This is a really weird Japanese movie about a scientist forced to take time off because he's so stressed out. Then it gets really weird. It's about what you expect based on the poster and title and is hard to find a DVD of but easy to get online because it has fallen into the public domain.
36 Reviews
Revenge of doctor Zzzzzz
Bezenby5 February 2017
How can a film so awful be so awful, if you know what I mean? We've got a terrible rubbery monster, a hypertensive mad scientist and his lovely ethnic assistant, and some boobs, but for some reason this film feels as if it's as long as Barry Lyndon and much less eventful.
Overworked, cranky scientist guy gets sent from NASA to Japan for some R and R and ends up instead trying to prove that mankind is descended from plants by getting a Venus flytrap and some underwater plant and sewing them together to make a man-plant that feeds mainly on dogs, it seems.
Now look at that last paragraph - that's gold to a bad movie guy like me! But in reality this film will send you into a coma. An awfully long time is spent by the scientist talking botany with his assistant (and as a guy who has an allotment, keeping a plant in a box away from sunlight don't seem like such a good idea, plus I only use lightening on my carrots and only feed dogs to my onions. Hollywood eh?) If you can stay awake long enough for them to reveal the beeping man-plant (the inclusion of boobs might help), then the last third of the film isn't so bad, but there's no gore whatsoever and you might miss the ending if you blink. Yes, the monster looks ridiculous but I felt cheated by the lack of blood and sauce. I watched this years ago and thought it was crap then. Wish I'd written an IMDb review back then and saved myself the time of watching it again.
Overworked, cranky scientist guy gets sent from NASA to Japan for some R and R and ends up instead trying to prove that mankind is descended from plants by getting a Venus flytrap and some underwater plant and sewing them together to make a man-plant that feeds mainly on dogs, it seems.
Now look at that last paragraph - that's gold to a bad movie guy like me! But in reality this film will send you into a coma. An awfully long time is spent by the scientist talking botany with his assistant (and as a guy who has an allotment, keeping a plant in a box away from sunlight don't seem like such a good idea, plus I only use lightening on my carrots and only feed dogs to my onions. Hollywood eh?) If you can stay awake long enough for them to reveal the beeping man-plant (the inclusion of boobs might help), then the last third of the film isn't so bad, but there's no gore whatsoever and you might miss the ending if you blink. Yes, the monster looks ridiculous but I felt cheated by the lack of blood and sauce. I watched this years ago and thought it was crap then. Wish I'd written an IMDb review back then and saved myself the time of watching it again.
A real mess of a movie
bensonmum214 October 2017
What a disaster of a movie! It's billed as Ed Wood's lost "classic", but I'm not sure Wood is to blame for the mess that is this movie. Most of his films are light-years better than this. In The Revenge of Dr X, Dr Bragan (James Craig) leaves the stress of his high-powered job at NASA and seeks the solitude provided by a remote Japanese retreat. There, he begins experimenting with plants by splicing together different Venus Flytrap type plants to create his own super, meat- eating monster.
First, what's with all the title confusion? This thing seems to have been billed under several wildly different names - The Revenge of Dr X, Venus Flytrap, Body of the Prey, and more. It's even listed on IMDb under two different names with two different release years - Venus Flytrap (1970) and Akuma no niwa (1967). Finally, the copy I saw listed Eddie Romero as director. Romero might have been responsible for a lot of junky movies, but as far as I can tell, he had nothing to do with this mess.
There are so many issues with The Revenge of Dr X that listing them all would be impossible. I'm not even going to try to enumerate all the technical problems - suffice it to say that it's a technical disaster. Instead, I want to write about a few of the illogical plot points presented in the movie drove me nuts:
1. I understand that the pressure of being a top-dog at NASA might lead you to want to take some time off to relive stress, but why go to the middle of nowhere Japan? Wouldn't a few weeks in Palm Springs or Club Med have recharged Dr Bragan's batteries? And would he really leave the US just after a spacecraft he was responsible for was launched. I would think that even the most stressed person would want to know the outcome of their life's work. Not Dr Bragan. He never so much as mentions NASA again.
2. I'm not sure how Dr Bragan was able to achieve anything at NASA given his wild mood swings. This man takes bi-polar to a whole new level. And why would his Japanese assistant stay with him? He treats her like complete dirt. It makes no sense.
3. I haven't researched Japanese customs regulations from the late 60s, but I have trouble believing the Japanese government would allow Dr Bragan to bring a non-native plant species into the country so easily. Wouldn't it have had to go through quarantine or something similar?
4. Dr Bragan needs "heart blood" to feed his new creature. As movie luck would have it, there is a ready supply at a nearby sanitarium for Dr Bragan to take advantage of. That sanitarium was never mentioned until Dr Bragan made his late-night visit. How convenient!
5. Did Dr Bragan buy the Venus Flytrap with the wild idea of creating his killer plant creature? It seemed like more of an impulse purchase with little thought behind it. Next thing you know, Dr Bragan and plant are in Japan staying at a large remote, abandoned facility that just happens to have a greenhouse and other equipment that he needs for his experiments. You'd think that his plan of splice plants together to create a new living creature and all that was required would take years of planning to pull off. Here, Dr Bragan just sort of stumbles into being a mad scientist with a fully stocked lab.
That's probably enough. Writing about the many problems of this movie is like taking candy from a baby - it's way too easy. The lone highlights for me are the creature design and the decision to let Atsuko Rome (if I've got the right person) use her own voice instead of dubbing her. But that's the extent of anything positive I have to say.
First, what's with all the title confusion? This thing seems to have been billed under several wildly different names - The Revenge of Dr X, Venus Flytrap, Body of the Prey, and more. It's even listed on IMDb under two different names with two different release years - Venus Flytrap (1970) and Akuma no niwa (1967). Finally, the copy I saw listed Eddie Romero as director. Romero might have been responsible for a lot of junky movies, but as far as I can tell, he had nothing to do with this mess.
There are so many issues with The Revenge of Dr X that listing them all would be impossible. I'm not even going to try to enumerate all the technical problems - suffice it to say that it's a technical disaster. Instead, I want to write about a few of the illogical plot points presented in the movie drove me nuts:
1. I understand that the pressure of being a top-dog at NASA might lead you to want to take some time off to relive stress, but why go to the middle of nowhere Japan? Wouldn't a few weeks in Palm Springs or Club Med have recharged Dr Bragan's batteries? And would he really leave the US just after a spacecraft he was responsible for was launched. I would think that even the most stressed person would want to know the outcome of their life's work. Not Dr Bragan. He never so much as mentions NASA again.
2. I'm not sure how Dr Bragan was able to achieve anything at NASA given his wild mood swings. This man takes bi-polar to a whole new level. And why would his Japanese assistant stay with him? He treats her like complete dirt. It makes no sense.
3. I haven't researched Japanese customs regulations from the late 60s, but I have trouble believing the Japanese government would allow Dr Bragan to bring a non-native plant species into the country so easily. Wouldn't it have had to go through quarantine or something similar?
4. Dr Bragan needs "heart blood" to feed his new creature. As movie luck would have it, there is a ready supply at a nearby sanitarium for Dr Bragan to take advantage of. That sanitarium was never mentioned until Dr Bragan made his late-night visit. How convenient!
