The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brian Howe, Faye MastersonBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
Published: 2004-06-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-22
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
Movie Review: "I Don't Understand....Why Does She Need An Amish Terrarium?"
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" recounts that fateful day that "the Earth was disemboweled in terror!" Filmed in the miracle of "Skeletorama," Larry Blamire's wonderful spoof of great 1950's science fiction films pays homage to and pokes good-natured fun at this genre of a golden cinematic age. Shown in black and white, the film doesn't miss an element that makes the old sci-fi films wonderful: the sets are perfect, the special effects are beyond perfect, the cast is incomparable, and the tone and nuances of the film are exactly on the mark.
Largely filmed in Bronson Canyon, the movie opens with Dr. Paul Armstrong (Blamire) and his wife Betty (Fay Masterson) driving a Thunderbird up a narrow road. He is a scientist, and they are looking for a meteor that has recently crashed in the area which Paul suspects contains atmospherium, the most rare radioactive element. Meanwhile, Dr. Roger Fleming (Brian Howe) an evil scientist, ("I'm a scientist; I don't believe in anything") is hunting for Cadavra cave in the same area. Another "meteor" lands, but this one turns out to be a spaceship from the planet Marva, carrying Kro-Bar (Andrew Parks,) Lattis (Susan McConnell,) and a mutant (Darrin Reed.) The mutant quickly escapes, alarming the aliens, who also need atmospherium to repair their ship.
Roger finds long lost Cadavra Cave and it's famous occupant, the Lost Skeleton of Cadavra under a sheet about five feet from the cave's entrance. The skeleton comes to life for Roger, and immediately starts insulting him. The skeleton instructs Roger to get him atmospherium to help completely revive him. He then decides to rest ("I sleep now!") leaving a three-way competition for atmospherium in Bronson canyon. Paul and Betty find the meteor full of atmospherium and the others scheme to obtain it. Lattis and Kro-Bar change their appearance into that of normal humans with their transmutatron, and decide to visit Paul and Betty in their cabin, although they are puzzled by their strange Earth clothes. The dialogue about Kro-Bar's tie (he finds the "neck restrainer" most uncomfortable) and Lattis' dress, which she refers to as an "inverted cloth funnel" is priceless. In another touch of genius, the aliens have great difficulty understanding how stairs and doors work ("This is insanity!") and finally provoke Paul and Betty to open the door. Paul and Betty are puzzled by their strange mannerisms, and all four actors (especially Susan McConnell) are masters of subtle expressions and physical comedy in the cabin scenes. I found it a hilarious touch that as weird as their Marvan names were, that Blamire had the aliens choose yet another set of equally odd Earth names for themselves when they introduce themselves to the Armstrongs (Kro-Bar becomes Bamin, while Lattis becomes Tergasso.) Betty thinks they are the Taylors who rented them the cabin, so they are invited in for drinks. When invited to sit the aliens look anything but normal when they declare "Fold yourself in the middle!" and sit with a great flourish. Lattis quickly polishes off a very strong scotch and soda and gets talking about girl stuff with Betty ("I also appreciate your soft cloth funnel, Betty.") As her intoxication worsens Kro-Bar alleviates everyone's discomfort with the reassurance that "My wife sometimes forgets she is not a space alien."
Outside the cabin Roger saw the aliens use the transmutatron to change their appearance, so he makes a date for himself by firing the transmutatron at four different forest animals, creating the beautiful Animala (Jennifer Blaire, Blamire's wife) in the process. Blaire is wonderful in her velour catsuit. Her animal traits are perfect, and I especially love the fuzzy black booties that conceal her feet. Roger teaches Animala how to speak and eat with humans, then they go knock on the cabin door. The scenes that follow are a lesson in physical comedy, emotional control, and direction for actors and filmmakers alike. The dinner scene is beyond hilarious, and the wonderfully stilted dialogue is delivered absolutely perfectly.
