''The Astro-Zombies'' is a 1968 American

science fiction horror film This is a list of science fiction horror films. 0-9 *'' 4D Man'' (1959) *'' 9'' (2009) *'' 9'' (2019) A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O *''The Omega Man'' (1971) *'' Outland'' (1981) *''Outpost'': **'' Outpost'' (2008) ...

written, directed and produced by

Ted V. Mikels Ted V. Mikels (born Theodore Vincent Mikacevich; April 29, 1929 – October 16, 2016) was an American independent filmmaker primarily of the horror cult film genre. Movies that he both produced and directed include ''Girl in Gold Boots'' (196 ...

and starring

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later Jo ...

Wendell Corey Wendell Reid Corey (March 20, 1914 – November 8, 1968) was an American actor and politician. He was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild. Biography Early years Corey was ...

, and

Tura Satana Tura Satana (July 10, 1938Some sources give her birth year as 1935, i.e. Dave Itzkoff"Tura Satana, Cult Actress, Is Dead" ''New York Times'', February 5, 2011; accessed January 8, 2014. – February 4, 2011) was a Japanese American actress, v ...

Plot

A disgruntled scientist who, having been fired by the space agency, decides to create superhuman monsters from the body parts of innocent murder victims. The creatures eventually escape and go on a killing spree, attracting the attention of both an international spy ring and the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

Cast

as Holman *

as Dr. DeMarco * Tom Pace as Eric Porter * Joan Patrick as Janine Norwalk *

as Satana *

Rafael Campos Rafael Campos (13 May 1936 – 9 July 1985) was an actor from the Dominican Republic whose credits include ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955), '' Dino'' (1957), '' The Light in the Forest'' (1958), ''Slumber Party '57'' (1976), ''The Astro-Zombies'' (1 ...

as Juan * Joseph Hoover as Chuck Edwards * Victor Izay as Dr. Petrovich * William Bagdad as Franchot *

Vincent Barbi Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

as Tyros * Vic Lance as the chauffeur * Egon Sirany as Sergio Demozhenin * Rod Wilmoth as Astro-Zombie

Production

Mikels said he started writing it when he made his first film, ''

Strike Me Deadly ''Strike Me Deadly'' is a 1963 American thriller film written and directed by Ted V. Mikels in his directorial debut, and starring Gary Clarke, Jeannine Riley, and Steve Ihnat. Its plot follows a man and his wife who, after witnessing a murder, a ...

''. Produced by Ram Ltd. and Ted V. Mikels Film Production, ''The Astro-Zombies'' was filmed on a low budget of $37,000, with $3,000 of the budget used to pay Carradine. The film would be Mikels' last collaboration with Wayne M. Rogers (of later ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. The ...

'' fame), who also co-wrote and co-produced the film. Mikels remembers it as "a very easy shoot. I shot half of it myself because I only had money for a crew for two weeks, so I spent two weeks shooting all the stuff around town, all the chases and all that". The score was written by Nico Karaski, cinematography was handled by Robert Maxwell and editing by Art Names.

Release and reception

''The Astro-Zombies'' was released in May 1968, at a runtime of 94 minutes. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "There's almost nothing good to say for this horror scifier ... The scifi aspects don't enthrall and the thrill aspects don't shock". Author and film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

awarded the film the lowest possible rating of "Bomb", calling it "yet another nominee for worst picture of all time". On his website ''Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings'', Dave Sindelar called the film "wretched", criticizing the film's messy plot and "talky/dull" scenes. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' called the film "one of the all-time worst sci-fi pictures". In a retrospective review, David Cornelius of ''eFilmCritic.com'' gave the film 1 out of 5 stars, calling it the worst film ever made, and criticized the film's acting, its "painful-to-the-eyes production values", and the film's absence of reason.

Sequels

Nearly 40 years after the film's release, Mikels would direct three low-budget sequels starting with 2004's ''Mark of the Astro-Zombies'', 2010's ''Astro-Zombies M3: Cloned'', and 2012's ''Astro-Zombies M4: Invaders from Cyberspace''. Tura Satana would return for the second and third films but not the fourth.

Influence

American

horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by ...

band the Misfits recorded a song titled "Astro Zombies", released on their 1982 album ''

Walk Among Us ''Walk Among Us'' is the debut album by the American punk rock band Misfits, released in March 1982 by Ruby Records and its parent label Slash Records. It was the first full-length album to be released by the band, although it was the third to ...

''. The lyrics, by frontman

Glenn Danzig Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, film director, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns t ...

, were written from the perspective of mad scientist Dr. DeMarco. The film was spoofed in 2016 by comedians

Michael J. Nelson Michael John Nelson (born October 11, 1964) is an American comedian and writer, most known for his work on the television series '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's origi ...

Bill Corbett William Daniel Corbett (born March 30, 1960) is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''), for which he voiced the r ...

, and Kevin Murphy for

Rifftrax RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to mostly public domain feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''M ...

References

External links

* * theatrical trailer * {{DEFAULTSORT:Astro-Zombies, The 1968 films 1968 horror films 1960s English-language films 1960s monster movies 1960s science fiction horror films American zombie films American science fiction horror films American exploitation films Mad scientist films Films directed by Ted V. Mikels 1960s American films