5. Did Dr Bragan buy the Venus Flytrap with the wild idea of creating his killer plant creature? It seemed like more of an impulse purchase with little thought behind it. Next thing you know, Dr Bragan and plant are in Japan staying at a large remote, abandoned facility that just happens to have a greenhouse and other equipment that he needs for his experiments. You'd think that his plan of splice plants together to create a new living creature and all that was required would take years of planning to pull off. Here, Dr Bragan just sort of stumbles into being a mad scientist with a fully stocked lab.
That's probably enough. Writing about the many problems of this movie is like taking candy from a baby - it's way too easy. The lone highlights for me are the creature design and the decision to let Atsuko Rome (if I've got the right person) use her own voice instead of dubbing her. But that's the extent of anything positive I have to say.
Okay, NOW I get it......
horrorfilmx7 May 2006
I watched this movie last night in a state of total confusion. The opening credits read "Directed by Eddie Romero" and some other guy and "Starring John Ashley and Angelique Pettyjohn" so like any devoted B movie fan I was expecting lots of fun Blood Island Hijinks. The movie starts and it feels like a Larry Buchanan epic on a (slightly) bigger budget, but minutes drag by with excruciating slowness and there's no sign of the putative stars. Next thing you know we're in Japan and some mad scientist is trying to create humanoid life from a Venus flytrap in a scene that looks like a cross between FRANKENSTEIN and THE MUTATIONS. And all to background music that sounds like it was swiped from a local kiddie show from the 1950s! And weirdest of all, with all these surreal goings on I'M STILL NOT HAVING ANY FUN!!!!! Thank god for the IMDb! All has been explained and my world makes sense (sort of) again. Exit Eddie Romero, enter Ed Wood, and leave all hope of quality behind. I'm hesitant to use a phrase like "worst movie of all time" but I believe I have finally found that elusive worst movie. No entertainment value, not even of the camp or inadvertent variety, just 90+ minutes of stultifying ineptitude. Okay, there's one scene where the scientist is apparently seeking the help of a group of female divers and all the girls standing around listening to his half assed theories are topless, so for a few brief moments there are some pretty cute boobies on display. That's the sole redeeming feature of this film, and believe me it's not enough.
Lost Ed Wood classic!!
geek386614 October 2000
James Craig plays a scientist in need of a vacation in this Ed Wood scripted b-movie masterpiece. He takes one in Japan and decides to make a monster plant while there. For fans of Wood this movie is a must see as it's full of that familiar over the top Wood dialogue. "I refuse the word impossible." "Unless I miss my guess.My creation is so powerful now it could devour anything." Good luck tracking it down and don't be fooled by the Regal Video version box art which identifies a whole different movie (MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND). This lost Wood classic deserves to be seen by his fans and anyone who enjoys so-bad their good films.
It's Alive! It's ... Plantenstein!
Coventry15 May 2008
Watching an actual plant grow from a seed into a colorful flower would be far more exciting than struggling through this horribly inane and ultimately boring movie about an overworked rocket scientist transforming into a deranged and mad-raving horticulturist during his vacation in Tokyo. Okay, say what now? I kid you not, "The Revenge of Dr. X" most inaccurate title ever, by the way revolves on a NASA professor who's forced to take some time off whilst his latest missile project floats around in outer space. Dr. Bragain reluctantly accepts a holiday in Japan, but not before picking up a near-dead Venus Flytrap he intends curing. Along with his personal assistant (a woman who never should have even considered starting an acting career) he looks after the sickly plant, but it quickly becomes a new obsession. Dr. Bragain turns into a loony amateur Frankenstein when he wants to offer his plant a human mind and uses thunder and lightening to achieve this. The only remotely fun and oddly curious moments in this movie are the opening credits
since they belong to another film! See the trivia-section for more details but, unfortunately, Eddie Romero wasn't involved in this production. It was no one less than Ed Wood who penned down this crazed Fauna & Flora adventure, and that actually makes sense because who else could have come up with such nonsense? The "monster" resembles an exploded banana-tree, the dialogs and particularly James Craig's one-liners are horrendous and 99% of the sequences are just plain boring. One to avoid at all costs.
The definition of a bad film
BandSAboutMovies24 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
It's been said that this movie is based on a 1950s screenplay by Edward D. Wood Jr., but he isn't credited. He probably should be - this has his weird hands all over it. Even stranger, the first American video release had credits for a completely different movie, the 1969 Filipino film The Mad Doctor of Blood Island.
Also known as Venus Flytrap and Body of the Prey, this movie sat unreleased for 3-4 years, depending on who you ask, before it was unleashed on the moviegoing public. Just look at this amazing VHS box art, which has nothing to do with the actual film.
It's all about Dr. Bragan, a NASA mathematician. After realizing that if his numbers are off by even the slightest decimal point, he could be sending men to their deaths, he has a nervous breakdown. His assistant suggests he goes to Japan to recuperate.
He's played by James Craig, who was also in Bigfoot and The Tormentors, but his real life is way more interesting than any of the films that he was in. Once heralded as the successor to Clark Gable - indeed he took over many of his roles once Gable was drafted - his life took a turn thanks to drinking and bad relationships. His first marriage to Mary June Ray ended after 15 years due to claims of spousal abuse. His second marriage to Jill Jarman would not last the year, ending with him being threatened with arrest for not attending their divorce hearing. It was alleged that he broke into her home, beat her and cut up all of her clothes. That said, four years later, she'd kill her eleven-year-old son and commit suicide. A third marriage also ended in divorce. After the mid 1970's, Craig retired to become a real estate agent.
But back to The Revenge of Dr. X. In Japan, Dr. Bragan stays at a hotel with his beautiful assistant, Dr. Hanamura (Kami), whose phonetic dead readings tell us she's in love with this guy who is way too old for her and acts way too creepy, giving her unnecessary compliments about her looks before he even really knows her. He also begins experiments on a Venus Flytrap plant he brought from America, customs be damned. After he crosses it with a carnivorous undersea plant that he has nude pearl divers get for him - exploitation movie logic - and blasts it with lightning, is it any wonder that it's soon eating puppies and people?
Come for the stock footage and library music. Stay for the strange plant person. If you think you know what a bad movie is and you haven't seen this one, well, you don't know what a bad movie is.
Also known as Venus Flytrap and Body of the Prey, this movie sat unreleased for 3-4 years, depending on who you ask, before it was unleashed on the moviegoing public. Just look at this amazing VHS box art, which has nothing to do with the actual film.
It's all about Dr. Bragan, a NASA mathematician. After realizing that if his numbers are off by even the slightest decimal point, he could be sending men to their deaths, he has a nervous breakdown. His assistant suggests he goes to Japan to recuperate.
He's played by James Craig, who was also in Bigfoot and The Tormentors, but his real life is way more interesting than any of the films that he was in. Once heralded as the successor to Clark Gable - indeed he took over many of his roles once Gable was drafted - his life took a turn thanks to drinking and bad relationships. His first marriage to Mary June Ray ended after 15 years due to claims of spousal abuse. His second marriage to Jill Jarman would not last the year, ending with him being threatened with arrest for not attending their divorce hearing. It was alleged that he broke into her home, beat her and cut up all of her clothes. That said, four years later, she'd kill her eleven-year-old son and commit suicide. A third marriage also ended in divorce. After the mid 1970's, Craig retired to become a real estate agent.
