If you have an insatiable fondness for the offbeat, the preposterous or the outlandish, then this is where you will find them… in the Bizarre Movie Zone.
M. Night Shyamalan (The Happening) is not the first filmmaker to explore the concept of environmental horror. Back in the 1970s several movies were made in which the natural world turned against mankind, and most of them are wildly offbeat and thematically bizarre.
Frogs (1972) ✪
On a swampy Florida estate, garrulous old industrialist Ray Milland plans his annual July 4th celebration. What he doesn’t realize is that his pollution of the swamps is forcing the natural habitat to fight back. The wheelchair-bound Milland and his put-upon family, plus nature photographer Sam Elliott, are slowly attacked by various creatures as they wander around the mansion grounds. Snakes, spiders, lizards, alligators, turtles (!) and, yes, frogs find ways to take revenge upon mankind.
This film has all sorts of problems, from continuity and lighting to dialogue and acting. But the dumbest aspect has to be the premise itself. Watching geckos poison a guy and turtles drown a woman is just mind-numbing. And the climax, when the frogs invade the house and go after Milland, is disappointingly tame.
Night of the Lepus (1972) ✪ ½
Perhaps the looniest of the ecological disaster films is this one. “Lepus,” if you didn’t know, is latin for “rabbit.” That’s right, rabbit. This is a movie about ferocious, roaring, giant killer bunny rabbits.
That’s not all; it gets better. Who should battle these ornery, blood-thirsty varmints the size of Volkswagens? Who else but a veteran all-star cast? Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, DeForest Kelley and Paul Fix are the people who face the bunny brigade.
When a scientific experiment goes awry and the angry rabbits begin terrorizing the countryside, why not call in the National Guard? The conclusion is truly electrifying.
Bug (1975) ✪ ½
A California earthquake unleashes a horde of mutant cockroaches upon a small town — cockroaches with the innate ability to cause fires by expelling flames out of their butts. This in itself is pretty crazy, but then we discover that the creepy-crawlies are actually sentient!
One scientist, Bradford Dillman, actually begins to communicate with them, as he slowly descends into madness. But will he come to his senses and stop the invading horde, or will he become their unwitting pawn? The only way to find out is to watch this silly movie.
Squirm (1976) ✪
Millions of cranky worms are brought to the surface of a Georgian town because of a freak electrical strike, and they attack the people inside a house nearby. Supposedly based on a true story, this dull, boring horror film is certain-ly gross, but it isn’t very good. The no-name cast was put in danger on the set when a tree was dropped onto the house but no one was hurt. One actress, Jean Sullivan, has a terribly affected Southern accent, which she said she used as an homage to Tennessee Williams. Actually the backstage stuff is much more interesting than the movie.
Slithis (1978) ½
I saw this at a drive-in in 1978 and still remember how awful it was. Slithis is “the monster derived from pollution,” and is enacted by a guy in a rubber suit chasing the unfortunate actors around Venice Beach. With the worst lighting and cinematography imaginable, Slithis is utterly inept and absurd filmmaking. I thought that in between the many boring parts, it was funny as hell at the time and I especially loved the turtle race. Yes, the turtle race. It’s the film’s emotional high point.
Prophecy (1979) ✪ ✪
John Frankenheimer has made some truly great films and a few clunkers. This is one of the clunkers. Waste from a logging company evolves into a giant bear monster that preys upon anyone into whom it stumbles. Robert Foxworth, Talia Shire and Armand Assante try to hunt the thing down before its rampage extends into civilized areas.
Actually, the horror aspects of the film are solid; the monster is rarely seen clearly and the story is surprisingly suspenseful. The ecological message, on the other hand, is preachy and hollow. There are three memorable scenes: the rabid raccoon, the sleeping bag and the chain saw / axe duel. And it’s quite gory for a PG movie. The ending was a little ahead of its time but seems clichéd now.