Tomb

The first time you see the Sci Fi Classics 50 Movie Pack DVD box set on a store shelf, several thoughts will fly through your mind:

“Fifty movies on 12 DVDs? For real? Holy cow!”

“Probably just a bunch of crap.”

“Still.... Fifty movies.”

“Let's see what's in here. The Atomic Brain (1964), First Spaceship on Venus (1960), She Gods of Shark Reef (1958)....”

“Heeheeheehee. Why can't I stop smiling?”

“How much is this? Twenty bucks? Awesome! That works out to... out to... well, I don't have a calculator handy, but it's damn cheap. Less than a buck a film, right? Sold!”

“This is the best $20 I ever spent! Look at what's in here! Zontar, the Thing from Venus (1966)! Teenagers from Outer Space (1959)! The Wild Women of Wongo (1958)! Oh my God, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)! I love this box set!”

So now you own Sci Fi Classics 50 Movie Pack, and experience giddy pride whenever you look at it. The picture and sound quality is nothing special, but at least you have access to crazy stuff like Eegah! (1962) and Horrors of Spider Island (1960) whenever you want. You start bringing it to movie nights with your friends. Crappy special effects have never been so hilarious. Look at the ping-pong eyeballs in Killers from Space (1954)! Or the space-helmeted gorilla from Robot Monster (1953)! Wheee!

Of course, you can't watch all 50 movies in a row, so the box gets put away for a bit. Then a bit longer. Before you know it, you've forgotten all about it.

Every now and then, you spot it gathering dust on the shelf and think, “Oh yeah! Sci Fi Classics 50 Movie Pack! How many of these have I seen so far? Only four? Man, I need to finish watching these some day! Not right now, though — I just rented The Hangover.”

So, of course this little box set is going to get forgotten. Many, many times. The prospect of actually finishing all 50 films is daunting. Just look at the list of titles on the back; by the time you finish reading the list, you've already forgotten most of it. Besides, anybody with a large home video collection will tell you that buying a film reduces the urgency to actually watch it.

Perhaps some of your friends own the Sci Fi Classics 50 Movie Pack as well. If so, one of two things can happen: Either you get competitive and try to defeat one another in a movie-viewing race, or (more likely) you stop suggesting getting together to watch Hercules Against the Moon Men (1964), since your friend can see that any old time.

So, you're probably not going to get as much mileage out of this box set as you might initially think. That doesn't make it a bad purchase. It's still a cool thing to have, because... because... well, it just is, damn it! Sometimes we like stupid stuff for stupid reasons, and there's nothing wrong with that. Would I ever consider getting rid of my copy? Don't be silly! There are a bunch of Gamera movies in here, and I might suddenly feel the urge to watch a giant flying turtle do battle with space monsters. Don't judge me!

Here's the complete list of films contained in Sci Fi Classics 50 Movie Pack:

• The Incredible Petrified World

• Queen of the Amazons

• Robot Monster

• She Gods of Shark Reef

• The Amazing Transparent Man

• The Atomic Brain

• Horrors of Spider Island

• The Wasp Woman

• Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet

• Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women

• King of Kong Island

• Bride of the Gorilla

• Attack of the Monsters (a.k.a. Gamera vs. Guiron)

• Gamera, the Invincible

• Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

• Teenagers From Outer Space

• Crash of the Moons

• Menace From Outer Space

• Hercules Against the Moonmen

• Hercules and the Captive Women

• Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon

• Hercules Unchained

• Lost Jungle

• Mesa of Lost Women

• Assignment: Outer Space

• Laser Mission

• Killers From Space

• Phantom From Space

• White Pongo

• The Snow Creature

• Son of Hercules: The Land of Darkness

• Devil of the Desert vs. the Son of Hercules

• First Spaceship On Venus

• Zontar, the Thing From Venus

• The Astral Factor (a.k.a. The Invisible Strangler)

• The Galaxy Invader

• Battle of the Worlds

• Unknown World

• Blood Tide

• The Brain Machine

• The Wild Women of Wongo

• Prehistoric Women

• They Came From Beyond Space

• Warning From Space

• The Phantom Planet

• Planet Outlaws

• Colossus and the Amazon Queen

• Eegah!

• Cosmos: War of the Planets

• Destroy All Planets (a.k.a. Gamera vs. Viras)