Creepy Creature Double Feature: The Slime People and The Crawling Hand Blu Ray Review (VCI)

The Slime People is a 1963 sci-fi horror film directed by actor Robert Hutton (They Came from Beyond Space, Tales from the Crypt, Trog, and Torture Garden) in his only directorial effort. It was written by Blair Robertson (The Phantom Gunslinger, Agent for H.A.R.M., and Bonanza) and Vance Skarstedt (No Place to Land, Man or Gun, Highway Patrol, and Once Before I Die). It was produced by Joseph F. Robertson (Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies, The Crawling Hand, Dr. Caligari, and Double Standards). It had an estimated budget of $56,000. Prehistoric Slime People emerge from the sewers of Los Angeles. The atom-age U.S. army is no match for this small band of spear-toting boogeymen and the city is evacuated. Left behind and forced to fight for survival are a pilot Tom Gregory (played by: Robert Hutton from Hollywood Canteen, The Steel Helmet, The Man on the Eiffel Tower, and You Only Live Twice), a bashful Marine Cal Johnson (played by: William Boyce from The Comic, Cafe Purgatory, and The Nation’s Health), a nutty author Norman Tolliver (played by: Les Tremayne from The War of the Worlds, North by Northwest, The Angry Red Planet, and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo), a science Professor Galbraith (played by: Robert Burton from The Big Heat, The Twilight Zone, Cry of the Hunted, and The Manchurian Candidate) plus his two glamorpuss daughters Lisa (played by: Susan Hart from Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, City in the Sea, The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents) and Bonnie (played by: Judee Morton from House, Experiment in Terror, The Fugitive, and General Hospital)!!!! The Crawling Hand is a 1963 sci-fi horror film co-written, edited, and directed by Herbert L. Strock (Monstroid, The Devil’s Messenger, The Devil’s Messenger, I Was a Teenage Frankenstein, Blood of Dracula, and How to Make a Monster). It was co-written by Bill Idelson (Punky Brewster, M*A*S*H, Happy Days, and Gomer Pyle: USMC). It was produced by Joseph F. Robertson (The Slime People, Maxine, She Comes in Colors, Sweet Alice, That’s Erotic, and Lord Farthingay’s Holiday). It had an estimated budget of $100,000. A manned rocket returning from the Moon is invaded by an alien life force that possesses the astronaut, maintains control of his disembodied hand after a California beach crash-landing, and then imposes its will on a local medical student Paul Laurence (played by: Rod Lauren from The Young Swingers, Terrified, Once Before I Die, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents). Dr. Max Weitzberg (played by: Kent Taylor from Smooth as Silk, Satan’s Sadists, Brides of Blood, and Brain of Blood), Lee Barrenger (played by: Richard Arlen from), Sheriff Townsend (played by: Alan Hale from Gilligan’s Island, The Giant Spider Invasion, Hang ‘Em High, and Terror Night), and Mrs. Hotchkiss (played by: Arline Judge from The Age of Consent, Flying Devils, Wildcat, and Girl Crazy) all struggle to retain their dignity from these dangerous attacks!!!! This creepy creature double feature is a total blast. It has two sci-fi horror productions from 1963. They both know exactly what type of movies they are making here, they showcase their flaws with pride. Cinema has changed so much over the years, bad films these are just embarrassing but earlier stuff like this feels so different. Both The Slime People and The Crawling Hand were favorites on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Despite not having much funding, they each spent their money in the right departments behind the scenes. The gore, monsters, and violence are honestly good in these. It elevates these two independent features. Special fx artists Harry Woolman (The Sword and the Sorcerer, Evilspeak, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Don’t Go Near the Park, Dolemite, The Incredible Melting Man, Laserblast, and The Unseen) and Charles Duncan (Plan 9 from Outer Space, The Phantom Planet, Attack of the Puppet People, The Cosmic Man, Terrified, and Shock Corridor). The Slime People was directed by one of the lead actors Robert Hutton. He didn’t even get paid for doing this. The script is filled with plot holes, it’s packed with over the top performances, and it’s unintentionally hilarious. All of that adds to it’s no budget charm, it’s an interesting atmosphere when you put all of