The skeleton commands Animala to bring her the atmospherium ("Amish terrarium") and he even tries his mind control on Betty, who passes out. The aliens figure out what Roger is up to (Lattis deadpans the line "You are different from the other humans...more disgusting I think,") and they agree to form an alliance to get the atmospherium from Paul. Before it's over, Animala does a very seductive dance for Paul (whose dancing is much less seductive, and much funnier.) This musical cavorting causes Paul to bring the meteor to the spaceship. Betty goes looking for Paul and is immediately carried away by the hideous (and deeply amusing) mutant, while great 1950's style music plays, followed by betrayals and a lesson in street smarts for Lattis and Kro-Bar.
I love that through it all the skeleton is incredibly abusive to Roger, the one person who actually cares about him, and Roger's next task is to set up a horrible skeletal wedding of horrors preceded by more dancing. Betty, Paul, Kro-Bar, and Lattis go inside the spaceship ("It's just like your house, only it travels through space") and have some refreshments, in this case wine from cherries ("what we call 'linbooba,'") although Lattis' earlier indiscretions notwithstanding, Kro-Bar insists that on Marva they gave up getting drunk "eons of your years ago," which was an extremely subtle nod from Blamire to Ed Wood, which I absolutely loved.
I love the cheesy skeleton movements, especially when he walks and climbs down the mountain while Roger dutifully asks "What orders do you have for us, my bony wonder?" The skeleton hypnotizes Lattis and Kro-Bar and forces them to dance (the laughter quotient is turned to eleven during the alien dancing) before marrying Lattis himself. That, of course, means that Kro-Bar must be dispatched before the "King of Cartilage" can wed Lattis, and it's looking pretty bleak for the Marvans. Betty comes to the rescue by luring the mutant to the wedding, and as the wedding gets crashed, Betty battles Animala and Paul battles Roger, who is eventually choked to death by the skeleton for incompetence. Defying the odds, Betty defeats Animala, and the mutant battles the skeleton. It's all very tense, but the skeleton eventually gets tossed off a mountain, Animala gets changed back into four animals (which Blaire says are a fox, a bird, a squirrel, and a lynx,) the mutant succumbs to injuries, even though he has developed a mysterious and loving bond with Betty, and in the final scene, in perfect 1950's sci-fi style, Kro-Bar delivers a somber and semi-pompous monologue about understanding the differences between people.
The DVD comes with an amazing quantity of extras: there is a cast commentary, a crew commentary, a trailer, the "Skeleton Frolics" cartoon short that was shown with the film in theaters, an "Obey the Lost Skeleton Featurette," a cast question and answer session, a blooper reel, "Virtual Skeletables," and previews. Of these the commentaries are absolutely wonderful, and make clear not only the process used in making the film, and the opinions of the cast and crew, but really demonstrate the genuine affection that Blamire and company have for this genre of film. The bloopers are also a must-see, particularly the skeleton miscues.
I cannot recommend "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" more highly. I have loved these silly sci-fi movies since I was very young, and I always will. This is an amazingly well done, respectful tribute and spoof of those famous movies, and I appreciate Larry Blamire having the vision to undertake this project. The good news is that the Lost Skeleton has just returned in a sequel, so make sure you pick that up too.
Summary of The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA - DVD MovieA complete delight for fans of psychotronic cinema and the Saturday-afternoon creature feature. Writer-director Larry Blamire has distilled every cliché of the drive-in movie era of low-budget horror and put it into The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, 90 minutes of pitch-perfect spoofing. The dialogue is marvelously insipid, and the music (taken from a stock music library) cuts in and out of the action with breathtaking suddenness. It was even shot in Bronson Canyon, location of many a cheap B-picture (one knock: the black-and-white image, shot on video, wears the eye out after a while). Aliens from Mars crash-land, setting loose a mutant, while a mad scientist re-awakens a talking skeleton that could hold the key to world domination. And don't forget Animala, a half-woman, half-animal beatnik! Rowwwr! Blamire allows it all to run on too long, yet hardcore fans of this movie world will be hard-pressed to complain. --Robert Horton
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