[meteorite-list] Movie Review: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:32:48 2004
Message-ID: <200403111649.IAA23146_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_03.11.04/film/onscreen.html

THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA
Review by Adam Nayman

Starring Larry Blamire, Fay Masterson. Written and directed by
Larry Blamire. (PG) 114 min. Opens Mar 12.

While vacationing with his wife, scientist Dr. Paul Armstrong
(Larry Blamire) stumbles across a fallen meteorite containing
the mysterious element "atmosphereum." Unbeknownst to him, a
pair of stranded aliens require the meteorite, as does the
nefarious Dr. Roger Fleming (Brian Howe), a sneering villain
who hopes to use its miraculous properties to revive the Lost
Skeleton of Cadavra. Oh, and there's a hideous mutant running
around horribly mutilating cattle and farmers alike. Mankind,
it would seem, is doomed.

Larry Blamire's affectionate, black-and-white B-movie spoof
works well for its expository first half-hour, as it replicates
not only the look of a '50s drive-in chiller, but also the
attendant, pitiable earnestness. The actors -- including
wannabe Ed Wood Blamire, who also writes and directs --
deliver their stilted dialogue with admirable ineptitude.
The special effects are bargain basement all the way, and
the music seems assembled from dusty sound libraries.

For a certain type of moviegoer (let's call them film geeks),
this may all be very charming, and perhaps even ingenious,
but sadly, Skeleton can't quite sustain the good times. As its
plot creaks gamely onward, running gags -- like the aliens'
tendency toward bizarre malapropisms --become frankly
headache-inducing. The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra starts
feeling less like a lark and more like a chore, the arduous
and thankless completion of which is foisted upon the
audience. In a way, this failure is a product of its success:
so adept is Blamire's backhanded homage that it results in a
film every bit as gruelling as its antecedents.
Received on Thu 11 Mar 2004 11:49:24 AM PST