The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Crazy Mixed-Up Zombies (1964) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

A gypsy fortune teller turns young men into mindless killers.

Cast & Crew

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Ray Dennis Steckler

Cash Flagg

Brett O'hara

Carolyn Brandt

Atlas King

Sharon Walsh

Photos & Videos

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Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... -- (Movie Clip) Jerry's Dream

Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... -- (Movie Clip) Get a Job

Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... -- (Movie Clip) Twist

Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... -- (Movie Clip) Credits

Film Details

Also Known As

Teenage Psycho Meets Bloody Mary

Genre

Horror/Science-Fiction

Comedy

Horror

Release Date

Jan 1964

Premiere Information

South Bend, Indiana, showing: Mar 1964

Production Company

Morgan-Steckler Productions

Distribution Company

Fairway-International Films; Hollywood Star Pictures

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 22m

Synopsis

Three carnival workers, evil gypsy palmist Madam Estrella, her sister Carmelita, and their hunchbacked servant Ortega, are engaged in the business of creating carnival freaks. They hypnotize their patrons, disfigure them by throwing acid in their faces, and imprison them in cages. Marge Neilson, a dancer in a nightclub on the midway, accidentally discovers the fortune-teller's sideline and is stabbed to death by Jerry, a beatnik who has been hypnotized by Madam Estrella. Jerry then tries to strangle his girl friend Angie when he is thrown into a trance by the twirling of her umbrella, but he is prevented from doing so by the arrival of Angie's brother Madison and her mother. Estrella again hypnotizes Jerry and encages him, but this action causes the other "monsters" to riot and stampede. Jerry is shot by the police, and Estrella's activities are ended.

Director

Ray Dennis Steckler

Cast

Cash Flagg

Brett O'hara

Carolyn Brandt

Atlas King

Sharon Walsh

Madison Clarke

Erina Enyo

Jack Brady

Toni Camel

Neil Stillman

Joan Howard

James Bowie

Nightclub emcee

Gene Pollock

Nightclub owner

Bill Ward

Son Hooker

Steve Clark

Don Snyder

Carol Kay

Teri Randal

Titus Moede

Whitey Robinson

Bonnie Berkeley

Denise Lynn

Jill Carson

Patrice Michaels

Cindy Shea

Patti Crandall

Betty Downing

Pat Lynn

Crew

Ken Carlson

Mike Harrington

E. M. Kevke

Pat Kirkwood

Lilly

Joseph V. Mascelli

Director of Photography

John Mckenna

Assistant Director

Austin Mckinney

Production Manager

George J. Morgan

Executive Producer

Gene Pollock

Henry Price

Libby Quinn

Don Russell

Assistant Director

Tom Scherman

Tom Scherman

Don Schneider

Robert Silliphant

Alan Smith

Ray Dennis Steckler

Lee Strosnider

Bill Turner

William Zsigmond

Director of Photography

Videos

Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... -- (Movie Clip) Get a Job Jerry (Cash Flagg) and Harold (Atlas King) have a candid chat in this economically filmed early scene from The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... (1964).

Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... -- (Movie Clip) Credits Credit sequence from The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... (1964) directed by Ray Dennis Steckler.

Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... -- (Movie Clip) Jerry's Dream Director Ray Dennis Steckler (playing "Jerry" under the stage name Cash Flagg) is having a bad dream in The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... (1964).

Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... -- (Movie Clip) Twist The number "Shook Out of Shape" is performed by the able troupe at the carnival girlie show in The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living... (1964).

Film Details

Also Known As

Teenage Psycho Meets Bloody Mary

Genre

Horror/Science-Fiction

Comedy

Horror

Release Date

Jan 1964

Premiere Information

South Bend, Indiana, showing: Mar 1964

Production Company

Morgan-Steckler Productions

Distribution Company

Fairway-International Films; Hollywood Star Pictures

Country

United States

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 22m

Articles

The Gist (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - THE GIST

August 2, 2008

There's more sawdust than beef in the mixture but it's the filler that gives this particular meat pie its distinctive flavor. Conceived and executed with extreme prejudice by Hollywood gaffer-turned-cameraman-turned-director Ray Dennis Steckler, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1964) is junk drawer cinema at its most impossible to close. However cobbled together the thing seems to be from half-remembered elements of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Raven (1935), The Mad Ghoul (1943), The Mask of Diijon (1946), Zombies of Mora Tau (1957), Psycho (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and countless "Inner Sanctum" mysteries and film noir thrillers, it still manages to be its own animal. Often short-listed among the worst films ever made, The Incredibly Strange Creatures... is considerably better than its reputation. Although the screenplay (on which Robert Silliphant, brother of veteran screenwriter Stirling Silliphant, receives credit) broaches the subject of alienation in post-Camelot America, overdetermination cannot be numbered among its sins.

