Venus Flytrap (film)
| Venus Flytrap | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Norman Earl Thomson |
| Screenplay by | Norman Earl Thomson |
| Story by | Ed Wood (Uncredited) |
| Produced by | Norman Earl Thomson |
| Starring | James Craig James Yagi Atsuko Rome |
| Cinematography | Arnold Dibble |
| Edited by | Kenneth G. Crane |
| Distributed by | Toei Company |
Release date | 1970[1] |
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Countries | United States Japan |
| Languages | Japanese English |
Venus Flytrap (also known as Body of the Prey, and The Revenge of Doctor X) is a 1970 American-Japanese science fiction horror film[2] shot partly in Japan. It was distributed by the Toei Company of Japan. The plot features a mad scientist who uses lightning to turn carnivorous plants into sentient man-eating creatures.
Based on a 1950s screenplay written by an uncredited Ed Wood, the film was directed and produced by pulp writer Norman Earl Thomson. (Thomson reworked Wood's screenplay considerably.)
Credit is often incorrectly given to the editor Kenneth G. Crane, who directed the 1959 American-Japanese horror film The Manster. The American video release print additionally erroneously featured the credits for a 1969 Philippines production called The Mad Doctor of Blood Island.[3][4]
Plot summary
Dr. Bragan (James Craig) is a workaholic rocket scientist at NASA working on a mission to outer space. The stress of the mission causes him to have a mental breakdown, so his assistant, Dr. Paul Nakamura (Yagi), suggests he takes a vacation in Japan at his abandoned luxury resort to recuperate. Dr. Bragan accepts his offer and flies to Japan.
In Japan, Dr. Bragan stays at the defunct hotel of Nakamura with Dr. Noriko Hanamura (Kami), the lovely daughter of his coworker who takes on the role of his assistant. Bragan begins a bizarre experiment in botany in the hotel's secluded greenhouse to prove his theory that humans evolved from plants. With a potted Venus flytrap he brought from America, the scientist grafts it to a Japanese carnivorous oceanic plant to create a hybrid creature that becomes humanoid and requires the blood of mammals to flourish. But Bragan is just as obsessive and moody as he was in America, and his behavior causes Noroko to suspect he is going mad, especially when he secretly takes a victim's "heart blood" to feed it. When his creation, "Sectovorus" uproots and begins moving around on its own, it becomes dangerous and it's not long before the creature begins seeking human victims from a nearby village. The villagers riot and Dr. Bragan must decide between protecting his creation or killing it in order to save mankind. He opts to lure it into a nearby volcano.
Cast
- James Craig as Dr. Bragan
- Tota Kondo as Customs officer
- Lawrence O'Neill as American at airport
- Al Ricketts as Gas station owner
- Atsuko Rome as Noriko Hanamura (billed as Ako Kami)
- Edward M. Shannon as Dr. Shannon
- John Stanley as Dr. Stanley
- James Yagi as Dr. Paul Nakamura
Angelique Pettyjohn is credited in the opening credits as one of four cast members, but does not appear in the film.
Reception
Kim Newman found the movie weird and amateurish, but noted it had enough bizarre elements to keep your attention. It is further noted that despite one of the titles, there is no Dr. X. in the film.[5] Creature Feature gave the movie one star.[6]
Legacy
The syndicated series Cinema Insomnia mocked the film on Halloween 2011.[7]
It also received treatment by Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett for RiffTrax.
The film is available for streaming for free on many sites, including, as of October 2011, by YouTube[8]
Production
Atsuko Rome had never acted before, instead having been a model and ballet dancer. She praised director Thomson for making the process smooth. The shoot took about a month.[9]
The movie was reportedly discovered in a warehouse with no credits, and credits from another movie were spliced onto the print. This has caused the confusion of the identities of the cast and crew. [10]
See also
References
- ^ "THE REVENGE OF DR. X aka VENUS FLYTRAP (1967) Reviews and overview". 15 November 2017.
- ^ Weldon, Michael (1996). The Psychotronic Video Guide. Titan Books. ISBN 1-85286-770-1.
- ^ Venus Flytrap at IMDb
- ^ "THE REVENGE OF DR. X aka VENUS FLYTRAP (1967) Reviews and overview". 15 November 2017.
- ^ "Film review – the Revenge of Dr X". 9 April 2017.
- ^ Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature: 3rd Edition
- ^ FRED Entertainment. "How Lobo Can You Go?".
- ^ The Revenge Of Dr X. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
- ^ "RECOLLECTIONS OF 'BODY OF THE PREY'! Atsuko Rome Looks Back on Her Starring Role in ed Wood's Japanese Monster Movie!". 16 October 2018.
- ^ "The Revenge of Doctor X (1970)". 19 October 2018.