# Things I learned from Monster Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941 "2017-10-04T13:09:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/21 "2017-10-04T16:53:03Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > The best way to kill a monster is to go over budget. This is almost the plot of George Lucas’ **THX 1138**. The Powers of the Society that are chasing the escaped individual THX 1138 are called back because they exceeded their budget, so he gets away. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/22 "2017-10-04T17:09:55Z")
Lots of suggestions for killing, so I suggest making love not war. Except that’ll get you killed in a monster movie. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/23 "2017-10-04T17:14:02Z")
1. The psycho killer is never really dead- he’ll be back for dozens of sequels (Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers) 2. Aliens who can be killed by water aren’t smart enough to avoid planets covered in the stuff (Signs) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/24 "2017-10-04T17:15:19Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > Lots of suggestions for killing, so I suggest making love not war. Except that’ll get you killed in a monster movie. True – having sex with a monster in a monster film either seems to get you killed (_Galaxy of Terror_, for instance) or “pregnant” (actually, usually serving as a bioreactor for alien thingees), with lethal consequences (_Slither_, _Xtro_, _Inseminoid_, etc. ad nauseam). Nonlethal and even enjoyable sex with aliens seems to be the province of graphic novels and TV shows.\* \*Not _Alien_ or _Prometheus_ or _Night of the Blood Beast_ or that ilk – Just implanting alien embryos, that ain’t sex. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/25 "2017-10-04T17:40:32Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > True – having sex with a monster…(snip) No, I meant sex (or adolescent groping) between humans, who often get killed by the monster (well, the guy more often than the girl). Also, one of the classic Dracula films has him drowning (“running water”), so that fits one of the categories. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/26 "2017-10-04T17:46:55Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > No, I meant sex (or adolescent groping) between humans, who often get killed by the monster (well, the guy more often than the girl). > > Also, one of the classic Dracula films has him drowning (“running water”), so that fits one of the categories. The best example of this being the guy killed by the Giant Breast in Woody Allen’s _Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex … But Were Afraid to Ask_. He’s found lying face-down in a pool of milk. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/27 "2017-10-04T17:47:17Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Some monsters need an iron rich diet. [A _very_ iron rich diet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCKSR0JArUQ). Some need [tungsten](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTLYris4kJU). ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/28 "2017-10-04T17:54:53Z")
In addition to defeating other monsters, monsters can defeat aliens. (_Monsters vs. Aliens_) ---
**Author:** ![Tierce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Tierce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tierce)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/29 "2017-10-04T17:57:48Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > You _ **CANNOT** _ stop a giant monster attacking your city by having him blunder into high tension power lines. On the other hand, using those high tension power lines to electrify the railroad tracks can be quite effective against giant killer bunny rabbits. (_Night of the Lepus_) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/30 "2017-10-04T18:06:30Z")
> [@Tierce](#): > > On the other hand, using those high tension power lines to electrify the railroad tracks can be quite effective against giant killer bunny rabbits. (_Night of the Lepus_) Worked pretty well against “Gargan” (“Gargon?”) in _Teenagers from Outer Space_, and the Collosal Man in _War of the Colossal Beast_. But sometimes electricity only makes it stronger. Or, as in Godzilla’s case, simply pisses him off. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/31 "2017-10-04T18:18:54Z")
Simply sneeze on them - they are not resistant to our bacteria. \ ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/32 "2017-10-04T18:26:53Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Simply sneeze on them - they are not resistant to our bacteria. \ They also stole it for Harryhausen’s _First Men in the Moon_ (Hey, it’s H.G. wells, right?) The version I like is the SNL sketch where the announcement is made from a TV station based in Brooklyn: “It was JOIMS!” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/33 "2017-10-04T18:29:48Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > If the monster is from Venus you can use good ole fashioned bullets. > > _20 Million Miles to Earth_ > > Or according to MST3k John Agar Or shooting something directly into a specific vulnerable spot on the Monster _Beast from 20,000 Fathoms_ (With a certain steely-eyed sharpshooter) _The Black Scorpion_ _Them_ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/34 "2017-10-04T18:42:32Z")
