in the year 2889

1967



In the Year 2889 is a made for television, apocalyptic, science fiction movie. The plot concerns a nuclear war that has wiped out all of humanity, except for a few who were spared in a remote valley. After the war, the survivors are menaced by a group of mutant cannibals.



The movie shares a name with the short story In the Year 2889 by Jules Verne but is in no other way similar. Larry Buchanan was given the script for Day the World Ended (1955) by American International Pictures to use while making this film. Rather than making anything original, Buchanan crafted an almost line for line remake. This film was used to pad out a television syndication deal Buchanan had with AIP.

In the Year 2889 demonstrates what might be the biggest reason why Larry Buchanan’s late'60s TV remakes of AIP’s '50s monster movies were doomed from the outset. Buchanan’s shocking lack of talent, the limitations imposed by budgets with less than half of those which paid for the original versions ten years before, and the casting of local Texan non-actors for all but one or perhaps two central roles in each had combined to mask an even more fundamental obstacle to the creation of even minimally acceptable films. To wit: nearly every one of the old AIP projects Buchanan picked to remake were among the dullest, shabbiest movies the studio had ever released. With In the Year 2889, we may have stumbled upon the apotheosis of this trend. Buchanan’s most slavishly literal remake takes Day the World Ended, which was boring enough to begin with, and stretches it out by another ten minutes or so in order to fit a TV timeslot of predetermined length. This project didn’t stand a chance.

In the Year 2889 is available online as a free download.

it's alive

1969



In the latter half of the 1960s, self-proclaimed "schlockmeister" Larry Buchanan, was contracted with American International Pictures to remake some of its films as part of a TV package. Eight direct-to-television films resulted from this union. Buchanan wrote, produced, and directed the work under his own Azalea Films production entity. The titles include The Eye Creatures; Zontar, The Thing from Venus; Creature of Destruction; Mars Needs Women; In the Year 2889; Hell Raiders (presumed lost); It's Alive! and Curse of the Swamp Creature.



On average these films cost $20,000, cast out-of-favor leading men such as the former Disney child actor Tommy Kirk. Walt Disney had signed Tommy Kirk to a long term contract and Tommy appeared not only in the Mickey Mouse Club, but in full length Disney features as well including Old Yeller (1957), The Shaggy Dog (1959), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Babes in Toyland (1961) and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964). However, in 1964, the Disney factory found out that Tommy was gay and they immediately released him from his contract upon finishing the Merlin Jones sequel The Monkey's Uncle in 1965.

Buchanan was so thrifty that he recycled the green monster suit from Curse of the Swamp Creature in It's Alive.



This film is available online as a free download.

zontar, the thing from venus

1966



In the latter half of the 1960s, self-proclaimed "schlockmeister" Larry Buchanan, was contracted with American International Pictures to remake some of its films as part of a TV package. Eight direct-to-television films resulted from this union. Buchanan wrote, produced, and directed the work under his own Azalea Films production entity. The titles include The Eye Creatures; Zontar, The Thing from Venus; Creature of Destruction; Mars Needs Women; In the Year 2889; Hell Raiders (presumed lost); It's Alive! and Curse of the Swamp Creature.



On average these films cost $20,000, cast out-of-favor leading men such as John Agar. They were largely remakes of AIP films from a decade earlier. Zontar, the Thing from Venus also known as Zontar: The Invader from Venus is a remake of Roger Corman's It Conquered the World (1956), which also featured an alien from Venus. John Agar stars.

The film is available online as a free download.

attack of the giant leeches

1959



Attack of the Giant Leeches is a low-budget, science fiction film from American International Pictures. It was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski and the screenplay was written by Leo Gordon. The film is in black and white, and runs for 62 minutes.

Alternate titles for this film include: Attack of the Blood Leeches, Demons of the Swamp, She Demons of the Swamp, and The Giant Leeches. It is available online as a free download.