The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms

Each Thursday, I will be sharing excerpts from the Horror Crossover Encyclopedia related to a specific series from film or television.

TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 6: GRAND GUIGNOL “THE CHILDREN OF HERACLES” (STORY BY ROMAN LEARY)

Release Date: 2010 (Setting is 1949)

Series: Tales of the Shadowmen

Horror Crosses: Behemoth the Sea Monster; the Magnetic Monster; Kolchak the Night Stalker; The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms; Night of the Living Dead; Phantoms; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; “The Stephen King Universe” (the works of Stephen King)

Non-Horror Crosses: Nyctalope; Andromeda Strain; Quatermass; Doctor Who; Big Bad John; Six Million Dollar Man

The Story: The heroic Nyctalope is in California teaming with Professor Quatermass against the evil Agent Lord.

Notes: There are appearances of characters from Behemoth the Sea Monster, the Magnetic Monster, Kolchak the Night Stalker, Big Bad John, and the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Behemoth the Sea Monster is a 1959 monster film. The Magnetic Monster is a 1953 monster movie. Kolchak the Night Stalker is a 1970s television series about a reporter who investigates the unknown, particularly the supernatural. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is another 1953 giant sea monster movie. Agent Lord is intended to be the time travelling Time Lord villain called the Master from the sci-fi series Doctor Who, using an alias. He refers to events from the future, from the Andromeda Strain, Night of the Living Dead, Phantoms, and Stephen King’s Desperation. He also refers to the Shoggoth from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. The Nyctalope is of course the French vigilante from the early 20th century. Quatermass is the main character from the British television series of the same name. Big Bad John is the main character from the song of the same name from country singer Jimmy Dean. The OSI (Office of Scientific Investigation) is mentioned here, which is in the Magnetic Monster, but also from the novel Cyborg, which became the basis for the television series Six Million Dollar Man and the spin-off Bionic Woman. All of the above mentioned series, books, and films are all shown to co-exist in the Horror Universe, though of course only the horror crosses can be used to link and bring in further crossovers. And yes, once again, Doctor Who is in the Horror Universe!!! And see my notes elsewhere for how zombie movies fit into the Horror Universe.

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (FILM)

Release Date: June 13, 1953 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

Non-Horror Crosses: When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth; Planet of the Dinosaurs

The Story: In the Arctic Circle, a nuclear bomb test causes the release of a Rhedosaurus who had been hibernating for 100 million years.

Notes: Though not the same one, a rhedosaurus also appears in prehistoric times in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, and in the future on another planet in Planet of the Dinosaurs. Since the Rhedosaurus is not a real historical dinosaur, this is a crossover. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is brought in via a later cross in Tales of the Shadowmen. This film has been “non-cross” referenced many times in films such as Godzilla, The Giant Behemoth, and King Kong vs. Godzilla. It was also spoofed in the Naked Monster.

CABIN IN THE WOODS (FILM)

Release Date: April 13, 2012 (Contemporary Setting)

Series: Cabin in the Woods

Horror Crosses: Alien; Half-Life; Evil Dead; Poltergeist; Frankenstein (Universal); Child’s Play; Creature from the Black Lagoon; Corpse Bride; Killer Klowns from Outer Space; Stephen King Universe; Killjoy; Devil’s Rejects; Clownhouse; Drive Thru; Funhouse; Amusement; Circus of Fear; Clown Camp; Demonic Toys; Demons; Night of the Demons; Supernatural; Charmed; Gremlins; Ghoulies; Creeps; Troll; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Frankenstein (novel); Dr. Giggles; The Human Centipede; House on Haunted Hill; The Dead Pit; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; The Strangers; Underworld; Attack of the 50 Foot Woman; Troll Hunter; Anaconda; Python; Mega Snake; Snakes on a Plane; Resident Evil; Hellraiser; Cannibal Holocaust; Creepshow; Legend of Sleepy Hollow; Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns; Pumpkinhead; Frankenfish; The Mummy! Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century; The Mummy (Universal); The Hills Have Eyes; Wrong Turn; Chernobyl Diaries; 28 Days Later; Signal; the Works of Quentin Tarantino; Left 4 Dead; Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos; Re-Animator (film); Siren; The Exorcist; The Exorcism of Emily Rose; Reptillicus; Jurassic Park; Abomidible Bigfoot; The Legend of Boggy Creek; Ape Canyon; Curse of Bigfoot; Night of the Bloody Apes; Wendigo; Night Beasts; Night of the Scarecrow; Scarecrows; Husk; Scarecrow Gone Wild; The Scarecrows Walk at Midnight; The Town that Dreaded Sundown; The Craft; Witches of Eastwick; Hocus Pocus; Jack Frost; Hellboy (film); Rumplestilskin; Lephrechaun; Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters; Gingerbread Man; The Vampyre; Dracula (novel); Nosferatu; The Wolf Man; An American Werewolf in London; The Howling; Wolf; Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Friday the 13th; Night of the Living Dead; Return of the Living Dead; F.E.A.R.; The Blob; Feast; Horrors of the Wendigo; Frostbiter; Ghost; Bram Stoker’s Dracula (film); The Cyclops; Cyclops Giant; Nightbreed; Leeches!; Attack of the Giant Leeches; Rows of Teeth; The Birds; Killing Birds; Birdemic: Shock and Terror; Silent Hill; Attack of the Killer Lane Gnomes; Alligator; Lake Placid; Them!; Legion of Fire: Killer Ants!; Ants; Empire of the Ants; King Kong; Centipede Horror; The Giant Claw; The Ring; Attack of the Giant Gila Monster; The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms; Tarantula; Eight Legged Freaks; Jaws; Frogs; Lord of Darkness; House of the Dead; The Grudge; Chopping Mall; BlinkyTM; The Kraken; Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep; Octopus; The Beast; Deep Rising; It Came From Beneath the Sea; Tentacles; Eye of the Beast; Mega Shark; Giant Octopus; Castle Freak; Tokyo Gore Police; Septic; Mutants; Ogre; Blood Pool; Legend of the Ogre; Killing Floor; Little Shop of Horrors; The Breed; Hatchet; Phantasm; See No Evil; Thinner; Monster House; Attila; Dead Snow; Frankenstein’s Army; Manhunt; The Monster in the Closet; Killer Eyes; Demomata; CSP-682; Parasite Eve 2; Dead Space; Night of the Lepus; Creature from the Haunted Sea; Tremors; Hostel; The Collection; The Butcher; Dead Rising; My Bloody Valentine; The Exterminator; Willard; War of the Worlds; Signs; Lollipop Chainsaw; Ghost Ship; Curse of the Pirates; Jolly Roger; Lead Soldiers; Vampire Vikings; The Witch; Blair Witch Project; The Village; The Thing; Vampire Breath; Goosebumps; Angel; King Cobra

