Where science fiction becomes science fact – that is the place Hank Green is exploring in today’s episode of SciShow. Many inventions we use today were first imagined in stories that described fantastical futures. Hank talks about the origins of four of these: the cell phone, the submarine, the telemanipulator (or robot arm), and the taser. Blast off for knowledge!
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When the Xbox One releases at the end of the 2013, please remember this critical lesson from Gritty Reboots.
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Gigantic, mutant crabs attack a party of scientists on a shrinking Pacific atoll in today’s Trillion Dollar Movie. Attack of the Crab Monsters is the handiwork of legendary B-movie filmmaker Roger Corman. It’s one of 
10 pictures he completed in 1957 alone, shooting this thriller on several locations in the Los Angeles area, including the Bronson Caves, Marineland of the Pacific and Leo Carrillo State Park.
Long before he played “The Professor” on “Gilligan’s Island,” Russell Johnson appeared as Hank Chapman, a technician who emerges as the hero on a scientific expedition to stop the killer crabs. We’re told there are many crabs, but in actuality, we only see one at a time, flailing its pincers menacingly, not only dismembering its victims but also devouring their brains. In the process, the crab inherits the victims’ thought processes and speaking abilities.
The perfect date: Dinner at Red Lobster, followed by a nightcap watching this silly, but often quite hilarious example of that ultimate 1950s genre — the A-bomb test that goes horribly amok, spawning monstrosities in some remote locale. As Eccentric Cinema reviewer Brian Lindsey attested, “Ridiculous and cheesy, with a nonsensical plot completely shot through with holes, Crab Monsters is also surprisingly fun.” Enjoy and do return again next Friday for another Trillion $ Movie.
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Homemade Movies boldly goes “into darkness” with a shot for shot recreation of the 2nd trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness from JJ Abrams. Captain Kirk, Spock and the Star Fleet gang hop in a cardboard Enterprise, wear awkward space clothes and create the most epic trailer in the universe. Dig those action figures! H/T My Disguises
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Today’s Trillion $ Movie, Dark Star, was the debut feature for two filmmakers who later became Hollywood heavyweights — director John (Halloween) Carpenter and screenwriter Dan (Alien) O’Bannon. This bizarre, low-budget sci-fi comedy from 1974 has amassed a well-deserved cult reputation over the years. Never has a beach ball appeared so ominous on the big screen!
The film follows a group of what appear to be bored and stoned astronauts on a far-out mission. They cruise the fringes of the galaxy, bombing the smithereens out of unstable planets that are going rogue, careening out of orbit and thus posing a threat to Earth’s space colonies. Recent talk of NASA dispatching a crew to lasso threatening asteroids brought this picture to mind. If the NASA scientists are as lackadaisical as these surfing fools, we better batten down the hatches and prepare to be bombarded!
You can certainly trace the origins of Alien here, but also fun references to 2001: A Space Odyssey and other sci-fi classics. Some critics have carped about the cheesy special effects, the wacky uniforms and dingbat music, but hey, what can you expect from two young filmmakers working on a $55,000 budget? That’s O’Bannon, by the way, playing Sgt. Pinback and Carpenter delivering the vocals for Talby. At least they seem to have enjoyed themselves immensely making the movie, and it’s often a hoot to watch. The late Roger Ebert called it “wry, laid back and fond of its situations.” Enjoy and do return again next Friday for another Trillion $ Movie.
ZEDUS
Last but certainly not least in our Know Your Monster series is Zedus, arch-foe of Gamera. Zedus is a powerful monster, a sea beast who bears a strong resemblance to Godzilla but has a few different embellishing traits.
For instance, Zedus has a forked, serpent-like tongue that he often uses to impale his enemies. Frilly dorsal fins run the length of his body from his head to his tail. His extremely long tail is second only to his tongue in his arsenal of weapons. He can whip it around at a fast clip, knocking down buildings and bowling over opponents. Zedus’ other notable feature is his titanic size. He towers over 200 feet tall, making him one of the largest of the Kaiju.
Zedus made his screen debut in Gamera The Brave, the most recent Gamera film, released in 2006. He doesn’t actually battle the original Gamera but instead the big turtle’s offspring, Toto, who hatches from a mysterious egg and is raised by a young boy named Toru. Yes, the filmmakers return to familiar territory, giving us a Gamera who is a protector of kids and a force for good. But before dismissing the film as sugarcoated pablum, watch this scene of the bad-ass Zedus, munching on some villagers. Many Kaiju are fierce, but how many do you recall who are carnivorous?
