The Wasp Woman is a 1959 American science fiction horror film that has attained cult status over the years. It was a double-bill with Beast From Haunted Cave 1959, both directed by Roger Corman. The film’s central figure is the head of a cosmetics empire, Susan Cabot (In her final film) who plays Janice Starlin, whose fear of aging leads to her obsession with finding a serum that will restore her youth and beauty.

Janice Starlin, the tightly wound cosmetics tycoon, and former model, finds herself grappling with the harsh reality that her fading beauty is not only wreaking havoc with her love life but also casting a shadow on her once-powerful career. Starlin has always been the beautiful face behind her products and her business has fallen victim to competition lately, the decline of her business is due to newer, more innovative competitors. “Not even Janice Starlin can remain a glamour girl forever.”

At Janice Starlin Enterprises the signs of aging are affecting her appearance and her performance.

Arthur Cooper I’d stay away from wasps if  I were you, Miss Starlin. Socially the queen wasp is on the level with a Black Widow spider. They kill their mates in the same way too! They’re both carnivorous, they paralyze their victims and then take their time devouring them alive. And they kill their mates in the same way, too. Strictly a one-sided romance.

She falls prey to Dr. Eric Zinthrop (Michael Mark), an eccentric self-proclaimed scientist peddling a miracle serum derived from the wasp enzymes, promising to reverse the aging process and restore youthful radiance.

Dr. Zinthrop has developed an experimental serum derived from the royal jelly of the queen wasps, which he believes can reverse the aging process. Janice becomes his test subject and begins taking the serum. Initially, the treatment appears to be a miraculous success, restoring her youth and vitality.

Janice eagerly volunteers as the first human guinea pig for Zinthrop’s experimental injections However, as her physical beauty makes a triumphant return, her secretary, Mary Dennison (Barboura Morris), and her advertising executive Bill Lane (Anthony Eisley) notice a change in her personality, though before taking the injections she wasn't the nicest, warmest person in the world. Bill and Mary begin to notice the change in Janice’s personality.

Now the transformation from within is turning her into something worse and fate doesn't look kindly upon her vanity. Zinthrop gets hit by a car he becomes unable to work on his experimental wasp serum anymore. Against Zinthrop’s advice, she proceeds to inject herself with the serum.

With the source of her revitalization cut off, Janice develops a taste for blood and begins to prey on others to maintain her youthful appearance. the transformation takes a startling turn rendering her a creature with wasp-like attributes and a temperament fiercer than a winged little menace with an angry stinger. The metamorphosis leads to dire consequences, as several unfortunate individuals soon discover when they cross paths with the now-menacing Janice who has transformed into a killer wasp-like woman.

There is a dark and unintended side effect: Janice’s transformation into a hideous human-wasp hybrid. As she continues to use the serum, her behavior becomes increasingly erratic and aggressive. For instance, she kills and eats her research and development man Arthur Cooper (William Roerick). Then she kills the night watchman, and then a nurse, devouring her victims whole. Eventually, she tries to slaughter her secretary Mary. Ultimately she is pushed out the window by her ad man Bill Lane.

Of course, the moral is one of contradictions: Women need to retain their youth and beauty to be relevant but when they aspire for this goal they are seen as vain, pathetic, and dangerous.

tidbits:

Susan Cabot's character plays a woman who takes wasp “royal jelly enzyme” to stay younger. In real life, Cabot suffered from mental illness. She reportedly tried to treat it with human growth hormone, which her son took for dwarfism, but it may have exacerbated her illness. Her son later killed her, reportedly in self-defense after she attacked him during a mental breakdown.

Leo Gordon credited with the screenplay, was married to Lynn Cartwright who plays the receptionist.

The 1964 colorized version has an added 11 minutes where the scientist is fired from his job as beekeeper for testing on wasps instead of bees, which ends up the plot of the movie since he winds up working for Susan Cabot. In the original B&W version, the movie begins with a meeting where Cabot discusses her business failing with underlings… then meets the same doctor in the next scene, where the audience sees him for the first time as well.

