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Weekend Discussion Thread: What Movies Should the Reboot Riff?Well, what a week it’s been!
The news we got this week is causing all sorts of speculation…so let’s do some more! What movie(s) do you think would be good fodder for the new MST3K? Obviously they won’t be doing big blockbusters, so keep in mind that the movies will be a lot like the ones they did on the old show. Have at it! 203 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: What Movies Should the Reboot Riff?”Commenting at Satellite News
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“Starcrash”
Ishtar
‘Millennium’ with Kris Kristofferson and Cheryl Ladd. horribly bad and a crying robot to boot. of course if they get ‘highlander 2’ then forget about all the rest.
“Gymkata!”
A second riff of “SST Death Flight”.
The Horror at 37,000 Feet with William Shatner and Chuck Conners. A 1973 CBS TV movie. Probably impossible to secure rights
Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell
This is really bad and so made for MST 3K. I’m surprised you haven’t done it already.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/devil_dog_the_hound_of_hell/
“Don’t Look in the Basement”, while gruesome, was still a pithy horror film.
Since the reboot needs to “build a bridge” from the old series to the new, I’d like to see a pick of movies that establishes some sort of continuity with the old show. Some re-riffs of the KTMA movies that didn’t get a fresh treatment during Season 3, other movies in the film “series” that MST3K started (at least one more of the “Master Ninja” movies, maybe another “Rocky Jones: Space Ranger” movie, etc), and if they need shorts, perhaps they could finally finish “Commando Cody.”
Then again, they’ll also need to do something different with the new show to give it its own identity, so I won’t be overly disappointed if none of these things happen.
I’m with DarkGrandmaofDeath “Gymkata!” :-)
Also their new Christmas classic should be “Santa With Muscles” starring Hulk Hogan.
How about a really stupid 70’s movie about snakes called “Ssssss” starring Dirk Benedict from the original Battlestar Galactica and The A Team. One of the main characters is a “Dr Stoner”.
I love all the old MST3K “genres” but especially like the older b&w flicks from the golden era of bad movies. I’ve recently been fixated on watching old B-movies (Amazon Prime & Netflix have got a decent selection). I love watching with my kids; we have a hoot riffing them together. Here are just a few that come immediately to mind:
* Devil Girl from Mars
* The Beast with a 1,000,000 Eyes
* The Angry Red Planet
* The Man from Planet X
* Invisible Invaders <– John Carradine!
* Attack of the 50 Foot Woman <– I'd consider this the crown jewel; and ALLISON HAYES!! Need I say more?
Since they won’t be on an over-the-air network maybe they can do more risque movies in the reboot. How about Showgirls?
Or, probably much cheaper to obtain, maybe Glen or Glenda?
All great suggestions as I like the older movies as well. For a new movie you can’t go wrong with “EZ Money”!
Wild, Wild Planet (1966). Toy spaceships, silly plots, in color. It’s a hoot. Sort of a more fun Moon Zero Two.
The one thing that needs to be done is The Giant Claw. I’m surprised that hasn’t been done yet by anyone, MST3K, CT or RT. It’s perfectly ripe for it.
There’s also Night of the Ghouls, a lesser known Ed Wood movie. I remember a lot of slide whistles in that movie and not much else.
Lastly, what about The Brain From Planet Arous? I haven’t seen it, but I know it has a man attacking a giant brain with an axe. There’s a a visual for you.
Holy cow, how could I have forgotten this horrific slice of my childhood…? That goofy bird-thingy… yes, yes, yes… PERFECT!
I must find it to watch now. ;)
How about…
Planet of Dinosaurs
The Land That Time Forgot (Hi, I’m Doug McClure. You might remember me from…)
Valley of Gwangi
All the Sinbad movies, really.
Yes, I know, it’s highly unlikely, but what the hey? ;-)
@Ro-Man
“Attack of the 50 Foot Woman <– I’d consider this the crown jewel; and ALLISON HAYES!!Need I say more?"
Yes you do need to say more. You forgot to list Yvette Vickers! ;) I strongly second your nomination. Oldy moldy, extra cheesey and arguably two of the two most gorgeous women in Grade B cinema.
My nominations are THE GIANT CLAW and ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS.
Totally agree with Attack of the 50-Foot Woman!
