Monstrosity

source: Monstrosity

"An elderly woman has invested a fortune on a scientist's research which, if successful, will allow him to transfer her brain into the body of a young woman. Needing a host body for her brain and subjects to experiment upon, the elderly woman advertises for a housekeeper in hopes of securing what the scientist needs, human guinea pigs. Three unlucky women are selected by the elderly woman as the choices and are unaware of the true motives behind their employment…" according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis. Re-titled "The Atomic Brain", the toothy "Monstrosity" referred to in the title is the fusion of a "live dog to a dead human body." He is the one of the mistakes mad doctor Frank Gerstle (as Otto Frank) has made. The body-snatching doctor is funded by haggish, but wealthy Marjorie Eaton (as Hetty March). The elderly Ms. Eaton wants her brain transplanted into a younger woman's body. Fortunately, Eaton has good taste in the female form - she and gigolo Frank Fowler (as Victor) help arrange for the arrival of three fresh young female bodies: enticing Erika Peters (as Nina Rhodes), shapely Judy Bamber (as Beatrice Mullins), and lovely Lisa Lang (as Anita Gonzalez). Described as "firm and nicely-rounded," Otto's Angels think they've been hired as servants If you like good bad movies, by all means, check out this "Monstrosity"; it sinks quickly into awful, but slowly rises up the "so-bad-it's-good" meter. In his only directorial credit, James Mascelli gets in some nice shots, for the budget. The young women are fun to watch - all, coincidently, have "Monstrosity" as their last acting credit. There is a strong erotic undercurrent - think of petting pretty, brain-dead women in captivity... **** Monstrosity (1964) James Mascelli ~ Marjorie Eaton, Frank Gerstle, Erika Peters

A crazed scientist wants to do experiments that defy the laws of God and nature--you know, the usual 1950s-60s horror film plot. But because he needs the money and no reputable person or organization would fund him, he works for a crazy old rich lady who wants him to put her twisted mind into a younger body. So they hire three foreign women to come to the mansion in order to assess which one would be the perfect specimen. When one is rejected (for the wonderful reason that she had a birth mark on her back), they decide to, what else, give her a dog brain and she proceeds to rip out the eye of one of the other girls. With only one specimen left, it's up to the scientist to use the last lady--but the ending is NOT what the old bat expected. Okay, at the outset it must be said that anyone seeking a GOOD movie certainly won't pick a movie named "Monstrosity" or "The Atomic Brain" (its alternate title). So anyone who sees this horrid film and complains about how bad it is must be crazy to have imagined it would be anything other than a schlocky, silly movie. Its only value is for watching with friends and laughing at its ineptitude. And, in this light, it's a pretty good film to pick...otherwise, avoid this thing like the plague! So it should not be surprising to hear that the acting is horrible. In fact, the three ladies who come to the mansion are described as a Mexican, an Austrian and an Englishwoman and NONE of these ladies can do the accents any better than the average 3 year-old could. In fact, the Austrian lady sounds 100% American and doesn't even attempt a Sergeant Schultz-like imitation. Also, for the first 8 to 10 minutes of the film, there is no dialog--just a very, very bizarre narration that you just need to hear to believe--it's that silly and creepy. In addition, the writing, direction and every aspect of the film cries out "we suck". While not as painfully bad or funny as an Ed Wood film, this one is bad,...real bad!

Oh yeah guys, here we have the real mccoy. Way too bad to ever bear the title of an Ed Wood production...certainly Dominic Paris was a possibility...only he was still in kindergarden! Brain drain supreme! Paul A Prezenza nails it with his intensely emotional review of this wannabe classic - believed to be seen by less than 50 people worldwide as at 2002! This brain-transplanting masterpiece did indeed hit the highlights when the nubile young bimbo received her cat-brain. MIAOW! was this an improvement or what? Why isn't James Cameron checking out labs for a re-take on this forgotten genre. You wanna tell me CHARLENE: EVE OF DESTRUCTION 2 with Cameron Diaz, Josh Hartnett and Woody Allen (as the flakey scientist) wouldn't be the greatest hit of 2003?

