Cult Camp Classics, Vol. 1: Sci-Fi Thrillers

Warner Home Video's latest brainstorm involves packaging “so bad they're good” movies, and this triple-feature collection gets the new series off to a risible start. Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (1958) is indeed a “classic” (it's classically and hysterically inept in virtually every department), starring ‘50s “scream queen” Allison Hayes as a loony wife who seeks revenge on her philandering husband after an alien encounter turns her into a giant whose towering rage matches her new bra size (erstwhile Playboy model Yvette Vickers costars). Queen of Outer Space (1958), equally cheesy, features Zsa Zsa Gabor as a Venusian scientist who develops a yen for visiting Earthmen sentenced to death by her man-hating queen (Laurie Mitchell). Made on a shoestring budget with sets, props, and costumes left over from more expensive sci-fi movies, Queen is a royal hoot from first reel to last. Marginally better is The Giant Behemoth (1958), a British-made monster movie in which a seafaring paleosaurus, exposed to atomic radiation during ocean weapon testing, rises from the depths and wreaks havoc on London. Gene Evans stars as the levelheaded American scientist who pitches in to defeat the titular terror. DVD extras include audio commentaries on each film. [Note: also newly available in the Cult Camp Classics series are Vol. 2: Women in Peril, Vol. 3: Terrorized Travelers, and Vol. 4: Historical Epics.] Recommended. (E. Hulse)