- For the episode, see MST3K 812 - The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies.
| “ | You filthy pig! | ” |
| - Madam Estrella |
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies is a 1964 musical/horror movie directed by Ray Dennis Steckler.
Plot[]
Jerry goes out for a day at the carnival with his girlfriend Angela and his buddy Harold. In one venue, a dance number is performed by Marge, who drinks before and between shows. She and her partner Bill perform for a small audience. Jerry sees stripper Carmelita, who entrances him with her icy stare. He is compelled to see her act.
Carmelita is the young sister of powerful fortune-teller Estrella, who turns Jerry into a "zombie" by hypnotizing him with a spiraling wheel. He then goes on a rampage in which he kills Marge and Bill. Later, Jerry attempts to strangle Angela. It is revealed that Estrella, along with her henchman Ortega, has been busy turning various patrons into similar zombies, apparently by throwing acid on their faces.
The titular zombies escape and kill Estrella, Carmelita, Ortega and several performers before being shot by police. Jerry, partially-disfigured but not a full zombie, escapes the carnival and is pursued to the shoreline. The police shoot him dead in front of Angela and Harold.
Cast[]
- Ray Dennis Steckler (credited as "Cash Flagg") as Jerry
- Carolyn Brandt as Marge
- Brett O'Hara as Madam Estrella
- Sharon Walsh as Angela
- Atlas King as Harold
- Erina Enyo as Carmelita
- Don Russell (credited as "Jack Brady") as Ortega
Notes[]
- The title was originally planned to be The Incredibly Strange Creature: Or Why I stopped Living and Became a Mixed-up Zombie, but Columbia Pictures threatened Ray Dennis Steckler with a lawsuit on the grounds that the title was too similar to their upcoming Stanley Kubrick film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Steckler was amazed that Columbia would feel threatened by his $38,000 film. He phoned the studio to attempt to resolve the situation, but made little progress until he spoke directly to Kubrick. Steckler suggested the new title, Kubrick accepted, and the matter was settled.[1]
- This movie gave early work experience to two respected cinematographers: László Kovács, and Vilmos Zsigmond. Kovacs is credited as "Leslie Kovacs", and Zsigmond as "William Zsigmond."
- It was released in "Hallucinogenic Hypnovision," which meant that after a turning "hypnosis-inducing" spiral appeared on the screen, people wearing rubber masks of the movie's characters would run down the aisles and try to scare the audience.
- A soundtrack album was made available.
- Steckler directed and performed in 1962's Wild Guitar, starring Arch Hall Jr. of Eegah. A poster for Wild Guitar can be seen on the wall of Marge's dressing room.
- Steckler and Carolyn Brandt (Marge) were married in real life.
- Received three nominations in The Golden Turkey Awards series: Worst Title of All Time, Most Inane and Unwelcome Technical Advance in Hollywood History (for Hallucinogenic Hypnovision), and Most Idiotic Ad Lines in Hollywood History. It lost respectively to Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (also directed by Steckler), Percepto from The Tingler, and Kwaheri.
- The performers on the song "Shook Out of Shape" are credited as Carol Kay and The Stone Tones. Some sources claim this is Carol Kaye, the legendary session bass guitarist, who recorded thousands of songs with acts ranging from the Beach Boys to Cher. However, there is no record of the bassist Kaye ever having had a singing career.
- The performance venue is called The Hungry Mouth. This is a play on the name of the well-known nightclub The Hungry I in San Francisco, which helped launched the careers of several popular music and comedy acts in the 1960s.
- Some promotional material and reference works include punctuation (a combination of ! and ?) at the end of the title.
MST3K Connections[]
- Director, actor, and producer Ray Dennis Steckler also portrayed Mr. Fishman in Eegah.
- Writer and actor Robert Silliphant (second barker) was also writer for The Creeping Terror.
- Titus Moede (hobo) also portrayed Frankie Bonnie in The Skydivers and did sound for The Beast of Yucca Flats.
- Carolyn Brandt also portrayed Fishman's girl in Eegah.
- Assistant cameraman and actor László Kovács (man at carnival) was also a camera operator for The Time Travelers.
- Composer Andre Brummer was also composer for Eegah.
- Cinematographer Joseph V. Mascelli was also co-director for The Atomic Brain.
- Production manager Austin McKinney was also cinematographer for The Skydivers and Lords of the Deep, as well as editor, production supervisor, and assistant director for The Beast of Yucca Flats.
- Sound technician Ken Carlson was also sound mixer for Agent for H.A.R.M. and sound technician for The Touch of Satan.
- Sound technician Lee Strosnider was also cinematographer for The Skydivers and was editor, camera operator, and did sound for The Beast of Yucca Flats.
- Camera operator Vilmos Zsigmond was also cinematographer for The Time Travelers.
- Script supervisor John McKenna was also script supervisor for The Skydivers.
Critical Response[]
- Leonard Maltin wrote: "Two-and-a-half stars. Legendary (thanks to that title) low-budget horror film about hideous goings-on at a carny sideshow, with lots of rock numbers thrown in. Truly bizarre film features gorgeously saturated color, awful acting, hideous dialogue, haunting atmosphere, and little plot. Cinematography by Joe Micelli (author of American Cinematographers' Manual) with very young Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond helping."[2]