Ever notice that tropical resorts never list “being devoured by a prehistoric monster” among their activities in the brochure? They promise water sports, spa treatments, fruity drinks with umbrellas and fresh sheets. Not a word about your body ripped apart by a creature that’s not even on display at the Smithsonian. You might think the odds are one in a billion, but Roger Corman’s Cult Classics Double Feature: Up From the Depths / Demon of Paradise shows it happened twice in eight years. Two times a luxury hotel compound in Hawaii found themselves under attack by totally different homicidal creatures. How could this have happened? The simple answer: Corman wanted to make more films in the tradition of Jaws that could pull in audiences like Piranha.
Up From the Depths (1979 – 84:57) starts out simple enough with a cute scientist diving into the blue sea. An underwater earthquake shifts the rocks and frees a prehistoric shark. She’s his first taste of the 20th century. Normally someone getting devoured is an isolated incident however this nibble takes place on the tranquil water off a posh resort in Hawaii. Naturally nobody wants to bring any attention to this incident since it might upset the customers. The resort manager thinks the fleshy matter that’s washed up on the beach is chum from a boat run by Sam Bottoms.How did Lance from Apocalypse Now end up in this rubber underwater monster movie? Seems he wanted a quick gig in the Philippines while he went up the river with Coppola. The horror. There is plenty of horror as various cast members are turned into chewtoys. There’s strange comic moments like when the monster attacks swimming tourists. The people on the beach go nuts racing around in a panic. Why? It’s not like this creature has legs. When the secret gets out, the manager comes up with a great idea to keep the tourists around. He sets up a fishing contest with a big prize for the person who lands the B.C. shark.
Demon of Paradise (1987 – 87:18) is not a complete remake. Sure it takes place at a resort in Hawaii (actually the Philippines, again). It involves a prehistoric creature terrorizing the tourists. But it’s different! Instead of a shark released by an earthquake, it’s an aquatic reptileman that awakens when the locals fish with explosives. Naturally the monster is hungry. There’s less people hunting the monster this time. There’s a dip in the production level. The resort’s waterfront property resembles an abandoned boy scout camp. Director Cirio H. Santiago was the Roger Corman of the Philippines. He was New World’s man in Manila. He produced Up From the Depths so he understood what needed to be altered in both monster attacks resort films. He realized it was cheaper to bring the monster onto the beach than take the crew into the water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze_S4CIBExc
Roger Corman’s Cult Classics Double Feature: Up From the Depths / Demon of Paradise are curiously addicting with their tales of why to avoid tropical resorts. The films aren’t on the same level as Piranha or even Jaws. The human characters are about as evolved as the prehistoric creatures. These films are as entertaining as the original movies that run on SyFy with people getting eaten by hybrid creatures.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. There’s a few rough scratches on the film. These appear to be done in the camera since they disappear after edits. Some camera assistant didn’t do a good job. The audio is mono. It sounds so good that you really do think they’re in Hawaii.
Up From the Depths Trailer (1:09) makes us imagine a dream vacation in Hawaii coming to an end.
Up From the Depths TV Spot (0:32) focuses on the monster attacking people in a tropical paradise.
Up From the Depths Radio Spots (1:04) sound like Ernie Anderson giving us the creeps. Ernie was the longtime ABC announcer and dad to P.T. Anderson.
Demon of Paradise Trailer (1:32) reminds us that there will be nudity, explosions, monster attacks and hula dancing!
Making of Up From the Depths (7:39) lets Roger Corman disclose how this is a reworking of Piranha. The movie was made in the Philippines after a few establishing shots in Hawaii to save on the budget. Sam Bottoms appears to have had Michael Caine’s agent. Special Effects gurus Robert Short and Chris Walas (Gremlins) discuss how they salvaged the film with a new creature and body parts.
Roger Corman’s Cult Classics Double Feature: Up From the Depths / Demon of Paradise is a great way to end a vacation. These were two resorts that learned that shaking the ocean floor is never a good thing. The Grindhouse Experience allows you to watch the films as a double feature with trailers and theater announcements. It can be an academic exercise to watch these films back to back to notice how things were altered so they weren’t quite remakes. Make sure you have a large fruity drink with an umbrella before you hit play on the DVD player.
Shout! Factory presents Roger Corman’s Cult Classics Double Feature: Up From the Depths / Demon of Paradise. Starring: Sam Bottoms, Susanne Reed, Virgil Frye, Kathryn Witt and William Steis. Boxset Contents: 2 movies on 1 DVDs. Released on DVD: January 18, 2011.
