Cold War Creatures Box Set – Review

By Sarah Morgan

Let’s not beat around the bush here – this is a wonderful box set if, like me, you’re a fan of low-budget, vintage sci-fi and horror movies.

If you’re not, it might be good enough to convince you that such films do have merit because although the special effects might not be very special by today’s standards and the acting a little creaky at times, the storytelling, direction and atmosphere are, by and large, top notch. So what if the budgets couldn’t match the makers’ vision when there’s so much fun to be had?

“Undead thugs”

Each film was backed by Sam Katzman, a prolific producer who, during a 40-year career, managed to turn a profit on pretty much everything he made, from Saturday morning serials to feature-length projects. He seemed able to tap into the zeitgeist and deserves to be as well known as his fellow low-budget masters Roger Corman and James H Nicholson.

There are four films in the box set; the wonderfully titled Creature with the Atom Brain gets the ball rolling and involves a mob boss who finances a crackpot scientist’s bizarre re-animation project so that he can send undead thugs after the former associates who double-crossed him.

In The Werewolf, an amnesiac car accident victim is given a serum that’s supposed to make him immune to the fall-out of a nuclear attack. Instead, whenever he gets angry, he turns into a blood-thirsty lycanthrope (and yes, there are shades of the Hulk here, which the film predates by six years).

The undead crew of a sunken ship try to prevent the theft of their precious diamond cargo in Zombies of Mora Tau, which is set in a strangely all-white area of Africa, but nevertheless introduces tropes that are now accepted within the zombie genre.

“Shed new light”

And finally, The Giant Claw focuses on the efforts to destroy a maniacal bird wreaking havoc across the world.

The last title is certainly the weakest of the quartet; it isn’t helped by some shocking visual effects. Ray Harryhausen was reportedly originally lined up to create the airborne beast, but backed out, perhaps because he realised the budget simply wasn’t big enough for him to do justice to the creature.

Arguably the best is The Werewolf thanks to its sympathetic approach to the man at the centre of the tale who is depicted as a victim, despite killing numerous people.

If the films aren’t enough to tempt you, then perhaps the special features are – there’s a wealth of intriguing commentaries and documentaries available to shed new light on each movie.