Unlike contemporary schlock films bucking for Psychotronica, The Incredibly Strange Creatures... is loose-knit to the point of unraveling but it's precisely this threadbare, developed-in-the-bathroom-sink aesthetic that explains the film's confounding charm. Has any other horror movie ever been so connected to the imagined smells of corndogs, cigar smoke, and cheap rubber monster masks? Cast with friends (Steckler's leading lady was plucked from the ranks of the background dancers on the first day of shooting when the original actress bailed unexpectedly) and shot in and around the seedier sections of Los Angeles (including the long-defunct funicular railway, Angels Flight), The Incredibly Strange Creatures... also makes atmospheric use of the one-time Long Beach amusement park, The Pike, which makes this film a precursor to another grade Z classic and erstwhile late, late show staple, Al Adamson's Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971). But the film's merits aren't limited to accidental grace notes. Steckler and his scenarists have the juevos to pull not one Psycho style kill-the-heroine trick but two! One also wonders whether the zombie attack on the tiki floor show could have influenced the zombie attack on the disco TV program in Umberto Lenzi's crap classic Nightmare City (1980).

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? has proved influential in other ways, even if that influence extends no farther than its long-winded title. The 1988 British television program The Incredibly Strange Film Show focused on the works of such international freak show pioneers as Ted V. Mikels, John Waters, George Romero, Russ Meyer, Tsui Hark and Sam Raimi while the 1993 telefilm The Positively True Adventure of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993) and the 1995 indie pic The Incredibly True Story of Two Girls in Love (1995) seem to tip their hats to the Steckler film. The 1986 book RE/Search: Incredibly Strange Films not only borrowed its title from Steckler's magnum opus but also included a lengthy career interview with the DIY filmmaker, who long ago quit Hollywood for the creative freedom of the Nevada desert. Among his pet projects-in-progress is a belated sequel to The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?.

Producers: George J. Morgan, Ray Dennis Steckler
Director: Ray Dennis Steckler
Screenplay: E. M. Kevke, Robert Silliphant, Gene Pollock
Cinematography: Joseph V. Mascelli, László Kovács, Lee Strosnider, Vilmos Zsigmond
Film Editing: Don Schneider
Music: Libby Quinn, André Brummer
Cast: Ray Dennis Steckler (Jerry), Carolyn Brandt (Marge), Sharon Walsh (Angela), Atlas King (Harold), Brett O'Hara (Estrella), Erina Enyo (Carmelita), Joan Howard (Angela's mother), Pat Kirkwood (Madison), Toni Camel (Stella), Neil Stillman (Barker), Don Russell (Ortega), Gene Pollock (Nightclub Manager), Bill Ward (Marge's Partner).
C-82m. Letterboxed.

