The Beast of Yucca Flats

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)

Genres - Mystery  |   Sub-Genres - Creature Film, Sci-Fi Horror  |   Release Date - May 2, 1961 (USA - Unknown), Jun 2, 1961 (USA)  |   Run Time - 60 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Cavett Binion

This groaner from profoundly untalented "auteur" Coleman Francis involves the scenario (one couldn't exactly call it a 'story') of a tubby Soviet scientist (Tor Johnson -- who else?) who is pursued by nefarious agents into a nuclear testing area, whereupon an A-bomb blast infuses him with enough radiation to power a small Midwestern town. Supposedly transformed into a rampaging monster, Tor looks exactly the same, albeit with tattered clothing and a constipated expression. In the fine tradition of The Creeping Terror and Coleman Francis's own Red Zone Cuba (starring the director himself, who resembles Tor's scrappy older brother), this is shot with virtually no dialogue and overlaid with hilariously pretentious and obtuse narration... the phrase "a flag on the moon" pops up so often it could be used in a drinking game. The most enjoyable aspect of this movie is its remarkably short running time.

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Keywords

agent [representative], beast, chase, explosion, expose [revelation], monster, mutant, nuclear-testing, radioactivity, rampage, terror, trapped