Post by RedKing on Jan 16, 2007 11:11:49 GMT -8
This is a weird entry in the giant bug subgenre of 50s B Movies, and i believe the only giant monster movie to take place in Africa. This movie has a bad reputation as being really awful, but frankly I thought it was pretty good. There is alot of jungle stock footage, but the monsters-giant mutated wasps are very effictively handled with stop motion and a full size head and claw. The bugs have become to large to fly and their shriveled wings constantly buzz making a creepy sound to announce their presence. One cool scene has an approaching wasp attacked by a python-the big snake wraps around the mutant bug's neck before being pried off and stung(the wasp's have 2 tusk like stingers on their face)!The colony is the result of crashed test rocket that exposed the bugs to radiation in the stratosphere and they are done in by a volcanic eruption. In between there is alot of standard jungle adventure footage with a safari, attacking natives and hostile animals. I almost expected Tarzan or Jungle Jim to show up any minute! Still, a fun little time waster. I have this on a neat triple feature disc with ROCKETSHIP X-M and DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS. It's also availible from Image's Wade Williams collection. Oddly, I think the copies of DevilGirl and Rocketship on this disc were ripped from the Image discs because they are very good, but this movie's print is very dark and scratchy. This movie was originally released on a double bill with the American version of Toho's HALF HUMAN with John Carradine!
