! gives up a sampling of music with some great lines from this highly recommended comedy-horror film from 1949!!

Starts right here!.. MASTER MINDS!

Starts as usual, Sach (Huntz Hall) is 'gettin' ideas' from the ozone!

Then, Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) has the big idea of making some cash at the carnival side show because Sach gets a 'psychic gift' after a devastating toothache from eating hard candy! It's as simple as banana peel pie!

The show is billed 'Ali Ben Sachmo' and Slip barks as the girlies dance to bring in the customers!

When in a trance, Ali Ben Sachmo actually predicts events and facts with 100% acuracy!

He connects a long lost dad up with his long lost sonny boy!

Meanwhile, back at the mad lab!

Okay, here's an absolutely awesome pack of weirdos, rivaling the great characters in another movie we've already posted, THE BOWERY BOYS MEET THE MONSTERS from a year earlier! If he looks familiar, that's Alan (Alfred on Batman) Napier playing Dr. Druzik, who's very clever and always one step ahead of everyone else...

Then, there's iconic Glenn Strange as the menacing, Atlas!

The doc decides he wants to change brain content with Sach and Atlas, since Sach is such a genius!!

So, he brings musclehead Otto and they visit Sach after the show. Sach has come out of the trance and is acting goofy, throwing the doc off a bit... But, ultimately, they're taking what they came for!

Wow, William Yetter and Skelton Knaggs... Whotta pair!!!

This part reminds me of BEDAZZLED when Stanley was confronted by the bouncer at George's club!

Thank you, Nikola Tesla!!!

Everything going perfectly, as planned!..

Now, this is where things get really fun!..

Atlas is now in Sach's body, and, guess what?.. He's just as tenacious! Otto and Hugo barely trick him into a cell before he destroys the entire place! The second still shows Sach mauling Otto as he tries to lock the cell door, which takes awhile because Sach is roughing him up so much!! It's effin' hilarious to see Sach as such a demon!

The real Sach now looks like this!

He breaks out of Forsythe and goes back to the gang's hangout, a malt shop ran by Louie, played by Leo's real father, Bernard. You'se can see's the reaction!.. Glenn is miming the mannerisms of Huntz, with Huntz's voicetrack. It is so damn funny!!

Awesome stuff here, waiting for Louie to return from the back room. You can get a DVD-R copy of this movie at videoscreams.com!

Sach gets tired of waiting for the invite, so he shows himself in!

When the gang go to the lab to find out what's going on, they're greeted by the maniacal Sach, so, it doesn't take long before they're all locked up!

Bad Sach harrasses the hell out of Louie and then good Sach tries to reason with the bad one!

In the end, Sach loses his tooth and Ali Ben Sachmo ist kaput, and, Slip's money machine disappears right in front of his eyes. Well, until the next movie for these great guys!!