by Richard Harland Smith

The Gist (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - The Gist

The Gist (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - THE GIST

There's more sawdust than beef in the mixture but it's the filler that gives this particular meat pie its distinctive flavor. Conceived and executed with extreme prejudice by Hollywood gaffer-turned-cameraman-turned-director Ray Dennis Steckler, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1964) is junk drawer cinema at its most impossible to close. However cobbled together the thing seems to be from half-remembered elements of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Raven (1935), The Mad Ghoul (1943), The Mask of Diijon (1946), Zombies of Mora Tau (1957), Psycho (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and countless "Inner Sanctum" mysteries and film noir thrillers, it still manages to be its own animal. Often short-listed among the worst films ever made, The Incredibly Strange Creatures... is considerably better than its reputation. Although the screenplay (on which Robert Silliphant, brother of veteran screenwriter Stirling Silliphant, receives credit) broaches the subject of alienation in post-Camelot America, overdetermination cannot be numbered among its sins. Unlike contemporary schlock films bucking for Psychotronica, The Incredibly Strange Creatures... is loose-knit to the point of unraveling but it's precisely this threadbare, developed-in-the-bathroom-sink aesthetic that explains the film's confounding charm. Has any other horror movie ever been so connected to the imagined smells of corndogs, cigar smoke, and cheap rubber monster masks? Cast with friends (Steckler's leading lady was plucked from the ranks of the background dancers on the first day of shooting when the original actress bailed unexpectedly) and shot in and around the seedier sections of Los Angeles (including the long-defunct funicular railway, Angels Flight), The Incredibly Strange Creatures... also makes atmospheric use of the one-time Long Beach amusement park, The Pike, which makes this film a precursor to another grade Z classic and erstwhile late, late show staple, Al Adamson's Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971). But the film's merits aren't limited to accidental grace notes. Steckler and his scenarists have the juevos to pull not one Psycho style kill-the-heroine trick but two! One also wonders whether the zombie attack on the tiki floor show could have influenced the zombie attack on the disco TV program in Umberto Lenzi's crap classic Nightmare City (1980). The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? has proved influential in other ways, even if that influence extends no farther than its long-winded title. The 1988 British television program The Incredibly Strange Film Show focused on the works of such international freak show pioneers as Ted V. Mikels, John Waters, George Romero, Russ Meyer, Tsui Hark and Sam Raimi while the 1993 telefilm The Positively True Adventure of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993) and the 1995 indie pic The Incredibly True Story of Two Girls in Love (1995) seem to tip their hats to the Steckler film. The 1986 book RE/Search: Incredibly Strange Films not only borrowed its title from Steckler's magnum opus but also included a lengthy career interview with the DIY filmmaker, who long ago quit Hollywood for the creative freedom of the Nevada desert. Among his pet projects-in-progress is a belated sequel to The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?. Producers: George J. Morgan, Ray Dennis Steckler Director: Ray Dennis Steckler Screenplay: E. M. Kevke, Robert Silliphant, Gene Pollock Cinematography: Joseph V. Mascelli, László Kovács, Lee Strosnider, Vilmos Zsigmond Film Editing: Don Schneider Music: Libby Quinn, André Brummer Cast: Ray Dennis Steckler (Jerry), Carolyn Brandt (Marge), Sharon Walsh (Angela), Atlas King (Harold), Brett O'Hara (Estrella), Erina Enyo (Carmelita), Joan Howard (Angela's mother), Pat Kirkwood (Madison), Toni Camel (Stella), Neil Stillman (Barker), Don Russell (Ortega), Gene Pollock (Nightclub Manager), Bill Ward (Marge's Partner). C-82m. Letterboxed. by Richard Harland Smith

Insider Info (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - BEHIND THE SCENES

March 2, 2008

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? was originally titled The Incredibly Strange Creatures or Why I Stopped Living and Became a Mixed-Up Zombie until Columbia Pictures threatened legal action over the presumed infringement on their Stanley Kubrick film Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963).

The final budget for The Incredibly Strange Creatures... was $38,000, more than three times Steckler's budget on Wild Guitar (1962).

The film's shooting schedule ran for 11 days.

The film's director of photography was Joseph Mascelli, author of The American Cinematographers Manual (1960) and The Five Cs of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques (1965).

Camera operators included émigrés László Kovács and Vilmos Zsigmond, who shot the carnival footage and rode the rollercoaster seen in the film while operating a handheld 16mm camera.

Carnival interiors for The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? were filmed on a makeshift soundstage built on the seventh floor of a temple in Glendale, California.

A 17-year-old girl named Bonita Jade had originally been cast in the part of Angela but when she decided she'd rather go out with her drummer boyfriend than shoot her first scene, Steckler grabbed dancer Sharon Walsh and promoted her to leading lady on the spot.

While he was shooting The Incredibly Strange Creatures..., supporting player Titus Moede was also appearing in Captain Newman, MD with Gregory Peck.

Moede has claimed that he got fledgling actor James Woods work as an extra on the set of The Incredibly Strange Creatures....

Briefly glimpsed in the cabaret scenes is Jeanette Briggs, wife of Hollywood heavy Mike Mazurki and a critic for the Glendale News-Press.

The junked car that Atlas King is seen working on midway through the film is Ray Dennis Steckler's old Nash Rambler.

During production, Atlas King loaned Ray Dennis Steckler $300 from his own pocket to help him continue shooting when he ran out of funds.

