Customer Reviews

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies

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

 

 

I had the good fortune of meeting Ray Dennis Steckler in 2001. He is a great guy and we talked about movies all afternoon, and in particular this one. I told him how much I would like to see "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed Up Zombies" ("Creatures") come out on DVD, but at the time it was price prohibitive. Well, it's finally here and it is a thing of wonder to behold. With original color photography by future Hollywood legends Joseph Mascelli, Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond, the movie looks great overall.

The story concerns Jerry (Steckler), a troubled youth who gets involved with evil gypsies and crime, ultimately becoming one of the mixed up zombies himself. The plot is complex and involves a carnival (now long gone; it was at Long Beach) with many musical numbers, spectacularly costumed dancers, murder, and general mayhem. The film has something for every audience; after all it was billed as "the first monster musical"!

In talking to Ray in 2001, I found out a lot about the movie which I was thrilled to learn, as I had admired the film as an archetypal B-movie legend for years. Fortunately, this DVD has a commentary track featuring Ray, explaining many of the same things he explained to me about "Creatures": it is interesting, and contains many surprises, which any fan of Steckler's will certainly appreciate.

This version also has an alternate commentary track by Joe Bob Briggs, which contains some other obscure information, and general hilarity, although I did find Joe Bob in error twice during the film. I like Joe Bob, and think his commentary is funny and informative, as is his separate introduction. Joe Bob is very knowledgeable, and genuinely loves these movies (and this one in particular, it seems) and if you happen to be the rare B-movie viewer that doesn't like the commentary it's always easy to turn off. Other bonus features on the DVD are interviews with Ray and Carolyn Brandt and the original trailer.

If you like great, classic B-movies, you owe it to yourself to buy this today! It is a real gem, and I'm glad that it's finally available to new generations of Steckler fans!

The full title for this film is "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Crazy Mixed Up Zombies". If that title doesn't grab your attention then maybe the film will. I hope this gets the best treatment possible from Media Blasters because it's a one-of-a-kind treat. Filmed on an impossibly low budget, it tells of a weird carnival where a fortune teller (Brett O'Hara) lures people to her tent, disfugures them with acid, then locks them up in cages for the freak show. When she pulls this stunt on a beatnik (Cash Flagg aka Ray Dennis Steckler) things go horribly wrong. "Creatures" has tacky showgirl musical numbers, the zombie-creatures themselves running amok, hypnotism, sort of a love story, fantastic color effects and photography (by unbilled Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond) and an all-around cheezy aura that's impossible to resist. Steckler was a low-low budget filmmaker in the 60's and this is one of his greatest achievements. Watch for this one and enjoy.

Not only is it great to see "Creatures" in such glorious color, but this DVD is packed with really GOOD extras. This is truly one of the more bizarre of all low-budget horror/exploitation flicks of the 60s - and that's saying a lot. It also happens to be among the most fun to watch. Somehow, it's funny, cheesy, incomprehensible and kind of sweet all at the same time. And dig the ladies in those musical numbers!

As for the commentaries by director/star Ray Dennis Steckler and drive-in critic Joe Bob Briggs, I have to say I like 'em both. I do have to disagree with the reviewer who didn't like the Joe Bob commentary. Joe Bob has an amazing depth of knowledge when it comes to movies, and his humor and observations are right on the money. Sure, he points out the inadequacies of "Creatures," but isn't that part of the fun? After all, if you're going to examine a movie like this, how can you NOT mention cheap sets, out-of-step dancers and actors with sky-high pompadours? Joe Bob clearly loves this movie, and his enthusiasm for this sort of cinema is infectious.

If you're even considering buying this DVD, you're probably already familiar with the movie. Rest assured that the extras are a worthy addition...and are just as 'incredibly strange' as you'd hope.

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (Ray Dennis Steckler, 1963)

This is another case of me watching a movie that has been universally panned thinking "it really can't be all that bad, can it?" Yes, yes it is. Director Steckler (whose thirty-year-plus Hollywood career contained such highlights as Debbie Does Las Vegas and Teenage Dessert) does double-duty as the film's lead character, Jerry, a lunkhead who does most of his thinking below the belt. He, his roommate Harold (Atlas King), and his girlfriend Marge (Carolyn Brandt) head to the fair one night to see what's happening. After a rather strained session with fortune teller Madame Estrella (Brett O'Hara, suffering from what I assume is the worst make-up job in history), the group split up, with Harold taking Marge home after a fight with Jerry, who wants to see the girlie show. A little setup, and Jerry is back in Madame Estrella clutches, hypnotized into becoming a hit man for her.

Now where, you might ask, are the zombies in that synopsis? Well, they're nowhere. (They do put in a small appearance towards the end of the film, to be fair.) They're pretty pathetic zombies, and the musical numbers (yes, the musical numbers!) get more screen time than the zombies. The acting is terrible, the direction is awful, the technical aspects of the film range from hideous to terrifying (not in the way Steckler intended, I'm sure). This is one movie that thoroughly deserves its reputation; it's probably good to have on in the background at a party where the main goal is everyone getting as drunk as possible, but I can't see any other uses for it that makes sense. (half)

Theoretically, a movie like this should either be a 1-star movie or a 5-star movie. But it left me splitting the difference and giving it 3-stars: here's why.

For years I have heard of the movie with the world's longest title. It seems like a tailor-made fit for me: cheesy 60s horror flick, with 60s music, and all taking place at a carnival. Finally, I got my opportunity to watch "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies" and even though I enjoyed the movie, I was a little disappointed.

