Brad Cook reviews Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXVII…
When I reviewed MST3K Volume XXXV, I noted that you could divide Shout! Factory’s releases of the TV series episodes into the “good” and “great” categories. Volume XXXV fell in the former category, as does the latest one, Volume XXXVII (I skipped Volume XXXVI). It’s certainly a worthwhile purchase for completists, but the bonus features didn’t quite hit the heights established by some previous entries in this series.
Here’s what you’ll find in this collection:
Invasion of the Neptune Men: This eighth season episode features a 1961 Japanese science-fiction movie that was later shown on American TV. It’s a great example of the nuances that exist when someone talks about a bad movie. Sure, there are bad movies like Plan 9 From Outer Space that are just ineptly made, but then there are bad movies like Invasion of the Neptune Men, which does bizarre things like repeating the same shots over and over again during an aerial battle. Mike and the bots joke several times that this is the kind of bad movie that can produce physical revulsion in the viewer akin to being tortured.
Mary Jo Pehl, a writer on the show who also played Pearl Forrester (Dr. Forrester’s mother, who became the main baddie after Trace Beaulieu left the show), offers up an introduction to this episode, and Japanese movies and TV expert August Ragone spends some time talking about the movie’s place in Japan’s cinema history.
The Horror of Party Beach: Another eighth season episode, this one serves up a silly 1964 horror movie that tried to ride the coattails of the biker gang and beach party movies of the 50s and 60s. Whereas Neptune Men is painfully bad, this one is bad in a fun way. Pehl introduces this one too, and film historian Tom Weaver fills in the back story of how this movie was made.
Director/producer Del Tenney’s widow also pops in for some interesting anecdotes during the making-of featurette, including one involving the real life biker gang that was recruited for the movie. Several of them got into an accident during filming and ended up in the hospital. When they showed up at the Tenneys’ house while the couple was editing the footage, they worried that the men were there for retribution, but it turned out they just wanted to see the movie.
Escape 2000: A seventh season episode featuring an 80s movie that tried to capitalize on the popularity of films like the Mad Max series and Escape From New York. As bad movies go, it’s pretty watchable, although there’s plenty for Mike and the bots to riff on, including the silly main character, Trash, and the antagonist, Dablone, whose name they keep turning into Toblerone.
Pehl also introduces this one, and Leave the Bronx: Making Escape 2000 explains the movie’s Italian roots. According to Wikipedia, there was a Bronx Warriors convention in 2009 in Rome, so I guess there’s actually a fan base for this thing.
The Human Duplicators: The lone Joel episode in this set is a fifth season one featuring a 1965 movie about aliens infiltrating the American government. (Looks like that’s about to happen for real.) It’s notable for having Hugh “Ward Cleaver” Beaumont’s final role, as well as the presence of Richard Kiel, best known for playing Jaws in two James Bond movies. Unfortunately, it’s a bit dull, although Joel and the bots do their best to riff it up. The lone bonus feature includes the MST Hour wraps that were produced for many episodes when the series was sliced into one-hour installments.
None of the making-of pieces in this set are very meaty (they all clock in around 10-15 minutes), which is why I put this one in the “good but not great” category. However, the episodes are up to their usual standards. For me, the MST3K sweet spot is when they riff a movie that’s bad but still watchable, as The Horror of Party Beach and Escape 2000 are.
Brad Cook