But back to The Revenge of Dr. X. In Japan, Dr. Bragan stays at a hotel with his beautiful assistant, Dr. Hanamura (Kami), whose phonetic dead readings tell us she's in love with this guy who is way too old for her and acts way too creepy, giving her unnecessary compliments about her looks before he even really knows her. He also begins experiments on a Venus Flytrap plant he brought from America, customs be damned. After he crosses it with a carnivorous undersea plant that he has nude pearl divers get for him - exploitation movie logic - and blasts it with lightning, is it any wonder that it's soon eating puppies and people?
Come for the stock footage and library music. Stay for the strange plant person. If you think you know what a bad movie is and you haven't seen this one, well, you don't know what a bad movie is.
'Revenge of Dr. X'? How about 'The Long Rough Road'?
mlevans18 June 2007
Warning: Spoilers
After going to IMDb and seeing Ed Wood's name affixed to this interesting 1970 concoction, I suddenly understand all I need to understand.
Where can we start in dissecting this film? How about the title (which is 'The Revenge of Dr. X' on the version I have)? Let's see first of all, there IS no Dr. X just good old Dr. Bragan. Secondly, he doesn't seek or get revenge against anyone or have any REASON for revenge. He merely agrees to take a much-needed vacation to Japan to ease work-related stress although it certainly appears that he may have a brain tumor or some other physical problem coming on.
The movie is quirky enough, with James Craig, who looks just like Clark Gable at the end of his life, and the attractive Japanese assistant (who goes nameless, since IMDb only lists TWO cast members!). Throw in some topless, well-built female divers, the obligatory hunchback helper (also unnamed) and shot after shot after shot of the two lead characters driving up and down and up and down rugged roads in a convertible, back and forth and up and down much of the time with silly Gilligan's Island-like comedy music playing.
The basic plot is NASA scientist Dr. Bragan is getting stressed out and takes the advice of co-worker Dr. Nakamura (James Yagi, the only other listed cast member) and visits his cousin in Japan. On the way he picks up a Venus fly trap from a snake-handling gas station attendant in North Carolina. Although the plant apparently doesn't exist in Japan, he seems to have no trouble at all carrying it in. Meanwhile, his co-worker's cousin turns out to be an attractive young female, who makes arrangements for them both to go to an abandoned resort her father owns, out in the country. The road is bad, she warns him and director Kenneth Crane and/or Wood make darn SURE we understand this by showing them driving back and forth and back and forth over the rough road on various errands.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bragan is getting more and more secretive, working with his flytrap. The only thing we see more of than them driving the convertible back and forth is the girl awakening to a dog barking, going to the window, looking out to see Dr. Bragan tip-toeing to his laboratory, then going back to sleep. This happens about half a dozen times! I won't even mention the man in the plant costume with two pot-holders that are supposed to be man-eating Venus fly-trap hands OR the scene straight from every Frankenstein movie where he cranks the fly-trap up, through an opening in the ceiling during a thunderstorm to bring it to life! (No kidding!) Still, for those with insomnia or those who want to see every project the legendary Wood was associated with, it can be amusing. The backdrops at times are breathtaking, as the pair go to Tokyo (after braving that rough road for another 60 seconds of film driving), visit a museum, go to the ocean, meet topless divers and prowl around on the ocean floor while eerie haunted church music plays. A threatening volcano is thrown in for good measure.
Instead of 'The Revenge of Dr. X,' I might title it 'The Long, Rough Road' or 'Dr. Bragan Goes to Tokyo Then Breeds a Killer Venus Fly-trap.'
Where can we start in dissecting this film? How about the title (which is 'The Revenge of Dr. X' on the version I have)? Let's see first of all, there IS no Dr. X just good old Dr. Bragan. Secondly, he doesn't seek or get revenge against anyone or have any REASON for revenge. He merely agrees to take a much-needed vacation to Japan to ease work-related stress although it certainly appears that he may have a brain tumor or some other physical problem coming on.
The movie is quirky enough, with James Craig, who looks just like Clark Gable at the end of his life, and the attractive Japanese assistant (who goes nameless, since IMDb only lists TWO cast members!). Throw in some topless, well-built female divers, the obligatory hunchback helper (also unnamed) and shot after shot after shot of the two lead characters driving up and down and up and down rugged roads in a convertible, back and forth and up and down much of the time with silly Gilligan's Island-like comedy music playing.
The basic plot is NASA scientist Dr. Bragan is getting stressed out and takes the advice of co-worker Dr. Nakamura (James Yagi, the only other listed cast member) and visits his cousin in Japan. On the way he picks up a Venus fly trap from a snake-handling gas station attendant in North Carolina. Although the plant apparently doesn't exist in Japan, he seems to have no trouble at all carrying it in. Meanwhile, his co-worker's cousin turns out to be an attractive young female, who makes arrangements for them both to go to an abandoned resort her father owns, out in the country. The road is bad, she warns him and director Kenneth Crane and/or Wood make darn SURE we understand this by showing them driving back and forth and back and forth over the rough road on various errands.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bragan is getting more and more secretive, working with his flytrap. The only thing we see more of than them driving the convertible back and forth is the girl awakening to a dog barking, going to the window, looking out to see Dr. Bragan tip-toeing to his laboratory, then going back to sleep. This happens about half a dozen times! I won't even mention the man in the plant costume with two pot-holders that are supposed to be man-eating Venus fly-trap hands OR the scene straight from every Frankenstein movie where he cranks the fly-trap up, through an opening in the ceiling during a thunderstorm to bring it to life! (No kidding!) Still, for those with insomnia or those who want to see every project the legendary Wood was associated with, it can be amusing. The backdrops at times are breathtaking, as the pair go to Tokyo (after braving that rough road for another 60 seconds of film driving), visit a museum, go to the ocean, meet topless divers and prowl around on the ocean floor while eerie haunted church music plays. A threatening volcano is thrown in for good measure.
Instead of 'The Revenge of Dr. X,' I might title it 'The Long, Rough Road' or 'Dr. Bragan Goes to Tokyo Then Breeds a Killer Venus Fly-trap.'
Ed's lost killer plant movie
Red-Barracuda26 January 2010
This obscure little sci-fi horror is in all honestly atrocious. Good old Ed Wood wrote the screenplay for it and it's certainly down to his usual standards. Although I think if Wood had directed the film then it would have been a lot more fun, as his films generally have a delirious energy that makes them for the most part entertaining and memorable. The Revenge of Dr. X sadly is neither entertaining nor especially memorable. It's pacing is way off, as the film drags on uneventfully. And, even though the central plant monster is severely stupid in an agreeable way, whenever it attacks anyone in the film the screen just goes red in an effort to avoid any further special effects (i.e. blood and gore). Clearly this is a mistake as this dreary little movie could have done with something to enliven the proceedings. Instead, for the most part, we have a plot that basically consists of a scientist who looks like Russ Meyer developing a Venus flytrap monster. Sexploitation king Meyer himself would have approved of the scene where our scientist hero meets some topless Japanese girls on the beach; but wacky scenes like this just don't make up for the endless tedium that constitutes the majority of this movie's running time. Maybe the only truly memorable aspect of this film is the fact that the title is misleading and meaningless beyond comprehension.
It's half man and half plant............A mant or a plan!
