Customer Reviews

Elvira's Movie Macabre: Gamera, Super Monster/They Came from Beyond Space

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Gamera is ridiculously fun, in no small part due to its gaping plot holes (what kind of mother lets her 12 year old boy bring an injured woman to her house -- and let her son sleep in the same bed with her!) and its amazingly bad dubbing.

Almost as great in its badness is They Came from Beyond Space. This 1967 gem is nothing but unintentional laughs watching scientist Curtis Temple (Robert Hutton) try to save the woman he loves, then the world, from hooligans from outer space. There's a little more to the plot, but nothing important. In this type of movie, plot isn't important.

As fun as Gamera and Space are, they are even more enjoyable with the injection of Elvira and her humor at each "commercial break." As mentioned, up until watching these movies, I had never seen Elvira's show "Movie Macabre." Of course I had seen her. The woman is a machine, and genius, when it comes to marketing herself. There's a very good reason -- arguably two very good reasons -- why she can still be a major guest at a con 20 years after her show went off the air.

The best part about Elvira is she's not a "punny" horror host. In my (admittedly limited) experience, with the exception of Joe Bob Briggs, the hosts I have seen insist on being punny (think The Crypt Keeper from "Tales from the Crypt"). And I've never liked groaners, as they live up to their name. Instead of using weak -- and always obvious -- puns, the valley girl-esque Elvira pokes fun at the people and discrepancies in the feature film and her breaks are always amusing on some level. The best part about her is if she does resort to a groaner or pun, she cuts the camera a knowing look because she is quite aware how unfunny it is -- and that's what makes it funny. Laughter is not expected, but you end up smiling anyway because she's so damn likeable.

Both DVDs offer two ways to watch the movie -- either with or without Elvira. If you bought an "Elvira's Movie Macabre" disc to watch it without Elvira, you're a damn fool because she is the reason to buy these releases.

The beauty of this and the other Elvira Movie Macabre's IS the poor quality and corny jokes. Movie Macabre was my weekend treat. When I was a kid I didn't quite get the Elvira comments. Now, watching them, she is a bit more witty and acerbic than one would think. The WINK, WINK comments are hilarious. I hope more come out soon!

This was the first time I had seen Elvira besides the movie. While this is no MST3K, her jokes can be somewhat funny, but it is nice to have these movies that aren't normally available on dvd. The movies can be watched with or without Elvira which is also another nice added touch.

I bought this DVD for Gamera, Super Monster and was disappointed to find audio and video that looked like it came from a 3rd generation VHS copy. I have one other double feature volume in Elvira's Movie Macabre series and this is the worst video quality that I have seen.

However, the video for They Came from Beyond Space is of acceptable quality for this series.

OK, I know this is part of Elvira's series so the focus here isn't necessarily on the actual films. But, if you're thinking about buying this to finally see Gamera Supermonster, you're going to be pretty disappointed. The video quality will make you nostalgic for the days of big box VHS rentals while the audio will make you feel like you have a towel wrapped around your head. Obviously this release isn't licensed (there's no language to that effect anywhere) and this is not a public domain movie, so I'm not sure how they got away with releasing this in the first place.

They Came From Beyond Space fares better, though not by much. By that I mean it looks like a well worn 16mm broadcast print was used rather than a well work ex-rental VHS.

And the final insult? The host segments aren't as funny as I remember.

Unless you are an Elvira completest or someone who can't find another source for Supermonster, avoid this disc at all costs.

When I was 35 I saw on TV Gamera Super Monster I liked it a lot. It shows clips of most of his battles with his various foes, as well as added scenes of spacewoman doing a few good deeds. I liked the movie so much that I decided to get it on DVD. I have never heard of They Came From Beyond Space before I received the DVD. I intend to watch it eventually. The DVD set (there are 2 individual DVDs) comes with an autographed picture of Elvira. I like her a little. When I saw Elvira Mistress Of The Dark in the movie theater I decided to get the comic book adaptation of the movie and decided to get the DVD of the movie (which is in my wish list). I have long since lost the comic book adaptation of the movie, but remember the movie well. P. Corti.