Episode 73: Bugged by The Fly!

 

What's that buzzing past your shoulder? A tiny fly? How annoying! Now imagine that you and that fly have somehow become inextricably joined, with you taking on the traits and even the physical aspects of the insect. This is the horror of The Fly, both the original 1958 film and the 1986 remake. On this episode we explore the concepts and stories of The Fly films, including the later sequels of the original film. We are joined once again by our good friend and honorary crew member, Lord Blood-Rah!

The original film was based on a short story that appeared in (of all places) Playboy magazine. A scientist experimenting in teleportation accidentally merges himself physically with a fly in a failed experiment and gradually loses his humanity. The film largely follows the short story.  Vincent Price stars as the brother of the scientist, in a rare sympathetic role. David Hedison (billed as Al Hedison) plays the scientist, driven to perfect teleportation, but tragically doomed by his own ambition. Your Planet 8 crew discusses the the film in detail.

Naturally we compare it to the 1986 Jeff Goldblum remake. Obviously the David Cronenberg-helmed 1986 film was much more grotesque, focusing on body horror, on the absolute degradation of the transformation. But it is also a love story, with Geena Davis playing the romantic interest. Certainly there's a lot going on in the film that speaks to fear of what can happen to us and our bodies that is timeless.

There's also a lot of plain goofing around in this episode too, but hey, what did you expect?

This episode's Sensor Sweep is from Chef Engineer Bob. Appropriately he shares the book, The Fly at 50, from Bear Manor Media (it's readily available at Amazon). Everything you want to know about the making of this sci-fi classic is in this book.

Bob also reminds us that there's still time to get tickets for Godzilla's Monster Bash at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco, held May 14-16. Ten classic Godzilla films will be shown. Go to  http://www.bayareafilmevents.com/godzillafest for more info.

Lord Blood-Rah starts season 11 of his Nerve Wrackin' Theatre on May 7th. The season kicks off with the Karloff classic, The Ghoul. Go to http://www.lordbloodrah.com/ to find the best way to see Lord Blood-Rah's Nerve Wrackin' Theatre. Also, Lord Blood-Rah's Patreon is going strong,  and at the $10 level you get access to Lord Blood-Rah's Cathode Zone. There will be a special giveaway for Patreon members on May 1st.

Karen made a guest appearance on our friend Billy Dunleavy's podcast. Magazines and Monsters. Billy covers sci fi films and Silver, Bronze, and Copper age comics. Karen and Billy reviewed an obscure British sci fi film from the 60s called The Unearthly Stranger.

Bonus: Commander Larry and Chief Engineer Bob will appear on the May 1st episode of Creature Features! Shown on KOFY TV in the Bay Area, you can go to Creaturefeatures.TV, or find them on ROKU, or YouTube. The film for that episode is The Manster.

Once again, thank you listeners for joining us. Be sure to share your thoughts about The Fly -any and all versions!

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This episode is dedicated to Trixie

Episode 72: It's on like Donkey Kong! Godzilla vs. Kong!

 

It's here, the first really BIG movie of 2021: Godzilla vs. Kong! Whether you saw it at home on HBO Max or caught it in an actual theater, this definitely felt like the first real event film of the year. Your intrepid Planet 8 crew all saw the film as soon as it was out (some of us staying up into the wee hours of the night) and are here to share our thoughts and impressions on this latest entry in Legendary's monsterverse.

Be prepared for SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The question everyone is asking is, whose side are you on? And our team was divided. Commander Larry and Chief Engineer Bob are long-time Godzilla devotees, while Recon Officer Karen is a fan of the big ape. But despite our differences, we were able to come together and talk about how we enjoyed this film. And we did enjoy the movie! It's a huge popcorn movie, full of a lot of crazy pseudoscience, a lot of callbacks to older films, and some really exciting monster battles. Although we might at times be nostalgic for the men-in-suits eras, there's no denying how fantastic the CGI looks in this film (and its predecessors).  And we get to the action pretty quickly.

This movie is sort of like a supreme pizza: it's just got everything sprinkled all over it. There's a trip to the Hollow Earth, swimming Godzilla, evil businessmen, a giant ape wielding an axe,  crazy conspiracy theorists, ape sign language, and ...Mechagodzilla! It's best if you just sort of turn off the critical thinking part of your brain and relax when you watch. But there's still a lot to wonder about. Who built the amphitheater in the Hollow Earth? Will we eventually see aliens in a Legendary film? What monster will we see next?

Maybe the best thing about Godzilla Vs. Kong was how excited we all felt about watching a movie again. In some ways, it felt like a bit of a return to normalcy. We hope the movie does well and that we get more entries in the series.

In other news,  on our YouTube channel, we reached 100+ subscribers -thank you very much! - so you can now access our videos by going to YouTube.com/Planet8podcast. If you haven't caught our latest video episode on American International Pictures with Lord Blood-Rah, please head on over and check it out. And let us know what you think!

This week, our Sensor Sweep starts with a memorial to Cleve Hall, "The Monster Man." As we recorded this episode, we had just heard of his passing. Cleve had made monster suits and make-ups for innumerable films and projects. Cleve was known for being very approachable at shows and was a true fan himself. The community is poorer for his loss.

In brighter news, Chief Engineer Bob's Bay Area Film Events will host Godzilla's Monster Bash at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco on May 14-16. There will be 10 Godzilla films, celebrating the 60th  anniversary of Mothra, and the 50th anniversary of Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster. If you're in the area - or even if you're not - order your tickets and come have a great time!

All right folks, that's it for now. Let us know what you thought of Godzilla vs. Kong by leaving a comment here, or contacting us at one of our other sites: 

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So long from Monster Island!