Zeegrade16 March 2009
Written by Ed Wood, Revenge of Dr. X is an abysmal story about a verbally abusive NASA a-hole, James Craig as Dr. Bragan NOT Dr. X, who grunts and screams his way into an emotional breakdown. With a much needed vacation coming up, hopefully permanent, Dr. Nakamura suggests to the loudmouth Bragan that he should visit his home country of Japan. After the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the arrival of Dr. Bragan becomes the third greatest foreign tragedy on Japanese soil. Dr. Bragan uses this time to pursue his true passion of botany with Dr. Nakamura's niece Noriko. His piece de resistance is a Venus's flytrap he procured from a backwater snake salesman's lot in North Carolina. Using the "rain as your mother" and "lightning as your father" the bad doctor descends into insanity as he creates, quite possibly, the dumbest creature in movie history. This Frankenstein ripoff even comes with a Japanese hunchbacked assistant.
James Craig not only allows the viewer to watch him chew the scenery but also to defecate it out as well. I've never seen a character so abrasive to everyone around him. He constantly screams at his assistant Noriko who in turn offers him coffee to placate him in every instance. I know some Asian women are subservient to their male counterparts but I was begging her to liberate his fat head from his body via a samurai sword. The creature is definitely of the Horror at Party Beach caliber. The only reason this did not receive a rank of one star is the out of nowhere scene of topless female divers that is thrown into the movie almost to say we know this movie sucks so here's some boobs, please don't turn this movie off! For Ed Wood fans that are gluttons for punishment only.
James Craig not only allows the viewer to watch him chew the scenery but also to defecate it out as well. I've never seen a character so abrasive to everyone around him. He constantly screams at his assistant Noriko who in turn offers him coffee to placate him in every instance. I know some Asian women are subservient to their male counterparts but I was begging her to liberate his fat head from his body via a samurai sword. The creature is definitely of the Horror at Party Beach caliber. The only reason this did not receive a rank of one star is the out of nowhere scene of topless female divers that is thrown into the movie almost to say we know this movie sucks so here's some boobs, please don't turn this movie off! For Ed Wood fans that are gluttons for punishment only.
truly awful killer plant movie
vampi196013 August 2006
and i thought the mighty gorga was bad,this is worse.i heard ed wood wrote this dreck.James Craig stars as a mad scientist who goes to japan and creates a monster plant man.even though his Japanese female co-star is very attractive it doesn't save this extremely poorly made sci fi horror.James Craig as you recall was in the 1957 Bert i Gordon film;the cyclops.this is one of the movies on the 50 chilling classics DVD movie pack.which had many stinkers on it,this being one of them.its a rip off of frankenstein and day of the triffids.it features the most inane dialog ever.and the most ridiculous plant monster that looks like it wandered off the set of hr pufnstuff.one of ed woods last movies.makes plan 9 from outer space look like gone with the wind. the original title is weird; the double garden.sounds,even revenge of Dr.x doesn't sound right,people will think its a sequel to the Lionel atwill/fay wray film;Dr.x from 1932.this is'nt even a so bad its good movie.its so bad its really bad,its 90 minutes too long.awful!!!
Ed's Lost Masterpiece
enw23 June 2006
Warning: Spoilers
One of Universal's less known horror films (it's not even mentioned in AURUM) DOCTOR X possessed that unabashed perversity, which the studio's efforts in this direction inherited from the German expressionist cinema of the silent era, and which is sadly missing from the modern cinema. THE RETURN (in 1939) was less impressive, with Bogart out of his depth as the vampire doctor.
The title of REVENGE would lead you to suspect a further sequel. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.
In fact, no doctor by that name even appears in the picture, nor is anyone avenged. Perhaps it's an alternative title for MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND as its credits suggest.
Nope isn't this exciting, children? Sure it is! Well, it gets better. Now, the original title (are you with me here?) seems to have been the more descriptive THE VENUS FLYTRAP, whereas it was released as THE DOUBLE GARDEN, which makes little sense, but is probably a misprint for THE DEVIL'S GARDEN.
This makes it possible to identify the scriptwriter as none other than ED WOOD (got your attention there)! From this fact alone one would naturally expect idiocy of an almost hallucinatory nature, and for once, we are not disappointed.
As far as relentless stupidity and aggressive amateurism is concerned, this movie has few competitors (and I bet you haven't even seen it!) As you may have gathered, Ed did not direct this inverse masterpiece himself.
Kenneth Crane did, who gave us the decent MANSTER fortunately even his directorial skills cannot save this disaster! No inventive camera-work or adequate performances here in fact, the Thespian playing the protagonist makes Conrad Brooks look like Olivier.
Alternatively flying off the handle and fainting, the star desperately tries to disguise his non-existing acting abilities (and I haven't even mentioned his spastic attempts at being charming). Anyway, he plays a rocket scientist crossing two species of carnivorous plants with needle and thread in order to prove his theory that man evolved from marine life (and that's the most sensible proposition of the entire movie!) All this takes place in Japan, where he is vacationing after a nervous breakdown (he has one approximately every five minutes) providing a not especially exotic female assistant. Of course, she's a virtual beauty queen compared to the hunchback playing Bach's Toccata in d minor on an organ (I kid you not).
On their way to the laboratory, they are delayed by a landslide and a volcanic eruption, causing her to muse: "An active volcano another reason for the decline of my father's property!" This is of course an astute observation active volcanoes do tend to have an adverse effect on real estate prices.
The mad doctor now begins his experiments in grafting, logically including lots of electrical equipment, thunderstorms and an operating table that can be hoisted up under the ceiling (with the plant) this of course is where the dwarf comes in. Soon, his creation is ready to terrorize the countryside and be chased by villagers with torches it is of course green and looks a bit like MISTER POTATOHEAD with a jester's headdress and boxing-gloves, and whenever it attacks, the screen goes RED, being a lot cheaper than gory makeup effects.
This sorry creature with its potted feet and its decidedly Japanese body language, we are told, will DEVOUR EVERYTHING. In short, mankind would have been doomed to extinction, if it hadn't been for that volcano stock footage! During one of the longer stretches we are treated to topless female divers (I guess it falls under the category of travelogue, so it's okay). Also, for once the score really deserves its own CD, being one of the most outrageous assortments of absurdly inappropriate background music ever assembled.
Do I have to say it? It's a wonderful, wonderful movie!
The title of REVENGE would lead you to suspect a further sequel. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.
In fact, no doctor by that name even appears in the picture, nor is anyone avenged. Perhaps it's an alternative title for MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND as its credits suggest.
Nope isn't this exciting, children? Sure it is! Well, it gets better. Now, the original title (are you with me here?) seems to have been the more descriptive THE VENUS FLYTRAP, whereas it was released as THE DOUBLE GARDEN, which makes little sense, but is probably a misprint for THE DEVIL'S GARDEN.
This makes it possible to identify the scriptwriter as none other than ED WOOD (got your attention there)! From this fact alone one would naturally expect idiocy of an almost hallucinatory nature, and for once, we are not disappointed.
As far as relentless stupidity and aggressive amateurism is concerned, this movie has few competitors (and I bet you haven't even seen it!) As you may have gathered, Ed did not direct this inverse masterpiece himself.
Kenneth Crane did, who gave us the decent MANSTER fortunately even his directorial skills cannot save this disaster! No inventive camera-work or adequate performances here in fact, the Thespian playing the protagonist makes Conrad Brooks look like Olivier.
