i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Okay, I'll risk it— for a 50's drive-in flick, the movie's rather competently made, even on a severe budget. On the whole, it's well-acted, colorfully photographed, and briskly directed. On the other hand, the waggy-tail shrews are too doggy-like to frighten, unless you're a kitty cat. Fortunately, they're mostly photographed in quick shrouded fashion. Also, the "tank' makes for a funny and cleverly motivated appearance. At the same time, the plot itself is formula familiar— a scientific experiment gone wrong, along with a hero, a shapely blonde, and a bad guy, all trapped on an island with killer monsters at the door. To me, the formula works, even if about as familiar as my old shoes.A couple of nice touches. The primitive "tank" may look silly, especially with its underpowered three person motor, but is an imaginative one-of-a-kind. Just don't look for it at a Nascar speedway. Note too, how the professor's boring exposition on the nature of shrews is enlivened by Ann's (Goude) fearful background behavior. Thus a dull pill gets some fizz.As a 50's drive-in vet, I'm a bit puzzled how so many folks find the 69-minutes a camp classic. Sure, it's got amusingly goofy aspects. But frankly, I found it more entertaining than funny, even if forgettable.

"The Killer Shrews" - that has to be one of the most eye-rolling titles ever to be bestowed onto a movie, "Attack of the Killer Shrews" would have been an even better title. Anyway's - for as cheap and dispensable as this movie is, it's a very entertaining one. This flick often show's up in cheap, readily available box-sets that celebrate B-movies - in other words The Killer Shrews is never a hard find.Starring a young James Best (a full 20 years before The Dukes of Hazzard) who's easily the most talented and charismatic of an otherwise unremarkable cast. He's plays a boat captain who's making a supply run to a remote island, that's occupied by about half a dozen scientific researchers. Enroute, with stormy weather whipping up behind them, he and his mate motor to the island with the intention of waiting for the storm to pass through, however, that turn's out to be a very bad and fateful decision. As it so happens the scientist's on the island have been meddling in genetic research (so in that respect The Killer Shrews is a movie that's ahead of it's time), their subject of focus - the lowly and typically harmless shrew; however due to their scientific malpractice, the island's shrew population has suddenly undergone a most dramatic and unnatural of mutations - that eventually proves to be of dangerous and even "killer" proportions. This movie, as cheaply made and as stupidly ridiculous as it is (starting with it's title) is quite entertaining (especially the last 20 minutes), more so than most other low-budget horror film's of the 50's. I find The Killer Shrews to be a -perfect movie- to watch late a night and with a brisk running time of only 69 minutes it won't take you long, as it's a very compact and efficiently put together flick. Let's get into the effects of this movie, specifically the giant killer shrew's, undoubtedly what were are really looking at here are dog's that are wearing long, shaggy fur, with long hairless tails and masks with huge, nasty-looking teeth; and I think it works pretty damn effectively, surprisingly so, for a movie that was made with little money, over half a century ago - the giant killer shrew's simply look AND sound terrific. Getting back to the plot, with some reluctance the scientist's fill "Thorne Sherman" in on their dire predicament and it's during the ensuing stand-off, which one-by-one, see's the groups numbers whittled down, until their half the number they started at. They are actually up against two enemies: the shrews AND a hurricane that's blowing through (I for one have never been convinced that what blew through was a hurricane, a tropical storm at best - Tropical Storm "Timmy" perhaps). With up to as many as 200 to 300 giant killer shrews roving the island, the gang, held hostage in their little hovel are hopelessly out-numbered by the shrews, which eventually borrow into the house and that's when the movie really gets exciting. It's with the quick thinking of Captain Thorne Sherman that they devise a method of escape, not entirely unlike an ancient Roman military tactic, but instead of bronze shields they concoct something a bit more modern with galvanized steel tanks and a cutting torch. The gang of three, yes, several deaths have occurred, are constantly harassed by a rabid mob of killer shrews the entire way, as they find it's a long, slow and labored trudge to the beach, as the ocean is their salvation - onward's ho!Being a movie of such modest make, there's very little fancy stuff to comment about in this movie, the shrews being it's one and only strong visual, it's all together a very humble affair. To it's credit The Killer Shrews is certainly very tightly paced and efficiently plotted and thus it shouldn't bore anyone - who has an attention span that's longer then that of a bolt of lightning. And, as I think this movie proves, James Best was a great actor and he'd only get better.I find The Killer Shrews to be a fun fast-paced movie, made on a very tight budget, with a crazy, but well-explained story. With much glee you have at least two options available to you, you can watch either the regular version or it's funnier, satirized MST3K counterpart.

Make no mistake, you'll find no great cinema here. The acting, dialog and special effects are very B-grade. Yet I find it compellingly fun to watch.Perhaps it is the non-stop drinking that occurs throughout the film that makes me want to join in. Such drab, dour characters sipping martinis in such a drab, dour location fascinates me. One would think scientists would want to be a little more alert in a dangerous situation but apparently they prefer to be well-lubricated. There is one scene that makes me think of "synchronized swigging" and always makes me smile.The stunning Swedish beauty who should be prancing merrily in heels walks about all droopy and slack-shouldered. Almost as though totally bored with the whole idea that they may all be devoured by ravenous beasts before the break of dawn.The grim scientist who appears blinded to all but his work only brightens when he holds a tiny shrew in his hand - not with a look of curiosity and fascination, but with a lip-smacking leer suggesting he is ready to gobble it up in one bite.I pull this out at least once a year with a full supply of my own favorite mind-altering beverage to join in the fun. It makes me wonder if I need to look into AA.

Yeah, by today's standards it's an awful movie. But think of the time it was made, for a low budget horror film, especially a Fifties one, it was pretty good. Even if it isn't scary it sure is funny. The acting is generally pretty decent, especially Rook, Mario and Dr. Baines. The shrews were at least worth laughing at (they were actually dogs in rat suits), and it remained suspenseful towards the end. There was a very "so lame it's funny" moment at the end when the captain says to the scientist woman, "I'm not worried about overpopulation just yet!" and kisses her. Four characters die; Rook gets eaten alive by shrews as he hides in a small tree. Mario gets bitten and dies in the basement. Baines gets bitten in the crotch and types out his final moments. Jerry, the alcoholic scientist, acts stupid and loses his life that way. He is the main antagonist, not counting the shrews. It's worth watching if you want to laugh and have fun with your friends.