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THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE
CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND
BECAME MIXED UP ZOMBIES!!? (1963)
aka THE TEENAGE PSYCHO MEETS BLOODY
MARY
Directed by Ray Dennis Steckler
Media Blasters DVD
Reviewed 02.16.06
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Before you have time to catch your
breath, Cash Flagg says his piece:
"The world's here to be enjoyed,
not to be depressed."
With one line of dialogue, director
Ray Dennis Steckler sums up his
entire body of era-defining work
in the mid 1960s. And you know what?
He's right. The proof's in the pudding.
The Incredibly Strange Creatures
Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed
Up Zombies!!? is an elaborate,
no budget, teenage trash-monster
opera. Ray's second feature length
film as a director and his first
as a truly independent filmmaker,
the film is a real labor of love.
While not his most cohesive production,
Creatures is the most ambitious
and highest budgeted film ($38,000)
that Steckler would ever have a
hand in. It's also the most serene.
What's that spell? Imagine Serge
Gainsberg meeting up with The Chordettes
at a showing of The
Weird World Of LSD, then
stopping off for sno-cones at Coney
Island before heading off to sleep.
There's no point in stating that
this film was ahead of its time.
The experience is far too resplendent
to draw comparisons. So we won't.
"NOT FOR SISSIES! Not 3-D but
real FLESH and BLOOD monsters ALIVE!
In the audience!" The midway
calls.
Creatures is the story
of alcoholic dancer Marge (Carolyn
Brandt), free spirited rebel Jerry
(Cash Flagg aka Ray Dennis Steckler,
clad in his ratty black-hooded sweatshirt),
an amusement park with inexplicable
secrets, and the brief period of
time that wraps around them all.
Handheld by Wurlitzer twang and
reckless violence, the film takes
us through a series of events that
simply exist without meaning. No
clarity implied, none expected.
Fortune teller Madame Estrella's
acid-scarred killers (zombies?)
attack the costumed showgirls, mid-performance.
During the half dozen musical sequences
(some amazing, some unbearable),
time sits still and we grab a corner
table. When Jerry suffers from a
five minute long, acid tinged dream
sequence, we stare with slackjawed
awe. Why? Don't tell me you've forgotten
Cash's quote already?
While not as singularly striking
as 1964's The
Thrill Killers, Creatures
finds Ray Dennis Steckler at his
most charmingly pure. The inventive
camera work, home movie sheen, and
rapid edits that would come to define
his work (The
Lemon Grove Kids Meet The Monsters
in particular) are all here, though
not as chiseled. Stuffed full of
interesting visuals (cheaply elaborate
sets, postcard photography), Creatures,
like all of Ray's output from 1963
to 1966, is an everyday reminder
of one of the most pop-culturally
engaging eras of all time. That's
reason enough to relish the moment.
Still, this is Steckler we're talking
about, not Barry Mahon. Creatures
is an Ektachrome sliver of inspired
indie filmmaking circa 1963; unpretentious,
resourceful, fresh-faced, and fiercely
talented. You just can’t hold
this guy back.
Hypnotism. Bad stand-up comics.
Strangling zombies. Cheap rock 'n'
roll. This is the world, as outlined
by The Incredibly Strange Creatures
Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed
Up Zombies!!? Cash Flagg, you've
got my vote.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Presented in anamorphic widescreen
with the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, Creatures
is a bit of a mess. That's a compliment.
I'd never want to see a pristine
print of this film; the frequent
dirt, scratches, and soft picture
quality are the building blocks
of a vintage trash presentation.
The colors were somewhat inconsistent,
but always booming. I loved it.
The mono sound was slightly muffled,
which I didn't love so much. Good
thing the songs still came through
loud and not-so-clear, though. Joe
Meek would be proud. Just in case
you're wondering, this Media Blasters
release does not inexplicably chop
out a chunk of the film, ala Steckler's
The
Hollywood Strangler Meets The Skid
Row Slasher.
EXTRAS
It's a packed tent. First off, Ray
Dennis Steckler delivers his best
commentary track yet, in a series
of DVD talks that vary in quality.
Staying focused throughout, Ray
relates hundreds of facts and never
lets up. He touches on sacrificing
everything to get the film made,
odd jobs at the home of Aaron Spelling,
and a "where are they now?"
update on nearly everyone involved
with the film. It's all delivered
with a modesty and fondness that
goes down like flapjacks. Smooth
and filling.
Next up, genre historian Joe Bob
Briggs lends a fantastic commentary
track, just like his tour de force
on the Hollywood Strangler
DVD. Briggs covers everything from
promotion (masked theater workers
invading the audience) to Ray’s
later work in porn to the career
of Steckler regular Atlas King,
all with an amazing amount of detail
and heaps of wit. There's a bit
of overlap with Steckler's track,
but it's mostly in different contexts.
Joe Bob has it down. An excellent
listen.
Bringing up the rear are eight trailers
for other Media Blasters releases
(six fake, two real), the original
theatrical trailer for the feature
(unfortunately with "Comedy
Commentary By Joe Bob Briggs"
burned into the title screen and
additional credit lines), and two
interview segments. Carolyn Brandt
discusses locations in her cheery
3 minute spot and the 13 minute
Steckler segment covers some ground
that we don't hear about during
his commentary.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Incredibly Strange...,
like all of Ray Dennis Steckler's
early work, is a spontaneous, wonderful
monument to 1960s pop culture. If
you own and enjoy a copy of "With
The Beatles," you should ditto
it with this DVD. There's not another
film like it in the world. |
Beautiful
Don't do it!
The Weird World Of Estrella
Cash attack
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