Product Details

• Actors: Larry Aten, Linda Bielema, Conrad Brooks, Anthony Cardoza, Alan Francis
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Tapeworm Video Dist
• VHS Release Date: November 10, 1998
• Run Time: 54 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305161518
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,090 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Government security sure has gotten lax at nuclear test sites. It seems like any old defecting Russian nuclear physicist fleeing Soviet agents (who are oddly indistinguishable from American gangsters) can stumble into an A-bomb detonation by accident and turn into a bloodthirsty monster. (You think Stan Lee watched this film before creating the Incredible Hulk?) Meanwhile a vacationing family wanders through the desert as the cops hunt the atomic beast. Tor Johnson (an Ed Wood Jr. fixture) makes a superbly cheesy rampaging mutant, but the film really enters the Twilight Zone when the investigating cops mistake an innocent dad looking for his sons lost in the desert for their target ("Shoot first, ask questions later" is their motto). Supercheap cult director Coleman Francis shot this without sound, dubbing it all in later, and he clumsily cuts away from every actor as they start to speak to hide his handiwork. He hardly had to worry: the flat dialogue and wooden narration is almost absurd enough to distract viewers from his cinematic incompetence. In short, a masterpiece of zero-budget camp with an unbelievably surreal edge. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bevare!, August 12, 2003

By 

icemachine "kennisi" (Hong Kong China) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Beast of Yucca Flats (DVD)

Cool title, neat cover, Tor, looks like a winner, right? Don't be fooled. I love Robot Monster, Kronos, Colossal Man (BTW, why is this not on DVD?), etc., and truly believe that Ed Wood Jr. is a far superior filmmaker to Lucas, Speilberg, et al., but even for a fan of this kind of thing, this one is excruciating. By all means buy it for the cover so friends will think you're outre hip or whatever, but do not actually watch it or you will hate yourself. I'm writing this to help people. Ignore at your own risk!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Inept attempt at a sci-fi thriller., March 11, 2005

By 

Robert S. Clay Jr. (St. Louis, MO., USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beast of Yucca Flats (DVD)

Tor Johnson, sometime wrestler and Ed Wood feature player, appears in this zero-budget epic as a brute killer deformed in an atomic blast. Low budget movies can be fun in a loony way, obviously. Be warned. This flick is cheesy without the chuckle-headed laughs that make many movies fodder for reverse-entertainment ridicule. The acting (to use the term loosely) is wooden. Dialogue is sparse, and mostly done by a dreary narrator. This guy pontificates on the irony of life and lack of justice in the world. The camera teases the viewer in a couple places by lingering shots of skimpily clad women. Bath towels that barely stay in place and baby-doll pajamas look pretty good even in low budget-Ville. Don't get too engrossed. This aspect of the little scenario goes nowhere. More time is spent on the geeky 50s era family on vacation. They are caught in Lobo's, er, Johnson's wave of terror. The Mom with the big frackles and the even bigger cat's-eye glasses is the stand out. I mean she stands out by the side of the road while looking worried and bored at the same time. This is while the kids are lost and the Dad rushes around looking for Art and Randy. Yes, I said, "Art and Randy." Where are Wally and the Beaver when you need them? The movie earns a few paltry points (very few) for brevity and the "is he really dead?" ending. The DVD edition includes a clear video transfer and acceptable audio. Taste in entertainment is subjective. Tread carefully into this dark place. ;-)

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No-Budget Cinema, February 19, 2005

By 

Scott T. Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beast of Yucca Flats (DVD)

The theatrical trailer proclaims that this 1961 schlock-fest was "filmed ENTIRELY on location in Yucca Flats!" How's that for an endorsement? Actually, the trailer is far superior to this dreary attempt at Z-grade science-fiction, with no synchronized dialogue but more voiceover narration than any movie in history. "The Beast of Yucca Flats" does not belong in the "so bad it's funny" category - it's just plain bad. Recommended only to fans of Tor Johnson.