I know most people here know that Universal Horror movies of the 30s and 40s are some of my favorite things in the world, and even though he was made in the 50s and 60s, the Creature from the Black Lagoon is lumped in there with Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, Dracula, and the Wolf Man. And rightly so--he was in many ways the last of the iconic monsters to come out of that era.
So anyway, I own the DVD of CftBL, I have Revenge of the Creature on tape, but somehow I had made it to 31 years young wink without ever having seen the 3rd and last installment in the series, The Creature Walks Among Us . Then last week my brother notified me that he'd seen a stack of them on VHS at Suncoast on clearance for $6 and wondered if I'd like him to snag one (he lives in Little Rock, I in Fayetteville...if you care...). Naturally I screamed YES and within a week I was watching one of the few Universal monster movies I'd never seen.
I was expecting cheese--everybody knows that on principle when you get to the 3rd sequel the well is dry, and it's all just the same again. And knowing what I did of the plot lowered my expectations further--the creature is captured by geneticists who want to make him an air-breathing, land-dwelling missing link or sorts. Yeeha. So I was expecting a low-brow, creature-feature with nothing but the rubber suit to recommend it.
Well, I'm pleased to say I was wrong. I think "Creature Walks Among Us" is a good movie--not as good as the first one, but maybe as good as "revenge", which was kind of the first one over again. It was smart, well written, and the Creature himself--well, let's just say when the Gillman wreaks havoc, it's impressive--flinging boats and heavy furniture around like paper, booking it fast--he was really spectacular and awe-inspiring in his rage.
But the creature is not the star of this one--he's kind of a foil for a morality tale that's going on between the head geneticist and his wife. As the scientist descends into jealousy-induced madness, the creature becomes the "id"--uncontrolled, unrestrained, and dangerous to everybody. There's some good writing, I think, and while the psuedo-science is about what you'd expect, it's not as hard to buy as it would have been had the movie not been made so well.
So anyway, it cemented the Creature films for me as some of the smartest, most fun to watch creature-features of the century. If you haven't seen them, do yourself a favor. Then you'll be in the know when Del Toro works his magic.
So, who else loves him some Creature? I know you're out there. wink
[edited because, like the air-breathing gillman when he tries to return to the water, I suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen...]
So anyway, I own the DVD of CftBL, I have Revenge of the Creature on tape, but somehow I had made it to 31 years young wink without ever having seen the 3rd and last installment in the series, The Creature Walks Among Us . Then last week my brother notified me that he'd seen a stack of them on VHS at Suncoast on clearance for $6 and wondered if I'd like him to snag one (he lives in Little Rock, I in Fayetteville...if you care...). Naturally I screamed YES and within a week I was watching one of the few Universal monster movies I'd never seen.
I was expecting cheese--everybody knows that on principle when you get to the 3rd sequel the well is dry, and it's all just the same again. And knowing what I did of the plot lowered my expectations further--the creature is captured by geneticists who want to make him an air-breathing, land-dwelling missing link or sorts. Yeeha. So I was expecting a low-brow, creature-feature with nothing but the rubber suit to recommend it.
Well, I'm pleased to say I was wrong. I think "Creature Walks Among Us" is a good movie--not as good as the first one, but maybe as good as "revenge", which was kind of the first one over again. It was smart, well written, and the Creature himself--well, let's just say when the Gillman wreaks havoc, it's impressive--flinging boats and heavy furniture around like paper, booking it fast--he was really spectacular and awe-inspiring in his rage.
But the creature is not the star of this one--he's kind of a foil for a morality tale that's going on between the head geneticist and his wife. As the scientist descends into jealousy-induced madness, the creature becomes the "id"--uncontrolled, unrestrained, and dangerous to everybody. There's some good writing, I think, and while the psuedo-science is about what you'd expect, it's not as hard to buy as it would have been had the movie not been made so well.
So anyway, it cemented the Creature films for me as some of the smartest, most fun to watch creature-features of the century. If you haven't seen them, do yourself a favor. Then you'll be in the know when Del Toro works his magic.
So, who else loves him some Creature? I know you're out there. wink
[edited because, like the air-breathing gillman when he tries to return to the water, I suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen...]
I know part 1 (for lack of a better distinguisher) was 3-D, but I'm not sure about the sequels.
