Directed by Joe Dante
Written by Charles S. Haas
1993/US
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime Rental
Dr. Flankon: Young lady, human/insect mutation is far from an exact science…
I enjoyed Joe Dante’s love letter to 50’s and 60’s creature features and the era that spawned them.
John Goodman plays Lawrence Woolsey, a producer/promoter of creature features. The character is clearly based on William Castle, producer/director of such classics as The Tingler (1959), and notorious lover of frightening in-theater gimmicks. Woolsey becomes friendly with teenager Gene Lewis and shows him some of the inner workings of his business. Woolsey has hired a group to protest his picture, only adding to the anticipation of all the young people in town to see its opening matinee. Woolsey has some spectacular gimmicks planned that Castle could only have dreamed of.
The movie involves a man who is fused with an ant during an X-ray. It is called Mant, which might be the funniest and most appropriate title for one of these things ever.
Store Clerk: There’s no more Shredded Wheat in back. There’s no more Shredded Wheat in the entire Keys, and one of you will have to go to the Atomic Destruction with no damn Shredded Wheat!
In the meantime, the town and the world is watching as Kennedy and Kruschev engage in that exercise in brinksmanship known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Gene’s father is on one of the naval ships blockading Cuba.
Gene forms a relationship with the class liberal, whom he meets during an atomic bomb drill. Gene’s friend hooks up with a very cute girl, who just happens to be the ex of the crazed teen hired by Woolsey to appear in a “Mant” costume and terrify the audience. With Cathy Moriarty as Woolsey’s starlet girlfriend. Naomi Watts made her screen debut in a tiny part.
Joe Dante has a deep love of these films and it shows in every minute of this movie. It is a light, fun entertainment. Perfect for fans of the great old sci-fi and horror flicks and those that are nostalgic for the period.
The buzz I heard is that Mant will be in a double feature with Bea, Doctor X has billt it, can’t wait to see.
{dang, you’ve done it to me again, onto the list}
Don’t want to overpromise on it but I think it’s perfect for times when you want to relax and be entertained.
I love this charming movie! It takes place at the exact period I was in their age. This may be a perfect movie, thank you Joe Dante! We both grew up in the golden age of William Castle, Roger Dorman and Ray Harryhausen. A magical and innocent time.
I came upon it kind of at random on Instagram. I knew immediately I had to see it and was not disappointed. Are you acquainted with Trailers from Hell on YouTube? Joe Dante, John Landis and other people in the business give commentaries on old movie trailers. They are each only about 2-3 minutes long. Many movies from this time period are covered. I find it fun sometimes to watch a few.
I love to watch “Tailers from He’ll.” I probably seen about half the movies they show. Check out “The Giant Claw” OMG! Still in my old age and sophistication of classic films I still watch “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms”, probably about 100 times, and I will always love it!