Truly Dreadful Film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

I was 8 years old when this french Icon put this movie in his weekly show, La Derniere Seance with the fabulous innovation of 3D glasses: the family had to buy a special magazine to have them blue and red with drawings of the creature and i think it's the 1st and last time i saw a 3D movie on national TV! Last night, when i watched it again, on strict BW, i wonder if i have ever watched it for real in 1982 because i didn't remember anything! Maybe the fossilized hand, the harpoon but except that, it was a complete black ... hole! The movie has a interesting beginning with Bible and Darwin meeting peacefully for one time! Overall, the movie is good with feelings of Spielberg movies like Jurassic Park but also Jaws! I was also thinking to the die hard fan, Arthur Adams: the main actress has the same name and the boat calls Rita! I was a bit disappointed to see that the creature has no really motives except to be disturbed or maybe in love (the mother protecting eggs was Star Trek) and a bit sad that the human attitude is to kill the other different. But the production and cast was very decent: honestly i don't find that this old and unknown (for me) cast of yesterday lacks of talent compared to today! So it's a good lesson to understand that we are actually brainwashed to believe in incredible performances that are really just flat, plain ordinary: in other words, we are sold pees as nuggets gold and watching those old classics keeps intact our love of true cinema. Back to Eddy thus!

I find it to be useful to fulfill gaps in my cinematic history - that is to say, well-regarded/important/even not-so-well-regarded-but-cult-status films that I haven't seen yet, since by now everyone assumes I've seen practically everything - in part because I'm getting into it now as a grown adult and may find it a varying experience from if I watched it younger and less seasoned (or mature), but also because what the particular film's status in history means. Creature from the Black Lagoon is an example of a genre picture that is considered part of the Universal Monsters canon, and hey, it's the studio, it's their monster, they can do what they will (though to me it's akin to Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction being considered as part of the 'Movie Brats' pack of movies, it's a little too after-the-fact but I can see why they fit, but I digress).For me, Black Lagoon is less connected to Dracula and Frankenstein than it is King Kong and, as its descendant, Jaws. It's actually the movie that bridges those two seminal "creature" features, though what it does have in common with the other Universal films is that it is immeasurably influential. Not simply to Jaws, but to so many, many B monster movies (Corman certainly produced a few, with titles that seem like Mad Libs from this one), and while so many of them are crap that's not Jack Arnold's fault. He and his crew and cast made an above average, at times even moving, story of an exploratory group looking for fossils going to the Amazon jungle and, after finding a couple of people have already been killed, go a little further to find the Lagoon of the title (I think the 'Black' part makes the whole title, without it it doesn't pop out I should add).What everyone else did after the fact was to either do less, on par, or, in Spielberg's case, better. But the original is still a very good example of what can be done with a script that doesn't treat its audience like total idiots - or, to put it another way, it may primarily be of entertainment for kids and younger viewers, or those simply looking for an adventure story that has major horror and fantasy overtones (no, not overtones, it's submerged like we're IN the water, aren't we) - and the actors aren't all stiff boards like in other 50's sci-fi schlock. I might have a slight fault in how Carlson and Denning (David and Mark respectively, our two main male characters) look too much alike and that it's not until halfway through the film that I could tell them apart, but they are both good actors performing as well as they can, and Julie Adams, aside from also being convincing and a good screamer, is a sensational sight frankly (hey, I'm a warm-blooded guy, she's gorgeous, especially in the bathing suit, albeit that is one of the few moments logic seems to be not there, like, why is she even swimming after they've already seen those other guys dead in the tent but, eh, whatever).Maybe not *every* performance hits all across the board, but Arnold gets his actors right enough so that his pacing doesn't get mucked up. What matters just as much as the players, if not more, is the underwater photography which was, I'd have to think, fairly revolutionary for the time (there's a separate unit credited for directing and shooting it), and the Creature itself. If any performer should have ever received a special Oscar or something for simply stunt-swimming, Ricou Browning would be that performer. But he and Ben Chapman (on-land scenes) make this creature a visible and viable threat on screen, only laughable 3 to maybe 5 percent of the time (and hey, 95% ain't bad!) and how Arnold shoots around him for the first half hour or so is inventive and ups the tension for when we finally see big Gill-o-monster on the water.I give a little extra boost to this rating, perhaps nearing classic status, for the final five minutes. What seems to already be wrapping up in a satisfying way - we have to think the Creature will make one final stand against this band of people, and he does, despite being pumped through the gills (no pun intended) of some substance that's supposed to make him tired (it doesn't, but oh well) - turns into something Gothic and terrifying and the cinematography gets amped with darker contours and imagery (Adams on the rock layed out by the monster laying in wait) that is wholly striking and heart-racing. It's the kind of ending that I wish more filmmakers took to heart as a way to take what is already a strong story and characters and atmosphere and take it to iconic status. I don't know if it's completely quality-wise as *there* as Dracula and Bride of Frankenstein, but for a few precious scenes it's really as powerful and engaging as the best parts of King Kong and Jaws and other things I could compare it to.