I always get a kick out of the nonsense that passes for scientific rationale in films like "The Atomic Brain". In the early going, we're introduced to Dr. Otto Frank who's experimenting with the transplantation of animal brains into human beings. He uses atomic fission in a cyclotron to stimulate brain cells. An early attempt has yielded a werewolf without hair, a savage looking man with a pair of large canines who grunts his way through the film. Now, going for the gusto, the good doctor is ready to try moving a brain from one human to another, courtesy of Hetty March's (Marjorie Eaton) financial backing. She's just imported three young women on the pretense of a job offer, and her interest lies in getting a makeover for her own brain, since she's already over the hill and about to keel over. Anita Gonzalez is the first victim of the trio; she's just not pretty enough for Hetty, so she winds up with a cat's brain. Her feline instincts come through handily when it comes to catching and eating a mouse, but she doesn't exactly land on her feet when she falls from the roof of the house - yikes! Tall and buxom, Bea (Judy Bamber) from England looks like the best candidate for Hetty's brain, but she gets her eye clawed out by Anita in a cat fight. That leaves Nina (Erika Peters) from Austria, the only one of the three with enough sense to know that something's not right with this picture. She enlists the help of Hetty's sixty year old gigolo Victor (Frank Fowler) in an effort to escape, when it dawns on him with a stabbing sensation that once Hetty's young again, he'll have his marching papers. You'll have a clue as to what the eventual outcome will be when it's revealed that Dr. Frank's cyclotron gizmo is wired to a nuclear device just in case the authorities come calling. Unfortunately though, before doc goes completely mad as a hatter, he has the foresight to switch Dame Hetty's brain into the carcass of Xerxes the cat (using his real name). There's no pussyfooting around with Hetty, she paws the detonation button to end this charade, the mansion and lab going out in a blaze of glory. You can have some fun with "Monstrosity", just like the Mystery Science Theater folks have, but no one has yet been able to answer one question. During the entire time the three young women were still fresh and trying to figure out how to escape, why didn't they just head for the front door?

The longest voice over introduction award belongs to THE LUCIFER COMPLEX and clocks in at about 22 minutes of voice over before the movie starts. That film also is mostly stock footage for that same amount of time. This movie deserves some credit. This movie has about 8 minutes of voice over set up. Atomic Brain is a poor title for this the original title Monstrosity is a good one. But there is an atomic element here. Either buy the premise or not. If you do there does seems to be genuine hatred between the scientist and the creepy old lady out for a new body. And yes the scenes of her checking out the girls to put her brain into is disturbing and that's the way it's intended to go. There is/are elements of exploitation here which at the time were probably pretty racy, lots of bare backs and even a scantily covered first woman in the atomic chamber who is wearing nothing but the slimmest of metal bands to cover her naughty parts. The plot goes places you won't expect, the women look pretty good and what happens to most of them is fairly disturbing and in one case both disturbing and funny. The makeup is occasionally graphic, and yes there is a monstrosity running around the garden. There is funny comic music theme to go along with one girl who claims to have the same measurements as Marlyn Monroe. I say give this movie a chance it's low budget, occasionally no budget but if you can forgive that there are a few flashes of style and fast paced horror mad scientist fun to be had. There are things in this movie you will never find anywhere else, give it points for that. This movie works in the way it's supposed to for the most part, give it a shot.

An elderly woman wants to be young again. She has lots of money and enlists a mad scientist who works all day in the basement with his nuclear device to transplant brains atomically. Brought into the picture are three young women who will provide the body, once the process is perfected. One woman gets a cat brain transplant and runs around scratching people and screeching. Another is a victim of cat-woman and loses her eyesight. The third becomes the target for the transplant. Unfortunately, there are failed experiments running around the house, particularly a young woman who has no brain at all. She is just there to provide amusement. The old lady continues to bully the young women who ask to leave, but stay just because she tells them to (apparently, they need her to let them out of their contract and she will call immigration and get them sent back). When they finally act, it is too late. There is also an old lech who can't wait for the old lady to get a new body, but comes to realize that he is going to be left in the dust. He then becomes a possible roadblock, although the old lady is so mean spirited she doesn't seem to care. Nevertheless, the transplant does finally take place but with different consequences than the old lady had anticipated. The biggest problem has to do with trust. The scientist works at the behest of the old woman, but seems to have his own agenda. He is annoyed by her constant meddling in what he is doing. He betrays here of course. So much of the movie is in anticipation of finally doing the transplant. We just can't get there and the ride is long and tedious.