The climactic beach chase scene was filmed in Oxnard, California.

The boots Steckler wears during the chase over the rocks are actually a size and a half too small because the boots he had worn throughout shooting had been washed out to sea on a stunt dummy.

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? was later paired on double bills with Arch Hall, Sr.'s The Sadist (1963).

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? was also released under the title The Teenage Psycho Meets Bloody Mary and in some drive-ins in the south was presented as a live spook show where masked volunteers, dressed as zombies, emerged from the shadows to terrorize patrons in their cars during the film's climax.

Compiled by Richard Harland Smith

Sources:
Ray Dennis Steckler audio commentary, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? DVD
Ray Dennis Steckler interview by Boyd Rice, RE/Search: Incredibly Strange Films
Ray Dennis Steckler interview by Will the Thrill, www.Thrillville.net
Arch Hall, Jr. interview by Tom Weaver, Earth vs. the Sci-Fi Filmmakers: 20 Interviews

Insider Info (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - BEHIND THE SCENES

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? was originally titled The Incredibly Strange Creatures or Why I Stopped Living and Became a Mixed-Up Zombie until Columbia Pictures threatened legal action over the presumed infringement on their Stanley Kubrick film Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963). The final budget for The Incredibly Strange Creatures... was $38,000, more than three times Steckler's budget on Wild Guitar (1962). The film's shooting schedule ran for 11 days. The film's director of photography was Joseph Mascelli, author of The American Cinematographers Manual (1960) and The Five Cs of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques (1965). Camera operators included émigrés László Kovács and Vilmos Zsigmond, who shot the carnival footage and rode the rollercoaster seen in the film while operating a handheld 16mm camera. Carnival interiors for The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? were filmed on a makeshift soundstage built on the seventh floor of a temple in Glendale, California. A 17-year-old girl named Bonita Jade had originally been cast in the part of Angela but when she decided she'd rather go out with her drummer boyfriend than shoot her first scene, Steckler grabbed dancer Sharon Walsh and promoted her to leading lady on the spot. While he was shooting The Incredibly Strange Creatures..., supporting player Titus Moede was also appearing in Captain Newman, MD with Gregory Peck. Moede has claimed that he got fledgling actor James Woods work as an extra on the set of The Incredibly Strange Creatures.... Briefly glimpsed in the cabaret scenes is Jeanette Briggs, wife of Hollywood heavy Mike Mazurki and a critic for the Glendale News-Press. The junked car that Atlas King is seen working on midway through the film is Ray Dennis Steckler's old Nash Rambler. During production, Atlas King loaned Ray Dennis Steckler $300 from his own pocket to help him continue shooting when he ran out of funds. The climactic beach chase scene was filmed in Oxnard, California. The boots Steckler wears during the chase over the rocks are actually a size and a half too small because the boots he had worn throughout shooting had been washed out to sea on a stunt dummy. The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? was later paired on double bills with Arch Hall, Sr.'s The Sadist (1963). The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? was also released under the title The Teenage Psycho Meets Bloody Mary and in some drive-ins in the south was presented as a live spook show where masked volunteers, dressed as zombies, emerged from the shadows to terrorize patrons in their cars during the film's climax. Compiled by Richard Harland Smith Sources: Ray Dennis Steckler audio commentary, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? DVD Ray Dennis Steckler interview by Boyd Rice, RE/Search: Incredibly Strange Films Ray Dennis Steckler interview by Will the Thrill, www.Thrillville.net Arch Hall, Jr. interview by Tom Weaver, Earth vs. the Sci-Fi Filmmakers: 20 Interviews

In the Know (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - TRIVIA

March 2, 2008

Ray Dennis Steckler began making 8mm movies as a boy in his native Reading, Pennsylvania, paying for the film by selling broken pretzels to neighborhood bars.

Steckler learned photography as an Army cameraman stationed in Korea.

New in Hollywood, Steckler lived out of and slept in the back seat of his Nash Rambler.

Steckler was fired from a job as a grip on the set of Alfred Hitchcock Presents for nearly running over the Master of Suspense with a piece of scenery.

Steckler shot second unit photography for the classic schlock film Eegah! (1962), directed by Arch Hall, Sr. and starring Arch Hall, Jr. and Richard Kiel.

Steckler later worked as a director of photography on ABC's Wide World of Sports show.

