Trog (1970)
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Trog (1970)
__ There's a Cult Camp Classic DVD release from Warner.. (2007 DVD, 91m.)
This isn't a simple caveman monster picture as I expected (like Eegah - another one I plan to watch soon) because it does throw in the debate concerning strict creationism and evolution. It's still silly, even if it is directed by Freddie Francis, who prevents it from degenerating into complete excrement. The Trog character is obviously just a typical human where he isn't covered with fake hair (actor Joe Cornelius), topped by the Trog apelike mask. The face make-up isn't really bad; it's just that it's combined with nothing else for the rest of the body. According to some trivia, the face mask was actually a leftover from one of the ape characters of 2001:A Space Odyssey.
Crawford plays I nice elderly scientist here (against her rep), while Michael Gough is the wild, over-the-top creationist. I never really understood why Gough was so upset over Trog's emergence, though it's mentioned that he's a businessman whose actual concern may just be money. Trog was actually minding his own business in his cave - he's a troglodyte, dontcha know? - until accidentally discovered by a trio of young archaeologists; then the rest of civilization forces him out. Typical of the camp atmosphere: when Trog first emerges, everyone there, including cops, freezes or panics in terror, except old lady Crawford, who calmly fetches a trank rifle and downs the savage beast.
Later scenes of classical music calming the beast man are fine, but rock 'n' roll music angers him and watching Crawford play catch with Trog is laughable. I'm sure Gough was instructed to act like a primitive himself when he wrecks the scientist's lab (he even lets his tongue hang out) in order to impress on us the irony of the 'civilized man' behaving more crudely than the missing link. Thorley Walters pops up as a judge and even he constantly instructs Gough to shut up.
The highlight of this film, at the one-hour mark, are the dinosaur scenes from the unfinished/lost Animal World (1955); it makes no sense, of course, for Trog to 'remember' any of these scenes, but hey, they're cool to look at, especially on a nice DVD version. BoG's Score: 5 out of 10
The trailer for this one is suggestive of even more horrific violence: 2 shots are edited in such a way that it seems as if Trog stamps out the life of a little girl. A more serious and believable version of this story was the film Iceman (1984).
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Base of Galactic Science Fiction :: SCIENCE FICTION CINEMA :: Silver Age of Science Fiction Cinema
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