Frankenstein Meets The Space Monster

A robot astronaut is forced to crash in the island of Puerto Rico (YAY!) and is turned into a homicidal Frankenstein-like monster, killing random people but mostly just walking around aimlessly in the sand. Meanwhile, a race of aliens has invaded the planet, and they are kidnapping young and beautiful women to take them to their home planet for *gasp* mating purposes! The bastards!
You know, I put up with a lot of crap. I watch a ton of shitty movies, and I defend most of them, since I can get an enjoyment about almost everything I watch, good or bad. But for me, this one draws the line. I saw this movie for the second time in my life solely for the purpose of this review and I still can’t get into it. Granted, not all of it is bad. There is a lot of camp value, particularly in the fact that most of the aliens look like homosexuals in a NY club during the 90’s (ever see Party Monster? Then you know what I mean). Then there’s the makeup on the monsters, which is pretty cool and extensive, particularly on the robot. Although to be fair, the Space Monster looks more like an expensive Halloween costume than anything realistic. I also dig the fact that most of the film is shot in Puerto Rico, something that it’s impossible to avoid since the damn beaches still look the same today! They even have a stroll through San Juan, which most of the architecture of the time is still intact today. If you didn’t know, I was born and raised on Puerto Rico and currently live in the city of Bayamon, so this was a treat.
Sadly it’s not enough. This movie is very boring, with long spaces full of filler and an extensive use of stock footage that would make Ed Wood cringe. And speaking of Ed Wood, there are continuity errors in this movie that really boggle the mind, much like the ones in an Ed Wood film. You know the type: one shot has daylight, the other night, etc. What the fuck was wrong with these filmmakers? The confrontation between the robot and the space monster was very disappointing. I found it shocking that this film was filmed as late as 1965, since it looks and feels like a 50’s B-movie. Maybe if this movie had come out a decade earlier it would be more interesting, but as I said, it’s a little too late.
James Karen, who would later go on to play great roles in films like Poltergeist and Return of the Living Dead, plays a young hero scientist. I’ve heard rumours that William Shatner had a role in this film, but for the life of me I couldn’t find him. Anyway, this movie is truly terrible, more of a time-waster than anything entertaining, but if you’re in the right mood, you might get a couple of laughs.