The Creature Walks Among Us
The third and final Gill-man film from 1956 toys with interesting fish-out-of-water themes. Despite competent direction and good acting, the low budget and aimless script fail to give this movie buoyance. 5/10
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues
A treat for so-bad-they’re-good movie fans, this 1955 clunker from ARC/AIP takes place almost exclusively on a California beach where FBI agents hunt movie history’s most incompetent spy and a radioactive sea monster. 1/10
It Came from Beneath the Sea
A radioactive octopus destroys San Francisco in this 1955 rehash of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Ray Harryhausen’s stop motion is stunning, but the script anticipates the climax, and more thought could have gone into story leading up to it. 4/10
Bride of the Monster
Ed Wood’s 1955 schlocker is a love letter to the film’s star Bela Lugosi and the monster movies of the thirties, and as such it is quite charming, despite its ineptitude. And despite ill health, Lugosi is magnetic in his last first billing. 5/10
Revenge of the Creature
The first sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon sees the Gill-Man captured in a fish tank and prodded with sticks for “science”. Little is done with the interesting premise, and the thin script devolves into a routine monster-on-the-loose affair. 4/10
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
a star cast, this 1954 Disney blockbuster is regularly seen as the best Jules Verne adaptation of all time. Shot in majestic Technicolor, it is a magnificent adventure film with groundbreaking special effects, despite a so-so script. 8/10
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Universal’s 1954 aquatic take on King Kong inspired an entire subgenre. Jack Arnold superbly directs this atmospheric story of an Amazon expedition in search of a prehistoric monster merman. But the clichéd script is the real missing link here. 7/10
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Released in 1953, a year before Godzilla, the Beast was the original kaiju. Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion magic elevates this movie about a radioactive dinosaur wreaking havoc in New York from run-of-the-mill monster action to full-blown classic. 7/10
The Mysterious Island
Borrowing the name of Jules Verne’s bestseller, this problem-ridden 1926-1929 production features good acting, some remarkable special effects and a solid-ish script, but alas, the schizophrenic semi-talkie-semi-silent film is just as equally horrible in many ways, with toy submarines and crocodiles substituting for dinos. (4/10)
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