One of the worst movies ever made about an alien in a gorilla’s body. It almost led to the death of the director

Aliens in movies have been portrayed in various ways for years. In 1982, Steven Spielberg showed us a friendly alien in the production of “ET”, almost 15 years later Tim Burton introduced the world to the caricatured production of “Mars Attacks!” with aliens with big heads and bulging eyes. The heroes of the “Alien” series differed significantly from popular ideas about aliens. Films with the participation of xenomorphs, creatures based on the project of the painter Hans Rudolf Giger, are today classics of sci-fi cinema. In turn, in the Marvel universe, an alien can be either a grumpy raccoon, a tree or green scrulles, about which the latest MCU series – “Secret Invasion” tells.

Robot Monster. One of the worst films in the history of cinema almost led the director to death

However, even the most bizarre and fanciful alien fantasies in commercial cinema are no match for Phil Tucker’s creation. In his debut, the independent American director created a character that is as extraordinary as it is absurd. In the movie “Robot Monster” from 1953, classified as a B-class science fiction production, we see a representative of the Ro-Man race, creatures that, to put it most vividly, look like teletubbies in the body of gorillas. The title character from the production resembles a man in a rented monkey costume, who instead of a mask matching the rest of the outfit, put on a space helmet with antennas.

However, this is not the end of the absurdities that we see on the screen. A simple story tells about a mission of a space robot that comes to Earth to destroy humanity. He almost succeeds, but a family stands in his way. To say that the acting in the movie is bad is to say nothing. The production is full of scenes completely detached from the lame plot, and the script seems to not exist here. You could write a master’s thesis on the editing and production errors of a picture, but it is in this merry-go-round of absurdities that Tucker’s work was shot in just four days on a budget of just $16,000.

“Robot Monster” is completely deservedly called one of the worst movies ever made. However, for fans of exploitation cinema, it is a must-have. On the screen we will see actors who have no idea how to behave on the set, or special effects consisting mainly of soap bubbles (sic!). The bubbles appear every time Ro-Man contacts his superior. As if that wasn’t enough, the film will feature the worst fight scene I’ve ever seen and the most awkward and absurd wedding in the history of cinema. It’s bad? And I still haven’t mentioned the dinosaur part yet.

However, there is also a sad story behind the film. After the production’s premiere, director Phil Tucker attempted suicide. He was saved by a letter he sent to the newspaper. He was found at the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel.