The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001) review

22. The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)

Directed by: Larry Blamire

Produced by: F. Miguel Valenti

Screenplay by: Larry Blamire

Starring: Larry Blamire, Fay Masterson, Andrew Parks, Susan McConnell, Brian Howe, Jennifer Blaire

There’s a certain distinction between a movie like “Plan 9 from Outer Space” that tries so hard to be good, and like the “Sharknado” films that are clearly self-aware and meant to be bad on purpose. The latter’s usually less fun because it lacks the heartfelt sincerity of the former that just draws you in a little more. However, today’s movie, “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra,” featuring scientists, aliens and meteors in the wilderness, is a strange case where the intention is to emulate the awkward, inept style of something like “Plan 9” or “Robot Monster,” but there’s a genuine fandom and appreciation for those kinds of films, making this more of a loving parody than an exercise in cynicism.

Presented in black-and-white and taking place in the 1960s, the plot isn’t much more than multiple groups of characters looking for a meteorite that contains a rare element called atmosphereum. Dr. Paul Armstrong (Larry Blamire) and his wife Betty (Fay Masterson) are after a new scientific discovery, a pair of aliens named Kro-Bar (Andrew Parks) and Lattis (Susan McConnell) need it to repair their crashed spaceship, and another scientist Dr. Roger Fleming (Brian Howe) wants it to revive an undead skeleton in Cadavra Cave, which will somehow enable them to rule the world. When the Armstrongs are first to find the atmosphereum, the aliens use their “transmutatron” device to blend in as humans, while Fleming borrows it to create an ally named Animala (Jennifer Blaire) from several different animals. So while everyone’s trying to get their hands on the atmosphereum, the aliens also have a pet mutant (Darren Reed) that’s gotten loose and is now wreaking havoc.

The actors do a good job in making their performances authentically hammy; there’s a lot of exaggerated head-nodding and laughing at unfunny jokes. Larry Blamire—who also writes and directs—is wholesomely buffoonish as Paul, and Fay Masterson fits the role of the prissy suburban housewife very well; it reminds me a lot of Barbara Billingsley on “Leave it to Beaver.” Jennifer Blaire, meanwhile, is outstanding as Animala; there’s such a wonderfully funny and chaotic vibe to her body language. Like I said, her persona is morphed from several different animals, so her movements and sounds are appropriately animalistic. The aliens, played by Andrew Parks and Susan McConnell, are typical caricatures of creatures who don’t know Earth customs, so they misunderstand common vernacular and speak very literally. The skeleton, on the other hand, is the complete opposite; he’s overly blunt and dishing out such childish insults, frequently calling Fleming stupid and telling him to shut up.

That’s sort of the basic gist of the writing, the way it blends odd yet timely non sequiturs with these frank, non-subtle jabs; it’s like the Black Knight scene in “Monty Python and the Holy Gril,” as the lines go from “You are indeed brave, Sir Knight” to “Look, you stupid bastard!” The movie’s chock full of overwritten, repetitive, redundant dialogue, and it’s all by design and hilarious. My favorite running gag is just how many times Paul uses the word “science,” sometimes in the same sentence; the way he constantly says “do science” is in the manner one says when they frequently fail science. The story is secondary, as there are plenty of seemingly lazy developments, like the monster falling in love with Betty, the skeleton having these random psychic powers and wanting Lattis as his skeleton bride, but hey, we’re just here for fun.

It's not too often you come across a spoof of B-movies that is also a bona fide B-movie. Reportedly, most of the props were purchased on eBay or taken from household items; the largest expense was the permit to film at Bronson Canyon, definitely going the extra mile to emulate that B-movie look. There are also moments where you can clearly see the strings on the skeleton as he climbs down a cliff, but it’s so obvious that it’s clearly intentional. And of course, it ends with a cheesy fight between him and the monster, eventually being wrapped up with conversations about harmony and cooperation in the name of peace. There’s honestly not too much to say about “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra.” It’s a fun little lampooning of the genre; some of the jokes maybe go on too long, but the aesthetics and attention to detail really make it a fun one. If you’ve never heard of it, give it a watch; don’t be lazybones.

My rating: 8/10