Steckler met his future wife Carolyn Brandt on the set of a TV pilot called The Magic of Sinbad in which she had the small part of a harem girl.

Steckler's first film as a director was the short subject Goof on the Loose (1964), a tribute to silent film comedians shot in and round Echo Park Lake.

Steckler and Brandt both worked as ushers at Hollywood's Ivar Theater, where he later shot his first feature film, Wild Guitar.

Steckler's "Cash Flagg" nickname was partly derived from his refusal to accept checks for his services...just cash!

Brett O'Hara was once a stand-in for Susan Hayward.

Cast as a sideshow barker and eventual murder victim, Neil Stillman was the letter carrier bringing the mail to the Glendale soundstage where The Incredibly Strange Creatures... was shooting.

Co-scenarist Robert Silliphant is the less well known brother of veteran screenwriter Stirling Silliphant.

The amusement park scenes from The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? were filmed at a defunct Long Beach, California amusement park known as The Pike.

During the shooting of an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man at The Pike in 1976, a funhouse "hanging man" prop was found to contain the skeleton of wild west outlaw Elmer McCurdy, killed in 1911.

Ray Dennis Steckler turned down a role in The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant (1971), which was directed by the editor of The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?.

When The Incredibly Strange Creatures... was shot and mocked on the comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 Steckler commented "I hope they made a lot of money off that and spent it unwisely."

Compiled by Richard Harland Smith

Sources:
Ray Dennis Steckler audio commentary, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? DVD
Ray Dennis Steckler interview by Boyd Rice, ReSearch: Incredibly Strange Films
Ray Dennis Steckler/Carolyn Brandt interview by Boyd Rice, RE/Search: Incredibly Strange Films
Ray Dennis Steckler interview by Ed Tucker, CrazedFanboy.com
Titus Moede interview by Rudolph Grey, Psychotronic Video, No. 54

In the Know (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - TRIVIA

Ray Dennis Steckler began making 8mm movies as a boy in his native Reading, Pennsylvania, paying for the film by selling broken pretzels to neighborhood bars. Steckler learned photography as an Army cameraman stationed in Korea. New in Hollywood, Steckler lived out of and slept in the back seat of his Nash Rambler. Steckler was fired from a job as a grip on the set of Alfred Hitchcock Presents for nearly running over the Master of Suspense with a piece of scenery. Steckler shot second unit photography for the classic schlock film Eegah! (1962), directed by Arch Hall, Sr. and starring Arch Hall, Jr. and Richard Kiel. Steckler later worked as a director of photography on ABC's Wide World of Sports show. Steckler met his future wife Carolyn Brandt on the set of a TV pilot called The Magic of Sinbad in which she had the small part of a harem girl. Steckler's first film as a director was the short subject Goof on the Loose (1964), a tribute to silent film comedians shot in and round Echo Park Lake. Steckler and Brandt both worked as ushers at Hollywood's Ivar Theater, where he later shot his first feature film, Wild Guitar. Steckler's "Cash Flagg" nickname was partly derived from his refusal to accept checks for his services...just cash! Brett O'Hara was once a stand-in for Susan Hayward. Cast as a sideshow barker and eventual murder victim, Neil Stillman was the letter carrier bringing the mail to the Glendale soundstage where The Incredibly Strange Creatures... was shooting. Co-scenarist Robert Silliphant is the less well known brother of veteran screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. The amusement park scenes from The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? were filmed at a defunct Long Beach, California amusement park known as The Pike. During the shooting of an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man at The Pike in 1976, a funhouse "hanging man" prop was found to contain the skeleton of wild west outlaw Elmer McCurdy, killed in 1911. Ray Dennis Steckler turned down a role in The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant (1971), which was directed by the editor of The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?. When The Incredibly Strange Creatures... was shot and mocked on the comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000 Steckler commented "I hope they made a lot of money off that and spent it unwisely." Compiled by Richard Harland Smith Sources: Ray Dennis Steckler audio commentary, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? DVD Ray Dennis Steckler interview by Boyd Rice, ReSearch: Incredibly Strange Films Ray Dennis Steckler/Carolyn Brandt interview by Boyd Rice, RE/Search: Incredibly Strange Films Ray Dennis Steckler interview by Ed Tucker, CrazedFanboy.com Titus Moede interview by Rudolph Grey, Psychotronic Video, No. 54

