The Woman Eater

British horror flick that reminds me of Saturday double features as a child. Not a great movie; definitely not a bad movie. Very predictable, but fun to watch. Dr. Moran(George Coulouris)returns from South America with assurance he has found a serum to rejuvenate life. He hides a stolen flesh eating 'tree' in the basement of his mansion. There is also the native Tanga(Jimmy Vaughn)that puts women in a trance with a bongo solo. The victim is fed to the arm waving tree that is suppose to produce the essence of life. After five years or so, the mad professor becomes disillusioned with the hideous ritual. Obviously low budgeted with just enough substance to keep you to the end. It doesn't hurt having some beautiful women in the cast. Other players: Vera Day, Peter Wayn, Joy Webster, Sara Leighton, Edward Higgins and Marpessa Dawn.

WOMANEATER stars George Coulouris (THE SKULL) as Dr. Moran, who travels from London, England to the jungles of the Amazon in search of the titular greenery. Years later, Moran has the fiendish foliage in his dungeon / laboratory, along with a smiling, wild-eyed bongo player! Together, they make Moran's dreams of ultimate misogyny come true! Soon enough, the local female population decreases, while Moran's unpleasant plant keeps waving its many limbs. Not-so surprisingly, Moran has more than just woman-eating in mind, and the digested juice of his topiary's victims is the key to his diabolical plot! WOMANEATER keeps its horror short and sweet, at just a skosh over an hour in length. Coulouris is perfectly hateful in his inhuman role. The monster is effective enough, especially considering the low budget. Somewhere, in someone's garage perhaps, it still waves those rubbery limbs...

The Woman Eater (1958) presents us with an interesting insight into the exploitative nature of many films at the time in relation to the portrayal of female characters. It does this in an odd way by seeming to make use of and be almost enumerating every exploitative technique under the sun in its depiction of the female gender. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, The Woman Eater highlights the various ways in which a male-dominated society sets about using and as the title suggests, consuming women for its own benefit. Certainly, on one level The Woman Eater could be dismissed as being misogynistic in its portrayal of women. However, in a perverse way it also serves to highlight the way in which women have been viewed and treated as objects or things to be used and discarded. The question remains as to the film's intent? Hedging its bets both ways?

Yes, it is a cheap Hammer Film done on a budget of nothing, but the story is quite clever and the film has a sassy style. There's one outrageous scene where a blonde secretary in a tight sweater is having her car worked on. The camera is looking over her shoulder at the mechanic under the dashboard. The cast, headed by George Couloris ("Citizen Kane") as a mad scientist, is outstanding, especially Vera Day as his wife. Note that the first victim is played by Marpessa Dawn, who was the star of the oscar-winning foreign film Black Orpheus.

A mad doctor discovers a man (well woman) eating plant in the Amazon, brings it back to England & feeds it on beautiful young women in order to raise the dead! If you enjoy horror/sci fi from the 1950's then this is great fun. Yes, the plot is barmy and the plant looks rubbish but the acting, camerawork and music are all decent and the film is played straight. OK, it may not frighten viewers in the 21st Century but it probably did back in the 50's. It also offers a glimpse into Britain from that time, including a somewhat sleazy Soho.

The 1950's produced almost everything in sci-fi/horror and The Womaneater is the one about the flesh eating tree. I quite liked this. A mad scientist brings a flesh eating tree back from the Amazon that the natives used out there. This tree only eats women and he has to look round the local area for these. After it has eaten its "meal", the scientist then gets a serum and uses it to resurrect the dead. He employs a native to help him. The victims includes his housekeeper/lover and nearly her replacement too. The tree is burned at the end. The cast includes Gorge Coulouris (Citizen Kane), Vera Day (Quatermass 2) and Robert MacKenzie (Feind Without a Face). With Jimmy Vaughn as the Native assistant. If you wish to see another movie about a killer tree, take a look at From Hell It Came. The Womaneater is a must see for all 1950's sci-fi fans. Great fun. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.