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And for a double-dose of Zedus, here’s his showdown against Toto.
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Hope you’ve enjoyed our Know Your Monster series and learned a thing or two about the Kaiju, the Japanese movie monsters. The next time one of your friends try to stump you with a Godzilla trivia question, bring up Zedus or Biollante, and test who’s really the expert on the subject!
YONGGARY
Yonggary is a South Korean movie monster, inspired by the Japanese Kaiju. He’s said to be a 200 million-year-old dinosaur, resurrected by aliens to help them conquer the Earth. Yonggary looks a lot like Godzilla, but has a protruding horn in place of his nose. In some incarnations, he even has a few horns. Yonggary also has a jewel called the “Damon” on his forehead. It’s through this jewel that the aliens control the beast. When the jewel gets destroyed, Yonggary breaks free from his alien masters, turning against them and fighting to protect the planet.
Besides looking like Godzilla, Yonggary exhibits many similar traits. He dines on gasoline and oil, shoots fireballs from his mouth and emits a laser beam from his horn. Reacting to criticism that Yonggary was a Godzilla clone, the Korean filmmakers modified the monster’s original appearance, giving him a few new distinguishing attributes. There’s also some trash talking against Godzilla in the Yonggary movies. As one policeman observes in the 1999 remake of Yonggary: Monster from the Deep: “Compared to this guy, Godzilla is a pussy.”
Yonggary translates as “Huge Dragon” in Korean. The monster has not built up much of a homegrown fan base, and the Yonggary movies haven’t been particularly successful at the box office. The first came out in 1967, and promptly disappeared. However, the 1999 remake was repackaged as Reptilian for release in the United States. It’s aired a few times on the Sci-Fi channel and also surfaced in a Midnite Movies DVD series marketed by MGM.
Here’s a short clip of the CGI-generated Yonggary in action.
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Tomorrow’s featured monster will be Zedus, wrapping up our month-long salute to the Kaiju.
VIRAS
A gigantic squid-like creature from Outer Space, Viras battles Gamera in the 1968 film Destroy All Planets, also known as Gamera Vs. the Space Monster Viras. It’s the one and only screen appearance by Viras, barring fleeting glimpses of him seen in stock footage shown during other Gamera movies.
Viras is the leader of an alien race intent on conquering the Earth. He sees Gamera as the only threat to stop his plans, so he targets the flying turtle, preying upon Gamera’s one weakness — a kindness and affinity toward children. Viras kidnaps two Boy Scouts and holds them hostage on his spaceship. With Gamera coming to their rescue, Viras can employ his arsenal of tricks, including telepathy and mind control, to defeat the Earth monster. Otherwise, Viras has a limited arsenal of weapons. He doesn’t spit fire or hurl radioactive beams. He can only smother opponents with his tentacles or spear them with sharply pointed head.
We already presented the theatrical trailer for Gamera Vs. the Space Monster Viras in our Know Your Monster installment on Gamera. So, instead of repeating the trailer, here’s a well-done review of the movie — well-done, with one exception. The reviewer slips out of the gate and calls the monster “Varan” instead of “Viras.” Oh, well, nobody’s perfect. And he does catch and correct the mistake moving forward.
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Tomorrow’s featured monster: Yonggary
VARAN
Varan is one of the most fascinating Kaiju, but also less well-known than other Japanese movie monsters. That’s because he’s appeared in only two films. The first — Varan the Unbelievable! from 1958 –received only a limited distribution in the United States. Otherwise, Varan has been seen only in a cameo role in the omnibus Destroy All Monsters.
If you can imagine a reptilian flying squirrel, then you have an idea of Varan’s appearance. He has skin flaps connecting his legs and arms, allowing him to glide and swoop down on his enemies. But his stony facial expression and scaly, blistered hide also make him look like an offshoot of Godzilla. One of his most powerful weapons is his tail, which he uses as a whiplash, powerful enough to knock down buildings.
In the same manner that Mothra was cast as the guardian protector for the natives of Infant Island, Varan is a mountain god worshiped by a remote tribe. But his ancestral stomping grounds lie in Siberia along the Kitami River. After the Japanese send out a scientific expedition to capture or destroy the beast, he returns the favor by attacking Tokyo.
Let’s watch a short clip of Varan in full destructive mode. He does have a nice roar!
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Tomorrow’s featured monster: Viras
