The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)

Director:

Larry Blamire

Writer:

Larry Blamire (written by)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

From the company that brought you "Zombies of Mora Tau" and "Lawrence of Arabia."

Plot:

A dedicated scientist, aided by his clueless wife, rolls up his shirt sleeves and tries to save the world from a radioactive monster...

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Skeleton | Alien | Spoof | Doctor

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Fay Masterson	...	Betty Armstrong
Andrew Parks	...	Kro-Bar
Susan McConnell	...	Lattis
Brian Howe	...	Dr. Roger Fleming
Jennifer Blaire	...	Animala
Larry Blamire	...	Dr. Paul Armstrong
Dan Conroy	...	Ranger Brad
Robert Deveau	...	The Farmer
Darrin Reed	...	The Mutant

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief mild language.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bronson Canyon, Griffith Park - 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Fragmighty

Trivia:

To mimic the classic B&W look, they filmed in color using a miniDV camera and stripped the color in postproduction.

Quotes:

Betty Armstrong: Well, I suppose if I had wanted a safe life, I wouldn't have married a man who studies rocks.

Movie Connections:

References The Graduate (1967)

Rowr!

It was my turn to pick up a couple of rental movies last night, and when I saw the cover art, complete with the "Filmed in Skeletorama!" proclamation, I just couldn't resist. Upon my return, the wife sez, "What did you get?" "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" sez I. She looked askance at me. She continued to look askance until about five minutes into the movie, by which time she had resorted to laughing herself to tears. As a quick summary of our take on the movie, the wife, who has never been a cheesy 50s scifi movie fan nor an MST2 or 3K fan, wants to buy a copy for our very own.

I've read most of the comments, and those few who didn't much care for this offering really seem to miss the point. The first thing we wondered was how difficult it must have been for competent, perhaps extremely talented actors to revert to consistently and truly bad acting. Our second thought was that however difficult it was, they must have had a heckuva blast doing it. Some reviewers complained of dull passages and of sections of dialogue that went on too long or were over done. Of course! But if ya didn't get, well, I guess ya just didn't get it.

The faithfulness to the 50s look and feel was wonderfully done, with the only exception - in my opinion - being the skeleton's smart-assishness. Evil creatures in the referenced genre were unfailingly pompous, but they weren't smart-assed. A couple of high points for me that I didn't see anyone mention: the stock nature footage of the squirrels, with the same footage run twice back to back of course; the mutator/caulking gun and the chest-high shots of the skeleton leading Animala and the mad scientist through the canyon all had us in stitches. Special thanks to those responsible for choosing to shoot in Bronson Canyon, which really should be declared the nation's first cheesy historic landmark.

Guess I'd better go now - I'm a bit thirsty (tip tip tip tip tip) and need to tend to my Amish terrarium.

P.S. If you get the DVD, please take the time to view the special features - and also go to the website to check out the memorabilia - it's wonderful!