I grew up in the pre-Star Wars days and therefore do not demand that every movie be a 50-million dollar, effects laden, all-star extravaganza. If you want that junk, visit the jerks at LucasFilm, Pixar or Disney. Yech! If you also grew up in the pre-1977 era, you will remember that "little movies" were the norm and only rarely did a big, "important" film come along. You will also remember something called NEIGHBORHOOD THEATERS and DRIVE-IN THEATERS! Unlike today's airplane-hanger movie mausoleums, neighborhood theaters had a box office ticket taker right on the street so that pedestrian traffic could look at posters & stills in the windows and ask the ticket-taker about times and prices. Then you just walked into the attractively furnished lobby, bought popcorn & chocolate and climbed the burgundy-carpeted stairs to the balcony. Et voila! If you had a heavy date and felt like making out, but didn't have any privacy at home, you simply saw the late show at the drive-in. Here you could relax in your big flashy car with speaker propped in window, food & drinks on glovebox door and hot-shot heater on the trans-hump. Thrillers were especially effective at the drive-in because sitting in a parked car in a dark lot is enough to make anyone a little paranoid about their safety. So it is in this time and context "Atomic Brain" was made. And it succeeds. It is creepy, atmospheric and at times gross. Perfect for late-night viewing, the entire film has a dream-like quality that makes it easy to believe the impossible is possible. Sexy actor Bradford Dillman lends his sexy voice to the film's opening narration. If this fascinating, well-delivered soliloquy doesn't get your attention and quickly draw you into the proceedings, you have no imagination whatsoever. Dillman's voice is as sardonic as the script and he seems to relish the cynical editorials he makes on the characters and their motives. There are many memorable moments in the film, made so by their irony, truth or shock value. One of most subtle comes when Mrs. March subjects her three new-hires to a THOROUGH "medical examination." One of the girls is so offended by this, she immediately gives notice. Unfortunately, she is bound by contract and Mrs. March won't let her break it. This film is great as the second half of a double-feature with another underrated B film, "The Brain That Wouldn't Die." Get a DVD projector and park your tail-fin convertible in the backyard some night to see how these films played back in the early 1960s. I did and you should, too.

The Atomic Brain (or "Monstrosity", if you will) can be described best as Universal's Frankenstein for dummies with no money! The basic story is clearly imitating the classic Mary Shelley story, but so many hectic sub plots and extremely poor visual effects are added that the wholesome becomes incredibly bad. The Drive-In-Cinema type of bad…The MST3K type of bad! Or, in other words, so bad it becomes hugely entertaining again! "The Atomic Brain" is a totally WHACK movie that indeed features all kinds of monstrosities but absolutely no suspense, logic or continuity. It looks like the writers tried to camouflage their lack of inspiration and talent by constantly adding more genetically mutated monsters! Three young girls from different corners of the world are lured to the Californian mansion of the wealthy Mrs. March. Supposedly to work as servants, but the malicious wheel-chaired woman plots to steal their youth and virility! She has the bizarre Dr. Frank (got it?) experimenting with brain-transplants in her cellar and she pays him to surgically put her old brain into the body of one of the young beauties. As some kind of practice, Dr. Frank already created a half-man/half-ape monster, a zombie-girl that he keeps around for amusement (!) and a woman with the brain of a cat! This is pretty stupid 60's B-cinema with pitiful effects and an overload of obvious errors. For example, how the hell can you measure an adult's brain into the skull of a cat? Or vice versa? Oh heck, it doesn't really matter since it provides a few good laughs and at least the movie is never boring, unlike so many other poverty row Sci-Fi movies from that era. The finale is sensationally over-the-top and if they EVER plan to make a sequel, I suggest an appropriate title already: "Revenge of the Brainiac Cat". By the way, keep an eye open for the Oscar-worthy performance of Xerxes; the cat!

Okay, it starts out a little slow, which is never a virtue in a 67 minute movie. Things really pick up once the Mexican maid is transplanted with the brain of a cat. Actually, it's the first time that that character displays any personality, even if it is hissing and spitting and eating a mouse. The last ten minutes make the whole thing worthwhile. Was it the hat pin murder in the library? The cat with the old woman's brain pushing buttons and flipping levers to start the auto-destruct sequence on the cyclotron? Or the girl with the fake cockney accent being electrocuted when she runs back (in her shorty pajamas) to retrieve her severed eye (clawed out by the Mexican maid/housecat of course)? People of earth - it's time to stop relying on two robots and a lonely janitor. Start screaming your own jibes at the television. On a more somber note, the actress who played the old woman was only 63 when this was filmed. If I look like that at 63, I'll be robbing graves, too.