Last Monster/Horror/Sci-Fi Movie/Show You Watched

[Scatter]

Food Of The Gods (1976)-Marjoe Gortner

The AIP Tour continues.........

Bert I. Gordon and AIP dig deeeeeeeeep into their "Who can we get to do this flick for REALLY cheap" Rolodex of actors to pull out the infamous Marjoe Gortner..............former child evangelist/ admitted religious con artist- turned wooden thespian.

Then, in a critical role as exactly the kind of backwoods bumpkin that Marjoe used to dupe, comes former A list Hollywood star Ida Lupino for her third-from-the-last picture........and like a punch-drunk boxer who doesn't know when to quit, she takes the part.

For those unfamiliar with Marjoe's checkered, colorful, and hilarious turn as the Bible Belt's foremost runt evangelist, feast your eyes. Think of a Mini Me for Jimmy Swaggart, and you'll get the drift.(Warning-copious fire and brimstone.)

Marjoe part 1/10

Well...........praise the Lord. I'm never as flummoxed by blatant con artists as I am by those who can't see through a con as glaring as this one. Getting spiritual advice and direction from someone who still wets the bed and wears underwear with cartoon characters on them leaves me more than a little perplexed.

But here 30 years later, Marjoe worked that same mental magic on the folks at AIP, convincing them he was an actor with the same powers of persuasion he used to convince Billy Bob and Daisey Mae that he was a minister. It must be the hair. It's hypnotic.

Marjoe plays a pro football star who weighs less than Ally McBeal. The only element that lends any credibility to Marjoe as a 135 pound pro football player is his genetically supplied hair helmet.



That thing looks like it could stop bullets.

Anyway, as a means of escaping the rigors of fleecing the gullible (oh, sorry, that's why he became an "actor")errr........escaping the rigors of life as an anorexic Pro Football player, he heads out with some buddies to the deep woods, where they are immediately beset by enormous mosquitos mutated by a growth formula. These are so badly done that it makes you yearn for the special effects artistry of Ed Wood. In fact, the scene where Marjoe's buddy is attacked by the giant blood-sucker (which is just an oversized plastic bug stuck on his back which he just wiggles around) reminds me of the infamous octopus scene with Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood's "Bride Of The Monster".

Anyway, we move like molasses syrup in February to a giant rooster (merely a latex head which Marjoe then pecks himself with ala the previous mosquito), giant rats, giant worms, giant pregnant girl chased by rats, giant arsehole evil industrialist there to exploit the growth formula, and a giant missed opportunity when the industrialist's secretary (Pamela Franklin)

offers to sexually curl Marjoe's toes to match his hair as she gets turned on by the attacking giant rat hordes. Marjoe of course declines the offer of degrading giant monkey sex...........which no self respecting pro football player or Jimmy Swaggart Mini Me would ever ACTUALLY do. I gotta hand it to Marjoe here...........THAT'S ACTING!!

I won't spoil the ending for you............Marjoe and the special effects department took care of that. The miniatures and critters used here are just laughably bad. The cheeze quotient is astronomical. The plot holes are enormous. In other words, just another day at the office for Bert I. Gordon, Samuel Z. Arkoff, and the gang at AIP.

Verdict?? GAWWWWD I MISS AIP!!! 4 bananas, but every bite was delicious in that special AIP way!!

[charp13]

Yayyyyyyyyy!!  You summed it up so niiiiiiiiiiiice!  I LOVE this movie! But I never knew Gortner's past life??? Wow, Scatter! You really did your investigation on this one. I remember how creepy he was in Earthquake, but I never bothered to imdb him or anything. That is a fascinating piece of video on Gortner. I never would have known that he was a mini-minister.......weird!

[Scatter]

Charlotte, that clip is from the Oscar winning documentary "Marjoe" which chronicles his corrupt parents, awful youth, and other shenanigans. You can watch the entire movie here:

Marjoe (1972)

I recommend it as a great documentary and a puzzling insight into the psychology of the duper and the duped.

[BaronLatos35]

I've added this to my Blockbuster queue but it is in LONG wait status. So I added the first 3 as well. Haven't watched these in a few years. BOOOYY!

You'll dig it Lester.

-A&C Meet Frankenstein with my daughter. Truth be told she was rolling on Daddy's legs playing with her toys, but it still counts!

[marsattacks666]

Brotherhood of Satan, Return of the Vampire

[slayergriffith]

Gargoyles (1972)
Maniac (1980)
Terminal Invasion (2002)

[Unknown Primate]

Brotherhood of Satan, Return of the Vampire

Me too!

[marsattacks666]

Me too!

FEARnet, sometimes awesome.........sometimes not. I own those two films, yet I
feel a need to watch 'em on cable. What gives?!? Lol.

[robodog]

The night before last I watched Hellboy.

[zombiehorror]

My Bloody Valentine

[general gruesome]

The Wolf Man (1941)
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
The Son of Frankenstein (1939)

[BaronLatos35]

- Tron: Legacy

It was a cool visual feast. Enjoyable, but I wouldn't have to see it again.

[Memphremagog]

Gamera vs. Gyaos(1967)
Mothra vs. Godzilla(1964)
Bride Of the Monster(1956)
Godzilla Raids Again(1955)
Mothra(1961)
Doctor Who: Planet Of the Spiders(1974)

[CreepysFan]

   

William Castle's spooky comedy 'The Spirit Is Willing'.

[zombiehorror]

Vampire Circus