Alternatively flying off the handle and fainting, the star desperately tries to disguise his non-existing acting abilities (and I haven't even mentioned his spastic attempts at being charming). Anyway, he plays a rocket scientist crossing two species of carnivorous plants with needle and thread in order to prove his theory that man evolved from marine life (and that's the most sensible proposition of the entire movie!) All this takes place in Japan, where he is vacationing after a nervous breakdown (he has one approximately every five minutes) providing a not especially exotic female assistant. Of course, she's a virtual beauty queen compared to the hunchback playing Bach's Toccata in d minor on an organ (I kid you not).
On their way to the laboratory, they are delayed by a landslide and a volcanic eruption, causing her to muse: "An active volcano another reason for the decline of my father's property!" This is of course an astute observation active volcanoes do tend to have an adverse effect on real estate prices.
The mad doctor now begins his experiments in grafting, logically including lots of electrical equipment, thunderstorms and an operating table that can be hoisted up under the ceiling (with the plant) this of course is where the dwarf comes in. Soon, his creation is ready to terrorize the countryside and be chased by villagers with torches it is of course green and looks a bit like MISTER POTATOHEAD with a jester's headdress and boxing-gloves, and whenever it attacks, the screen goes RED, being a lot cheaper than gory makeup effects.
This sorry creature with its potted feet and its decidedly Japanese body language, we are told, will DEVOUR EVERYTHING. In short, mankind would have been doomed to extinction, if it hadn't been for that volcano stock footage! During one of the longer stretches we are treated to topless female divers (I guess it falls under the category of travelogue, so it's okay). Also, for once the score really deserves its own CD, being one of the most outrageous assortments of absurdly inappropriate background music ever assembled.
Do I have to say it? It's a wonderful, wonderful movie!
Calling Dr. Plant-en-stein!
Rainey-Dawn17 October 2016
"Venus Flytrap" AKA "Revenge of Doctor X" AKA "Body of the Prey".
What an awful film but it is strangely entertaining! I couldn't help but to get a few giggles out of this one. The first hour or so of the film you will find "Dr. X" going to Japan & meeting his new beautiful female Japanese assistant who's father has several resorts but one that is abandoned with a greenhouse way up in the mountains. He and his assistant move into the resort and start building the greenhouse back up again. He has a Venus Flytrap that he carried with him from the U.S. and he decides to cross it or hybridize with another Flytrap that lives in the ocean in order to prove that all life, including mankind, has come from the ocean from evolution! In the meantime he and his assistant are falling in-love. It's the last half hour in Frankenstein style that "Dr. X" brings energy to the plant via lightening and that is when we get to see the Plant Creature! The creature can walk and ends up terrorizing a local village. This is where the film will remind you more of Frankenstein: the villagers go after the creature with torches!
The film is simply fun and sometimes funny. When the film first started, I thought I was either going to turn it off or fast-forward to watch it but I got caught up in the movie - I found it oddly entertaining yet awful at the same time.
6/10
What an awful film but it is strangely entertaining! I couldn't help but to get a few giggles out of this one. The first hour or so of the film you will find "Dr. X" going to Japan & meeting his new beautiful female Japanese assistant who's father has several resorts but one that is abandoned with a greenhouse way up in the mountains. He and his assistant move into the resort and start building the greenhouse back up again. He has a Venus Flytrap that he carried with him from the U.S. and he decides to cross it or hybridize with another Flytrap that lives in the ocean in order to prove that all life, including mankind, has come from the ocean from evolution! In the meantime he and his assistant are falling in-love. It's the last half hour in Frankenstein style that "Dr. X" brings energy to the plant via lightening and that is when we get to see the Plant Creature! The creature can walk and ends up terrorizing a local village. This is where the film will remind you more of Frankenstein: the villagers go after the creature with torches!
The film is simply fun and sometimes funny. When the film first started, I thought I was either going to turn it off or fast-forward to watch it but I got caught up in the movie - I found it oddly entertaining yet awful at the same time.
6/10
The Mobility Of A Triffid
bkoganbing1 June 2011
Poor James Craig, I hope that his salary check cleared and he thought that the trip to Japan was worth appearing in this god awful science fiction clunker.
After nearly having a nervous breakdown NASA scientist James Craig is recommended a leave of absence and a nice trip to Japan. Craig thinks that he'd like to do some experiments in botany which was his first love as a scientist.
After this he goes to Japan where the daughter of one of his colleagues sets him up in a nice abandoned resort near an active volcano, the better to do his experiments.
So what does Craig do, something useful like developing kernels of corn the size of basketballs to feed people? Nah, what he does is develop a giant size Venus Fly Trap that eventually has the mobility of a Triffid and the appetite of one.
Poor Craig, for a guy who needs peace and quiet the better to cope with a nervous breakdown he spends a lot of time shouting at Atsuko Rome the girl who is assisting him. Possibly because of her bad acting or dubbing, you can't really tell.
Venus Fly Trap has a Frankenstein quality to it down to the deformed Igor-San like hunchback who helps out. Would it were as good as those Universal Frankenstein films.
After nearly having a nervous breakdown NASA scientist James Craig is recommended a leave of absence and a nice trip to Japan. Craig thinks that he'd like to do some experiments in botany which was his first love as a scientist.
After this he goes to Japan where the daughter of one of his colleagues sets him up in a nice abandoned resort near an active volcano, the better to do his experiments.
So what does Craig do, something useful like developing kernels of corn the size of basketballs to feed people? Nah, what he does is develop a giant size Venus Fly Trap that eventually has the mobility of a Triffid and the appetite of one.
Poor Craig, for a guy who needs peace and quiet the better to cope with a nervous breakdown he spends a lot of time shouting at Atsuko Rome the girl who is assisting him. Possibly because of her bad acting or dubbing, you can't really tell.
Venus Fly Trap has a Frankenstein quality to it down to the deformed Igor-San like hunchback who helps out. Would it were as good as those Universal Frankenstein films.
Ed Wood Masterpiece(?) unearthed
solaron200110 July 2004
"INSECTAVORUS!! YOUR FATHER IS THE LIGHTNING!", exclaims over-the-hill matinée idol James Craig, as his floppy Venus Flytrap man is brought to life in this American/Japanese co- production. Edward D. Wood Jr.'s insane screenplay emerges, for all who may chance to view this opus, as one of his grandest achievements. Nobody else on Earth could have hatched this masterpiece of delirious illogic and absurd cinematic devices.
This film exists only in bootlegged form as far as I know, and may be found under the title "Revenge of Dr. X" - with credits which have nothing to do with the feature of record. The direction will not disappoint Ed Wood aficionados - he might easily have directed this himself, though the Japanese section reveals a bit more in the way of technical resources than Wood was ever allowed. There is an extended underwater photography sequence featuring traditionally topless female pearl-divers.
Ed Wood originally listed this screenplay on his resume as "Venus Flytrap" (Japan), the title "Double Garden" can only be interpreted as a translation from the Japanese release (if any) - it has a sort of zen sensibility. If you can help it - DON'T MISS IT!!
This film exists only in bootlegged form as far as I know, and may be found under the title "Revenge of Dr. X" - with credits which have nothing to do with the feature of record. The direction will not disappoint Ed Wood aficionados - he might easily have directed this himself, though the Japanese section reveals a bit more in the way of technical resources than Wood was ever allowed. There is an extended underwater photography sequence featuring traditionally topless female pearl-divers.
Ed Wood originally listed this screenplay on his resume as "Venus Flytrap" (Japan), the title "Double Garden" can only be interpreted as a translation from the Japanese release (if any) - it has a sort of zen sensibility. If you can help it - DON'T MISS IT!!
