This span of three decades gave us some of the best in old dark house films, monster movies, and, best of all, sci-fi horror flicks.
Some of the greatest movies of all time came out during this era and some of the most inspirational and influential to the world of modern cinema.
In today's cult and independent film community there is a plethora of directors, filmmakers, and indie film companies who focus on the horror genre. Most of these companies try to emulate, spoof, or recreate the slasher and exploitation genres from the 1970s and 1980s.
While I love all the films from these companies, there is only one company that comes out with a new film each year that emulates the black and white b-horror and sci-fi movies of days gone by. That company is Saint Euphoria Pictures.
Previously, I reviewed a film by them called House of Ghosts, a brilliant homage to old dark house films and William Castle. Today, I'm taking a look at their most recent film: Danny Johnson Saves the World!
The grandpa's name is Daniel, and when he was young, Danny. The story follows Danny as he, his friends, and his sister are out playing in the woods. Everything seems normal until an oversized robot shows up and starts kidnapping the kids.
Danny grabs his sister and runs, when they suddenly encounter a strange, and somewhat cute, creature. When the creature attacks Danny's sister manages to knock it down. A strange ring like device falls off its head and it turns out the creature was being mind controlled.
The kids learn of a plan that an evil queen has to capture and mind control the children of Earth. With the help of the creature, named Steve, Danny must go up into the spaceship where the queen is and stop her from taking over the world!
I personally never loved these types of kids films so Danny Johnson Saves the World doesn't hit home quite as much as House of Ghosts did. However, the film does an excellent job of emulating the style of film.
The story is fun and straight forward, and the puppetry is cute and well done. Steve in particular seems to have become a fan favorite for followers of the company. The acting isn't great, which is expected with a cast of all children. However, they do very well for being amateur child actors.
The highlight of the film really comes with the old school monster effects and costumes. It looks almost exactly like the monster effects from old b-science fiction movies.
Summing it Up
Deaths: 0
Language: 0
Gore Factor: 0
Sex Factor: 0
Scare Factor: 1
Fun Factor: 4
Overall Rating: 3