Villain(s)  Wasp-like creature

Actor(s):  Susan Cabot, Fred Eisley, Barboura Morris, William Roerick

Brief Description  The Wasp Woman (1959) is a seminal independent science-fiction horror film produced and directed by B-movie icon Roger Corman. Shot in black-and-white on a microscopic budget of around $50,000, it stars Susan Cabot in her final film role, delivering a highly praised and committed performance as a desperate beauty mogul. The movie blends the 1950s "mad science" trope with early body horror concepts similar to The Fly (1958).

Plot:
Janice Starlin (Susan Cabot) is the founder and public face of a major cosmetics empire. As she reaches her late 30s, her fading youth begins to negatively impact her personal confidence and—more critically—her company's sales figures, which have dropped since she stopped modeling for her own advertisements. Desperate to save her empire, Janice bypasses her board of directors and hires Dr. Eric Zinthrop (Michael Mark), a fringe scientist who claims to have discovered the secret to reversing the aging process. Zinthrop extracts enzymes and "royal jelly" from queen wasps to create an age-reversing serum. He successfully demonstrates its effects by transforming a full-grown cat back into a small kitten. Eager for results and ignoring the lack of human testing, Janice secretly begins taking regular injections of the serum. At first, the formula works beautifully: Janice transforms overnight, regaining the radiant, youthful appearance of a woman in her early 20s. However, the success is short-lived. The wasp enzymes begin to drastically alter her DNA, causing catastrophic, unpredictable side effects. The formula alters Janice's psychological state, triggering erratic mood swings and blackouts.

Worse, she periodically mutates into a murderous, insectoid monster featuring a furry wasp-like head, mandibles, and clawed hands. In her monster form, Janice hunts at night inside her company's office building, brutally killing a night watchman and later her own private nurse by striking at their necks to drain their blood. Before Dr. Zinthrop can intervene or reverse the process, his laboratory cat (which has also mutated into a monster) attacks him. Zinthrop survives the attack but suffers brain damage and amnesia, leaving him unable to help or warn others. Suspecting foul play regarding the missing persons, Janice's secretary Mary (Barboura Morris) and executive Bill (Anthony Eisley) investigate the laboratory. A fully mutated Janice corners Mary in the office, intending to kill her. Bill and a partially lucid Zinthrop break into the room just in time. During the violent struggle, Zinthrop throws carbolic acid directly onto the Wasp Woman's face, and Bill uses a stool to smash through the window, pushing her to her death from the upper floor. Janice's body reverts back to her true, aged self as she dies.