Like a fusion of every bad Frankenstein movie ever made plus Larry Buchanan
lemon_magic11 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The version of this movie which I saw (from the "Nightmare Worlds" 50 pack) was a terrible print - watching it was like watching the movie underwater and also through several layers of gauze. That may not have been the movie makers' fault, so I added an extra star out of sheer pity.
This one really takes the cake. A Rent-A-Center version of Clark Gable stars as a mad scientist who relaxes from his regular job as an astrophysicist/mathematician by going on vacation in Japan and trying to build a new form of humanoid life out of a Venus Flytrap and thereby proving that "man descended from the sea". I think. Along the way he picks up an (uncredited) Japanese woman assistant and a hunch backed assistant whom he alternately patronizes and berates and makes a whole bunch of speeches that were obviously written by someone (Ed Wood, Jr?) who may have had the worst tin ear for dialog in the history of screen-plays. The monster he creates gets loose (of course) and a mob of torch wielding Japanese villagers seem to spontaneously generate out of thin air within 30 seconds after he goes for his little walk.Events happen, people say "things" to each other, and the doctor and his plant man perish together for no apparent reason other than the screen play is trying to mimic the Frankenstein monster story. The end.
I can't imagine what the director and the editor thought they were doing when they finally pieced this thing together and released it. They were lucky that they didn't get their own torch wielding mob of movie goers demanding payback and destruction of every copy of the film ever made.
This one really takes the cake. A Rent-A-Center version of Clark Gable stars as a mad scientist who relaxes from his regular job as an astrophysicist/mathematician by going on vacation in Japan and trying to build a new form of humanoid life out of a Venus Flytrap and thereby proving that "man descended from the sea". I think. Along the way he picks up an (uncredited) Japanese woman assistant and a hunch backed assistant whom he alternately patronizes and berates and makes a whole bunch of speeches that were obviously written by someone (Ed Wood, Jr?) who may have had the worst tin ear for dialog in the history of screen-plays. The monster he creates gets loose (of course) and a mob of torch wielding Japanese villagers seem to spontaneously generate out of thin air within 30 seconds after he goes for his little walk.Events happen, people say "things" to each other, and the doctor and his plant man perish together for no apparent reason other than the screen play is trying to mimic the Frankenstein monster story. The end.
I can't imagine what the director and the editor thought they were doing when they finally pieced this thing together and released it. They were lucky that they didn't get their own torch wielding mob of movie goers demanding payback and destruction of every copy of the film ever made.
Rain is your blood! And lightening is your power! Wha-hahahahaha!
wbswetnam21 March 2012
I've seen a lot of monster movies before but this is the first one where the 'monster' is an 8 foot tall houseplant! "Venus Flytrap" (aka "The Revenge of Dr. X" although there's no revenge and no Dr. X) is another hokey monster movie with a Frankenstein theme. Overworked Dr. Bragan takes a vacation in Japan, where he goes to stay in a a remote, run-down hotel inhabited by a young Japanese woman named Noriko and a hunchback grounds keeper. Dr. Bragan brings with him a venus flytrap plant, and he becomes obsessed with the idea of grafting carnivorous plant parts together and powering them up with lightening and vitamin injections. His creation comes to life and begins terrorizing the local villagers.
The acting is wooden by all of the Japanese actors, and James Craig's acting is thoroughly over the top, with him doing a lot of shouting and occasionally laughing hysterically. Noriko, his assistant, plays the stereotypical subservient Japanese female. There's a hunchback that appears from time-to-time, and a scene with some topless women who Dr. Bragan consults to ask the location of an underwater carnivorous plant. In reality it was an excuse by the screenwriter (none other than Ed Wood!) to throw in a lingering view of some (seriously nice!) titties to spice up the movie a bit.
The best part is the creature of course. I am a devoted fan of low budget creature-feature movies and I have to say this is one of the best! This creature has got to be seen to be believed. Be prepared for venus flytrap hands and feet, a humanoid type body, and a head that somewhat resembles an upside-down onion with thick roots for hair. This movie is public domain and can be downloaded for free from http://www.archive.org/details/TheRevengeOfDr.X
The acting is wooden by all of the Japanese actors, and James Craig's acting is thoroughly over the top, with him doing a lot of shouting and occasionally laughing hysterically. Noriko, his assistant, plays the stereotypical subservient Japanese female. There's a hunchback that appears from time-to-time, and a scene with some topless women who Dr. Bragan consults to ask the location of an underwater carnivorous plant. In reality it was an excuse by the screenwriter (none other than Ed Wood!) to throw in a lingering view of some (seriously nice!) titties to spice up the movie a bit.
The best part is the creature of course. I am a devoted fan of low budget creature-feature movies and I have to say this is one of the best! This creature has got to be seen to be believed. Be prepared for venus flytrap hands and feet, a humanoid type body, and a head that somewhat resembles an upside-down onion with thick roots for hair. This movie is public domain and can be downloaded for free from http://www.archive.org/details/TheRevengeOfDr.X
What is he getting revenge on?
vegeta39862 August 2009
Warning: Spoilers
So yeah, movie number 19! holy Jesus have we really seen that many on the "Chilling Classics" Box set? Yes, if you've made it this far, apparently we have. So this movie "The Revenge of Dr. X" or...one of the 30 other alternate titles this movie has from "Double Garden" to "Venus Fly Trap". And to be honest, both of those (well, maybe not double garden) make a whole lot more sense than this title. I can find 2 problems with this title. 1. he never refers to himself as Dr. X. so WHY is he Dr. X in the title? and 2. What revenge? who is he getting revenge on and why? it makes no sense.
But anyway, onto the actual movie. A scientist at NASA completes his test to send something into space. yays! but he's very stressed and his assistant makes his take a vacation. He agrees and he's off to have a nice vaca in Japan. Hey! i'm currently living there now! But when he gets there he immediatlely wants to start work on a venus fly trap that over the LONNNGGG course of an hour he turns into a venus fly trap...man...thing. Why? i have absolutely no idea. I guess good scientists become evil scientists on vacation? no idea.
That's one of the biggest issues i had with this movie. He goes on a vacation to make a giant venus fly trap man? HOW is that vacationing? Whatever. Eventually the thing gets loose, kills a few people and then he and the doctor fall into stock footage of a volcano. The End.
One of the biggest problems i had with this movie is, of course, it's boring. It takes the doctor a good hour to create the monster. and when he does, it's so cheesy and stupid that it just makes you laugh. it looks like a guy in a rubber suit with boxing gloves on. And then there's an odd scene where there's a bunch of topless Japanese girl scuba divers who helped out the doctor by diving to find some weird plant to which the doctor doesn't even bat an eyelash, and in the next scene they're all wearing shirts on the beach. Don't get me wrong i'm not complaining, it just seemed....misplaced. It's the equivalent of watching a documentary on the civil war and they splice in cinemax. It's....definitely a surprise. a GOOD surprise, but a surprise nonethenless.
It takes far too long for the monster to be created, and when he gets loose, he only stays like that for maybe 12 minutes. It's not nearly interesting enough and the monster's more stock than a cardboard robot from the 50's. This movie is the EPITAMY of B cinema, only with less monsters and more people who sound like Bob Barker talking. I spent half the movie playing cards because i couldn't seem to keep my focus until the last 20 minutes when something actually happened. This movie just takes WAY too long to say what it wants to say, and to me that's the WORST offense a movie can make (well, next to animal and eye violence).
