Fresh and Exciting

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

THE GIANT CLAW contains damned near everything that makes bad '50s sci-fi so much fun: a goofy-looking monster; scenes of destruction with Styrofoam buildings, model cars, and HO-gauge trains; made-up science (my Google search of "masic atoms" turned up nothing); scientific equipment slapped together with whatever junk was handy; a female lead with a brilliant mind who nonetheless does all the "girl" things like serving coffee to the men; and the usual dollar-store acting.The story: a killer bird the size of a battleship (and with teeth) flies around the Earth on a swath of destruction. It is impervious to guns, bombs, and fighter jets, nor does it appear on radar screens. Scientific analysis of a discarded feather concludes that the bird emits a protective energy shield that makes it nearly invincible. Also, since the feather contains no elements known on the Earth, the bird must be an extraterrestrial from some anti-matter galaxy millions of light years away. (Don't you dare question it!) As the lady scientist deduces, the bird came here to build a nest and lay an egg. When the film's heroes shoot up the egg with rifles, it seriously pisses off the bird, which sets about trashing a cheap mock-up of New York City. (Did you know that buildings explode when a monster claws off a chunk of its top floors?)I watch films like THE GIANT CLAW for the same reason I listen to records by the Shaggs: they're fundamentally awful, but I can't help loving them.

"The Giant Claw" is an adorably horrible monster movie featuring a silly plot, inept script, pedestrian acting, and the most endearingly ridiculous monster ever to threaten mankind. Stories abound about disappearing budgets, Mexican puppet makers, Jeff Morrow slinking out of the theatre when he first saw his feathered antagonist, etc., all of which elevate the movie to the rarified status of one of the "Worst Movies Ever". This is, of course, nonsense, as most people would not bother to finish the "Worst Movie Ever"; whereas, people watch "The Giant Claw" (and its ilk) over and over again. I'd bet in 50 years people will still be snickering over the anti-matter space buzzard when, for example, "Star Trek: Beyond" doesn't even make it into trivia contests. How do you rate a movie that is awful by any measure but yet makes the world a better, or at least a more whimsical, place simply by existing? Metaphorically, HAL would give it a 0, Dave would give it a 10, so I'll split the difference and give it a 5.

I watched this movie with a friend on a Sunday evening, expecting to get some laughs after what I had heard about this movie. The DVD was only $4, and I like monster movies, so I thought, why not? The laughs were crazy. I don't think I've ever laughed harder at a non comedy movie. The monster is ridiculous, possibly the worst I've ever seen on screen. A giant turkey vulture with a mo-hawk being operated by clearly visible strings. The science is ludicrous, the bird is extra-terrestrial and it has an anti-matter shield? What were they thinking? The acting is okay though, the performers are genuinely trying, but some of the lines are still cheesy and sometimes hysterical. If you like B movies or monster movies, or just want a good laugh with some friends, go out and buy it for cheap.

Fred F. Sears directed this science fiction/horror picture that stars Jeff Morrow as pilot Mitch MacAfee, who one day reports seeing a huge UFO flying overhead. He is not believed, but is later proved right when the "UFO" is identified as...a giant outer-space bird with big bulging eyes and a Mohawk which is composed of anti-matter, and proceeds to decimate the world! Oh Boy... Astonishingly(even staggeringly!) inept film has the most jaw-dropping, god-awful model F/X ever seen in a motion picture. Truly laughable and cringe-inducing at the same time. Actors were reportedly embarrassed by the big turkey when they saw the finished film, and who can blame them. Ludicrous plot and cheap production only makes this all-time worst film candidate even worse.