I think I can combine these two Coleman Francis movies. Those who say Ed Wood makes worst movies have not seen any Coleman Francis' movies. Manos - The Hands of Faith (1966) is said to be worst movie ever made but at least it was weird. These two are just painfully boring.
The Beast of Yucca Flats is less worse of these two for two reasons. I can't call it better. It is shorter and has narrator. Both movies have reading lines from paper level acting, terrible editing and senseless story. Shorter length is big deal and narrator helps to follow the story.
I had to rewind few times with Red Zone Cuba because I thought I had missed something. It is hard to concentrate on Coleman Francis' movie and you think you missed something because what is happening on screen doesn't make sense with what just happened. Each time I had not missed anything. Story just didn't make any sense.
This was worst with Red Zone Cuba when men went into bar, ordered something and next moment they were choking bartender. There was no reason for choking but it happened. Editing or acting didn't give any reason for choking. Music was only thing indicating how characters feel or how we should feel. It is quite disorienting when music and acting were so disconnected.
The Beast of Yucca Flats is science fiction story of scientist who is turned into monster by atom bomb. This might sound lot like Marvel's Hulk who appeared into comics 1962 but Hulk is not inspired by this. Hulk smashs. The Beast of Yucca Flats chokes. Coleman Francis seems to have fetish for choking. As he does with shooting people from helicopter or aeroplane.
Red Zone Cuba's story is bit weirder and I honestly couldn't understand all of it. Guy escapes from prison. He meets two ex-convict who want to start honest new life. Then they end up to Cuba on Bay of the Pigs Invasion. Cubans capture them. They escape from prison camp. They start to kill random people. They stop killing because they don't want cops after them. Cops find them anyway.
It was hard to follow without narrator. Not that narrator in The Beast of Yucca Flats was any good. Narrator just told what film makers wanted us to know. Nothing else did. Red Zone Cuba is worst film I have seen. Opening is bad but it is nothing compared to what will come. Bad editing, bad acting and bad story. Red Zone Cuba got it all. What makes it worst movie is because is it so boring. Scenes seem to last forever and characters are uninteresting.Things just happen and you don't care. You just hope it is over.
Coleman Francis has made third movie The Skydivers (1963). I was curious enough to put it on but not curious enough to concentrate on it. After few minutes I realized it is not worth the effort but I let it run on background while doing something else. It has everything you can expect from Coleman Francis movie including bad acting, bad editing and shooting people from aeroplane.
It is not Red Zone Cuba level bad but I can't say anything good about it except skydiving scenes looked somewhat professional.
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