Revenge of the Creature.

Review #1586: Revenge of the Creature.

Cast:
John Agar (Prof. Clete Ferguson), Lori Nelson (Helen Dobson), John Bromfield (Joe Hayes), Nestor Paiva (Lucas), Grandon Rhodes (Jackson Foster), Dave Willock (Lou Gibson), Robert Williams (George Johnson), Charles Cane (Police Captain), Robert F. Hoy (Charlie), Brett Halsey (Pete), with Ricou Browning (Gill-man - Underwater), and Tom Hennesy (Gill-man - Land) Directed by Jack Arnold (#420 - The Incredible Shrinking Man, #464 - It Came from Outer Space, and #1290 - Creature from the Black Lagoon)

Review:
Undeniably, it is hard to make a sequel work. But hey, having a director return is at least a promising start. Jack Arnold read science fiction as a child, and he wanted to be an actor growing up before serving in the Signal Corps (and later the Air Corps) in World War II, learning under Robert Flaherty on camera work in military films. From his first film in With These Hands (1950) until his last film (a TV production) in 1980, Arnold had a career of three decades as director, yet it was the films he made involving science fiction that have lasted in the public consciousness. Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), his best regarded films, happened to be released by Universal Pictures. The first film had been written by Harry Essex, Arthur Ross, and Maurice Zimm, while Revenge of the Creature would be done by Martin Berkeley and William Alland (who like the first film also served as producer). The film was primarily filmed in Marineland, Florida (a town that has the oceanarium of the same name), as the Gill-man now has his biggest foe: being trapped in a marine park.

If you can believe it, this film is not exactly up to the standards of the prior Gill-man film a year earlier. One way to start is the fact that a good part of its 82 minute run-time is spent with the creature just being trapped away from its surroundings in a tank, while Agar and Nelson serve as our new human focuses, while the only ones to return are Lucas (for the first few minutes, anyway) and Browning. The first feeling one has for this film is "rushed", because this is seriously the best idea they could come up with? Actually, I should have seen this coming, because one would have to be convinced by its opening sequence to even sell the idea of capturing the not-quite dead Gill-man: they blow up the water with dynamite and knock out the creature (hey, it works to get fish, why not a fish/human looking hybrid?). Agar and Nelson lead the film in their study of the creature, and they sure are a boring duo to lead the way through. Bromfield isn't really much better, and Paiva is again only there for a momentary time and is then just out of the film (unsurprisingly, it seems like the creature has less bodies to sort through this time, although there is a slight novelty in seeing a scene with a young Clint Eastwood appear). Somehow, it just all seemed more interesting before with the pursuit of the leading lady by the Gill-man a year before, mostly because one was interested in this ancient amphibious creature of the sea in its sympathy and interest driven by the bare surroundings of life around him (some people even found inspiration in having sympathy for the creature for their own film, such as with The Shape of Water (2017)). Here, it is a bunch of wooden acting that interact with the creature too many times in the water that make it seem like one is at the zoo, which makes it a rather tiresome affair to wait for the inevitable escape. The costume for the Gill-man looks a bit different here, seeming a bit more easier to breathe for its costumer, which may or may not help in terms of seeing googly eyes when the monster does appear in his cell-tank from time to time. The creature even gets the same fate as before, being shot by an array of bullets after his captured lady escapes his clutches, as if this end is any more final than the one before (with a sequel following a year later, owing to the fair success of this film). There seems to be more inevitability this time around, which doesn't benefit a film that looks like it was made just to further the profits along, but it seems to honor one Universal horror tradition in mediocre sequel-making as opposed to abysmal quality-making. It isn't anybody's best feature, but those who would like to see more from director Arnold or for some occasional gill-man horror might be okay with the 82 minute run-time for a lark. It doesn't go enough to recommend it as a positive winner, but average isn't too far off.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Surprise! In a year that spread horror films lightly across the year, it never hurts to further the horror trend with Halloween: The Week After Part II, which will continue with surprises along the way until November 7.

Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Review #1290: Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Cast: 
Richard Carlson (Dr. David Reed), Julie Adams (Kay Lawrence), Richard Denning (Dr. Mark Williams), Antonio Moreno (Dr. Carl Maia), Nestor Paiva (Captain Lucas), Whit Bissell (Dr. Edwin Thompson), Bernie Gozier (Zee), Henry A. Escalante (Chico), Perry Lopez (Tomas), Rodd Redwing (Luis), Sydney Mason (Dr. Matos), Ben Chapman (Gill-man - land), and Ricou Browning (Gill-man - underwater) Directed by Jack Arnold (#420 - The Incredible Shrinking Man and #464 - It Came from Outer Space)