So all in all, "Revenge of Dr. X" Gets 2 boxing glove hands on a man in a rubber suit, out of 10
But anyway, onto the actual movie. A scientist at NASA completes his test to send something into space. yays! but he's very stressed and his assistant makes his take a vacation. He agrees and he's off to have a nice vaca in Japan. Hey! i'm currently living there now! But when he gets there he immediatlely wants to start work on a venus fly trap that over the LONNNGGG course of an hour he turns into a venus fly trap...man...thing. Why? i have absolutely no idea. I guess good scientists become evil scientists on vacation? no idea.
That's one of the biggest issues i had with this movie. He goes on a vacation to make a giant venus fly trap man? HOW is that vacationing? Whatever. Eventually the thing gets loose, kills a few people and then he and the doctor fall into stock footage of a volcano. The End.
One of the biggest problems i had with this movie is, of course, it's boring. It takes the doctor a good hour to create the monster. and when he does, it's so cheesy and stupid that it just makes you laugh. it looks like a guy in a rubber suit with boxing gloves on. And then there's an odd scene where there's a bunch of topless Japanese girl scuba divers who helped out the doctor by diving to find some weird plant to which the doctor doesn't even bat an eyelash, and in the next scene they're all wearing shirts on the beach. Don't get me wrong i'm not complaining, it just seemed....misplaced. It's the equivalent of watching a documentary on the civil war and they splice in cinemax. It's....definitely a surprise. a GOOD surprise, but a surprise nonethenless.
It takes far too long for the monster to be created, and when he gets loose, he only stays like that for maybe 12 minutes. It's not nearly interesting enough and the monster's more stock than a cardboard robot from the 50's. This movie is the EPITAMY of B cinema, only with less monsters and more people who sound like Bob Barker talking. I spent half the movie playing cards because i couldn't seem to keep my focus until the last 20 minutes when something actually happened. This movie just takes WAY too long to say what it wants to say, and to me that's the WORST offense a movie can make (well, next to animal and eye violence).
So all in all, "Revenge of Dr. X" Gets 2 boxing glove hands on a man in a rubber suit, out of 10
Ed Wood, you scamp...
JoeB1312 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
So this was an Ed Wood Movie, and you can pretty much stop it right there. Most people fail to realize Ed kept trying to make horror movies after making Plan 9 From Outer Space (The worst movie ever made), where his motto appeared to be "Hold My Beer" for future endeavors
This one takes place in Japan, where a rocket scientist has the idea to merge the DNA of a Venus Flytrap with a human, for... um reasons. His assistant is a Japanese woman named Noriko, who spends most of the movie letting him scream at her. It's kind of nutty, really.
So they create their monster and feed rats and puppies to it, before it goes out on it's inevitable, International Brotherhood of Mad Scientists, Local 666 rampage across the countryside. There's a climax near an active stock footage volcano, for some reason... and that's it.
Oh, also a scene with topless divers, because this was right before Ed graduated to adult movies.
This one takes place in Japan, where a rocket scientist has the idea to merge the DNA of a Venus Flytrap with a human, for... um reasons. His assistant is a Japanese woman named Noriko, who spends most of the movie letting him scream at her. It's kind of nutty, really.
So they create their monster and feed rats and puppies to it, before it goes out on it's inevitable, International Brotherhood of Mad Scientists, Local 666 rampage across the countryside. There's a climax near an active stock footage volcano, for some reason... and that's it.
Oh, also a scene with topless divers, because this was right before Ed graduated to adult movies.
Take that, Darwin
happyendingrocks10 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The putative origin story of how this silly little cheapie was bestowed its alternate title The Revenge Of Dr. X and why the sparse credits predominantly list actors who do not actually appear in this flick is more interesting than the film itself. Plotwise, this is essentially a reworking of Frankenstein minus the gorgeously intricate sets (and many, many brain cells), but the audience most likely to enjoy Venus Flytrap won't be terribly concerned with its derivative nature since it delivers such generous doses of mind-blowing absurdity.
The tale follows the follies of an overworked NASA scientist whose colleagues urge him to take an extended trip to Japan to relax and pursue his true passion: genetic research on plantlife (this dude really knows how to party). Upon his arrival, he meets his assistant, a coquettish Asian lass with a bevy of friends who enjoy swimming topless. When he describes his aspiration to find a secluded place with a greenhouse to conduct his botanical experimentation, she luckily knows just the perfect spot and quickly shuttles him to an abandoned mountaintop resort which features the requested conservatory and the added bonus of close proximity to an active volcano. Utilizing a venus flytrap that he brought into the country as a carry-on (!), he sets up shop in the B&B's astonishingly well-stocked laboratory to prove once and for all that man evolved from plants (!!). But when he successfully crossbreeds that specimen with a strange strain of tentacled ocean flora, he inadvertently creates a humanoid thingus with a triffid head and flytrap appendages that requires blood to survive. Terror, or something, ensues.
Though that pretty much covers the outline, the above synopsis doesn't quite do this film justice. The hammy acting and ridiculous creature design are a joy to behold for anyone who gleans enjoyment from such things, and the general ineptness showcased in every stage of the presentation surely qualifies Venus Flytrap for the "entertaining for the wrong reasons" category. There's also a hunchbacked handyman present to embody an accidental parody of the source material's Igor character, and plenty of delightfully melodramatic dialogue that would still be hilarious even if it wasn't being shouted at a guy in a rubber suit that looks like a decoration inside a fish tank.
The movie does run on the slower side, with all of the meager action relegated to the final act and the first hour mostly dragged out by repeated tableaus of the volatile scientist alternately bellowing abuse at his hapless lady-aide in one scene then telling her how much he appreciates her in the next (the flirtatious tone of the latter passages unavoidably comes off as creepy, given that the dude looks about 30 years older than her). This is also one of those films in which allegedly exotic locales suspiciously resemble the hills overlooking Studio City, California, so don't view this hoping for a cinematic intercontinental tour--when the movie is over, you won't have seen any more of Japan that you already had before the movie started.
When the voracious plant-beast inevitably escapes during the climax to wreak havoc on a village that is conveniently located adjacent to the derelict volcano inn, the rest of the affair plays out identically to Frankenstein's finale--down the closing shot--just in case anyone forgot what story the film-makers were telling here. The only thing missing on that front is any sort of analogous mediation on whether or not it's right for man to try to play God, but that's probably because the only thing the people who made Venus Flytrap were mediating on was how quickly and inexpensively they could knock out their magnum homicidal shrubbery opus.
Yeah, this is really stupid stuff. But if you like really stupid films, Venus Flytrap is at least a top-shelf offering in that specific genre. If you didn't already want to watch this offering based on the premise alone, you're clearly not in the target audience and should just move right along. As for the rest of you: by all means, supply some botanicals of your own and have a good time with this one.
The tale follows the follies of an overworked NASA scientist whose colleagues urge him to take an extended trip to Japan to relax and pursue his true passion: genetic research on plantlife (this dude really knows how to party). Upon his arrival, he meets his assistant, a coquettish Asian lass with a bevy of friends who enjoy swimming topless. When he describes his aspiration to find a secluded place with a greenhouse to conduct his botanical experimentation, she luckily knows just the perfect spot and quickly shuttles him to an abandoned mountaintop resort which features the requested conservatory and the added bonus of close proximity to an active volcano. Utilizing a venus flytrap that he brought into the country as a carry-on (!), he sets up shop in the B&B's astonishingly well-stocked laboratory to prove once and for all that man evolved from plants (!!). But when he successfully crossbreeds that specimen with a strange strain of tentacled ocean flora, he inadvertently creates a humanoid thingus with a triffid head and flytrap appendages that requires blood to survive. Terror, or something, ensues.
