Time To Watch A Bootleg Copy..."Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's Fantastic Four"

Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's Fantastic Four (2015)

Not Rated

Starring Alex Hyde-White, Joseph Culp, Oley Sassone, Michael Bailey Smith, Rebecca Staab, Jay Underwood, Mark Sikes, Chris Gore,

Written and Directed by Marty Langford

The Story:

In late 1993, Roger Corman was approached to get The Fantastic Four produced, shot and made as quickly, and inexpensively as possible. Promising a theatrical release, and the end to poor Marvel movies as they knew it, the cast and crew threw all of their blood, sweat, tears, and sometimes even own money into making the best movie they could on what little budget they had. Little did they know that even far more sinister forces than Dr. Doom abounded to conspire to ensure that this movie never saw the light of day, but that it would spin tales that the production was never even supposed to happen.

Cue the ominous music!

In the history of cinema, how many low budget films did Roger Corman produce and/or direct that never saw the light of day?

Only 1.

This is that story.

Nobody puts any money or effort into a movie to not release it.

Yet that is the lie that has been told around Hollywood for over 20 years.

This documentary goes to the sources: the actors, the director, the crew and sets the story as straight as it can, or at least gets you as much of the information that has been previously unheard for generations.

Everyone involved put forth so much love and energy into the project because while they knew they were making a movie on a small budget, they all had dreams and aspirations that it could be a launching pad for that next big thing.

Little did they know...

It turns out that it was a power play to get a bigger budget version of the film to finally be made by a bigger studio.

It would still be a decade later, and I do have a soft spot in my heart for 2005's Fantastic Four, but this version, well, it simply has to be better, or at least more faithful, than the 2015 reboot which I awarded as last year's ultimate Turkey of the Year.

:: shudder ::

That the actors and crew all still remember their time with great fondness is a testament to how much they believed in what they were doing. Joseph Culp, who played Doctor Doom is still open to returning to the booth to re-record some of his dialogue that doesn't play very clearly in the movie.

What truly happened may never be fully known, but this documentary helps you to realize that the film in question was by no means the joke that everyone has played it off to be over the years.

Now available for streaming for those with Amazon Prime.

Final Grade: A-