Rating: 
Summary: The Leech Woman
Review: "The Leech Woman" with Colleen Gray (also Grant Williams and Gloria Talbot) was the film you saw. In it she plays a woman with a wish to grow younger and finds the answer in the necks of young men! She uses a ring with a sharp point to puncture (I think) the spinal cord and drink the fluid. In "The Wasp Woman" Susan Cabot finds the answer to youth by injecting wasp enzymes into her blood stream thus making her beautiful by day and not so beautiful by night! "The Wasp Woman" was released in 1959.I was too young to see "The Leech Woman" in 1959/'60 at the theater but I saw it on tv in the late 60s or early 70s, and I loved it! I saw "The Wasp Woman," in the late '60s, on TV as well.
Rating:
Summary: Schlocky, but fun!!!!!!
Review: An aging cosmetics magnate(the great Susan Cabot) searches desperately for a serum that will not only slow down the aging process, but will gradually restore her youth. She finally comes across such a serum, or so she thinks!!! The injections that she is given eventually turn her into the title character. Not as bad as you'd think, and really quite fun. Some of the humor was intentional(I think), but at any rate, there are some nice jolts.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful woman by day - a lusting queen wasp by night.
Review: From Roger Corman, one of the most prolific director/producers in Hollywood, comes The Wasp Woman (1960), a film that was most probably influenced by 1958's The Fly, with Vincent Price. Hey, if Hollywood can turn a man into a fly, why not turn a woman into a wasp? Well, no one ever accused Corman of originality. The movie opens up with a scientist getting fired from a company the produces honey as he is doing some strange experimentation. Seems the Scientist, Eric Zinthrop, played by Michael Mark, has been exploring the notion of using royal jelly to create a rejuvenation formula. After getting fired, Zinthrop contacts Janice Starlin, played by Susan Cabot, the head of Starlin Cosmetics. Starlin Cosmetics is losing sales due to the fact that Ms. Starlin was the only spokesperson for the cosmetics, and now that she is aging, sales are falling off. After talking to Zinthrop and seeing his success on turning back time with various animals, she hires him on, sets him up in a lab, and they begin treatments on her. The process appears to be working, but Ms. Starlin becomes impatient, wanting more results quicker, so she secretly starts injecting herself with the formula. What happens? Take a guess...I mean, the movie is titled The Wasp Woman. The acting wasn't bad, but we didn't even see the wasp woman until almost an hour into this rather talky feature. There are some bloody deaths, and the make up to create the wasp woman isn't all that bad, but the movie would have benefited from not making us wait so long in seeing the creature, filling up the 73 minute run time with nonsensical plot threads that don't develop. Alpha Video provides an exceptionally poor print here, as the film has all kinds of blemishes and even drops out briefly at a couple of points. The picture appears washed out, and the audio is pretty poor. No special features here in this barebones release, not even a trailer, but for under ten bucks I wasn't expecting much. Now that I've experienced the quality of Alpha Video, I doubt I will buy any more of their releases. I would recommend someone interested in owning this movie on DVD to do a little research, as I have since found out a number of companies have released a version, some even on double bills with other movies. I will say the cover art on the Alpha Video release looks enticing, but, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for here. Cookieman108
Rating:
Summary: The Flick Stings America's Youth Obsession.
Review: I just watched this flick and enjoyed it. It tells the story of what length people will go to regain youth. Starling is a CEO and model for a successful line of cosmetics but, like all of us, she is growing old. Enter a strange little man who promises that he can restore youh with Wasp Royal Jelly and Enzymes.
The treatment works but is slow, too slow for Starling. She sneaks into the lab and injects a massive dose to speed the process. It works but with horrible consequences. The enzymes change her into a wasp woman, who kills her enemies and eats them. The story is hokey but the underlying idea isn't. Like many of Corman's movies, this one dealt with a very provocative topic, the American obsession with youth and the lengths people will go to keep it, and treats it in a half-serious, half-humorous manner. The effects are lousy, especially since Corman films bees and not wasps, but you get the idea.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh, Roger Corman, where is thy sting? Oh, here it is
Review: I've got to hand it to Roger Corman for this one; Wasp Woman is a pretty darn good movie (albeit with vintage Corman-esque not so special effects). The film starts off with a whimper, giving us a boring look at bee farming before introducing us to Dr. Zinthrop, who is promptly fired for wasting his time experimenting with wasps. Then we are taken to the boardroom of Janice Starlin Enterprises, a cosmetics company facing lean times because the face that has always sold the product, that of Janice herself, is not as young as it used to be. Enter Dr. Zinthrop and his fantastic story of restoring youth with a wonder-working extract taken from queen wasps. After he turns two old rabbits into young bunnies before her eyes, Janice believes him and insists that she will be his first human test subject. The rest of the company bigshots are increasingly concerned by the secrecy around Zinthrop's work, but even they cannot deny the new youthful face of their leader (accomplished mainly by taking away her old maid glasses and having her smile more often). Unfortunately, Janice secretly injected herself with the experimental, much more concentrated extract in order to hasten the process, and poor Zinthrop gets run over by a car before he can warn her of its rather disturbing side effects. Thus, we are left with several Starling associates trying to find out what is really going on. They think Janice is in danger, but in fact they are the ones in danger. Janice's headaches are indicative of a much more significant problem; from time to time, she turns into a giant wasp who is less than civil to her underlings. The whole wasp woman getup is pretty ridiculous-looking, but one can look past such silly special effects and enjoy the movie for the fun, B-movie classic it is. The acting is unusually good for a Corman movie, and Susan Cabot particularly shines as Janice Starling. I've seen a number of Roger Corman movies, and this 1960 offering is by far the best of the bunch as far as I am concerned.
