THE SHOW

What happens when you cross a film containing carnivorous trees, angry moths, and a lead actress billed as "Beverly Hills" with a group of ace comedians doing their best to make light of a dire moviegoing experience? Well, it means Cinematic Titanic has returned. Roughly four months after their last effort, "The Alien Factor," the troupe has surfaced again to deliver 90 minutes of consistent laughs with "Danger on Tiki Island," a wildly incoherent, bizarre horror film that provides the flood of awful the riffing gang needs to successfully land some satisfying bellylaughs.

The target here is 1968's "Danger on Tiki Island" (a.k.a. "Brides of Blood"), a no-budget Pilipino production of extreme confusion, directed by the classic filmmaking duo ...Read the entire review

THE SHOW

Coming off arguably their finest effort to date with the kung-fu/blaxploitation adventure "East Meets Watts," Cinematic Titanic returns with a second helping of their burgeoning live act in "The Alien Factor." Another lackadaisical statement of unfiltered goofballery from the 1970s, the newest target of riff rage proves to be a worthy contender to the franchise crown, with the gang shaping 80 minutes of uninterrupted hilarity, feeding off the frisky stage energy to give this sorry routine of rubber suits, cruddy acting, and endless strolls a needed kick in the behind.

B-movie cult figure Don Dohler directs "The Alien Factor," a 1978 cheapie that pits...Read the entire review

THE SHOW

Cinematic Titanic took off the majority of the 2009 DVD release year to do something few riffing outfits do: tour across America. While a joyous occasion, the cities the group visited were limited, keeping to only a few hotspots, while the rest of us unlucky souls were left in a comedy phantom zone, without any new product to satisfy the insatiable Cinematic Titanic urge. Well, the wait is finally over, with our riff heroes blazing back to ravenous DVD players with their most harmonious project yet, "East Meets Watts," which not only serves as their long-awaited new release, but also as a document of the live Cinematic Titanic event a majority of admirers haven't had the opportunity to devour.

As mentioned above, the film hauled in for jocu...Read the entire review

THE SHOW

While Cinematic Titanic has covered relics of bad cinema from its inception, the 1966 period shocker "Blood of the Vampires" offers the screwiest filmmaking thus far. A cheap Philippine production set in 19th century Mexico and then dubbed into English, this feature is an odd one right off the bat. Presenting an excess of comedic targets to feast upon, "Blood" is a worthy offering to the altar of Cinematic Titanic, who, through considerable riffing labor, presents the one and only reason to ever sit through the feature -- perhaps the most unintentionally boring movie ever made.

Ostensibly a saga of a Mexican family cursed with vampirism trying to contain their plague, "Blood" is more about the pauses between pauses. A chaste take on "Romeo and Juliet,"...Read the entire review

THE SHOW

Last time, Cinematic Titanic confronted their Mystery Science Theater 3000 heritage with the classic Christmas catastrophe, "Santa Claus Conquered the Martians." Now the group is trying their luck with...nudity. Pushing their content experimentation even further, Titanic's take on "Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks" presents a whole new challenge for the riff masters, tackling a film that's as awful as any they've roasted before, only this presentation inches toward uncharted waters of adult entertainment.

A 1974 Italian horror throwaway, "Freaks" concerns the 19th century dastardly deeds and bathing privileges at the castle of Count Frankenstein. I must admit, even in heavily edited form, the films of MST and Cinematic Titanic have always been e...Read the entire review

THE SHOW

In an effort to provide a thrilling new twist to their legacy, Cinematic Titanic decided to plunge into the cherished vaults of their forefather "Mystery Science Theater 3000" to pluck a feature film to riff anew. Sounds a little strange, doesn't it? I'm sure eye-bleeding sacrilege to some. However, the results snuff out the initial unsettling vibes, with Cinematic Titanic adding another energetic brew of laughs to their flourishing library.

The film stained here is the 1964 holiday spectacular "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians," considered by many message board mavens to be one of the all-time finest episodes of "MST," while also reserving a spot as one of the all-time worst films ever made. Both titles are heartily earned. A cheap-looking family ma...Read the entire review

THE FILM

For multiple reasons, I didn't have an opportunity to review the last Cinematic Titanic episode, "The Wasp Woman," and I feel pretty thankful for that. While it wasn't a dire situation, the film, a 1959 Roger Corman chloroform hankie, didn't permit much room for inspired riffing. It failed to send the Titanic crew to anticipated comedic heights, so it's a pleasure to report that the new episode isn't just a return to form, it leaps spastically ahead as the finest Titanic installment to date.

The source material here is the 1971 horror/mystery "Legacy of Blood," a schlocky chiller perhaps best known as a slippery step in the desperate career of actor John Carradine. A curio concerning bitter siblings trying to survive a murderous night in their family ...Read the entire review

THE SHOW

It certainly took the gang at Cinematic Titanic enough time to regroup, but the six-month wait between episodes was worth the unbearable impatience. Backing away after the release of "The Oozing Skull" to reassess their strengths and weaknesses, Titanic storms back with "Doomsday Machine," and while the series is starting to solidify pleasingly, the movie selection for this outing is perhaps too formidable for even this squad of ace comedians to conquer with quips.

"Doomsday Machine" is a 1972 piece of drive-in fertilizer originally assembled in 1967 and abandoned, only to be revived five years later with a few additions of completely incomprehensible footage. It's a sublimely awful piece of depressingly outdated '50's sci-fi melodrama, dipped liberall...Read the entire review