The Wasp Woman
by Roger Corman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Eisley, Lynn Cartwright, Phillip Barry, Roger Corman, Susan CabotDirector: Roger Corman
Brand: Gaiam
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 72 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-30
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Good Times Video
Movie Reviews of The Wasp Woman
Movie Review: A Roger Corman Buzz Off
Summary: 3 Stars
No one watches a Roger Corman film with the expectation that it will have a coherent script, solid production values, or memorable performances. Done on the cheap, his films were calculated to draw a teenage audience with clever titles and flashy posters that inevitably promised more than they delivered. Some are better, some are worse, and some are mildly amusing due to their commonplace nature. THE WASP WOMAN falls in the latter category.
The plot is part FRANKENSTEIN, part DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, and part THE INVISIBLE MAN. Eric Zinthrop (Michael Mark) is a scientist who finds that "Queen Wasp Royal Jelly" has a youthening effect; Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot) is an aging beauty whose cosmetic company is in a slump. Unfortunately, Janice grows impatient and overdoses on wasp extract. She not only drops about a decade of wrinkles, she also turns into a wasp and takes to sucking the blood of her unfortunate employees.
There's nothing spit-shined about the story or script, but the cast is surprisingly competent for this sort of thing. Susan Cabot was one of many young actresses who had the misfortune to receive a film contract from a major studio at almost the precise moment the studio system began to fade; although she was smart, prettier than many, and more talented than most, her film career quickly stalled. Her association with Corman (she did five films for him) was actually the high point of her career. Her turn in THE WASP WOMAN, complete with silly mask and awkward gloves, was her final big screen fling, and as the result isn't too bad as these things go. Others in the cast worth noting are Barboura Morris, who did several Corman films, and Anthony Eisley, who went on to a significant television career.
I'm not wild about Corman movies. They always seem slow to me, and THE WASP WOMAN is no exception. Still, it has its moments--as when Zinthrop demonstrates his wonder drug by injecting it into guinea pigs that somehow "youthen" into lab rats or when Janice's age is erradicated by simply wiping off some crudely done make-up wrinkles. The big pay off, of course, is the sight of Cabot in her silly wasp woman costume, which looks nothing whatsoever like a wasp. But do these moments make it all worth the effort? Well... I'm not going to watch it again, but it's better than such Corman debacles as ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS or CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Summary of The Wasp Woman
THE WASP WOMAN A Beautiful Woman by Day-A Lusting Queen Wasp by Night! [ Roger Corman, king of the cult classics, produced and directed this low-budget fear-fest, and even makes an uncredited cameo appearance as a doctor in one of the hospital scenes. Susan Cabot (Sorority Girl) plays Janice Starlin, whose cosmetics company has started to lose sales, because its marketing relies on her own once-impressive but now aging beauty. The eccentric Eric Zinthrop (Michael Mark) develops an enzyme extract from royal wasp jelly, which rejuvenates Janice, with one tiny little side effect: it turns her into a monster! Written by frequent Corman collaborator Leo Gordon (The Terror), this co-stars Anthony (aka Fred) Eisley (Dracula Vs. Frankenstein) and Barboura Morris (A Bucket of Blood). Approximately 72 minutes Black and WhiteHorror DVD Video
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