The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

The geeky love of bad B-movies has now come full circle, from the a) unappreciated decades of the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, and b) becoming objects of derision and perverse fan worship on Mystery Science Theater 3000, to c) The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, which affectionately apes the "genre" in all its awful, hilarious glory with its tongue-in-cheek presentation of a “lost” film dating from 1959, recently found in pristine condition. Everything that made B-movies of yore so terrible (and great) is on display in writer/director/star Larry Blamire's homage, from the absurdly coincidental plot and musty musical score to the--nod to Ray Harryhausen--gimmick of being filmed in "the miracle of Skeletorama," which apparently means "black-and-white." Boasting all those same bad California locations that would later show up on Star Trek where a shirtless Captain Kirk would fight a guy in a lizard suit, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is also so badly acted that you might wonder whether the cast are really bad actors or simply very, very good at aping badness. (It's the latter. Honestly.) Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include two audio commentaries (one by Mike Schlesinger, writer-director Larry Blamire, producer F. Miguel Valenti, editor Bill Bryn Russell, cinematographer Kevin Jones, and production manager Darren Reed; the other by Blamire, Reed, and costars Fay Masterson, Andrew Parks, Susan McConnell, Jennifer Blaire, Brian Howe, and Dan Conroy), a “Q&A at The American Cinematheque” with director intro (30 min.), a nine-minute blooper reel, a “Virtual Skelectables” product art gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a winning spoof.] (M. Johanson)