2015 Recap Part 1: Favorite Restorations & Reissues, Five Favorite Independent Genre Films by Jason Coffman
Originally posted at medium.com.

Christopher R. Mihm's tenth film in as many years is his most ambitious yet, which is really saying something after last year's "The Late Night Double Feature" (which, as its name suggests, consisted of two short features shown back-to-back, "Grindhouse"-style). Mihm specializes in movies made in the style of 1950s/60s genre cinema. Unlike Larry Blamire ("The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra"), Mihm's aim is mostly to mimic the look and tone of those films as straightforwardly as possible. While using this approach, Mihm has also created what his fans call the "Mihmiverse," the shared universe in which most of his films take place. Danny Johnson, played by Mihm's son Elliott, is a recurring character whose first appearance was in 2009's "Terror from Beneath the Earth." He takes center stage here in a family-friendly adventure that includes aliens (puppets), monsters (stop-motion), and robots (including a guy in a charmingly lo-fi garbage-can suit). Mihm and his collaborators make these movies sheerly out of love, and it shows in every handmade piece of costume and set. Fans of Mihm will have already bought this one, but anyone looking to jump into the Mihmiverse will find this a good entry point.