She Demons

She Demons is a 1958 American independent black-and-white science fiction horror film, produced by Arthur A. Jacobs and Marc Frederic, directed and co-written by Richard E. Cunha, that stars Irish McCalla, Tod Griffin, and Victor Sen Yung. Made in the tongue-in-cheek style of Men's adventure magazines, Nazisploitation, and The Island of Lost Souls, the film was distributed by Astor Pictures in March, 1958 as a double feature with Cunha's Giant from the Unknown.[2]

Not to be confused with Demona, She Demons of the Swamp, She devil, or Devil Woman (disambiguation).
She Demons
Theatrical release half-sheet display poster
Directed byRichard E. Cunha
Written byH.E. Barrie
Richard E. Cunha
Produced byArthur A. Jacobs
Marc Frederic
StarringIrish McCalla
Tod Griffin
Victor Sen Yung
CinematographyMeredith M. Nicholson
Edited byWilliam Shea
Music byNicholas Carras
Production
company
Screencraft
Distributed byAstor Pictures
Release date
March 1958[1]
Running time
77 mins
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$65,000 (estimated)

Plot

During a tropical storm, a pleasure boat is shipwrecked on an uncharted island and is presumed lost with all hands after the storm clears. The four survivors' shipboard radio can receive but not transmit, and they hear that their castaway island will soon be used by U.S. Navy aircraft as a bombing target.

Finding strange-looking human footprints and hearing the sound of jungle drums, three of the party explore the island. They soon discover the island is populated by deformed, fanged women who are the product of scientific experiments of Nazis led by a mad scientist and war criminal, who rules the island with an iron swastika.

The survivors eventually manage to blow up the island before the Navy jets can do so.

Cast

Analysis

Victor Sen Yung's character is atypical compared to other Asian characters of the era, speaking ordinary American English, being a college graduate and Phi Beta Kappa member.

Production

After completing Giant from the Unknown, Astor Pictures told Richard Cunha that the film would only be accepted if he made another co-feature, to be released by Astor on a double bill. This led Cunha to make She Demons. Astor advanced $80,000, with Cunha completing the film for $65,000.[3] Filming locations for She Demons were at Ferndale, California, Griffith Park, and Paradise Cove Pier in Malibu, California.[4] David Koehler handled the special effects.[5] H.E. Barrie, who co-wrote the screenplay, also wrote the scripts for two of Cunha's other 1950s films, Missile to the Moon and Frankenstein's Daughter.[6]

Reception

Writing in DVD Talk, film critic Glenn Erickson described the film as a "totally bizarre oddity" and "[o]ne of the sleaziest kiddie matinee movies of the '50s," but also "a great party picture with everything camp enthusiasts enjoy – terrible jokes, hammy acting, terrible direction."[7] Critic Joe Lozowsky wrote that the film is a "so-bad-it's good cult favorite," and that "[o]nce head moron Gene Roth shows up with his bad accent, you can't help but expect Moe, Larry, and Joe Besser to blunder onto the cardboard set and trade eye pokes."[8]

Notes
  1. Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. ISBN 0-89950-170-2. Page 766
  2. Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. ISBN 0-89950-170-2. Page 766
  3. pp. 113–115 Weaver, Tom Richard Cunha & Arthur Jacobs Interview in Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes: The Mutant Melding of Two Volumes of Classic Interviews McFarland, 2000
  4. "She Demons (1958) - Filming Locations - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  5. Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. ISBN 0-89950-170-2. Page 765
  6. Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. ISBN 0-89950-170-2. Pages 742, 756, 765.
  7. Erickson, Glenn. "She Demons & Monster from Green Hell". DVD Talk. DVDTalk. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  8. Lozowsky, Joe. "She Demons (1958)". DVD Drive-in. DVD Drive-in. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
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