Yea or Nay (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - CRITIC REVIEWS OF "THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES

March 2, 2008

"As good as it sounds."
Ed Naha, Horrors: From Screen to Scream

"Legendary (thanks to that title) low-budget horror film about hideous goings-on at a carny side show, with lots of rock numbers thrown in. Truly bizarre film features gorgeously saturated color, awful acting, hideous dialogue, haunting atmosphere and little plot."
Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide

"... unbelievably well photographed..."
Michael Weldon, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film

"Of great historical significance, this neglected exploiter boasts the dual distinction of having the longest title in horror movie history and of being the only movie of any kind shot in 'Hyponovision.'"

Gene Wright, Horrorshows
"Tight direction and editing also make the most of the shoestring budget so that, all in all, the film (unusually) delivers as much as it promises."
Phil Hardy, editor, The Aurum Film Encyclopedia of Film: Horror

This bottom-of-the-barrel chiller... features surprisingly imaginative photography (particularly an impressive nightmare sequence)...
Stephen Jones, The Essential Monster Movie Guide

"... horror fans will snooze with boredom, sleaze fiends will squeal in delight, and fans of crappy night-club routines will fall head over heels at the awe-inspiring 'musical' interludes... plenty of Incredibly Bad Acting, Incredibly Dull Dialogue and Incredibly Lousy Music... it kinda grows on you..."
Steven Puchalski, Slimetime

"It's not as good as its title--how could it be? What weighs the film down are too many scenes that drag interminably--pacing was always Steckler's biggest problem. Amazingly, Steckler went on to make other films on even less money--this was the biggest budget with which he ever had to work with."
TV Guide

"Steckler's imagination seems to have stalled after thinking up the title(s), neither of which is especially valid. A few cheap masks don't transform lurching extras into creatures strange or zomboid... The carnival setting could have been tackier, weirder, more sinister if, instead of stopping at cribs from House of Wax (1953) and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957), the makers had indulged in a bit of imaginative theft from Nightmare Alley (1947).
Time Out

"... this movie has more padding in it than a girl on prom night."
Crystal Guillory, Horror-Wood.com

"In other words, every cult/drive-in/exploitation/kooky film fan should have a copy of this on their shelf pronto!"
Casey Scott, DVD Drive-In

"One thing that is incredibly strange about the film is the amount of incredibly strange noises on the soundtrack, one apparently an ominous heartbeat resembling someone using a sink plunger on a blocked drain, and that's without mentioning the theme music over the titles that sounds like someone leaning randomly on the keys of an electric organ...With some eccentrically non-Hollywood touches such as the drunken leading lady you can see Steckler was playing by his own rules as usual, and they don't make them like this anymore. "
Graeme Clark, The Spinning Image

"As if sideshow atmosphere, mesmerized psychos, mixed-up zombies, juvenile delinquents, and views of long-vanished Los Angeles area attractions aren't enough to rock your mind, Steckler makes the whole thing a musical of sorts. Frequently, incredibly amateurish song and dance numbers from the stages of the carnival pier, and even a bit of horrible stand up comedy, are dropped into the mixed-up milieu. Some scenes combine all these elements, lifting ISCWSLABMUZ into the stratosphere of psychotronic cinema classics."
Brian Thomas, Cinescape

"This infamously titled exploiter is a lot better than you might expect...with lots of silly, arty directorial touches, lengthy (and out of place) dance numbers, fairly effective makeup, and plenty of laughs."
James O'Neill, Terror on Tape

"..the Theatre Marquee Dressers of America complain about this movie - every time it plays, they run out of letters."
John Stanley, Creature Features

Compiled by Richard Harland Smith

Yea or Nay (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - CRITIC REVIEWS OF "THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES

