In honor of my father-in-law, a retired professor of astronomy, this week we will spend exploring our solar system in movies. Today we voyage to Venus. Zontar: Thing from Venus is currently available on instant Netflix.
AVOID: Zontar: Thing from Venus (1965) – NR – Not rated.
“When a creepy batlike monster from Venus named Zontar plots to take over the world and turn all earthlings into mindless drones, it is up to scientist Curt Taylor (John Agar) to foil the interplanetary menace. But Taylors task becomes harder when his deranged colleague Keith Ritchie (Tony Huston) abets the creature, believing its conquest of the planet will benefit mankind. Larry Buchanan directs this deliriously schlocky sci-fi flick. “
“He knows exactly what he wants and he is about to make a move to get it. And although his name is untranslatable to any Earth language, it would sound something like Zontar. “
Who would have thought that the 1956 Roger Corman cheapie It Conquered the World would need remaking? Well apparently it did. Instead of Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, and Beverly Garland, we have ummm John Agar I guess.
While many actors went from humble B-movie beginnings to stardom in movies or television, John Agar remained firmly a B-movie actor for 57 years. He starred in many westerns but is most remembered for his many science fiction outings. Appearing in such movies as “Tarantula”, “Revenge of the Creature”, “The Mole People”, “The Brain from Planet Arous”, “Attack of the Puppet People” and many more, I regularly saw him on Saturday afternoon television.
He married Shirley Temple (yes that Shirley Temple) in 1945 and got his first acting gig in 1948. He worked nearly constantly after that and he divorced Shirley Temple in 1949. I mention all of this because he is the only competent actor in Zontar and the only thing of any interest as well. Plus he apparently can karate chop a General unconscious just like that.
All of the other actors not only seem to be reading directly from the script but also do not appear to be interacting with each other at all. Also their inflection varies from line to line which is very funny to listen to.
Of course all of this can be laid at the feet of Larry Buchanan who not only directed but also co-wrote this travesty. From 1961-1964, his directorial credits are, in order, “The Naked Witch”, “Common Law Wife”, “Free, White and 21″, “Naughty Dallas”, and “Under Age”. He also wrote most of them. I just love that series of titles – I have not actually seen any of those. they are not even listed on Netflix much less available.
The most annoying thing about Zontar is that the film is constantly jumping up and down off and on for about half the film. Watching it gave me a headache (oh the sacrifices I make for my 3.7 readers).
The bat on a string concept worked so well for the Universal movies of the 30s and 40s that it has been brought back here in 1965 for the flying pieces of Zontar that turn people into mindless zombies. Unfortunately you cannot really tell much difference between pre-zombie line readings and post-zombie mind readings.
While there are other reasons to Avoid Zontar, the headache-inducing judder is enough reason by itself.
The basic material in this movie is much better handled in any of the four Invasion of the Body Snatchers adaptations.
People Watch: Bill Thurman who plays Sheriff Brad Crenshaw here and has small parts in many other Larry Buchanan films pops up in Silverado as Carter and Close Encounters of the Third Kind as “Air Traffic”.
