Plot: What’s it about?
A brilliant young boy known as Genius (Ron Howard) has invented an incredible potion with his chemistry set, one that could have a serious impact on things. Of course, should this miracle concoction fall into the wrong hands, it could spell doom for the town, but that would never happen, right? Now we know this potion is potent, but just what is this strange and powerful invention? When he uses his potion on various animals, they grow to immense size and of course, that means some massive ducks are quacking about. But when some teen toughs steal the juice and down it themselves, that means huge hoodlums are on the loose. As the teens pass through town, they push around the squares and adults, but no one seems that concerned, to be honest. But unless Genius and a local heartthrob can discover an antidote, these gigantic rabble rousers could turn the entire world upside-down.
This is the kind of cheese that bad movie lovers like, loaded with humorous moments and poor special effects, not to mention that it’s directed by Bert I. Gordon (The Amazing Colossal Man, The Food of the Gods). I’d seen bits & pieces of Village of the Giants before, so I was ready to view the entire picture, when this disc arrived. The disc offers little else however, with no supplements in the least. Even so, this flick is a fun little ride and has some hilarious sequences, but unless you like bad movies, I doubt this one will win you over. The premise of giant teenagers allows for some special effects work and of course, they’re cheese laden and more amusing than effective. But I like bad special effects, so I had a good time as I watched this movie. The acting is pretty bad also, even though the cast is more than decent, with such names as Beau Bridges, Tommy Kirk, Toni Basil, and even a young Ron Howard. This disc leaves a lot to be desired, but the movie is a great addition to MGM’s Midnite Movies, so fans of the series should give this one a spin. I do wish MGM would have made more of an effort here, but the price is low and as such, I won’t complain much.
Video: How does it look?
Village of the Giants is presented in a full frame transfer. I am unsure of the original aspect ratio of this film, but this seems to be an open matte presentation, as I could see no pan & scan in this transfer. The print used looks cleaner than expected, but still shows some wear, such as small nicks and debris. The colors look bright also, while flesh tones are natural and warm as well. The contrast is stable, but does seem a little bright at times, though not too much. This should have been anamorphic and of course, I wish it was a sharper overall transfer, but I think this is the best we could hope for, under the circumstances.
Audio: How does it sound?
A pretty basic mono track is used, but in this case, that’s more than enough. I don’t think the surround channels would add much to the atmosphere, so the mono track is effective here, though a little dated, of course. I heard some distortion and hiss at times, but not too much and I still think this option is decent enough. The elements come through in solid form, with smooth dialogue and well presented sound effects. Not the most impressive mix to be sure, but it gets the job without much trouble. This disc also includes subtitles in Spanish and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes no bonus materials.
