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Why do I enjoy this mad film so much?

 

ASH (2025)

The new science fiction/horror/monster film ASH (2025) is a piece of throwback cinema that I truly enjoyed. It made me think repeatedly of not just the films that it's obviously referencing, but the rip-off films produced by Roger Corman in the decade after the earlier films that it is copying. It helps that the films being re-worked are some of my favorites of all time, notably ALIEN (1979) and John Carpenter's THE THING (1982). As a matter of fact, there are shots within ASH that are clever recreations of specific shots from those two movies. But, as stated, it was not those films that I was constantly thinking of while watching this new one. I was primarily thinking of those Corman produced B-movie rip-offs. The low budget efforts that kept being churned out for a solid 15 years (or even longer) after the box office success of ALIEN were a staple of video shelves throughout my teenage years. It feels like the people behind this movie was right there beside me, hunting for the next gooey sci-fi monster epic. Indeed, ALIEN is such a touchstone film for ASH that it almost feels as if it could exist in a slightly different variation of the same future just perhaps further down the timeline, when things had deteriorated in a different, non-corporate way.  

Like the 1979 classic, our main character Riya is a strong female with the surprise here being that she doesn’t know her own identity when we're introduced to her. She has temporary amnesia brought on by an attack that has damaged her planetary station and killed her crewmates. As the film unfolds she discovers what has happened and I was relieved that the obvious, telegraphed revelation of her involvement was not held until the third act but folded into the narrative much sooner. What happened to the rest of her crew and exactly what she's going to have to do for her mission to succeed and simply survive is the tale we are being told.

Riya, played by Eiza Gonzalez and the surviving crewmen played by Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul try to piece together what happened and what they can do to complete their rather important mission of determining if this planet is a candidate for colonization. It seems that in this future Earth is desperate for new settlement planets because the ecological system of our home world has deteriorated to the point that if we don't get off world, the human race might not survive. This scenario sets up a very good motivation for the character's actions and it puts us on their side. But success is going to be difficult as the aforementioned monster alien things seem to have other ideas.

There are many things to praise about ASH. This film is beautifully, at times artfully shot with images bathed in reds and purples. There's a dynamic visual style that belies the probably very low budget. The movie always looks good and it chooses when to use practical effects and when to use CGI effectively. Luckily, the two main actors are very good together and they often carry this story forward as a team effort. The script is not much more impressive than my beloved Corman produced rip-offs from decades gone by, but the direction is solid. The cinematography is also very good and the believability and staging of the action sequences is on point as well. I guess part of that is that down to the actor doing the most martial arts activity was also the star of amazing Indonesian films THE RAID (2012) and its sequel.  

The movie also has a dose of cosmic horror introduced within the narrative that I appreciated. I'll not spoil anything, but I was impressed with the way in which the amnesia problems and the discoveries on this alien world dovetail together in a way to bring some good chills along with the wonder of the special effects on display. ASH isn't a great film, but it is a very good b-movie. And it's one that I'll probably return to in years to come for the same reason that I sometimes go back to some of those some of those Corman produced rip-offs like THE TERROR WITHIN (1989) or GALAXY OF TERROR (1981) - because they're fun! Those movies know what they're doing and there are no pretensions involved. The beauty of a film like this is that it's assuming its audience is aware of its references, and it's just wanting us to enjoy this variation on a much-treasured theme. 

 

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The Bloody Pit #92 - INSEMINOID (1981)

Once again Adrian Smith returns to the show! This time out we’re discussing (at length) one of Norman J. Warren’s films – INSEMINOID (1981). Probably the most notorious of the director’s horror efforts, it’s very poster art was controversial. The movie brings the idea of an alien creature injecting its offspring into a human host for gestation further into the open than even Ridley Scott’s classic ALIEN (1979) managed. Along with that hideous imagery the film also sports the usual Warren level of blood and gore making this a nasty little viewing experience even by today’s standards. Newcomers to the film might be surprised to see some well-known actresses plunging elbow deep into the violent sci-fi exploitation pits. You might also be impressed with how much the cast and crew accomplish on such a small budget.

Adrian is the perfect person to talk about this film as he is responsible for the book about the director included in Indicator’s new five film Blu-Ray set ‘Bloody Terror: The Shocking Cinema of Norman J. Warren 1976-1981’. In this informative work he lays out the details of Warren’s horror output giving insight into the troubles British productions run into regularly. Often it seems a minor miracle that any of these lower budgeted movies ever got completed. We mostly restrict our comments to INSEMINOID with a fair amount of detailed conversation about the script’s problems and the ingenious ways the filmmakers found to overcome unforeseen hazards. We also delve into the bizarre additions and changes made to the story in the film’s novelization. Certainly, the choice to shoot mostly on location was a decision that enhanced the look of the film but it was quite hard on the cast. Be aware that we spoil the entire movie as we proceed so, if that’s important to you, please go watch it before listening to us debate its relative merits. Adrian and I have very different views on this one so I think you’ll find it an interesting show. Oh! And we end things with a new version of the classic song Monster Mash and an extra solo bit of Adrian as he amuses himself while I’m away from the mic.

If you have any comments or questions thebloodypit@gmail.com is the email address. We’d love to hear from you. Posts can also be made on the show’s FaceBook page. Thank you for downloading and listening.

