Trog
Directed by Freddie Francis
Written by Aben Kandel; original story by Peter Bryan and John Gilling
1970/UK
Herman Cohen Productions
First viewing/FilmStruck
[box] Dr. Brockton: Malcolm, get me my hypo-gun – quickly![/box]
Joan Crawford’s swan song doesn’t leave us wanting more of the same, that’s for sure.
A group of three hunks goes exploring a cave in their underwear (seriously). There they encounter a strange creature who kills one of them. Crawford plays a kindly scientist who believes that the creature, whom she calls “Trog”, is the missing link between ape and man. She sets out to prove this by teaching him to speak. In the meantime, evil real estate developer Michael Gogh seeks to rid his neighborhood of the beast by fair means or foul.
Trog gets way too much screen time for a guy wearing one of the ape suits rejected by 2001: A Space Odyssey. The movie is epically bad in every way. The special effects and dialogue are especially ghastly. So naturally I had to watch before FilmStruck leaves us. Recommended to the like-minded.
