The Daily Beasts
For theme projects (like #Kaijuly, #Mocktoberfest, and #SeasonsBeatings—for example),
a new film/show is profiled every day by a different writer.
UFOctober: THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951)
A classic clash between fear and curiosity.
UFOctober: ALIEN 3 (1992)
An oft maligned sequel gets its due for its surprising notes of hope.
UFOctober: MEATBALL MACHINE: KODOKU (2017)
A bizarre blending of sensibilities turns an alien invasion into an incredibly unique experience.
UFOctober: NOPE (2022)
Writer/director Jordan Peele’s UFO film reflects many truths—including the horrors of climate anxiety.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: SPACE TRUCKERS (1996)
Stuart Gordon’s tale of trucking….in SPAAAAACE, with Dennis Hopper.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: TWISTER’S REVENGE! (1988)
Regional cinema shines with this delightful comedy about a sentient monster truck.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT PART III (1983)
An attempt to retread in the steps of greatness has some diminishing returns.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953)
Henri-Georges Clouzot’s film is a true classic of cinema and the classiest pinnacle of truxploitation.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: The Trucks of Mad Max
The many trucks that populate the wasteland of the Mad Max films, as told by someone who was there.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: DUEL (1971)
Spielberg’s made-for-TV movie debut is an incredible thriller.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: ROADGAMES (1981)
A taut trucking thriller with Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis is also an undersung piece of Ozploitation.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: BREAKDOWN (1997)
Jonathan Mostow’s great action thriller with trucking at its center and Kurt Russell at the fore!
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: CONVOY (1978)
Sam Peckinpah’s tale of strength in numbers and trucker defiance still resonates today.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986)
It was a long, strange road to get to John Carpenter’s trucker vs supernatural martial artists film.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: HIGH-BALLIN’ (1978)
A rip roaring bit of Canuxploitation with Jerry Reed and Peter Fonda behind the wheel.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: ICE ROAD: VENGEANCE (2025)
Liam Neeson and director Jonathan Hensleigh return to drive on some new treacherous roads in a different locale.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: THE ICE ROAD (2021)
Liam Neeson gets his truckin’ on…in the frozen wilds of Manitoba.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: SORCERER (1977)
One of Friedkin’s best works is also a trucking film.
MOTHER TRUCKIN’ MAY: OVER THE TOP (1987)
A divorce drama wrapped in the sweaty world of arm-wrestling, delivered by multiple big rigs? That’s OVER THE TOP, baby!
Number 6 — SPECIES
An engaging tale of a human/alien creature is its own hybrid of different genres.