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The Bloody Pit #87 - ALIEN FROM THE DEEP (1989)

John Hudson returns to continue our look at the films of Antonio Margheriti. This time we examine one of his last completed pictures ALIEN FROM THE DEEP (1989) which nakedly steals elements from several 80’s Hollywood hits. In fact, the movie can become a bit of a ‘spot the reference’ game as it goes along copping half a dozen ideas or sequences from other, more well-known works. But does this movie have enough creativity and energy to make an entertaining new thing out of all these recycled pieces? Joy is often in the eye of the beholder….

What this film certainly does have is the epic onscreen presence of Charles Napier and Margheriti regular Alan Collins a.k.a. Luciano Pigozzi. These two men shoulder the acting weight of a script that often seems to have been missing a few important pages. Filmed in the Philippines with the usual explosive miniatures to enhance the scope of the action this is one part sweaty jungle adventure, one part evil corporation tale and one part deadly alien attack. Oh! I forgot to mention the alien until now! But the film doesn’t get around to the big murderous creature until more than half the running time is over either so I don’t feel too bad. And any similarities between this film’s alien and the monsters from a certain big budget series of hit movies is completely coincidental, I’m sure.

Mr. Hudson and I dig into this one and are happily surprised by the lack of onscreen animal deaths even if someone really was throwing snakes at actors for one scene. We get excited at certain points in the discussion as we make note of the script’s problems and the variability of the character’s personalities. And, if you pay attention, you’ll hear me call Charles Napier ALAN Napier and that is a very silly mistake to make. Of course, the idea of Charles Napier as the 1966 TV Batman’s butler is pretty damned cool!

The show can be reached at thebloodypit@gmail.com for any comments or suggestions. The Bloody Pit also has a FaceBook page where messages can be left for any of the contributors to the podcast. Thank you for downloading and listening to the show!

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INSEMINOID (1981)

A group of archaeologists on a mysterious planet are investigating some kind of ancient ruins. They discover a secret underground chamber in which one of the crew is attacked by a strange but barely seen creature. This fellow later runs amok leaving the safety of the group’s cave-built compound until he’s finally subdued violently. Crystal rock samples taken from the secret chamber puzzle the group’s chemist so the next day he and Sandy (Judy Geeson) go outside to retrieve some more rock samples. As they are leaving the dig Mitch the chemist is ripped apart by the mysterious creature and Sandy has an unfortunate encounter with the beastie, which leaves her pregnant and deranged. The movie then slides into slasher territory as the rest of the crew fall victim to Sandy’s homicidal madness, leaving only a couple of people behind to see what she gives birth to.

Slightly daft, sloppily written and (for the most part) acted as if the paychecks were late INSEMINOID a.k.a HORROR PLANET (1981) is one of the worst pieces of science fiction/horror trash I’ve ever seen. Less a story than an idea thrown up onto the screen it at least has the virtue of aiming low. Very low. A small budget rip off of ALIEN the film takes the sub-textual concept of horrid creatures raping humans to implant their seed and places it front and center. In a better film this nastiness would be a plus but here it just barley keeps things moving along. Luckily ample amounts of bloody violence is scattered around to keep things interesting.

I’m sure there was a script (i.e. pieces of paper with dialog and scene direction typed on them) but they might have made the same film if the cast & crew merely huddled each day and said “What sequence can we cobble together today?” The characters are cardboard cut-outs, the dialog is banal when its not being idiotic and the sets are dull. Some of my favorite moments are when a line of dialog comes out of nowhere to make some point that feels plot related. This is a hallmark of bad scripts and in science fiction these bits of technobabble usually stand out beautifully. So when Mitch the chemist proclaims that the strange crystals ‘seem to have some kind of chemical intelligence’ you’re stunned by the non-sequitur craziness, but you just know that it provides a clue to defeating the nasty evil thing that shows up later. Except in this damned film you’d be wrong to think that! This silly-ass line has nothing to do with anything that happens later! Nothing! I’m not sure if this is genius slight-of-hand writing or plain ineptitude.

The cast is a mixed bag of slumming pros (most of the women) and folks that really needed some acting lessons (pretty much all the men). It’s fun in a sick way to watch some good actors flail away with this material. Geeson does as good a job as could honestly be expected I think. She musters up some believable homicidal rage when dispatching the rest of the cast and her banshee screams during the birthing scene are unnerving. As a plus you get to see the lovely Victoria Tennant stabbed to death with scissors- surely a first in cinema.

Now, to step back for a moment I must give the movie some praise. The film is well shot with the opening scenes colorfully showing the alien planet’s landscape. This generates some nice, creepy atmosphere that the rest of the movie’s claustrophobic cave sets slowly dissipate. The direction, while never outstanding is capable, moving the story along at a nice clip and hiding some of the sloppier moments. Before the film sinks to its eventual sad level I felt a measure of hope in the bustling activity of the little group of archaeologists. But when the killing started the terribly choreographed fight sequences finished off my willing suspension of disbelief. I do give the film points for the overly gory murders but the effects are hit or miss with at least one death scene descending into unintended humor.

Very soon a British company will be releasing a Blu-Ray of this film along with a few of Norman J. Warren's other horror films. I can't wait to see this HD presentation and to wallow in the extras with which the set is sure to be packed. I'm not sure I'll ever love this insane effort but mt desire to see it again is almost overwhelming.