Intentionally making a bad movie seems counterproductive. There have been a number of films over the years that spoof, make fun of, and play off of the low-budget sci-fi B-pictures of the fifties. Some of these films are entertaining, some are tedious. "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra," which was made with the same budgets Ed Wood had minus inflation, falls on the entertaining side of that equitation, at least for me anyway.
The Ed Wood comparison is apt. Wood is notorious for his minuscule budgets and floppy, sometimes incoherent scripts. What actually makes Wood's films preserve aren't that we can laugh at their lousy production values and crappy scripts. Lots of movies nobody care about have that. What made his films memorable was Wood's ear for surreal, oddly quotable dialogue. "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" has a fantastic understanding of that. It's fair to say the movie's primary comedic device is the oddball, awkward, frequently hilarious dialogue. "Sometimes my wife forgets she is not a space alien." "I've seen bears do things Things a bear wouldn't even do." "Even as a child, I was always hated by skeletons." And on and on. This is one of those films were visiting its IMDb quote page before watching it will ruin the fun. (But, in all likelihood, you probably will want to visit that page afterwards.) Unlike say, "Alien Trespass," the filmmakers also had a grip on the pacing, style, and tone of those fifties B-movies, right down to lag at the end of the second act. The camera hangs onto scenes just a second longer then it should. Music cues cut wildly between scenes. Hand-held close-ups are used whenever the monster is about. Clearly this was made by fans. The filmmakers weren't just making fun of unconvincing special effects or visible wires. (Though it does that a few times as well.) They were trying to replicate the off-kilter tone of the time period and genre. The plot wildly masses together story elements from "It Came From Outer Space," "Creature from the Black Lagoon," "Invaders from Mars," "The Blob," "I Married a Monster from Outer Space," "Plan 9," in actuality some of the best films of the era. The score is composed solely of library music.
The movie is generally just pretty fun. In a post-"Avatar" world, naming phlebotnum "Atmospherium" really doesn't sound any worse then "Unobtainium." The cast is amazingly game. Andrew Parks and Susan McConnel as the alien couple go for broke as far as physical comedy go. Their uniformly stiff posture and unblinking gazes never disguise for a minute that they are aliens, which is obviously the joke. I especially love how they "bend themselves in half" whenever sitting. Brian Howe as the mad scientist is especially hilarious, with his love-hate relationship with the Lost Skeleton. Jennifer Blaire, providing some decent eye-candy in a skintight body suit, has a lot of fun as Animala, carrying an interesting body language and pronouncing her lines in just an unusual enough way. The whole cast carries the film astonishingly well. The best character isn't actually played by an actor. I love the Lost Skeleton. His booming psychic voice makes some of the simplest lines hilarious. "I sleep now!" There's a deadpan to the monotone that makes the more absurd moments even funnier, most notably his passive-aggressive relationship with the mad doctor that brings him to life. ("Stop that giggling. It makes me uncomfortable.") Not all the gags work. The scene where numerous characters are giving Betty the housewife psychic suggestions goes on too long. Generally, the repeated gag of people laughing until they stop is repeated one time too many. The scenes of Betty and Paul sharing lunch with the aliens inside their ship is also a victim of the film's intentionally static pacing. Still, "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" squeezes enough hearty laughs into its short runtime to certainly make it worth your while. Always agree.
The Ed Wood comparison is apt. Wood is notorious for his minuscule budgets and floppy, sometimes incoherent scripts. What actually makes Wood's films preserve aren't that we can laugh at their lousy production values and crappy scripts. Lots of movies nobody care about have that. What made his films memorable was Wood's ear for surreal, oddly quotable dialogue. "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" has a fantastic understanding of that. It's fair to say the movie's primary comedic device is the oddball, awkward, frequently hilarious dialogue. "Sometimes my wife forgets she is not a space alien." "I've seen bears do things Things a bear wouldn't even do." "Even as a child, I was always hated by skeletons." And on and on. This is one of those films were visiting its IMDb quote page before watching it will ruin the fun. (But, in all likelihood, you probably will want to visit that page afterwards.) Unlike say, "Alien Trespass," the filmmakers also had a grip on the pacing, style, and tone of those fifties B-movies, right down to lag at the end of the second act. The camera hangs onto scenes just a second longer then it should. Music cues cut wildly between scenes. Hand-held close-ups are used whenever the monster is about. Clearly this was made by fans. The filmmakers weren't just making fun of unconvincing special effects or visible wires. (Though it does that a few times as well.) They were trying to replicate the off-kilter tone of the time period and genre. The plot wildly masses together story elements from "It Came From Outer Space," "Creature from the Black Lagoon," "Invaders from Mars," "The Blob," "I Married a Monster from Outer Space," "Plan 9," in actuality some of the best films of the era. The score is composed solely of library music.
The movie is generally just pretty fun. In a post-"Avatar" world, naming phlebotnum "Atmospherium" really doesn't sound any worse then "Unobtainium." The cast is amazingly game. Andrew Parks and Susan McConnel as the alien couple go for broke as far as physical comedy go. Their uniformly stiff posture and unblinking gazes never disguise for a minute that they are aliens, which is obviously the joke. I especially love how they "bend themselves in half" whenever sitting. Brian Howe as the mad scientist is especially hilarious, with his love-hate relationship with the Lost Skeleton. Jennifer Blaire, providing some decent eye-candy in a skintight body suit, has a lot of fun as Animala, carrying an interesting body language and pronouncing her lines in just an unusual enough way. The whole cast carries the film astonishingly well. The best character isn't actually played by an actor. I love the Lost Skeleton. His booming psychic voice makes some of the simplest lines hilarious. "I sleep now!" There's a deadpan to the monotone that makes the more absurd moments even funnier, most notably his passive-aggressive relationship with the mad doctor that brings him to life. ("Stop that giggling. It makes me uncomfortable.") Not all the gags work. The scene where numerous characters are giving Betty the housewife psychic suggestions goes on too long. Generally, the repeated gag of people laughing until they stop is repeated one time too many. The scenes of Betty and Paul sharing lunch with the aliens inside their ship is also a victim of the film's intentionally static pacing. Still, "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" squeezes enough hearty laughs into its short runtime to certainly make it worth your while. Always agree.