that together. It’s short so it doesn’t really drag at all. They do whatever it takes for their survival against these grotesque monsters. The cast included Robert Hutton, Les Tremayne, Robert Burton, Susan Hart, William Boyce, John Close (The Twilight Zone), John Carter (The Crawling Hand), Bob Herron (Black Samson), and Fred Stromsoe (Batman: The Movie). The acting was like hammy at times but it was decent compared to other stuff like this. Veteran horror director Herbert L. Strock was behind the camera for The Crawling Hand. He helped make this much better than it should have been. It’s a guilty pleasure for sure but it’s an entertaining entry into the odd killer hand sub-genre. One of the favorite themes when it comes to body horror. It’s better than it’s reputation, it doesn’t deserve all of the hate it gets. It’s no masterpiece but it’s a fun experience every time. The Arm goes on it’s destructive killing spree after being brought home by the naive Lauren. It tries to add unfamiliar elements to this wacky concept. It has romance, space travel, and it truly shows it’s dated age with it’s ancient technology in this. It just makes the unintentional humor even better. It becomes a complete disaster from all of it’s deadly outcomes for these locals. It has it’s share of quirky and unique people in The Crawling Hand. The cast includes Alan Hale, Kent Taylor, Rod Lauren, Richard Arlen, Arline Judge, Peter Breck (The Sword and the Sorcerer), Allison Hayes (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman), Sirry Steffen (The Beverly Hillbillies), Tristram Coffin (The Corpse Vanishes), and Ross Elliott (Tarantula). This creepy creature double feature will never be called great or even good when it comes to overall quality but they do their jobs. Neither one is boring, they are actually worth revisiting from time to time considering how ridiculous they are. They are currently available on Tubi, Fawesome, and a few other streaming services if you want to check them out sometime!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from VCI Entertainment in association with Kit Parker Films! These 1080p (1.78:1) transfers are from brand new 4K restorations from the original 35MM camera negatives. I’ve only experienced both The Slime People and The Crawling Hand in poor quality on a variety public domain releases. These exclusive scans are massive improvements compared to any previous versions from this 1963 double feature. It’s probably the best they are ever going to look on anywhere home video at this point. I am very impressed with these HD upgrades. They both have English: LPCM 2.0 tracks on the disc. The audio has it’s flaws but it’s a slight upgrade compared to anything else out there. All of the dialogue is clean, the chaos is elevated, and the music has a big boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a brand new exclusive “Audio Commentary” with critic Rob Kelly for”The Crawling Hand”. It has the little over 3 minute “Rubber Monsters, Real Fears, Mid-Century Sci-Fi”. It’s a quick video essay dedicated to The Crawling Hand and The Slime People. It says that these might have been shot back to back on the same weekend. It also brings up Gorgo. It shows respect to old school horror and what they achieved with their limited resources. It has the 7 minute “Classic Drive-In Sci-Fi Poster Gallery”. It has the almost 55 minute “Unearthing The Slime People”. Tom Weaver does a telephone interview with actress Susan Hart from it. Weaver gives a brief history full of information and stories about the no budget production. He even covers some of the actors and behind the scenes talent. He goes into great detail about his 1989 interview with lead actor and director Robert Hutton. He was okay with only doing one feature behind the camera. It wasn’t as easy as he thought and he had no interest in doing it ever again. He had a bigger name willing to do this but he got sick before the shoot so he couldn’t join this movie. Susan Hart is very blunt during this. She says where her career was at the time and what she was doing at the time before she got this gig. She goes over her experience on it and working with the cast plus the crew. She jokes about getting a $35 budget for her costume for the film. She seems happy with what she achieved here. It comes with a slipcover with some killer artwork and it has reversible artwork of a double feature poster. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!