Project X (1968)
7/10
X marks the project.
16 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Visiting Birmingham,me and a pal decided to check HMV Vault (the largest entertainment store in Europe.) Picking up The Ghost Note Symphonies by Rise Against,I went to check their Blu-ray section. Having gotten the Indicator box set of his work for my birthday,and a subscriber to UK film mags The Dark Side and Infinity,I was thrilled to stumble on a William Castle Blu,with a commentary by the Dark Side/Infinity editor, leading me to uncover project x.

View on the film:

Whilst the print has the odd spot of dirt, 101 Films present a shiny transfer of a clean soundtrack and a bright image with visible film grain, backed by fantastic extras,including a commentary by The Dark Side/Infinity editor Allan Bryce,and journalist David Flint.

The second to last flick he would direct, (the final would be years later with Shanks (1974) ) director William Castle & Harold E. Stine project a gloriously psychedelic atmosphere of Arnold's memories across the screen in brash overlapping distorted images.

Despite it sadly not getting a mention in his autobiography, Castle brings out a refreshingly kitsch stylisation to this Euro Spy-style action and Sci-Fi quirks mash-up. Teaming up with Hanna-Barbera, Castle paints their animation over Arnold's (a wonderfully chewy Christopher George) splintered spying memories, melting into clunky laser guns and Sci-Fi babe short skirts.

Following Castle in this also being his second to last script credit, (his final was a ep of Medical Center,which like Castle was also in 1974!) the screenplay by Edmund Morris nimbly criss-crosses adapting Leslie P. Davies's novels into one slick tale, thanks to Morris joining scientists attempts to unlock Arnold's hidden memory with a swift con trick convincing Arnold he's a gangster in 1968,as the scientists mark their project with a x.
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