TROG (1970)
Coincidentally, this feature was co-written by Peter Bryan, the scribe responsible for The Blood Beast Terror. I didn't know that going in, and I usually try to select titles from different eras in filmmaking, but this was a happy accident. Trog is wonky. I dig wonky. A mortified Joan Crawford stars as a scientist who stumbles into the discovery of a barbaric cave dweller (seen above being forced to watch Mildred Pierce). The anthropoid protohuman is named Trog - shorthand for troglodyte. It seems responsive to domestication, but gradually, it becomes impossible to tame. As you might have guessed, a number of innocent lives are lost. Trog abducts a child at one point in a scene that evokes James Whale's Frankenstein.
Fret not; the child is spared, although several interchangeable characters do meet an abrupt, sanguinary demise. I was impressed with Trog's mean streak. It's rooted in esoteric science fiction, so the script is always in danger of slipping into "blah" territory. Crawford hits her marks. Of course, she would later claim to be embarrassed by the role. I doubt very seriously that her bank account blushed. Director Freddie Francis keeps the pace cracking. He was a busy man in the 60's and 70's, having helmed such genre treasures as The Skull, Torture Garden, and Legend of the Werewolf. Trog is a jolly, agreeable addition to his resume. The climax is disappointing, but for the most part, I enjoyed my time with it. FACTOID: According to IMDb, this was the top film at the box office in its first week of release.
No comments:
Post a Comment