The return of Tabonga... kinda

[PM2K]

...which, as you know, is the creature which tossed a native girl into quicksand in the flick From Hell It Came.

I finally caught up to it... I'm a connoisseur of "bad movies which could be good if..." and feel this could fit the bill.

What I found neat about this film is, while the walking tree monster Tabonga went shuffling around killing those who wronged it, I found it interesting the tree killed the men by crushing or tossing them off cliffs, it preferred to toss the ladies into quicksand, In fact, when the creature captures a lady scientist near the end of the movie, its impulse isn't to snap her neck or anything, but to carry her across the island to the quicksand pit..

A creature after my own heart...

That aside, I found a lot of cool elements which in more capable hands could have become something...the tropical isle setting is an obvious one, as are the island ladies who live there. The rivalry between two island ladies with murderous intent can be played any number of ways... and there's the monster chasing and/or tossing ladies into the bog.

I'm aware of technical challenges of trying to create an actual tree monster costume... If one feels up to it, go for iot. But an unseen monster works just as well or better... maybe one gets a glimpse of its arm as it shoves a lady into the pit...

Perhaps the monster is the quicksand itself. I keep looking at that MPVbleck and still can't avoid seeing it as a devourerer of shapely ladies. I dig blob vore, and the bleck looks ideal for that purpose.

Anyway, I'm just tossing that out there, in case anyone wants to run with it, add their two cents or use some of this as inspiration. It's all good.

[kham]

You'd be hard pressed to make a cheesier costume but that would be just tech stuff, and if you wanted enough mobility to walk and pick up/carry women. The sinking stuff, any modern stuff in hollywood or clay, peat would be better (eg, slower, better bog, more skin) and alone would up it a notch. Certainly an idea to explore. Although personally, the cheese level of the tree is high

[Duncan Edwards]

I always liked this silly movie for the gargantuan "cheese" factor that runs through it from start to finish. It's kind of like something Pete Boggs would have made a cartoon about. I remember the first time I saw it I kept hoping the girls would tumble into the nearby quicksand during the big catfight scene. Tabonga won that one. I expect only ladies got thrown in because the stuntman who played Tabonga, sturdy as he was, had a hard enough time carrying the ladies in that costume and the men would have been a real challenge. As for duplicating it or getting something like it there are some obvious difficulties but it's not impossible. The biggest obstacle, and this is just my personal experience, is that silly stuff like this is fun to make but doesn't always sell very well. Outside of a few devoted "must have everything" and "childhood experience" types like us older poops, people don't buy it. This might be a better target for a crowdfunding exercise than some colossal megascene. You could do a lot of damage with $500-$800 on a 15-20 minute scene and it's much more achievable than a super-duper $10K effort. If somebody wanted to start and take charge of a "Pete Boggs Late Night Show Cheesy Quicksand Scene" crowdfunding effort it might actually work. Just a thought.

[kham]

Agree
Doing it as non-silly, and playing for pure terror and grim fate be the better way to go. Old MrT can still look a bit cheesy but if played for sinister, and as dusk/night setting, would dispel any laughing quick enough.

[Fred588]

I tend to agree with Duncan about doing it on the pizza-topping side rather than the loss-or-this-morning's-breakfast side. A scene based on the general idea was filmed here in 2007 - I thin k it was called "Tabonga Returns" or something like that. I was not really satisfied with the performance of one of the two actresses and never edited it. Maybe I should get it edited although the 2007 season was done in standard definition. We had a tree but it was not "active" in the sense of having someone inside.

[PM2K]

I agree with everyone here about the nuances and harsh economic realities of such things. Obviously any sincere attempt would have to take into account all of the factors mentioned, and I agree the grimness factor would have to be cranked up.

Of course, in my visions of this, the ladies would be topless. Maybe wearing leis and those half-sarong things around their hips. Much like this commission Kwaza did for me a few years back.

I personally doubt a walking tree would work per se... as much as I loved the cheese - but maybe a representation of an angry nature spirit could make tree limbs and vines lash out at times, to trip or knock a victim or victims into the bog.

I'd be interested in seeing Tabonga Returns, Fred... The acting in FHIC sure set a low bar...

The other point I was making is elements of the film could work as individual scenes. The rival lovers in an island setting never gets old, and the Island Bog Babe scene with Nikki shows the potential of achieving the look.

[qslvr2000]

I heard about this scene long before I saw it. My imagined version came very close to the actual version: a beautiful Pacific island girl dressed in a sarong with a flower in her hair. But, in my minds eye I pictured it in color and the sinking was much slower. Oh well.
DJM

[Fred588]

I will see about moving that scene up in the editing queue.