GRIZZLY, SQUIRM, & FOOD OF THE GODS / 1976 Eco-Horror Triple Feature!

GRIZZLY (1976) d. William Girdler (USA)
SQUIRM (1976) d. Jeff Lieberman (USA)
THE FOOD OF THE GODS (1976) d. Bert I. Gordon (USA)

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In the wake of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws from 1975, drive-ins and hardtop theaters alike were suddenly overrun by creatures with a taste for human flesh. Intrepid and imaginative independent filmmakers proved that almost any member of the animal kingdom could be transformed into a successful box-office menace. Three standout entries from 1976—Grizzly, Squirm, and The Food of the Gods—perfectly capture the exuberant creativity and unapologetic pulp appeal of the Nature Strikes Back Eco-horror boom.

Fool's Views (11/1 – 11/30)

Digging our way out...

Howdy folks!

I had such good intentions to renew the normal Fool’s Views regimen once the October Challenge concluded, seeing as how I’d built up a good routine and knew I wouldn’t be watching as many movies. Unfortunately, the fact that I wasn’t taking in as many Views made it all too easy to become complacent and there were the added pressures of beginning my personal training practice to factor in. But mostly, it just comes down to a growing lack of interest in putting butt to chair in the service of spilling words about the moving image. There are others out there doing it better, with greater skill and consistency, and I find I’m less and less concerned with consuming flicks with the ardor of days gone by. The sound you’re hearing may be the final tolling of the FV and H101 bells. We shall see what 2016 has in store.

In the meantime, here are the November Views (only a month late), which included a retrospective of NYC filmmaker Larry Fessenden (thanks to Shout! Factory’s recent box set), a little Bond, and a whole lotta Turkey. As it should be.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

THE FOOD OF THE GODS (1976) Blu-ray Review

The Food of the Gods (1976) d. Bert I. Gordon (USA)

Following an avalanche of late ’50s films featuring oversized beasties – six in two years, including Beginning of the End, The Cyclops, The Amazing Colossal Man, and Earth vs. the Spider – writer-producer-director-special effects artist Gordon (aka “Mr. B.I.G.”) moved away from the subgenre he had helped create, expanding his oeuvre to include ghost stories, action thrillers, and sex comedies. But the 1970s’ ecological horror boom combined with the Jaws-inspired “animals attack” movement proved too alluring to pass up; when longtime producer and American International honcho Samuel Z. Arkoff approached in 1975, inquiring if he had any new projects, Gordon thought immediately of a certain book by H.G. Wells, one upon which he had already riffed with his 1965 romp, Village of the Giants. As he says on Shout! Factory’s new Blu-ray release, “I remembered the giant rats in The Food of the Gods and instantly I knew we had a picture.”