I had seen most of the obvious monsters from Universal Studios: Dracula, Frankenstein, his Monster and the Bride and The Wolf Man, often counted among the iconic Universal Monsters is the one in this movie, I'm glad I finally got to watching it, directed by Jack Arnold (It Came from Outer Space, The Incredible Shrinking Man). Basically a fossilised skeletal hand with webbed fingers is uncovered on a geology expedition in the Amazon, it is from the Devonian period, and is evidence of a direct link between land and sea animals. Expedition leader Dr. Carl Maia (Antonio Moreno) leaves his two assistants to stay in camp while he visits his friend and former student, ichthyologist Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson). While Dr. Maia is away, a piscine amphibious humanoid, the same species of creature from which the fossil originated, becomes curious of the camp, the sudden appearance of the creature frightens the two assistants, they panic and attack, the enraged creature kills them both. Dr. Reed works at an aquarium in California, but more recently has spent time at Maia's marine biology institute in Brazil, Reed persuades his financially minded boss Dr. Mark Williams (Richard Denning), to fund a return expedition to the Amazon to search for the remainder of the skeleton. The group board tramp steamer Rita, captained by crusty Lucas (Nestor Paiva); David, Carl and Mark are accompanied by Reed's girlfriend and colleague Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams), and scientist Dr. Edwin Thompson (Whit Bissell). They arrive at the camp and discover Maia's assistants have been killed, they continue and excavate the area the fossil was discovered, with nothing found, Mark is ready to give up, but David suggests that thousands of years ago the skeleton could have fallen into the water and taken downriver, being broken up by the current. Lucas says the stream empties into a lagoon, he calls it the "Black Lagoon", a paradise from which no one has ever returned, the scientists decide to risk it, unaware that the amphibious creature, the "Gill Man" (Ricou Browning in water, Ben Chapman on land), is watching them. Taking an interest in the beautiful Kay, the creature follows the Rita downriver to the Black Lagoon, once there David and Mark go diving to find more fossils. When they return, Kay decides to go swimming in the lagoon, she is stalked by the Gill Man, the creature does briefly get caught up in the ship's drag lines, but it manages to escape, but it does leave behind a claw, revealing its existence. The group have a few more encounters with the Gill Man, who claims the lives of Lucas's crew, until eventually it is captured and locked in a cage on the ship. When Edwin, who was guarding the cage, is distracted, the creature manages to escape, it attacks Edwin, severing his face, the creature is driven away when Edwin smashes a lantern. Following this incident, David decides they should return to civilisation, but the lagoon entrance has been blocked by fallen logs, placed by the Gill Man, trapping the ship. While the others attempt to remove the logs, Mark is mauled to death underwater battling with the creature, it is then able to kidnap Kay and take her to its cavern lair. David, Lucas, and Carl chase the creature and discover the cavern, Kay is rescued, and the group fire at the Gill Man, it is is riddled with many bullets before it retreats to the lagoon and sinks into the watery depths. Also starring Bernie Gozier as Zee and Henry A. Escalante as Chico. I agree with the critics that this movie is dated, the acting and script are lousy, if you have the 3D effects they are pretty pointless, and the special effects are naff, it is obvious the monster is just a bloke in a rubber suit, but it does actually deliver some nervy moments, especially with the fear of what lurks beneath (like Jaws), the Gill Man definitely deserves his inclusion in the monsters hall of fame, not just as an enjoyable cult movie, an all-time classic horror. Very good!

One of my favorites among the universal monster flicks, second only to James Whale's original Frankenstein. This film has a bit more of a B movie tone than some of the other (original) films in the canon, but the pacing is swift, and the underwater work remains a marvel even now. Ricou Browning, who played Gillman during the swimming sequences, really created a unique, almost lyrical flow to the way the creature swam, adding a very inhuman element. Really fantastic work. The suit also was a work of brilliance--I don't think there's been a more gorgeous work of costume design before or since! The rest of the performances range from fine to eh, to okay--but that's not what we watch to a flick like this for anyway! Also the score leaves a bit to be desired, but overall the film is oodles of 50s charm. If you think you'd be interested in this film, and are a fan of fun B-creature features, absolutely you need to see this one. It is well worth your time. Check it out!