Rating: 
Summary: IT WAS GOOD BUT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
Review: IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD CLASSIC AND THE STORY LINE WAS ALRIGHT. THE ONLY BAD THING IS THAT THE END SHOULD HAVE BEEN LONGER. I THOUGHT THAT THE WASP WOMAN DIDN'T DO ENOUGH KILLING BUT IT DEFINITLY A 4 STAR MOVIE CLASSIC.
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn!
Review: Not much to say about this loser of a film. I really don't understand how "Wasp Woman" has become the B movie classic it is. Granted it's a Roger Corman film, but that doesn't necessarily make it good. Basically, the movie is about a woman who is the head of a cosmetics company and decides to experiment with "wasp jelly" in order to unlock the secret of eternal youth. However, her plan backfires when she ends up looking vaguely like a wasp and begins killing people. Don't get me wrong I'm a fan of old B sci-fi and horror films, but this one really did suck. Aside from the movie being just plain boring, the wasp make up is only seen for a total of about 5 minutes of the actual film time, and doesn't look at all convincing. That along with a very corny plot and dialogue (even for this kind of film), and completely stale acting, make this an extremely boring movie which should only be viewed by insomniacs who can manage to find it showing on some t.v. station in the early hours of the morning. If this movie doesn't put them to sleep, nothing will. Watch it if you want to, but please don't say I didn't warn you.
Rating:
Summary: prepubescent horror
Review: Ok, slipstream back almost a half century ago. A coupla boys (me an Donnie) each plunk down our quarters at the Aggieville Campus Theater and enter into the forbidden world of cinema. First stop: the concession stand where I choose the usual Mike & Ike jellys (it was a game to see what flavor you put in your mouth by the shape but really they mostly tasted the same). Donnie (died in 1969 from leukimia) always chose malted milk balls because he knew I hated them. Next stop: the drinking fountains, one for adults and one for kids. I wonder how many chipped teeth was the result of us kids trying to jump up and to hang on just to look grown up to our peers, not to mention getting a good face washing. Third stop: right next to the drinking fountains was an Art Deco statue of a naked lady. Full sized as I recall, black granite carved. I knew I wanted it but not sure why, perhaps it was her smile when she looked at me. Last stop: Wasp Woman, the movie. I was young and the memory fades into the unsure since. But if this "Wasp Woman" movie is about a woman killing people with a special ring and then drinking their blood to achieve youth let me tell you it scared the beejeesus out of me. This movie and "Invaders From Mars" was the reason I was a bedwetter.
Rating:
Summary: Get a real buzz on.
Review: Quickie-flick exploitation master Roger Corman produced and directed this epic example of schlock cinema. A forty-something cosmetics magnate takes experimental injections derived from royal wasp jelly to look twenty years younger. Impatient to achieve the desired results, she overdoses on the stuff. The massive jolt of wasp juice causes sporadic "insect girl" transformations that lead to murder. We doubt that Corman intended this little sci-fi thriller to be camp entertainment, but that perspective works best in viewing this film. The fright "makeup" consists of a bug-eyed head mask complete with antennae and goofy looking mittens with claws (or is it stingers?) that leave the human wrists conspicuously visible. Regardless of logic, the apparently wingless creature makes an insect wing buzzing sound, raised by several decibels. The acting, dialogue, and production values are typically low budget. The comic relief provided by Maureen "The Princess of Flatbush" is worth the purchase price alone. Die-hard fans of cheesy movies will recognize the slow-witted janitor as Yvette Vickers' slow-witted husband in "Attack of the Giant Leeches." This guy has very bad luck with women in both films. Collectors need this one, regardless. To others out there: get a buzz on. ;-)
Rating:
Summary: You'll Get A Real Buzz!
Review: Roger Corman, master of the quickie exploitation flick, produced and directed this epic example of schlock cinema. A forty-something cosmetics magnate takes injections of an experimental drug derived from royal wasp jelly to look twenty years younger. Impatient to achieve the desired results, she overdoses on the stuff. The massive jolt of wasp juice causes sporadic "insect girl" transformations that lead to murder. We doubt that Corman intended this little sci-fi thriller to be camp entertainment, but that perspective works best in viewing this film. The fright "makeup" consists of a bug-eyed head mask complete with antennae and goofy looking mittens with claws (or is it stingers?) that leaves the wrists conspicuously visible. Regardless of logic, the apparently wingless creature makes an insect wing buzzing noise, raised by several decibels. The acting, dialogue, and production values are typically low budget. The comic relief from Maureen "The Princess of Flatbush" is worth the price of the movie. Die-hard fans of cheesy movies will recognize the slow-witted janitor as Yvette Vickers' slow-witted husband in "Attack of the Giant Leeches." This guy has very bad luck with women in both films. The "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark" edition of this classic B movie provides additional lowbrow humor. Elvira's plunging, er, commentary is very revealing and well rounded. Adjust your expectations accordingly. ;-)
|
