Movie Review: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

I must admit to a certain degree of bias in reviewing this movie. It has been one of my all-time favorites since I first saw it several years ago. I own the DVD and when doing research for this review, I was completely crushed to discover that I had overlooked the release of two sequels (Trail of the Screaming Forehead and The Lost Skeleton Returns Again), one of which was announced at the end of the original film but is now listed as no longer available. The creators also put out a haunted house movie called Dark and Stormy Night that I was unaware of. See the Amazon link at the bottom of this review for all of these titles.

Larry Blamire wrote, directed, and starred in this production which (according to Wikipedia) was filmed on a budget of $100,000. The premise of The Lost Skeleton is to spoof the B-movies of the 1950s, particularly sci-fi and monster pictures. In a panel discussion in the special features of the DVD menu, Blamire lists the Roger Corman feature Attack of the Crab Monsters as one of his influences. This movie is a celebration of all those great, low budget flicks whose vision exceeded their reach, and often their talent. Outdoor sets (in infamous Bronson Canyon), stock footage, hokey-looking model spaceships, rubber monster suits, visible puppet wires, and some of the absolutely cheesiest performances in movie history highlight this piece of cinematic genius.

I'm a sucker for nostalgia, especially when it's done with a nod and a wink to the audience and Lost Skeleton fits that to a "T." The story revolves around square-jawed, stone-faced scientist Paul Armstrong (Blamire) and his wife Betty (Faye Masterson) driving to a remote area to retrieve a meteorite of the rare radioactive element Atomspherium. Unbeknownst to them, cackling evil scientist Roger Fleming (Brian Howe) is in the same area seeking to take over the world by awakening the legendary Lost Skeleton of Cadavra Cave, which also needs the Atmospherium to return to life. Unbeknownst to all involved, two aliens of the planet Marva land nearby and their pet mutant escapes to menace (and horribly mutilate) anyone it encounters in the woods.

It is hard to say who takes the cake for the best performance here. Blamire is a master of the genre, and his line referring to himself as a "test tube-tipping lab jockey who's looked at too many shiny rocks" is an achievement in phenomenal dialogue delivery. Blamire also voices the Skeleton, which is played by a plastic classroom model animated by visible wires. Faye Masterson's Betty is June Cleaver set loose in an allegedly scary monster movie and the contrast of someone who's worried about how her tapioca is going to turn out while the world may be coming to an end is hilarious. Andrew Parks and Susan McConnell almost steal the show as the aliens Kro-Bar and Lattis (Parks' explanation of how he got into the character, also in the DVD special Features, is great). Dan Conroy as the expendable Ranger Brad and Brian Howe as the evil, but ultimately incompetent, Dr. Fleming are both outstanding. However, I have to say that Blamire's wife Jennifer Blaire as the mysterious Animala (a woman Fleming creates out of forest animals using a stolen ray gun from the aliens) is by far the most enjoyable portrayal. She is by turns sensuous (in that corny, early 60s fashion), funny, and brilliant.

I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. Take this review as five stars, or two thumbs up, or a 10.5 on the Bledsoe Awesome-Meter. The best thing about it is that it is enjoyable whether you like the old movies that it is based on or not. I love old B-movies from the 50s and 60s and I have fun every single time I watch this, both laughing at it and with it. Even if you don't like those films, you can still laugh at this movie as it makes fun of all the things that you don't like about them.