18) End of the World (1977)

(1out of 5)

"Unfortunately, there is no more time!"

Director

John Hayes

Cast
Christopher Lee - Fr. Pergado

Kirk Scott - Prof. Andrew Boran
Sue Lyon - Sylvia Boran
Dean Jagger - Ray Collins
Lew Ayres - Commander Joseph Beckerman
Macdonald Carey - John Davis
Liz Ross - Sr. Patrizia

After previously reviewing a bunch of more appreciated and well-remembered science fiction movies from the 1980s that current audiences seem to recall fondly, it's time to get to some the best of the worst shlocky and cheesy movies sci-fi has to offer. These are the movies I really created this platform for.

After a trip to Omaha a couple weeks ago, and visiting one of my favorite bookstores, "Half-Price Books," I found a set of 50 sci-fi movies packaged as "Nightmare Worlds." And among these 50 "Nightmare World" movies was the 1977 sci-fi you never heard of, "End of the World."

Released by a company called Mill Creek Entertainment, I often stumble upon these 50-film sets and have a few of the horror and thriller collections in my movie library. They're the only way to acquire some of these hard-to-find, "so bad, they're good" flicks people once thought needed to be filmed. These sets often run on the cheap side, especially when they're used sets which they normally are. These sets come in basically all genres. The movie quality is often poor. There's no digital enhancements or quality improvement. They're often too dark, grainy, and with poor sound quality. Yet, they still manage to be appealing. Chalk it up to good marketing, I guess?

Mill Creek Entertainment DVD collections might look sophisticated in a movie library, but the movies they normally include you wouldn't find in a $5 Walmart bin. 

So, why have I bought a few of these collections despite the negativities? I think its the appeal, and the feel that they're a deal. A sucker and his money are quickly parted.

So far, they're just plain B-movies with an emphasis on "plain." Not that I expected anything more. Still, I might just get one more set. And yes, I plan to watch as many of them as I can, if not all of them.

In the movie "End of the World," some actor named Kirk Scott plays Prof. Andrew Boran who works for NASA and is looking into unusual radio signals floating around space. The really unusual part is that these signals seem to be coming from Earth. What's even more unusual is that the signals are predicting severe natural disasters taking place around the globe. 

Christopher Lee, Kirk Scott and Sue Lyon doing absolutely nothing
in "End of the World."

Andrew pinpoints the source of the signals and goes to that precise location to check it out. Of course, like all NASA scientists tend to do, he takes his wife Sylvia (Sue Lyon) with him. It turns out the signals are emanating from a Catholic convent where a community of nuns are living. 

A Catholic priest named Fr. Pergado (Christopher Lee) is the chaplain for these sisters. 

What Kirk doesn't realize is that the sisters along with Fr. Pergado are actually aliens from a utopian planet plotting to destroy Earth through several natural disasters. These aliens replaced the actual nuns as well as Fr. Pergado and have taken on their appearances.

Zindar, the leader of this alien species, is posing as the priest. When he finally reveals his true identity, he tells Andrew and Sylvia that Earth has to be destroyed because it's nothing but a source of disease and violence. It's making the entire galaxy look bad, so it has got to go. 

Zindar, however, holds Sylvia hostage as a way to force Andrew to steal a crystal from NASA which he needs to transport himself and his alien pals back to their utopian planet. Andrew has no choice. 

He steals the crystal and surrenders it to Zindar. 

There's really nothing Andrew nor Sylvia can do to save their planet and the millions of people who are unaware of what's really going on with this surge of natural disasters. 

So, they don't do anything. In fact, Zindar, proving he's not such a bad alien despite destroying a cloister of holy nuns and their parish priest. and then working to destroy an entire planet and all the innocent people living on it, invites Andrew and Sylvia to live on his utopian home planet and learn their utopian ways. He thinks with their intelligence, they might be an asset to his people. 

With barely an ounce of guilt or sadness, they agree and beam themselves up to this alien planet after Zindar and the other aliens return. 

Then, Earth explodes. The end! 

The movie lives up to its title, at least. 

Movies like "End of the World" are the reason why the series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" exists- to give forgotten, and quite often deservedly so, movies some much needed substance.

Christopher Lee is the only worthwhile presence in this flick. Everything else us dull, except for a few explosion scenes. 

It's worth noting that Sue Lyon is famous for her role as Lolita in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 movie "Lolita." 

However, Lyon, along with her co-star Kirk Scott don't do much of anything in this movie. They don't

Sue Lyon, Liz Ross, and Kirk Scott.

even act. They just talk, and then barely react, and then talk some more. 

You'd think their characters would do everything they possibly could think of to save their planet. They barely even try to formulate a plan outside of leaving the convent and flag down a passing motorist. Once that leads to absolutely nowhere, they give up. I guess I failed to mention that Zindar can control things with his mind and when they flag down that passerby, he blows up the car and its driver with his mental ability. 

So, the two protagonists ditch Earth to go live in the utopian alien world with the same aliens who made Andrew and Sylvia an endangered species. If you can't beat them.... 

They're complete sell outs, and all that's left for them is making more humans on this new planet they're going to have to call home. 

It's a story that brings Douglas Adams' book "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" to mind. Andrew and Sylvia are like Arthur and Trillian after Earth is destroyed in that story.  

Except in this movie, we really don't know what happens to the last of the earthlings once they ditch the planet they barely lifted a finger to defend. 

For an oddball sci-fi movie starring the talented and exception Christopher Lee, "End of the World" is boring and uneventful. The movie thinks its bold and daring, mixed in with explosions and such. 

My copy of this movie has terrible picture quality as I mentioned above regarding the 50 movie sets. There's so much shadow and night shots, I couldn't tell what was happening. And it's all talk and no action. Not even Christopher Lee could make this movie worthwhile, though his performance is nothing short of fantastic. He's the only actor who emotes. The two main characters can't even bother to act shocked or scared. The movie almost doesn't deserve Christopher Lee's presence. 

