Bottom Line:
Liked It
I Seldom Watch It
I watched The Creature Walks Among Us yesterday, one of the forgotten gems of the Universal Monster Movies. It stars Jeff Morrow and Rex Reason as a part of a group of scientist who capture the Creature from the Black Lagoon and experiment on the same. It's not as good as it's two predecessors, The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Revenge of the Creature, but few movies are.
It's also sets itself fairly well apart from its companion films, and that's besides the fact it wasn't filmed in 3-D. There is no overt romance, for starters, and, in many ways, the Creature isn't the real threat in the film. There is also one other way it's unique, but as that's a spoiler, I'll keep as a footnote at the end of this review.
I recognized Rex Reason straight off as the hero from This Island Earth, but not Jeff Morrow, whom, without the gigantic forehead doesn't look like the heroic alien Exeter at all. I did remember, however, that Morrow was in The Giant Claw, so I guess my Bad Movie Fan cred is untarnished.
Actually, this seems to be the about the last gasp of Sci Fi goodness (could not quite write greatness) for either actor. Reason's next genre effort would be an episode of "Star Trek", while Morrow had the interesting Kronos before descending towards drek like the aforementioned Claw and (shudder) Octaman. Both are fairly decent as the Heroic Scientist (Reason) and the Slightly Mad Doctor (Morrow)
I would be remiss in not mentioning the beautiful Leigh Snowden. While the Creature doesn't seem to be very interested in her, I thought she did very well at being mistreated by various cast members and parading around in skimpy outfits. Screams well, too.
All in all, not a bad flick.
Here is the spoiler on the other way this film is unique...
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The Creature doesn't die, or, at least, his death is only implied. The last we see of him, he's heading off towards the sea, wounded but unbroken. While there is talk that his gills are permanently damaged, and that if he tried to breathe water, he would die, the scientist who said it had a bad habit of being wrong about pretty much everything.
I kind of like the thought of the Creature heading back home. In this film, if nowhere else, he is more sinned against than anything else.
3 comments:
Clint Eastwood is supposedly in the film as well; I don't remember him, but according to reports he's a lab tech who has a pet mouse.
I've only seen this once, as a kid, and I remember being depressed by it. I felt they'd taken a truly unique creature (the costume in the first two films never LOOKS like a costume) and made something pathetic out of him.
Someday I'll have to look at it again. I say that a lot, though.
G.D. GREAT MR. CARES! Now that movie is RUINED for me. He doesn't die? PFFT! Now how can I watch it?
Spoiling anus!
What did you need, Robin? Flashing neon letters saying spoiler? Jeez.
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