Some monsters are very tasty (giant crab and bird in _Mysterious Island_) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/35 "2017-10-04T18:48:26Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > True – having sex with a monster in a monster film either seems to get you killed… Slightly OT…was the implication in the 1931 _Frankenstein_ that the Monster had _raped_ Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) on her wedding day, or just that he had frightened her into fainting before running off? The movie’s pre-Code, so it really could be the former. In _The Bride_ (1935, post-Code) Elizabeth (now brunette and Valerie Hobson) is back and all perky and ready for her nuptials! And she only gets kidnapped, with no rapey stuff. Although an early draft of the script had her being murdered for her heart so it could be implanted into the Bride (Elsa Lanchester). Which would have been cool and very James Whale-ish, if also somewhat ooky. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/36 "2017-10-04T19:21:26Z")
You can hack into an invading alien fleet’s command network with a Mac Plus (Independence Day). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/37 "2017-10-04T19:21:51Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Slightly OT…was the implication in the 1931 _Frankenstein_ that the Monster had _raped_ Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) on her wedding day, or just that he had frightened her into fainting before running off? The movie’s pre-Code, so it really could be the former. > > In _The Bride_ (1935, post-Code) Elizabeth (now brunette and Valerie Hobson) is back and all perky and ready for her nuptials! And she only gets kidnapped, with no rapey stuff. Although an early draft of the script had her being murdered for her heart so it could be implanted into the Bride (Elsa Lanchester). Which would have been cool and very James Whale-ish, if also somewhat ooky. In the novel, of course, Elizabeth gets killed outright on her wedding night, as the Monster had promised. The first movie toned all the tragedy down, so Elizabeth only faints. There was, AFAIK, no intention of suggesting, let alone depicting, rape. This is the first I heard of Elizabeth being murdered for her heart in _Bride of Frankenstein_. It does indeed seem a macabre touch worthy of Whale, but it would’ve been against the entire somewhat light tone of the film. I can’t believe he seriously entertained the idea. On the other hand, the idea is pretty much used in the Kenneth Branaugh-directed _Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein_, where Elizabeth is pretty much resurrected whole (with no other parts added from other bodies), but comes out sorta … wrong. And pretty quickly sets fire to everything. One thing that film did get right is the sense of overall tragedy, with damned near everybody dying. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/38 "2017-10-04T19:33:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > This is the first I heard of Elizabeth being murdered for her heart in _Bride of Frankenstein_. It does indeed seem a macabre touch worthy of Whale, but it would’ve been against the entire somewhat light tone of the film. I can’t believe he seriously entertained the idea. I’ve run into the idea before. I’m pretty sure it’s mentioned in Tom Weaver’s _Universal Horrors_, though I don’t have that book in front of me right now to double check. In any case, there seems to be some disagreement about it. The wikipedia article on [Bride of Frankenstein](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bride_of_Frankenstein) says “Kim Newman reports that Whale planned to make Elizabeth the heart donor for the bride, but film historian Scott MacQueen states that Whale never had such an intention.” I guess it depends on whether you believe Kim or Scott! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/39 "2017-10-04T19:33:51Z")
Not sure where I first read about the possibility of Elizabeth being raped in the original _Frankenstein,_ possibly in Ivan Butler, who tends towards the dark. The takeaway from _The Bride_ might be that it’s “light,” with all the campy Ernest Thesiger stuff, but the Monster MURDERED a bunch of people before he got slammed in the Big Chainy Chair down in the basement cell. Also, the Dwight Frye character MURDERED a young woman to get that heart. (“It’s _very fresh!_”) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941/40 "2017-10-04T19:55:28Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Not sure where I first read about the possibility of Elizabeth being raped in the original _Frankenstein,_ possibly in Ivan Butler, who tends towards the dark. > > The takeaway from _The Bride_ might be that it’s “light,” with all the campy Ernest Thesiger stuff, but the Monster MURDERED a bunch of people before he got slammed in the Big Chainy Chair down in the basement cell. Also, the Dwight Frye character MURDERED a young woman to get that heart. (“It’s _very fresh!_”) Yes, and the Monster then murdered Dwight Frye and the other assistant. But they pulled the plug on his killing off Henry Frankenstein and Elizabeth (even though Colin Clive is clearly in the long shot just before it happens), giving us that outtta nowhere and inconsistent “You Go! We Belong Dead!” line from The Creature, giving the lucky couple time to escape. We didn’t see the person murdered for the “fresh” heart, and the killed villagers and henchmen are only cardboard, after all. But you can’t kill the Young Lovers. Or Una O’Connor (even though he just precipitated another villager woman just before he encounters her) – she’s the comic relief, and we care about her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-i-learned-from-monster-movies/797941.md?page=3)