By Forris Day, JR.
Low budget horror movies from the 70’s, for the most part, had a really cool feel about them, and “Superbeast” doesn’t disappoint. Well, I admit the story is very slow, but visually this is a fantastic movie! It’s got lots of great travel shots of planes, cars, boats and busses as we travel to the Jungles of the Philippines with Dr.Alix Pardee (Antoinette Bower) as she goes to learn more about some of the genetic engineering experiments that a Dr. Bill Fleming (Craig Littler) is performing on humans. He is trying to cure criminals by genetically engineering their brains. Of course, she goes onto discover many of his “failed” experiments in the form of half man half beasts. She is appalled! I, on the other hand say “Ya gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet”!
The “failed” beasts are eventually set loose into the jungle and hunted by Stewart Victor (Harry Lauter) the evil financier the whole thing. Eventually Dr. Pardee is held captive and is scheduled to be hunted until she turns the tables on the two men.
Any fan of horror should enjoy this movie for the sheer fact that many of the effects are actually real! The autopsy scene where they slice down the chest of a real cadaver, a real human heart in a jar and a real chicken beheading are some of the more memorable scenes. Before anyone goes off saying stuff like “How cruel! A chicken beheading, that’s sick!” just remember your chicken nuggets in barbecue sauce once had a head. Just because you didn’t see it part ways with the chickens body does not mean that it didn’t happen.
The comical parts of the movie for me is just the time era. The doctors, of course, are both really good looking and wearing really tight 70’s pants and they say stuff like “I really dig what your doing here in the Jungle”. It’s was like watching Greg Brady as a mad scientist…you know…Greg Brady from the “Brady Bunch”. Another interesting scene for me was around the 20 minute mark where they walk into a bowling alley. It looks like they were playing Candlepin bowling which is a New England type of bowling that most people have never seen or heard of, but here it is in this old 70’s movie in the Philippines. I even read the sign by freeze framing the movie. It said “Bernardo and Sons Bowling Hall”. I thought Geno McGahee’s horror movie “Family Secret” was the only one featuring Candlepin bowling.
Overall not a great story but still an interesting and visually pleasing movie.
Scared Stiff Rating: 4.5/10 – “I left my heart in San Francisco…or was it in a jar in the Philippines..”