I’d add two 60s-era Japanese movies that are perfect for the reboot – Frankenstein Conquers the World, and Attack of the Mushroom People.
The Green Slime! DUH!
I’m going with Robot Jox from 1989. It’s goofy, it’s low budget, it feels like Space Mutiny’s long lost cousin. It also has Gary Graham, who’s been in tons of stuff.
DUNE –
Yes, I know the rights would be impossible, but just think what the new show could do with the Europy self-importance of this 1984 production. Not even a mentat could calculate the number of good riffs possible!
Lot of great suggestions, and I love the general idea of keeping it old school and in the spirit of the original. Totally agree with Giant Claw, Glen or Glenda and Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman and several others. Couple I would add are From Hell it Came, Dondi and The Silver Chalice. And they should definitely dig up some more 70s and 80s TV fodder. How about the 2-hour pilot for Super Train!
Lisa and the Devil
The Witch Who Came from the Sea
The Beast with a million eyes
Phantom from 10000 Leagues
Invasion of the Saucer Men
The Mask 1961
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
World Without End
Queen of Blood
Gamera Super Monster
X From Outer Space
Gog
Count Dracula
The Magnetic Monster
Curse of the Fly
Curse of the Faceless Man
Food of the Gods
Empire of the Ants
The Devil Bat
Pharaohs Curse
Konga
Yes, all of them: Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid, Jingle All the Way, and Good Burger.
SWIDT?
I would say The Giant Claw. And then for more Allison Hayes (who I also love), there’s Zombies of Mora Tau
And for 80s movies, how about American Ninja?
Can’t we just get Beyond Thunderdome?
“Yor, the Hunter from the Future” would be my first choice. Staring Mr. Reb “Big McLargeHuge” Brown. ’80s cheese, sci-fi, loin cloths–it really as it all.
Baby: Secret Of The Lost Legend (1985)
I’m always thinking about this but my mind is a blank. I do have a list of movies I watched last month for October, quite a few of those would be great!
Xtro 2: The Second Encounter 1990
You’re Next 2011
Wendigo 2001
Blair Witch Project 2 2000
Messiah of Evil 1973
Basketcase 1981
The Car 1977
Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generations (TCM 4) 1994
I have always thught that Blood Hook would work well, but perhaps Jim Mallon wouldn’t want to riff a movue he made himself.
Three simple but powerful words…
MASTER
NINJA
III
Make it so, Joel. Make it so…
Oh, and The Gate from 1987. LOVE that film but it would be fun for them to do it as well as the sequel The Gate 2. Also, Troll 1 and 2.
The Troll movies are getting a double blu ray. I wish they’d do the same for The Gate movies.
Gor (the first one)
Glen or Glenda
Howard the Duck
Also check Brad Jones’ Cinema Snob Channel for inspiration.
The Incredible Bulk (yes it’s real)
I’ve got to agree with the others here on “Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman”. I declare my undying love for Allison Hayes.
Also the 1980’s flick “Night of the Comet”. And, as mentioned by Sampo in the episode guide, “Night of the Lepus”.
“The Blob” would fit well too. Either version.
How about the Al Adamson films (an infamous director who’s on the pantheon of bad movie directors alongside Ed Wood and Coleman Francis); such as Dracula vs. Frankenstein, Satan’s Sadists or Psycho a-Go Go? Also, the other Ed Wood films such as Glen or Glenda or Night of the Ghouls?
Ice Cream Man, Leprechaun IV: In Space, TerrorVision, and Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time would be fun to see riffs of.
I also second “50 Foot Woman”, “The Giant Claw”, and “Crab Monsters”. Those would be PERFECT for the show, and are films I always wish had been riffed. I’ll throw in a nomination for “Night of the Lepus” as well, because… well, come on. ;-)
Also, I’d loose my mind if they did “Menace from Outer Space”, the third Rocky Jones adventure! How perfect would that be?
I could go on. And on and on. And on. Seriously, the list of possible movies is, almost literally, endless. Here’s hoping we aren’t restricted to only 12 new episodes eventually.
Here’s a thought for you guys… any old shorts you know about or have stumbled across over the years that you think they should do? That could almost be another WDT, couldn’t it? :-)
So many great ideas… the excitement is palpable!
I try, but it is hard…. can’t … resist…
The Giant Craw…?