"As good as it sounds." Ed Naha, Horrors: From Screen to Scream "Legendary (thanks to that title) low-budget horror film about hideous goings-on at a carny side show, with lots of rock numbers thrown in. Truly bizarre film features gorgeously saturated color, awful acting, hideous dialogue, haunting atmosphere and little plot." Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide "... unbelievably well photographed..." Michael Weldon, The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film "Of great historical significance, this neglected exploiter boasts the dual distinction of having the longest title in horror movie history and of being the only movie of any kind shot in 'Hyponovision.'" Gene Wright, Horrorshows "Tight direction and editing also make the most of the shoestring budget so that, all in all, the film (unusually) delivers as much as it promises." Phil Hardy, editor, The Aurum Film Encyclopedia of Film: Horror This bottom-of-the-barrel chiller... features surprisingly imaginative photography (particularly an impressive nightmare sequence)... Stephen Jones, The Essential Monster Movie Guide "... horror fans will snooze with boredom, sleaze fiends will squeal in delight, and fans of crappy night-club routines will fall head over heels at the awe-inspiring 'musical' interludes... plenty of Incredibly Bad Acting, Incredibly Dull Dialogue and Incredibly Lousy Music... it kinda grows on you..." Steven Puchalski, Slimetime "It's not as good as its title--how could it be? What weighs the film down are too many scenes that drag interminably--pacing was always Steckler's biggest problem. Amazingly, Steckler went on to make other films on even less money--this was the biggest budget with which he ever had to work with." TV Guide "Steckler's imagination seems to have stalled after thinking up the title(s), neither of which is especially valid. A few cheap masks don't transform lurching extras into creatures strange or zomboid... The carnival setting could have been tackier, weirder, more sinister if, instead of stopping at cribs from House of Wax (1953) and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957), the makers had indulged in a bit of imaginative theft from Nightmare Alley (1947). Time Out "... this movie has more padding in it than a girl on prom night." Crystal Guillory, Horror-Wood.com "In other words, every cult/drive-in/exploitation/kooky film fan should have a copy of this on their shelf pronto!" Casey Scott, DVD Drive-In "One thing that is incredibly strange about the film is the amount of incredibly strange noises on the soundtrack, one apparently an ominous heartbeat resembling someone using a sink plunger on a blocked drain, and that's without mentioning the theme music over the titles that sounds like someone leaning randomly on the keys of an electric organ...With some eccentrically non-Hollywood touches such as the drunken leading lady you can see Steckler was playing by his own rules as usual, and they don't make them like this anymore. " Graeme Clark, The Spinning Image "As if sideshow atmosphere, mesmerized psychos, mixed-up zombies, juvenile delinquents, and views of long-vanished Los Angeles area attractions aren't enough to rock your mind, Steckler makes the whole thing a musical of sorts. Frequently, incredibly amateurish song and dance numbers from the stages of the carnival pier, and even a bit of horrible stand up comedy, are dropped into the mixed-up milieu. Some scenes combine all these elements, lifting ISCWSLABMUZ into the stratosphere of psychotronic cinema classics." Brian Thomas, Cinescape "This infamously titled exploiter is a lot better than you might expect...with lots of silly, arty directorial touches, lengthy (and out of place) dance numbers, fairly effective makeup, and plenty of laughs." James O'Neill, Terror on Tape "..the Theatre Marquee Dressers of America complain about this movie - every time it plays, they run out of letters." John Stanley, Creature Features Compiled by Richard Harland Smith

Quote It! (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - QUOTES FROM "THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES"

March 2, 2008

Drunk (George J. Morgan): "You couldn't buy enough booze to make me go for you. Why don't you try some of those sideshow freaks?"
Estrella (Brett O'Hara): "You dirty, filthy pig. So I belong with the freaks, huh? I'll fix you so even the freaks will not look at you! Ortega... Ortega! Take him and make him like my other little pets!"

Jerry (Ray Dennis Steckler): "The world's here to be enjoyed, not to make you depressed. That's what work does, Harold, it makes you feel depressed."
Harold (Atlas King): "So instead of being in that state of depression, why don't we head out, okay?"
Jerry: "Swing it."

Angela's Mother (Joan Howard): "Angela, please don't go."
Angela (Sharon Walsh): "But I like Jerry so much."
Angela's Mother: "Some day he's going to meet a girl that is just his type. And you'll be hurt."
Angela: "I don't think so."
Angela's Mother: "He doesn't even come to the door for you."
Angela: "He wouldn't be Jerry if he did."

Jerry: "How's college?"
Madison (Pat Kirkwood): "Fine. You should try it sometime."
Jerry: "No thanks. The world's my college."

