Stop Motion animation addicts rejoice! Monster from Green Hell has been unleashed and, for those few seconds of stop motion glory, it’s worth it!
Flaming fury from the skies! The jungle becomes the graveyard of both man and beast! And it is cosmic rays to blame! Ah, the ever ridiculous 1950s B-movie territory is such a fun canvas to explore. Full of paranoia and pseudo-science explanations for all of its creatures, Monster from Green Hell is no different . . . except this movie is created around B-rolls filmed by MGM in the 1930s. It was a common practice when it came to jungle films, and when the footage was purchased, the story took shape.
And now, courtesy of The Film Detective, comes a special restoration - including some color footage at the very end of the movie which has previously never been seen since it was originally shown in movie theaters. Not unusual for science fiction flicks, but cool nonetheless.
Starring Jim Davis (Dallas) as Dr. Quent Brady and Robert E. Griffin as Dan Morgan, Monster from Green Hell is what happens when wasps are sent to space. It is on their return back to earth where things go array. The scientists have lost track of the wasps! Oh no! Where are they going to land?!
Blame Them! because this is yet another giant insect flick! Yet, here - thanks to a giant wasp taking out African wildlife and tribes - we get fantastic shots of giant stop-motion wasps coming up over African hills about 10 minutes into this science fiction wackiness.
Okay, okay, so Monster from Green Hell is not a great flick. I mean, it is pretty horrible when it comes to pacing, acting, and editing. But that’s not why we dip our toes into these B-grade flicks now is it? Of course not. We are here for the giant wasps! And, in that manner, this one delivers as Stanley and Livingstone and Trader Horn footage provides us with the enviros for this wildly imaginative flick.
We are here for the COSMIC RADIATION! And it is not just with the wasps either! We have enlarged spider crabs, a queen wasp, and an active volcano. What could go wrong? Turns out, quite a bit as these enlarged wasps torture the local tribes and wildlife before setting up a colony deep within a volcano.
Get your genre groove on! The Film Detective is proud to present Monster from Green Hell on blu-ray!
Home Video Distributor: The Film Detective
Available on Blu-ray - March 8, 2022
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
From the era of giant bugs and atomic testing comes this low budget howler about mutant wasps. When scientists try to understand the effects of radiation on earth creatures, the result brings them to an area of Africa known as "Green Hell," where wasps have mutated into monsters! Jim Davis, who would someday star in the TV series Dallas, plays Dr. Quent Brady, the scientist who starts the whole mess. The film also stars Vladimir Sokoloff (The Life of Emile Zola, Mission to Moscow) as the skeptical Dr. Lorentz, and Joel Fluellen (Raisin in the Sun), as Arobi, who warns Brady to beware of the African location. The locals don't call it "Green Hell" for nothing! Co-written by Louis Vittes, who gave us the classic, I Married a Monster From Outer Space.
Video:
The restorations here are AMAZING. With varied aspect ratios of 1.85:1 and 1.33:1, these 1080p offerings are delicious and clear and ripe with vivid details that only the bold designs of black and gray processes could offer. The depth in the picture and in the shadows is amazing. Focus is strong and so, too, are the crisp interiors as early horror is on display thanks to cool sequences.
Audio:
An uncompressed mono audio track brings da noise!
Supplements:
Commentary:
- There is a fantastic commentary from Stephen R. Bissette which runs throughout the film and is loaded with great information about the film and the people responsible for it.
Special Features:
Outside of the commentary, there is a brief featurette covering the filmography of Jim Davis
- Stephen R. Bissette Feature Length Commentary
- Missouri Born: The Films of Jim Davis
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Composite Blu-ray Grade
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MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 71 mins
Director: Kenneth G. Crane
Writer: Louis Vittes; Endre Bohem
Cast: Jim Davis; Robert Griffin; Joel Fluellen
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Tagline: Atomic mutations with an appetite for flesh!
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor: Distributors Corporation of America (DCA)
Official Site:
Release Date: May 17, 1957
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: March 8, 2022.
Synopsis: When scientists try to understand the effects of radiation on earth creatures, the result brings them to an area of Africa known as "Green Hell," where wasps have mutated into monsters!