Review: 
It should come as no surprise to encounter yet another Universal monster film for the season. There are plenty of films classified under horror in their catalog, where one can't go wrong with many of their efforts, such as The Phantom of the Opera (1925), or The Invisible Man (1933), where even the lesser ones are worthy of curiosity. The 1950s was the decade of television along with the decade of expanded kinds of horror. Whether it was space aliens, giant monsters, radiated mutants, or some sort of offbeat horror, it certainly must've proved a fun time to make something to try and get some sort of entertainment (or perhaps a cheap buck). Universal persisted with their own horror films as well during the decade, with the obvious standout being the Gill-man. Although he did not appear in as many films as say Frankenstein or Dracula, the creature was the only one with its own trilogy of films in the decade for Universal (unless one counts the Abbott and Costello series, which had three horror comedy features in this decade), with its sequels released in the following two years (Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us). In any case, the Gill-man is the last great Universal monster, an ancient amphibious creature of the sea that certainly draw a small bit of sympathy and interest. The monster was designed by former Disney illustrator Milicent Patrick, whose work was overshadowed by makeup artist Bud Westmore for decades; the costume was made by airtight molded sponge rubber for $15,000. It was filmed in 3D, with polarized light projection, which meant gray polarizing filters (as opposed to red-blue), with producer William Alland having originally being inspired by a story told to him by Gabriel Figueroa about a half fish/human myth in the Amazon, writing notes about a "Sea Monster", which was expanded on by writers Harry Essex and Arthur A. Ross, with story by Maurice Zimm. It is safe to say that this is a well-done classic, worthy of being in anyone's horror curiosity. The monster effects look pretty good, with an eerie quality about the way it looks that makes for such an interesting creature to spend time with, particularly with all those bumps and gills along with that face. The acting is fine, with Carlson and Adams carrying the ship okay in the sense that while not completely full-fledged, they each manage to fulfill the necessary things to give the film something other than a big water monster attacking random folks entering its domain. No one goes too off the deep end in camp nor too much seriousness, with the film generally having a reasoned atmosphere, where the monster looms for two environments and seems pretty formidable for 79 minutes, with Chapman and Browning proving well with portraying the monster when needed. The climax is pretty swift, with a little time spent involving the creature and his thing for the leading lady that goes over just fine, and it proved an inspiration for Guillermo del Toro that eventually resulted in The Shape of Water (2017). All in all, this is a pretty entertaining movie, capable of giving off a few scares and thrills with a solid creature and premise (while not falling apart in clichés) that has a sturdy foundation in its other aspects to make something useful in horror from the deep.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: It Came from Outer Space.

Review #464: It Came from Outer Space.

Cast
Richard Carlson (John Putnam), Barbara Rush (Ellen Fields), Charles Drake (Sheriff Matt Warren), Joe Sawyer (Frank Daylon), Russell Johnson (George), Dave Willock (Pete Davis), and Robert Carson (Dugan) Directed by Jack Arnold (#420 - The Incredible Shrinking Man)

Review
With a title like that, expecting a monster/alien is expected, without a doubt, and that certainly is accomplished, but the film manages to be more than just an "alien invades the earth" story, and though it's not a great science fiction film, it certainly is a very passable one. The actors aren't bad, given their characters. The film was originally released in 3-D, which is incredibly obvious even 60 years later, with some shots from the 1st person POV of the aliens, which even without 3-D is actually kind of creative. The film is alright to look at, and the makeup isn't that bad. The story (By Ray Bradbury) and the screenplay (by Harry Essex) are finely written, a film not easy to ignore, and it doesn't run too long, so it's easy to watch without being bored. I'd recommend this for anybody looking for some classic 50's science fiction (or sci-fi, whatever name sounds better to say) to watch.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Review #420: The Incredible Shrinking Man.

Cast
Grant Williams (Scott Carey), Randy Stuart (Louise Carey), Paul Langton (Charlie Carey), Raymond Bailey (Dr. Thomas Silver), April Kent (Clarice), and William Schallert (Dr. Arthur Bramson) Directed by Jack Arnold.

Review
This film was based off the novel by the late Richard Matheson, who wrote the screenplay for this along with several films, novels and TV episodes such as The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Raven (1963), the novel I Am Legend and the 1964 version, Somewhere in Time, Duel, The Comedy Terrors, numerous Twilight Zone episodes...and Jaws 3-D. But nevertheless, The Incredible Shrinking Man benefits from a fine screenplay by Matheson, who keeps the plausibility levels high and the watchability even higher. The acting is alright, and Grant Williams is the best out of everyone in the film, we see the emotion he goes through, and it comes off as believable. The effects are the cornerstone of this film, and they look convincing, especially for the time this was made, and the scene where Williams' character is attacked by the cat is really good. This is a fine film, and I applaud Matheson for his work on this film.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.