SINISTER CINEMA CLASSIC SCI-FI TRAILERS VOLUME 1 (199?) ***

After tearing through the Sinister Cinema Classic Horror Trailers compilations a while back, I thought it was finally time for me to start checking out their Classic Sci-Fi Trailers collections.  While Classic Sci-Fi Trailers Volume 1 features a lot of trailers you’ve probably seen elsewhere (particularly in the Something Weird compilations), there’s still a lot to admire here.  It will be just the thing for movie fans looking for a quick fix of sci-fi classics (The Time Machine and Creature from the Black Lagoon), cheesy B-movies (Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine and Horror of Party Beach), and straight-up schlock (Phantom from Space and Night of the Blood Beast).

The first thing you notice is that many of the trailers are shown more or less in chronological order.  That way, you get to see how the various trends came and went throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s.  Films about alien invasions, like those found in Invaders from Mars and Robot Monster give way to the giant atomic monsters of Attack of the Crab Monsters and The Monster That Challenged the World.  Mad scientist movies such as The Brain That Wouldn’t Die and The Unearthly are replaced in favor of creatures run amok flicks like The Monster of Piedras Blancas and Revenge of the Creature.  It’s also fun seeing such lowbrow schlock like The Hideous Sun Demon, The Brain Eaters, and Attack of the Giant Leeches, rubbing elbows with big budget studio fare like Barbarella, Planet of the Apes, and 2001:  A Space Odyssey.   

At nearly two hours, it does feel a little on the long side.  Fortunately, the inclusion of vintage concession stand ads and drive-in snipes helps prevent things from feeling stale.  I kind of wish there were more of them (they pretty much dry up in the second half), but the ones we do get are pretty great.  I can’t wait to check out further volumes in the series (of which there are many).

The complete trailer round-up is as follows:  Flight to Mars, Invaders from Mars, Phantom from Space, It Came from Outer Space, Robot Monster, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Killers from Space, Attack of the Crab Monsters, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Man Who Turned to Stone, The Monster That Challenged the World, The Vampire, Return of the Fly, The Colossus of New York, Monster on the Campus, Terror from the Year 5000, Night of the Blood Beast, The Monster of Piedras Blancas, The Time Machine, The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Beyond the Time Barrier, The Leech Woman, Crack in the World, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, a double feature of Die Monster Die! and Planet of the Vampires, Planet of the Vampires, Fantastic Voyage, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Them!, Revenge of the Creature, This Island Earth, It Came from Beneath the Sea, The 27th Day, a double feature of The Crawling Eye and Cosmic Monsters, The Land Unknown, Enemy from Space, The Giant Claw, The Cyclops, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, The Unearthly, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Brain Eaters, Attack of the Giant Leeches, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Hideous Sun Demon, Satellite In the Sky, Gorgo, Valley of the Dragons, Mysterious Island, The Horror of Party Beach, Barbarella, Thunderbirds Are Go, Five Million Years to Earth, Planet of the Apes, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.