I've always liked weird things, so the carnival aspect really appeared to my cinematic sensibilities. And the film has a certain bleeding Technicolor visual aspect that helps define the movie and add to its mood. Sure enough, there was a cheesy plot about this fortune-telling woman turning people into zombies. And there was plenty of bad acting to go around. It could have been another "Plan Nine from Outer Space." The music was also almost uniformly bad, but bad in a "blah" kind of way, not the kind of way that makes you laugh.

But it wasn't, not quite. Although I liked some of the scenes, especially the scene with the giant Twilight Zone prop where the main character gets hypnotized to do the evil bidding of the fortune teller, there really wasn't much action. The zombies only make an appearance at the very end, and even that scene is something of a letdown: they escape, create a little mayhem, and then are easily subdued.

Now I did like the actor who played the main character. It turns out that he was also the legendary bad movie director, Ray Dennis Steckler, who adds an understated kind of creeper presence to the movie.

It was worth finally seeing, but in the end it wasn't quite bad enough in a good way to be the kind of cult classic you want to see over and over again.

In this movie Dennis Ray Steckler combines all of the elements needed to make an early 1960's B-grade cult classic - a disjointed and barely coherent plot, wooden acting, stilted dialogue, cheap production values, flimsy sets and amateurish "special effects". A number of musical numbers based on the twist craze of the early 60's, & Las Vegas showgirl acts of the time are included, none of which relate in any way to the actual plot.
Zombie movie fans will be disappointed as the zombies referred to in the title make only a brief appearance towards the end of the film. Fans of early 1960's hairstyles will however be impressed by the size of the beehive hairdos of the female performers, and the pompadours of the male co-stars.
It is an undeniably bad movie however its sheer amateurishness and bizarreness make it entertaining and (unintentionally I'm sure) funny. Contrary to some of the other reviewers I found Joe Bob Brigg's commentary well scripted & amusing. I would only recommend buying a DVD of this film if his commentary is included as a bonus feature.
This DVD should only be watched or bought on the understanding that the film is in the "so bad it's good" category.

I bought this video for the coaster footage. They did not bother to digitally remove the scratches from the film. Even though this version is much clearer than the VHS version, the scratches are quite bothersome throughout the show. If you are going to release a film on DVD, one should always go the full mile.

Incredibly Strange is a 1964, "monster musical" filmed at The Pike amusement park in Long Beach, California. Boiled down, it's about a carnival gypsy that disfigures under some prejudice the more abrasive visitors to her tent and then turns them into murderous, "monsters". Once such victim is Jerry, a lazy teenager played by the director, Ray Dennis Steckler.

First off, before I rip this thing apart, I'll reach deep and lay out some positive aspects to the movie:

I love the artwork during the opening credits. It's the same face you'll see on the cover, (which I do like quite a bit, also) but it changes gradually during some fairly trippy music. I suspect this is cool on accident, however. Budgetary adversity at its finest.

I also enjoyed some of the cinematography. It was rare, but there were some little blasts of Stecklerwins in there. Maybe three times. Or four. Okay, two...two parts. (sigh)

The movie is bad. Really bad. I read somewhere that the budget was $40,000, which is listed as an excuse, but should it be? I don't think so.

The acting his horrible. The sound is awful. And the musicals? Unbelievably cheesy. The project is advertised on the box as, "The First Monster Musical". This is inaccurate. It's actually a musical with occasional monsters and the two barely interact. There are probably ten musical pieces in this movie and only two involve the monsters.

(Actually, now that I think about it, this really isn't that much of a musical, either. The songs are all gagged out on stage and being watched by paying customers for entertainment value. Is that a musical, or a poorly ran horror movie with musical performances in it? Is my disparity showing? I think my disparity is showing.)

I should wrap this up. I'm probably not doing the film any favors right now, and I should have known what I was getting into when I read the back of this thing. I'm just disappointed, I guess.

If you're a fan of campy, kitsch-cinema, by all means, crack several beers and sit this thing out. I don't really understand the desire to see sub-par films unless they're considerably different and this one just isn't that. At all. It's just bad.

...oh, and including, "zombies" in the film title is unforgivable. Monsters, sure. But zombies? I don't believe I actually saw any. Keep that in mind if that particular nomenclature peaked your interest in this bomb.

- t -

I've only seen this strange piece of dreck from MST3K when they were on the Sci-Fi channel and they did a real good job,which you can get on one of their box sets.If you like silly/campy/bad acting and directing movies,then this is for you,but otherwise,stay away! It is decent for what it is,but rent it first to be on the safe side..

Yes, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies. I recently picked this up very cheap at my local Family Video since they are clearing out B films like this to make room for a Blu Ray shelf. I had to pick it up since I love B films and had always heard of this movie but never had a chance to see it. What can I say, Ugggh......Uggh! This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. One, the acting is horrible. Normally in these movies the acting makes you laugh occasionally,but in this it's just dull,very dull. Two, Why is this called a monster musical? There are no monsters involved in musicals! There are a couple dance numbers by showgirls,but they are 100% NOT MONSTERS!!! Was there a plot to this movie? It just seems they said "hey, lets turn on the camera and lets see what happens" The film bounces around from bad edit to bad edit. Also,if you are expecting anything close to a "zombie",you won't find it here,at the end of the movie I guess these guys in pirate outfits in cheap Walgreens halloween masks are suppose to be zombies. This movie is so bad,you can put it in with the likes of "Manos, Hands of Fate" and "The Undertaker and His Pals". Trust me, if you are in for a (very) slow moving and boring B film endurance test,this is your thing.