… No, not the Giant Craw, the Giant Craw!!
About Milennium, I read the book before they did the movie- it’s actually an
interesting premise. The movie got a number of thiings wrong, including not showing
minorish changes each time there was a time wave. Oh, and the robot was
boinking the heroine to keep her really relaxed for her job. For those not seeing it, the idea is a screwed up ecological future (imagine Sen Imhoff as world environmental czar). To keep humanity going they use future technology to get a time tunnel into airliners about to crash with all in dying, they substitute fakies of the people and transport them (via future women posing as strwerdesses) to the future to be sent to (I think) a new planet.
I’ll try to hit several genres such as giant bug, Western, surfer, monster, etc. :
Blacula
13 Ghosts (1960 version)
The Thing with Two Heads (Ray Milland, how could you?!?)
Tarantula
The Beach Girls and the Monster
Trog
White Comanche (dual roles for William Shatner!)
Roller Boogie
Yor, the Hunter from the Future (Reb Brown! I mean Big McLargeHuge)
I forgot! Reb “Big McLargehuge” Brown also has a part in “Sssss”
“The Sea Serpent.” A really, really bizarre 1985 Spanish movie with Ray Milland looking very confused in his last role. The sea serpent effects seem to consist of a sock puppet and some Playskool houses.
Also, I hope I’m not the first person to add “Master Ninja III” to the list.
Hmmm…
I agree with previous suggestions regarding the sort of lousy B-grade sci-fi movies that worked so well on the original show, like “Invisible Invaders” or “The Brain from Planet Arous”. (The fact that they both star John Agar adds to their appeal.) Or they could try a couple of Bela Lugosi’s movies from his Poverty Row period, like “The Devil Bat” or “Bowery After Midnight”.
And I also agree with those who suggest re-riffing a couple of the movies from the KTMA era that weren’t revisited later. I’d say “SST Death Flight” certainly would still work with scripted riffs. This might also cover a re-riffing of “The Green Slime”.
I’d also suggest maybe trying the movies that CT riffed on live, but didn’t record for posterity. Those would be “Doll Squad”, “Astral Factor” and “Samson and the Seven Miracles of the World”. I didn’t see the last one, but the other two are too good (well, bad) to waste. This would, possibly, mean crediting the Titans for additional material, should riffs be repeated, but I hope that wouldn’t be a problem. You might also use this as a reason to re-riff “World Without End”, since available copies of that live riff only cover the last half of the movie.
But, if I were to choose what movie would be the first entry in the re-boot, I’d go with…”Gamera vs. Viras”. It’s one of two movies from the first run of Gamera flicks that they didn’t feature on the series (though clips were shown during “Gamera vs. Guiron”). It’s got all of the “advantages” of the other Gamera movies, is perfect riff fodder, and provides a connection with the original show. And, with Shout Factory on board, rights shouldn’t be a problem.
Boy, I really got long-winded with this one.
Frogs
Duel
Well if we want to get nostalgic, there’s tons of Godzilla movies that never got riffed. i would also like to nominate…….”V!!!”
Master Ninja 3!!!!!!
The Brain from Planet Arous also has the advantage of John Agar, for some Season 8 echoes.
I think it’s interesting that Joel has said almost out of the gate that the first bunch of movies he wants to do are not public domain. That says to me that he actually has several not only in mind but lined up for rights acquisition. As much fun as some of the public domain movies are, the physical reels generally haven’t been preserved well, so sound and image quality aren’t the best. Having a crisp, clean picture and clear sound, especially early on while it tries to attract viewers who aren’t die-hards like us, would help the show, I think.
IIRC, Cinematic Titanic tried to alternate public domain with licensed films, so Joel obviously weighed the pros and cons. Comparisons can be made to The Movie, which was a (for its time) fairly big budget color film and thus more accessible to the masses. (Which Grammercy then made a hash of by editing it down and not giving it decent distribution…) I’m also getting flashbacks to Season 8, which didn’t get a color film until the giant spider invasion of savings at Menard’s. Having a color film earlier in the season may have been a better idea, although the situation (especially the time factor) is different.
Finally, I’m not sure this is really a reboot, maybe more of a revival or relaunch? I guess we need to call it *something*. (I *kind of* wish it was MST4K or Science Movies Mysterious or something, but that’s a whole ‘nother debate.)