Story: After years of wonder and speculation about alien life, we finally know what the aliens look like when they arrive on this planet. There is only one of them, Ro-Man (George Barrows) and his body is furry and ape-like, while his head is metallic and seems like a deep sea diving helmet. We’ve always thought the aliens would “come in peace,” but this one has no such intentions to be a nice fellow. Ro-Man arrives and begins to slaughter the humans and allows only a small band of people to survive, which will of course lessen the risk when the full invasion arrives. But these few survivors don’t want to roll over and play dead, as they have decided to fight Ro-Man no matter what and repopulate the planet themselves. It won’t be easy and it will be very tiring, but then again, it just might be fun too. Can mankind’s last remaining relics manage to restore the planet to its once mighty status?

Entertainment Value: This movie is often referred to as a film that is “so bad, that it’s good” and I would agree with that statement in this case. This one turns out to be even worse than usual, but in the end that means it is that much more fun. The actors are downright awful in their performances and you know, the worse the acting in a film like this, the better it is for b movie devotees. Just to look at the focus of this film is to fall in love with it, if you ask me. The main character is Ro-Man, a massive creature with an ape-like body and a diving helmet-esque head. And when you add in his insatiable sexual appetite, you know this one goes down in the all time Hall of Fame, at least in my book. This film was shot “on location” in Bronson Canyon, so the scenes look better than most of the cardboard pieces used in films of this ilk. But when you combine the poor acting, horrific production values, and that incredible monster, this one deserves a special mention. A lot of movies are bad, but this one goes above and beyond the call of duty and for that, I salute you, Robot Monster.

It takes a special kind of person to direct an ape wearing a diving helmet, but Phil Tucker proves here that he is more than up to the task. Yes, this is a rather silly movie and as such, you might not expect even decent direction from it. But in truth, Tucker turns in a pretty solid effort here and gives the film an above average visual spark. The special effects and costumes might be cheese filled, but Tucker makes sure they’re lined up and in focus at all times. This might not have been a shining example of filmmaking, but I think Tucker delivered the best film he could, given the resources he had. Tucker also directed such films as The Cape Canaveral Monsters, Tijuana After Midnight, Dance Hall Racket, and Baghdad After Midnight. The cast here includes Claudia Barrett, George Nader, Pamela Paulson, Selena Royle, John Mylong, and George Barrows as the iconic Ro-Man.

The Disc: Bayview Entertainment has really rolled out the red carpet for Robot Monster, in an extras packed anniversary edition that is quite impressive. You can event watch the movie in 3D, with a pair of glasses enclosed and honestly, it looks pretty solid. I was hoping for a decent presentation and this 3D version looks fantastic and adds some real value to this disc. The standard presentation has been restored and sparkles, with a super clean print and a remarkable overall treatment. The movie has never looked this pristine or detailed, this is truly an excellent restoration effort. The suite of supplements is impressive as well, with an audio commentary track, short films, trailers, clips, television snippets, memorabilia galleries, mini documentaries, and a restoration demo reel, so this is loaded. Not all the extras are directly related to Robot Monster, but many are and there is some fun stuff here to comb through.

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