Hot Picks
|
|
|
Trog
UK 1970
produced by Herman Cohen
directed by Freddie Francis
starring Joan Crawford, Michael Gough, Bernard Kay, Kim Braden, David Griffin, John Hamill, Thorley Walters, Jack May, Geoffrey Case, Robert Hutton, Simon Lack, David Warbeck, Chloe Franks, Maurice Good, Joe Cornelius
story by Peter Bryan, John Gilling, screenplay by Aben Kandel, music by John Scott
review by Mike Haberfelner
|
|
|
|
Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
|
|
|
|
|
The missing link, dubbed Trog (Joe Cornelius) has just been found in a
cave, and even though he has just killed an explorer (Geoffrey Case),
Doctor Brockton (Joan Crawford) insists on capturing the creature alive,
and once Trog's in captivity, Doc Brockton starts to reach out to him,
ultimately tame him. She even tries to teach him to speak. Now that all
sounds like an amazing scientific accomplishment, but greedy land
developer Murdock (Michael Gough) wants to hear nothing of it because he
thinks it will send the prices for land into a freefall. First he tries to
battle Brockton and Trog legally, but with no success, then he frees Trog
from captivity and teases him to get him into a rage - which works but is
not a good idea at the same time because Mujrdock becomes Trog's first
victim. Then Trog goes on a bit of a rampage and kidnaps a little girl
whom he takes to the caves with him. The army surrounds the caves to kill
Trog, but Doc Brockton manages to at least get the kid away from him
first, but fails to save Trog as well, who dies in the army attack. Silly
little monster movie, with a silly lead monster (a man in an ape mask) and
an even sillier pseudo-scientific story to build the backbone of the film.
And more than anything else, these two elements are the main problems of Trog:
the pseudo-scientific story makes little sense on one hand, on the other,
any kind of seriousness is thrown out of the window once you see the guy
in his rubber mask. Plus, these scenes are rather boring, even, so much so
that when the expected schlocky monster havoc does set in, it's already
too little too late. Not a total failure, at least trash enthusiasts
will find something to laugh about, but not good or even as funny as its
title either.
|