The Wasp Woman

source: The Wasp Woman

It frustrates me when people refer to The Wasp Woman as a good B-movie or, even more condescendingly, as a good Roger Corman movie. The Wasp Woman is simply an excellent film - no caveat required. This film is well acted, logical within its premise and most impressively, still disturbing. The special effects may have dated but the psychological horror which underpins the action remains as brutal as ever. The beauty of The Wasp Woman is its simplicity. Dr Zinthrop discovers an anti-ageing antidote in wasp jelly and brings it to the attention of Janice, the owner of a cosmetics company. Janice, faced with the prospect of falling sales and her own fading beauty, agrees to fund the scientist's work on the condition that Dr Zinthrop use her as a guinea pig. Unfortunately, this has the unwanted side effect of turning her into a homicidal wasp/woman hybrid. As with all good genre films, The Wasp Woman defines its premise early and the narrative never strays from these clearly defined plot constraints. The developments in the film might be outrageous but taken within their context, they make perfect sense. The Wasp Woman is without a doubt one of Roger Corman's best films. I am a big fan of the wonderful crap that he has produced since retiring as a director but this film is a poignant reminder of what Roger Corman is capable of when he takes his subject matter seriously. The Wasp Woman also underlines Corman's considerable skill as a director. The film is taut, cohesive and brilliantly paced. From the moment the film begins, there is a sense of tension and desperation about these characters that is almost palpable. This is due to both the excellent script and some impressive acting. Susan Cabot has never struck me as the most gifted actress but her turn as Janice is extraordinary. Janice could have easily come across as a vain, ruthless woman. However, Susan's performance is so well calibrated that it is hard not to feel sympathetic to her plight. The scene where Janice realises that the company is failing due to her no longer being a "glamour girl" is devastating. The supporting cast is equally good. Michael Mark is particularly impressive as Dr Zinthrop. Dr Zinthrop's dedication to his research is creepy from the very outset. Anthony Eisley and Barboura Morris are solid as Lane and Mary, the voices of reason in the face of Janice's increasingly demented mindset. The Wasp Woman would basically be nothing more than a well executed museum piece if it no longer had the capacity to be taken seriously as a thriller. The first glance of Janice, elegantly dressed and wearing a wasp mask, is jolting. My first reaction was to laugh but that quickly subsided. There is something psychologically unsettling about Janice's fate. Here is a woman used to being in charge, slowly but surely being taken over by something evil that is well and truly out of her control. The campy wasp effects are all the most disturbing because Janice is still so recognisable. Furthermore, there is something plain creepy about a killer wearing pearls and a twin set - even if the killer is half wasp. The Wasp Woman steadily builds momentum until the impressive and satisfying conclusion. The film is psychologically violent and brutal, yet beautiful in a way that only these low budget black and white movies can be. The Wasp Woman is a fine achievement. Modern horror directors could learn a thing or two by watching this.

Susan Cabot plays a cosmetic magnate that has begun to show heavy signs of aging and enlists the aid of a scientist, played by lovable Universal veteran Michael Marks, that has found something in the royal jelly of queen wasps that makes the aging process regress. Naturally, the once highly lauded for her looks Cabot eagerly asks to be the first human guinea pig after watching Marks take a guinea pig and inject it, wait a few seconds, and see it turn into a white rat! Okay, Roger Corman either didn't know the difference between guinea pigs or rats or more likely just didn't have the time to find a young guinea pig. Cabot gets a little crazy with her dosage and becomes a terrorizing wasp woman that devours her prey entirely. This is a silly but highly enjoyable film with some pretty good acting all around. Cabot is beautiful and can act. She does a very credible job with her role and gives this film a lot of credibility. The sets are cheap...very cheap, and the special effects are not so special. The wasp woman make-up is pretty effective actually. This Corman film has some black humour injected into it. Even Corman himself plays a very stiff doctor in one scene. Barboura Morris does a fine supporting job playing Cabot's secretary. She looks as lovely as ever. Lots of fun and should keep your mind buzzing with interest.

This is a very good old flick directed by Roger Corman. In My opinion the movie's plot is very much like the Wolf Man except the monster is woman instead of a man and that woman is Susan Cabot! Her performance was very good. The effects in the film is good and the music is different. The film is exciting and I think that it should keep horror and sci-fi fans busy whether you like old classic horror or new horror because the film is built up pretty good and you see the Wasp Woman pretty good and the make up and stuff looks good. Some people may think its not but keep in mind that this was a low budget film and stuff. I think that the cast acted good and did the best they could do and the crew did the same as well in My opinion. I think that most horror fans will like this so check it out!

It's not a bad movie. I found it to be fun and entertaining. It is another low budget B movie production but in my opinion it is slightly under rated and maybe a half step in front of most of it's contemporaries. Being produced and directed by Roger Corman probably has a lot to do with this. The acting isn't bad especially that of the leading lady Susan Cabot, and the plot interesting although in places flawed. The costume for the wasp woman was a big disappointment. I have no doubt that it had a much bigger effect in 1960 but it is pretty poor. When you see the design on the box for the DVD or VCR tape remember, never judge a book by it's cover. The wasp woman's appearance is nothing like the artist's conception. It's still well worth watching and I have done so several times over the years. Just remember not to be too critical. Relax and enjoy it.