Barboura Morris co-starred in one of director Roger Corman’s A Bucket of Blood, where she also played the good girl.

The Wrestling Women vs. The Aztec Mummy is a 1964 Mexican luchadoras (women wrestling) film directed by René Cardona. It’s the adventures of a trio of Mexican wrestling superheroines: Lorena Velaázquez as Loreta aka Gloria Venus, Elizabeth Campbell as Golden Rubi, and Maria Eugenia San Martin as Chela the Flame.

The mummy Xochitl and her lover Tezomoc can turn into a snake or a bat. Loreta, Golden Ruby, and Chela join forces to battle the evil Prince Fujiyata (Ramón Burgarini) and his Judo wrestlers. Tezomoc is the benevolent mummy who fights alongside the women wrestlers who were edited in from Doctor of Doom in 1963.

Willard 1971 is a classic example of the emergence of the early 1970s American horror film directed by Daniel Mann. When a socially awkward and isolated young man named Willard Stiles, portrayed by Bruce Davison, develops a peculiar and unsettling relationship with rats all hell breaks loose. The film was remade in 2003 starring Crispin Glover.

Willard’s life takes a dark turn when he is mistreated and abused by his overbearing boss, Mr. Martin, played by Ernest Borgnine. Seeking solace and companionship, Willard befriends a group of rats living in his basement. He develops a strong and strange connection with these rats and discovers that he can communicate and train them to do his bidding.

As Willard’s bond with the rats deepens, he uses them to exact revenge on those who have wronged him, including his tormentor, Mr. Martin. However, his newfound power and obsession with the rats begin to spiral out of control, leading to a series of disturbing and tragic events.

Willard is a character-driven horror film that explores themes of isolation, revenge, and the blurred lines between humanity and the intelligent animal kingdom. Bruce Davison’s performance as Willard Stiles brings a complex and sympathetic portrayal of the character who is simultaneously socially awkward and sympathetic. Davidson a uniquely complex actor’s portrayal is regarded as a highlight of the film because of his outstanding ability to convey, loneliness, frustration, and the need to feel connected. It is this vulnerability that enables him to be a relatable figure despite his unconventional actions.

One of the things that work best aside from the strong performances and the emotional depth of the cast is its claustrophobic, eerie atmosphere and unsettling depiction of the connection between the protagonist and his rodent companions. The film’s success led to a sequel, Ben, which continued the story of the rat-human relationship.

Ernest Borgnine plays Mr. Martin, Willard’s overbearing and antagonistic boss. His portrayal of Mr. Martin is memorable for its abject cruelty as a domineering authority figure. He’s a character the audience loves to hate, and you cheer for the rats when it’s time for his comeuppance. Mr. Martin’s mistreatment of Willard serves as a catalyst for the events of the film. His actions drive Willard to seek revenge when he summons the army of his loyal rat friends. Full disclosure: I had an amazing pet rat named Gunther whom I loved dearly. She was a good companion and even my cats got along with her. I dread cruelty to rats in horror films.

Welcome to Arrow Beach uses Henry’s character to shed light on the harrowing and long-lasting effects of war trauma on veterans, illustrating how such experiences can lead to PTSD’s profound psychological trauma and suffering.

Without Warning is a 1980 science fiction horror film that has a certain compelling low-budget aura that emerged in the earlier horror science hybrids of the early 1980s. The film is directed by Greydon Clark and features two great actors, Jack Palance and Martin Landau who would go on to appear together in the black comedy horror film Alone in the Dark in 1982 directed by Jack Sholder. I was supposed to interview him a few years ago, but we lost touch. I really need to make that happen.

In a peaceful and remote forested area, where a group of campers and vacationers find themselves terrorized by a deadly extraterrestrial creature. This alien being is equipped with a variety of lethal weapons, including razor-sharp discs and tentacles that it uses to hunt and kill humans.

As the group of unsuspecting individuals tries to survive and evade the relentless alien predator, they must band together and find a way to fight back against this otherworldly menace.