Terror at the Tropic (Rhoades)

“Terror at the Tropic” Prepares for Halloween
Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

With Halloween coming up – the date sliding about on our calendars like liquid goo – you should make note of the scary films playing Monday nights at the Tropic Cinema. Not the slick, modern fare I’ve covered in the other reviews in today’s column, but some old classics that make you smile at how simple horror used to be.

Local crypt keeper Craig Wanous is hosting this oldies-but-goodies fright fest under the banner of “Terror at the Tropic.” Tomorrow night’s gonna be a double creature feature – “The Vampire Bat” and “Attack of the Giant Leeches.”

The granddaddy of the pair is “The Vampire Bat,” a 1933 tale of murder and mayhem starring Lionel Atwell and Fay Wray. This time around, our gal Fay’s being threatened by bloodsuckers instead of a giant ape.

The more modern feature (if a 60-year-old movie can be described as modern) is the 1959 Roger Corman cheapie called “Attack of the Giant Leeches.” A story about nature running amuck, it stars blonde damsel-in-distress Yvette Vickers. One of those sci-fi movies inspired by cold war fears, “Leeches” posits that radiation from nearby Cape Canaveral has mutated these slugs into threatening giant annelidan monsters.

What more do you need to get in the mood for Halloween? Trick or Treat candies?

srhoades@aol.com
[from Solares Hill]