An eccentric scientist loves wasps--in fact, he's obsessed with them. He thinks that by using wasp royal jelly he can reverse the effects of aging in humans. A cosmetics firm hires him and the head of the company tries it out on herself! Then, not unexpectedly for this sort of film, she becomes a part-time giant wasp mutant and begins sucking the blood of her co-workers and then eating them!! This is a super-low budget film from Roger Corman. The film begins with a closeup of bees and the film ends with the same shot--though the film is about wasps! Then, late in the film, a lady is dressed as a half-human/half-wasp--complete with antennae and bug eyes--like some sort of very cheap Halloween costume. In addition, throughout the film you'll hear some of the worst background music--especially that highly annoying piece played on the glockenspiel. It might just be that the music was so annoying that this is why she went on a killing spree! These are just a few of the touches that distinguish this as a schlocky horror film that is sure to bring a lot more laughter than chills. In fact, because it stinks so badly but really doesn't take itself so seriously, it's really a must-see film for fans of bad cinema.

'The Wasp Woman' is one of Roger Corman's better monster movies (personally I prefer his biker, black comedy, gangster and psychedelic movies, but that's me). Susan Cabot stars as an ambitious head of a cosmetics firm. Being the public face of the company, she takes a downturn in sales as a personal criticism. So when a scientist experimenting with Royal Jelly, not just your average Royal Jelly, but some made from wasps, comes to her attention she hires him to experiment with its alleged anti-aging effects. Initial tests on assorted animal are so successful she begins to try the stuff herself, with impressive results. Only problem is that in her enthusiasm she forgot to see if there are any negative side effects, and by looking at the title of the movie, it's pretty obvious that there are! Herein lies the fun of this goofy movie. Sexy Cabot is good in this her final role. A bizarre footnote to her short career is her death in the mid-80s at the hands of her dwarf son. Amazing but true! But that strange event aside, the movie itself stands on its own merits. Nothing too ambitious, but an effective low budget trashy shocker that makes a great popcorn movie. By no means Corman's best work but very entertaining just the same.

The founder and owner of a cosmetic factory, Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot), is concerned with the dropping sale results of her company. The scientist Eric Zinthrop (Michael Mark) offers to her his research with wasp enzymes that makes animals younger, and she immediately accepts to hire him, provided she becomes his human subject. She decides by her own to accelerate the treatment injecting additional serum trying to see earlier results, becoming the lethal "Wasp Woman". When I saw this B (or Z?) movie available on a double-feature DVD with "Attack of the Giant Leeches", I did not resist and I bought it. This trash low-budget camp movie is a typical product (or sub-product) with the trademark "Roger Corman", but I enjoyed my childhood with many similar movies on TV. The story is silly, the acting is reasonable, the effects are ridiculously cheap and fumy, but I found "The Wasp Woman" an authentic cult-movie. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "A Mulher Vespa" ("The Wasp Woman")

That great phrase was spoken by cosmetic magnate Susan Cabot's secretary on the telephone to her deadbeat boyfriend, one of many quirky passages in this electrifying shock-fest. Cabot, in her last film role, worked for director Roger Corman several times, and is amazing as a 40 year old executive seeking youth and beauty to boost her sagging company (and face). She hires an eccentric (Michael Mark), who has discovered that wasp enzymes can bring back youth to animals. Cabot volunteers herself to some periodic injections, and is transformed, but not without ghastly side effects. Taking the idea from "The Fly" (1958), she develops wasp claws and head and becomes a deadly eating machine at times. The jazzy music is riveting, and the editing quick and vicious, just like a buzzing insect's moves. The climax is tense and terrifying. Barboura Morris is good as Cabot's assistant, while Marks is charmingly funny, especially when flirting with the secretaries. Deserves all its accolades.

The plot of this film has the head of a cosmetics firm trying out a new formula formed from the jelly of a queen wasp. The make-up actually makes the woman younger, but has the horrible side effect in that it turns the woman into a killer human wasp. Oh what a silly film this is. Its also a great deal of fun. The story is wildly silly, there's a monster that looks ridiculous, and enough skill behind the camera to produce just the right amount of tension to keep you watching. It all combines to form a perfectly charming little movie. Good, but far from great, the Wasp Woman gets its classic status from the fact that the film used to be in permanent rotation on late night horror TV. I can't tell you how many times my mind was warped by this little gem over the years. It seemed it was always on and pretty much everyone I knew saw it over and over again. It became a joke of sorts as the quintessential "bad movie", its bug eyed monster in tights was exactly the sort of monster you didn't want to see in a movie. Highly recommended to those who want to see a what horror films used to be like at the height of the drive- in era, or to those who just want something to keep themselves distract on a dark and stormy night.