Zontar the Living Thing from Venus

source: Zontar: The Thing from Venus

Zontar: The Thing from Venus

Seems like this is a little muddled. AIP-TV needed some truly inexpensive features to pad out a syndication package, and Buchanan ended up with the job. Reports vary, but they apparently used scripts that were "readily available", with the following results: It Conquered The World - Zontar, The Thing From Venus Invasion Of The Saucer Men - The Eye Creatures Pajama Party - Mars Needs Women The She Creature - Creature Of Destruction The Day The World Ended - In The Year 2889 Pretty mindbending to experience these, when unprepared. I was dozing in and out of "Zontar" the first time, and I woke up thinking I had dreamt most of it. I'll have to accept the common thought that much was filmed around Dallas, but I have to say that it sure looks like Bronson Canyon much of the time...heh --Judex.1--

Zontar, The Thing From Venus, hijacks a US satellite and flies it down to Earth. He sends out bat creatures to bite important people which places them under Zontar's control. He also causes all cars to stop running and the electricity to go out. All part of Zontar's evil scheme to claim Earth for Venus and cover himself in glory. If such an original storyline does not compel you to watch this movie, there is something seriously wrong with you and you should seek psychological assistance. I fail to see how John Agar was not nominated for an Academy Award for his work in Zontar. Agar's body of work in sci-fi movies is a monumental achievement in the history of cinema. Like many of history's great masters and works of art, Agar and achievements like Zontar are overlooked for centuries before they are appreciated. I think it will be many centuries before Zontar, The Thing From Venus is fully appreciated. 10/10

I saw this, like most people, on Saturday afternoon TV when I was a kid. As a kid I thought it was OK. Then I saw "It Conquered the World" which this is a ripoff of. OK--"It..." is hardly a masterpiece but compared to "Zontar" it looks like "Gone With the Wind"! This is a painfully slow movie with atrocious "special" effects and acting so bad you won't believe it. It's shot on threadbare sets where actors just stand around and talk. Why I liked this as a kid I'll never know. I do remember when I first saw Zontar I was scared (a little). Now, as an adult, I howled! It's a guy in a stupid rubber suit with three obviously fake eyes! Man, my standards must have been LOW when I was little:) This is probably Larry Buchanan's worst film (although "Mars Needs Women" is definitely down there) and too boring to be bad/good--just BAD. Even the usually competent John Agar can't save this drivel. Try to see "It..." and avoid this. I give it a 0!

Zontar, the Thing from Venus (1966) * (out of 4) Incredibly bad science fiction film has an alien attaching itself to a scientist in hopes of taking over the world. Will it or will John Agar save the day? This thing has a pretty big cult following but I can't see why. The film is just downright bad without any of the laughs that usually come from these types of films. Poor acting, poor special effects and just an overall poor movie. I'm sure some kids enjoyed this when they watched it on television back in the day but nothing in it holds up today. This film belong in Uranus, not Venus.

The best part of the movie is knowing it was filmed in Dallas in 1966. Actually, the exterior shots of the scientist's headquarters were filmed at my childhood home in Dallas -- it was quite contemporary for its time. One Sunday morning the producers knocked on the door wanting to use our home, we consented, and 2 days of muddy footprints and dirty coffee mugs later, the actors and filmmakers left. We enjoy watching the familiar scenes shot at White Rock Creek and Casa Linda Shopping Center -- particularly the mass chaos scenes of a running mob. Not a great plot and especially bad props -- Zontar looks like a black plastic bag stuck on a wire that flaps in the air.

Low budget Saturday afternoon Sci Fi. fun. A scientist communicates with the bizarre Zontar believing that he (it) will be beneficial to mankind! Zontar lands on Earth and hides in a cave with the intent to control the populace with parasitic batlike sentries that detach from his body and attach themselves to victims. Sure it's cheap, but the dialog is fun, and Zontar's costume is not to be missed! If you are looking for a high class production you are missing the fun! This is what makes these movies such treasures! This is Larry Buchanan's remake of "It Conquered the World"(there was no first version of Zontar) Larry also remade "Invasion of the Saucer People" as "The Eye Creatures."