poe-48833 The first time I saw ROBOT MONSTER, it was televised in 3-D. We had to get our 3-Dimensional glasses from a convenience store. While I can't really say that the effort was worth it, I will say that revisiting ROBOT MONSTER just the other day WAS worth the effort. I'd all but forgotten the fact that the whole thing was "just a dream." THAT explains the numerous sequences from so many cheesy Monster movies: the kid was simply dredging up some of the things he'd seen at the movies over the years. This framing device harks back to classics like THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and INVADERS FROM MARS, to mention but a few. ROBOT MONSTER also seems to have had its roots in the pre-Code Horror comics of the early 1950s: the movie actually opens with a shot of an assortment of such comics which includes an issue of ROBOT MONSTER itself. Any enterprising filmmakers out there looking for comics to bring to the Big Screen would do well to check out MIGHTY SAMSON (in which a Herculean strongman battles mutants in a post-apocalyptic future), DR. SOLAR, MAN OF THE ATOM (which features a super hero not unlike the Dr. Manhattan character in WATCHMEN), or MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER (in which a future Martial Artist battles robots intent on ruling the world; an idea ripped off for the Will Smith stinker, I, ROBOT).

Red-Barracuda Robot Monster seems to have been one of those bad movies that appears to have been quite well known in its day. It drew widespread scorn at the time of its release and it's not necessarily very difficult to understand why. It was made for the, even then, incredibly low budget of $16,000 and it was seemingly shot in four days. At no point during proceedings does the film ever suggest that this might not be true. It has seriously threadbare sets, which seem to consist of a cave and a wall. While the alien baddie Ro-Man essentially consists of a gorilla suit and a diving helmet. A somewhat strange concept for a 'robot' it has to be said. But then again I'm not very convinced that he is even supposed to be a robot in the first place and instead seems to be an alien who has been sent to Earth after his people have obliterated the human race by means of a death ray or something. To that end we have a post-apocalyptic land populated solely by a handful of survivors who are still around on account of one of their number, an archaeologist, having developed a serum that gives them all immunity from every conceivable disease. Why is it that it is an archaeologist who has made this ground-breaking discovery? No reason really, that's just the way it is. In fact that sentence could apply to many questions regarding the content of this movie.Needless to say, Robot Monster is something of an entertaining viewing experience. It may be clunky as hell but it's endearingly put together. Ro-Man is certainly the main draw and is a commendably ridiculous creation. He is one of the most iconic characters in 50's sci-fi schlock for sure. He is a bit of a surprisingly evil being though and at one point actually murders a little girl which was somewhat unexpected I have to say. But mostly, he just stands around the entrance to a cave shouting out about all the perturbation and despair he is going to deliver at some later point. On a separate note, seeing as this one was released during the very brief craze for 3D movies in 1953 its poster promised that this was going to be another 3D spectacular; needless to say it was never released in 3D at all, which in some ways only adds to its overall standing.

Aaron1375 I viewed this film on an episode of MST3K and have to say it is pretty bad. In fact, it is god awful and I am probably being to kind. I think even Manos the Hands of Fate has more redeemable qualities than does this film. It features annoying children, a stupid plot twist that is pointless thanks to the fact it is telegraphed and a monster that is a person in a monkey suit with a diving helmet for its head. There is just nothing all that good to say about it other than they did have the guts to kill off one of the annoying children. Granted, in the end not really, but they did sort of.The story has two children bothering these two men digging. The little boy is obsessed with playing aliens and such while the girl just wants to play house. Well the children's mother and older sister comes up and they takes the kids back to a picnic and then the boy runs off and has flashes of other movies and then he awakens to a world where the Romon rules the world and the remaining people exist in a life of fear as their number rapidly dwindles. What has happened? Why is this monkey person such a threat? And why is this film so bad that anyone with half a brain already knows it is just the boy having a dream!?! The episode made for a pretty good episode of MST3K. It was a first season episode, so it was not great as they were still trying to feel their way through things at this point. The movie did provide plenty of riffing material and probably would have made a better later episode when they had gotten their feet a bit more wet.So overall, a horrible movie, a fairly decent episode of MST3K and a monster than consists of a monkey suit with a helmet. The movie basically lets the audience know right from the get go that it is all a dream and then tacks on a stupid ending suggesting the Robot Monster was real. They do not make them like this anymore and in the case of this particular film, that is an incredibly good thing.

Leofwine_draca ROBOT MONSTER is often heralded as the worst movie ever made, although I've seen plenty that are more boring than this zero-budget effort, which is enthusiastic if nothing else. The nutshell plot of the film sees a family struggling to survive in the aftermath of an apocalypse, where they're menaced by the titular alien.The film features an anything-goes, shot-in-your-own-backyard feel which makes it hard to take seriously. I'm a huge fan of '50s sci-fi, but this has more in common with the dodgy offerings of Ed Wood than a real film. The acting is sub-par, the script even worse, and the attempts to enliven things by shoving in stock footage are simply helpless.Things aren't quite so bad as all that, though. ROBOT MONSTER is a film that it's easy to laugh at, which counts for a lot, and Ro-Man is quite an entertaining menace...at least, he's highly amusing, whether it be his bizarre look or the way he talks in that portentous voice. As a movie, it's also very short, which makes things easier to take. Watch it as an unintentional comedy and you might even find yourself enjoying it.