Non-Horror Crosses: Harry Potter; Wizard of Oz; Great Expectations; Batman; Labyrinth; Land of the Giants; The Wrath of Paul Bunyan; Dreamscape; Last of the Mohicans; Blood Meridian; Scalps; Savage Sam; Sin City; Kevin Spencer; We Need to Talk About Kevin; Jacob’s Ladder; Doctor Who; Black Swan; Pan’s Labyrinth; Nutcracker; Blade Hunter; The Chronicles of Narnia; Time Bandits; The Princess and the Frog; Pirates of the Caribbean; Futurama; The Incredible Shrinking Man; Pee-Wee’s Playhouse; Red Planet; Terminator; Zathura; Hardware; Robot Wars; Bacterial Contamination; Firefly; Clash of the Titans; Team Fortress; Man from Planet X; Starship Troopers; Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal; Twisted Metal

The Story: A group of teens head out for a weekend in a cabin in the woods, not knowing that they have been chosen as sacrifices to an ancient deity in order to save the world from his wrath.

Notes: This film exposes the secret truth behind modern horror. Behind it all is a secret organization, chosen to sacrifice youth to ancient gods. All of the above named crossovers have been linked in this film, and revealed to be part of this secret conspiracy. Most of the crossovers above come from the monsters and artifacts contained in the facility. While some of the monsters and artifacts are clearly from certain films above, many are based on certain types of horror films, in which case I included the more well-known of these film types. I recommend the well-researched Cabin in the Woods Wiki for a more detailed listing of the monsters and their inspirations. Note that I included in the above crossovers some monsters that only appeared in the official novelization and the official Universal Theme Park attraction tie-in. With this film, I break one of my major rules of crossover connecting. Though some of the crosses are direct crosses, like Evil Dead and Left 4 Dead, most of them are only connected because the films represent the more well-known films of the trope from which a certain monster comes. Normally, I would not count something that is “like something from”, but there is dialogue within the film that makes me break my rule. In one scene, referring to the monsters, security officer Daniel Truman says “They’re like something from a nightmare.” Lin, a head scientist, responds, “No, they’re something nightmares are from.” She goes on to explain that these monsters are the creations of the Ancient Ones, having been around since the beginning, and different cultures have told stories that interpret them in different ways. Thus, in the instance of this film, “like” is enough because of the author’s intent. And thus my love/hate relationship with Joss Whedon, for expanding the Horror Universe dramatically but making me do a lot of work to write this entry. Note that this film ends with the start of an apocalypse, so the end must veer into a divergent timeline. We must presume in the main Horror Universe, the virgin shot the fool. And if you haven’t seen the movie, that last sentence probably seems very bizarre. This film has been referenced as fictional in South Park, The Cinema Snob, Scary Movie 5, and Doc of the Dead. It is also paid homage to in Red Dawn when Chris Hemsworth and his friends once more wind up in a cabin in the woods. The film has also been spoofed in Robot Chicken and Scary Movie 5.

This was a short one, but the general rule is that a series only has to have three crosses to get chronology post.