The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1964)

"Look at the beautiful, speening wheel. See how it speens!", 4 July 2006

Calling The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies "bad" doesn't begin to cover how wretched this movie really is. The word "bad" just doesn't seem strong enough. Everything about this movie reeks like a Diaper Genie left out in the sun on a hot summer day. I don't mind a bad movie every now and then, but this one is too much.

The actual plot of the movie could have been told in about 15 minutes. A fortune-teller hypnotizes a young man and has him do her bidding. That's basically it. There are a few zombie-like creatures that pop up near the end, but by that point in the movie it's hard to care. The rest of the movie's 60+ minute runtime is filled with shots of carnival rides and bad nightclub acts. And the acts are just painful to watch. The carnival barker outside the tent promises exotic dancing women. In this case exotic means butt-ugly and dancing means something choreographed for a pre-school recital. I feel sorry for anyone who finds entertainment in these scenes.

Ray Dennis Steckler has to be on of the most untalented directors to ever step behind a camera. In comparison, Ed Wood is Alfred Hitchcock and Andy Milligan is Akira Kurosawa. From what I've seen so far of his work, Steckler seems incapable of making a watchable movie. Acting, script, plot, and even sound seem to be completely foreign to him. He's terrible.

For whatever reason, I've now seen The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies twice. On this, my second viewing, I was fortunate enough to see the MST3K version. If you are a fan of the show, this is one of the better episodes. The comedy and commentary are dead on and hilarious. I would strongly advice against watching this movie any other way.

1/10