Originally I had planned on making my Sunday Night Feature this week something with a more serious tone, after all last weekend had been a light and feel–good movie experience, however when it came time to select a film, I decided to continue with the whimsical tone that had pervaded my evening. (Earlier in my sweetie-wife and I had watched a French Comedic Fantasy The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec. If you enjoy silly fun this is worth a look, but be warned it is subtitled.)
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is an early 2000’s independent film spoofing the dreadful SF
films of the later 50’s and early 60’s. It was filmed in black-and white, with highly restricted locales to capture that low budget sensation so prevalent in the films it lovingly mocks. The film’s charm works best if you have, like myself, instead of developing normal social skills, wasted your youth watching SF and horror movies late night on the weekends. The special effects are absolutely non-special, the acting is so deliberately bad that it makes most local high school productions appear to be the Royal Shakespearean, (Though it must be said it is not easy to act bad and let everyone in on the joke. ) and the dialog sets back the cause of intelligence and sexual equality. All of this make the film funny and in my opinion well worth the time.
The story is simple; Dr. Paul Armstrong and his wife Betty have come to an isolated cabin is search of a recently fallen meteorite which Paul believes is made of Atmospherium, a rare and powerful radiative element. Dr. Roger Flemming has come to the same area searching to the lost caves of Cadavra, coves so lost to memory that he’s forced to ask a forest ranger for their location. As a dedicated Mad Scientist, Flemming is searching for the Lost Skeleton which he hopes will not hate him as other skeletons has and will make Flemming the most powerful man in the world. To do this he needs Atmospherium. In addition to the two scientists we have an alien married couple, Kro-bar and Lattice, who have become stranded on Earth unless they can refuel their ship with Atmospherium.
The film has mutants, mind control, rock dances, raor, and the ever famous Amish Terrariums. I had the good fortune to see this on the big screen, but big or little this humor works and this is my sort of art house movie.