Estrella: "It is a grave responsibility to learn one's future."
Marge (Carolyn Brandt): "I'm willing to take the chance."
Estrella: "From the expression on your face, it would seem to me that you are, uh, searching for something."
Marge: "I'm not sure what it is. I only know that something evil lies ahead for me."
Estrella: "You feel that your life might be in danger?"
Marge: "I only know that something will happen. I have to know what."
Estrella: "Then we must consult the cards. The cards will tell us if we are in danger." (Estrella deals the tarot cards)
Marge: "What did you see? I'll look for myself... The death card, isn't it?"
Estrella: "Yes."
Marge: "I knew it... I knew it... I knew it!"

Angela: "Hey look, Jerry, a crystal ball."
Jerry: "Yeah, how 'bout that?"

Estrella: "You wish your fortunes told?"
Harold: "What do you think we came here for, to eat?"

Estrella: "There are some who cannot be read. Their life is but a shadow in the crystal."
Harold: "I think you've clouded up her crystal ball."
Estrella: "Clouds affect only the cloudy."

Estrella: "Ortega! Tell my sister Carmelita that the time is coming!"

Barker (Neil Stillman): "We have twenty beautiful girls... and only ten beautiful costumes!"

Estrella: "Open your eyes, Jerry... look at the wheel... look at the beautiful, spinning wheel... see how it spins?"

Stella (Toni Camel): "Funny how things happen. Here today, gone tomorrow."

Estrella: "Ortega... bring me the acid!"

Compiled by Richard Harland Smith

Quote It! (Incredibly Strange Creatures...) - QUOTES FROM "THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES"

Drunk (George J. Morgan): "You couldn't buy enough booze to make me go for you. Why don't you try some of those sideshow freaks?" Estrella (Brett O'Hara): "You dirty, filthy pig. So I belong with the freaks, huh? I'll fix you so even the freaks will not look at you! Ortega... Ortega! Take him and make him like my other little pets!" Jerry (Ray Dennis Steckler): "The world's here to be enjoyed, not to make you depressed. That's what work does, Harold, it makes you feel depressed." Harold (Atlas King): "So instead of being in that state of depression, why don't we head out, okay?" Jerry: "Swing it." Angela's Mother (Joan Howard): "Angela, please don't go." Angela (Sharon Walsh): "But I like Jerry so much." Angela's Mother: "Some day he's going to meet a girl that is just his type. And you'll be hurt." Angela: "I don't think so." Angela's Mother: "He doesn't even come to the door for you." Angela: "He wouldn't be Jerry if he did." Jerry: "How's college?" Madison (Pat Kirkwood): "Fine. You should try it sometime." Jerry: "No thanks. The world's my college." Estrella: "It is a grave responsibility to learn one's future." Marge (Carolyn Brandt): "I'm willing to take the chance." Estrella: "From the expression on your face, it would seem to me that you are, uh, searching for something." Marge: "I'm not sure what it is. I only know that something evil lies ahead for me." Estrella: "You feel that your life might be in danger?" Marge: "I only know that something will happen. I have to know what." Estrella: "Then we must consult the cards. The cards will tell us if we are in danger." (Estrella deals the tarot cards) Marge: "What did you see? I'll look for myself... The death card, isn't it?" Estrella: "Yes." Marge: "I knew it... I knew it... I knew it!" Angela: "Hey look, Jerry, a crystal ball." Jerry: "Yeah, how 'bout that?" Estrella: "You wish your fortunes told?" Harold: "What do you think we came here for, to eat?" Estrella: "There are some who cannot be read. Their life is but a shadow in the crystal." Harold: "I think you've clouded up her crystal ball." Estrella: "Clouds affect only the cloudy." Estrella: "Ortega! Tell my sister Carmelita that the time is coming!" Barker (Neil Stillman): "We have twenty beautiful girls... and only ten beautiful costumes!" Estrella: "Open your eyes, Jerry... look at the wheel... look at the beautiful, spinning wheel... see how it spins?" Stella (Toni Camel): "Funny how things happen. Here today, gone tomorrow." Estrella: "Ortega... bring me the acid!" Compiled by Richard Harland Smith

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

Exteriors filmed in Los Angeles and at an amusement park in Long Beach, California. Also billed as The Incredibly Strange Creatures. Rerelease title: Teenage Psycho Meets Bloody Mary. Actor Cash Flagg is a pseudonym for Ray Dennis Steckler.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States 1962

Released in United States 1962

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