Though that pretty much covers the outline, the above synopsis doesn't quite do this film justice. The hammy acting and ridiculous creature design are a joy to behold for anyone who gleans enjoyment from such things, and the general ineptness showcased in every stage of the presentation surely qualifies Venus Flytrap for the "entertaining for the wrong reasons" category. There's also a hunchbacked handyman present to embody an accidental parody of the source material's Igor character, and plenty of delightfully melodramatic dialogue that would still be hilarious even if it wasn't being shouted at a guy in a rubber suit that looks like a decoration inside a fish tank.
The movie does run on the slower side, with all of the meager action relegated to the final act and the first hour mostly dragged out by repeated tableaus of the volatile scientist alternately bellowing abuse at his hapless lady-aide in one scene then telling her how much he appreciates her in the next (the flirtatious tone of the latter passages unavoidably comes off as creepy, given that the dude looks about 30 years older than her). This is also one of those films in which allegedly exotic locales suspiciously resemble the hills overlooking Studio City, California, so don't view this hoping for a cinematic intercontinental tour--when the movie is over, you won't have seen any more of Japan that you already had before the movie started.
When the voracious plant-beast inevitably escapes during the climax to wreak havoc on a village that is conveniently located adjacent to the derelict volcano inn, the rest of the affair plays out identically to Frankenstein's finale--down the closing shot--just in case anyone forgot what story the film-makers were telling here. The only thing missing on that front is any sort of analogous mediation on whether or not it's right for man to try to play God, but that's probably because the only thing the people who made Venus Flytrap were mediating on was how quickly and inexpensively they could knock out their magnum homicidal shrubbery opus.
Yeah, this is really stupid stuff. But if you like really stupid films, Venus Flytrap is at least a top-shelf offering in that specific genre. If you didn't already want to watch this offering based on the premise alone, you're clearly not in the target audience and should just move right along. As for the rest of you: by all means, supply some botanicals of your own and have a good time with this one.
Botanical Frankenstein
hengir6 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Now here is a wonderful premise for a film. A scientist from NASA goes on holiday to Japan and while there takes up his old interest in botany. Going on the theory that because life started in the sea thus all humanity is descended from plant life (come again?) the scientist cross breeds a venus fly trap with a Japanese equivalent and creates an artificial man-plant thing.
To make it like a Frankenstein film the thing is hauled up to the roof while lightning is conducted down.("The earth is its mother, the sky will be its father!" says the scientist) Then of course the monster gets loose and encounters a child which it murders and aggrieved villagers go around with torches, just like those great Universal films of yore. This almost makes it sound exciting but it isn't. To accompany all this nonsense is a very jolly music score that is totally inappropriate. The version I saw was called "The Revenge of Doctor X" which is about as misleading to the story as you could get. Again it sounds just like an old horror title Universal would use in the 1930s. The monster itself looks hilarious.
To make it like a Frankenstein film the thing is hauled up to the roof while lightning is conducted down.("The earth is its mother, the sky will be its father!" says the scientist) Then of course the monster gets loose and encounters a child which it murders and aggrieved villagers go around with torches, just like those great Universal films of yore. This almost makes it sound exciting but it isn't. To accompany all this nonsense is a very jolly music score that is totally inappropriate. The version I saw was called "The Revenge of Doctor X" which is about as misleading to the story as you could get. Again it sounds just like an old horror title Universal would use in the 1930s. The monster itself looks hilarious.
Z-grade exploitation horror
Leofwine_draca21 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
THE REVENGE OF DR. X is a very obscure and low grade US/Japanese exploitation horror flick about a mad scientist who creates in his laboratory a man-size flesh-devouring plant very much like a Venus Flytrap. The main character is American but he heads off to Japan early on and gets a Japanese assistant and supporting cast. This is a Z-grade trash classic with poor picture quality that's only suitable to be laughed at. The killer plant is an obvious man in a suit and looks ansolutely hilrious - a masterpiece of design. The script was written by an uncredited Ed Wood by all accounts, but the whole thing is confused by credits stolen from THE MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND. There's a random scene of gratuitous nudity and lots of cheese. The British B-flick THE MUTATIONS is a much more fun version of this story.
Enter the wacky, tacky world of Ed Wood!
drspecter3 February 2003
James T Craig plays the hotheaded rocket scientest/madman who mixes a venus flytrap with a carnivorous undersea plant only to create a man in a rubber suit with green dreadlocks in this goofy throw-back to the fifties! With nudity so gratuitous it borders on dadaism!
Wood himself was directing Rick Lutz and Rene Bond in pornos at the time, making this a special treat. More than any other movie not directed by him, this production seems guided by his hand. One wonders if the use jarring library music and lots of stock footage was written into the script. A must!
(AKA: Venus Flytrap)
Wood himself was directing Rick Lutz and Rene Bond in pornos at the time, making this a special treat. More than any other movie not directed by him, this production seems guided by his hand. One wonders if the use jarring library music and lots of stock footage was written into the script. A must!
(AKA: Venus Flytrap)
I Love Ed Wood
jed-estes9 August 2006
For it's good badness that is pure signature Ed Wood I will give this film seven stars. The only reason that this does not get a full ten like any other Ed Wood movie is because he did not direct it and it is sad because this is a film that would have been great for him and might have even got him out of his slump in the 70's that eventual led to his untimely demise. When the reveal the plant creature I just pictured Wood in a writers chair (if he was even allowed on set I don't know) staring with his wondrous gaze that made him look so child like and thinking that this film would be the one. It is a sad statement to the integrity of his career at this point that they felt the need to put four naked Asian women in this film. I mean what purpose it does it serve for these ladies to be naked. I'm all for nudity in film if it serves a purpose but in this film it is not even done to be sexy it is just there and the film would have been better without it. Ed Wood fans seek this out. Casual movie people avoid.
Do not watch with eyes or ears open...
phdyr5122 November 2006
The only fault I can find with any of the other reviews here is that they understate the truly appalling quality of this movie, and don't even mention the puppy-swallowing!
But the most outrageous part is the score, which mixes everything from ragtime to mazerkas while remaining totally irrelevant to on screen events.
Lead (pronounced "led") actor(?) James Craig not only chews the scenery, he re-chews it more often than a cow with cud.
The monster looks like a carrot on steroids, but still manages to out-act the rest of the cast. And what's with the entirely pointless opening sequence involving a space launch?
There's no Dr. X, no revenge, no logic, and no reason to see this unless your head is in the vicinity of a gun.
But the most outrageous part is the score, which mixes everything from ragtime to mazerkas while remaining totally irrelevant to on screen events.
Lead (pronounced "led") actor(?) James Craig not only chews the scenery, he re-chews it more often than a cow with cud.
The monster looks like a carrot on steroids, but still manages to out-act the rest of the cast. And what's with the entirely pointless opening sequence involving a space launch?
There's no Dr. X, no revenge, no logic, and no reason to see this unless your head is in the vicinity of a gun.
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