"End of the World" plays out like a vintage thrift store paperback turned movie, and shot verbatim. It if was a book, at least my own imagination would fill in what's lacking in the movie. If only "End of the World" got the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment. That would have made it worth watching!

17) Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)

(2.5 's out of 5)

"I never noticed how important it is to be seen."

Director

John Carpenter

Cast
Chevy Chase - Nick Halloway
Daryl Hannah - Alice Monroe
Sam Neill - David Jenkins
Michael McKean - George Talbot
Stephen Tobolowsky - Warren Singleton
Jim Norton - Dr. Bernard Wachs
Pat Skipper - Morrissey


Despite the term "invisible man" in the title of the 1992 sci-fi comedy "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" as well as the movie's obvious nod to Director James Whale's 1933 movie based on the book "The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells, I have to emphasize the word "an" also in the title. It's the memoirs of "an" invisible man. It's not "the" invisible man. 

The character that is the Invisible Man tends to be linked horror despite Well's story being a science fiction book. The 1933 film maintains a bit of that science fiction feel. The 2020 remake of "The Invisible Man" has a much heavier sci-fi tone than the original film. Yet they're both thought of more as horror movies likely due to Both versions keep the story's dramatic side, however.  

"Memoirs of an Invisible Man" is based on the novel of the same name by H.F. Saint which has been described as a thriller. Regardless, this movie has all the feels of science fiction with thrilling elements thrown in. So, I'm posting my thoughts about it on this platform. 

In this movie Chevy Chase plays stock analyst Nick Halloway who's working out in San Francisco. After work one evening, he heads to his favorite high-end club for a drink.
There, he runs into his buddy, George Talbot (Michael McKean). George introduces Nick to a friend of his, Alice Monroe (Daryl Hannah) whom Nick takes a keen interest in. 

She works as a documentary producer and the two hit it off really well. In fact, they both set up a lunch date. 

Nick ends up getting drunk that night, and has a nasty hangover the next morning, Still, he has to get to a company shareholders meeting at Magnascopic Laboratories. 

During the meeting, he sneaks off to find a place to sleep off some of his hangover. He finds a quiet spot in someone's empty office. 

Meanwhile, some lab tech accidentally spills his coffee on a computer, which causes a shortage that leads to a small explosion. 

Some kind of fluke of science occurs resulting in parts of the building turning completely invisible, including Nick.

This odd situation grabs the attention of corrupt CIA agent, David Jenkins (Sam Neill), along with other agents, while they investigate the invisible building. 

Nick panics as he tries to wrap his head around what just happened to him. After all, he suddenly can't see himself as he moves objects around. Jenkins sees these objects moving by themselves, obviously meaning someone turned invisible. 

They rescue the invisible Nick out of the building and place him in an ambulance. 

While he's in the ambulance, one of the agents makes a comment about how Nick will be studied by scientists for the rest of his life. 

Naturally, Nick freaks out even more at this notion and escapes. 

Rather than inform CIA headquarters, Jenkins decides to pursue Nick and turn him into the ultimate CIA secret agent. 

Nick goes on the run, trying to hide from Jenkins and his CIA stooges. They've already broke into his apartment in an attempt to locate Nick. So it's no longer safe there. Instead, he hides at the club, and then approaches Dr. Bernard Wachs (Jim Norton), who was speaking at shareholders meeting at the time of the incident, to ask him if he can reverse his invisibility. 

From there, he hides out inside George's beach house out near San Francisco, unbeknownst to George. In fact, no one except Jenkins knows he's invisible. They don't know what has become of Nick.  

Jenkins gets a hold of Nick's background information and considers him a nobody - somebody who was already invisible before he literally became so. 

Nick sneaks into Jenkins office, which is more like a villain hideout, and tries to see what information they have on himself. 

Jenkins eventually figures out Nick is in there and tries to talk him into recruitment. But Nick is appalled at the thought of killing people. 

However, Jenkins goes out of his way capture Nick and force him into the CIA's service. Meanwhile, Nick frantically tries to figure out a way to live as an invisible man, and be able to support himself in this unfortunate situation. He reveals himself to Alice shortly after she, along with George and a couple of their friends, suddenly arrive at the beach house for a vacation. They have no idea he's as they settle in for a few days. 

The only interesting parts of the movie are Chevy Chase function as an invisible man, and the early special effects that surround that, as well as watching the two main characters work out a 

Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah in "Memoirs of
an Invisible Man."

relationship under these unusual circumstances. 

A lot of those invisible man details are clever, such as one scene in which the audience can see cigarette smoke fill Nick's lungs. In another scene, Nick sees the Chinese food he's eating start digesting in his stomach, which makes him throw up. 

Everything else in the story seems contrived, which is weird when considering the movie is about an invisible man. Sam Neill's CIA character, and the entire villainous CIA agents, act more like mafia thugs than actual agents. They get in the way of the story, despite the sense it makes that government officials would take keen interest in a man who's suddenly invisible. This plot point is badly written. 

In fact, if the CIA agents weren't so villainous nor such a big part of the story, and the film focused more on Chase trying to function as an invisible man along with Daryl Hannah's character trying to work out their relationship, the movie would be more memorable and entertaining. With Chase being cast in the lead role, less chasing would leave more room for him to be the comedian he's good at being. The way the story is, he's forced to focus more on surviving and escaping capture than throw in more comedy. It also doesn't give Chase and Hannah enough time to work off of each other. What a shame!

The movie doesn't need this evil, sinister antagonist from beginning to end. 

All "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" has to depend on for its entertainment value is the invisible man parts, and the special effects.