Brilliant and touching

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

A vicious reptilian humanoid monster (Peter Dunn in a gnarly rubber suit) terrorizes a sleepy coastal community. Director Irv Berwick, working from a compact script by H. Haile Chace, keeps the enjoyable story moving along at a steady pace, makes nice use of the seaside locations, creates some pleasing spooky atmosphere, maintains a winning sincere tone throughout, and pulls out the exciting stops for the lively and thrilling climax. Moreover, Berwick deserves extra praise for his take-no-prisoners attitude: There's one remarkably gruesome moment involving a decapitated head and a few startling outbursts of brutal violence (this movie even goes as far as to kill both a little girl and a cute dog!). The solid cast do a good job of portraying the entertaining array of quirky and colorful characters: Les Tremayne as the pragmatic Dr. Sam Jorgenson, Forrest Lewis as the baffled Constable George Matson, John Harmon as cranky lighthouse keeper Sturges, Jeanne Harmon as the spunky and liberated Lucille, Don Sullivan as the amiable Fred, and Frank Arvidson as talkative and excitable storekeeper Kochek. The robust shuddery score hits the stirring spot. Philip H. Lathrop's sharp black and white cinematography provides an impressive crisp look. A really fun fright flick.

A 7ft tall, prehistoric, amphibious reptile terrorises the folk of a coastal town in its search for red meat, which it now prefers over its old diet of fish thanks to being fed scraps by lonely lighthouse keeper Sturges (John Harmon). After killing several people in its quest for protein (by removing the victims' heads with inexplicable surgical precision), the scaly beast is eventually hunted down by a group of gun-toting locals, but not before it carries off Sturges's daughter Lucy (Jeanne Carmen) in time-honoured movie-monster fashion.An independent horror flick produced by ex-Universal employees Irvin Berwick and Jack Kevan, The Monster of Piedras Blancas was clearly influenced by The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954), for which Kevan helped create the iconic gill-man costume; Piedras Blancas's monster isn't quite on a par with 'The Creature', however, having been cobbled together using moulds made for earlier films The Mole People and This Island Earth, and the film lacks the excellent production values and great pacing of the Universal classic.But although matters move slowly to start with, threatening to send the viewer to sleep at times, hang on in there 'cos things gradually pick up: Jeanne Carmen provides the film with some 'cheesecake' when she is spied upon by the monster; there's an early example of graphic gore which must've proved quite shocking in the '50s (the monster appears holding a bloody severed head, albeit in black and white); and the final struggle between Lucy's beau Fred (Don Sullivan) and the monster atop the lighthouse is a real hoot. I also found the film's doctor (played by Les Tremayne) to be the source of a few unintentional laughs: he hands out pills like they were candy and likes to get his patients on their feet no matter how serious the injury.

A generally underrated monster flick from 1959, The Monster of Piedras Blancas is often compared to the undeniably similar Creature From the Black Lagoon, with this film invariably coming out second best. Certainly, Creature From the Black Lagoon is a true classic and The Monster of Piedras Blancas rarely equals its more famous cousin, but nonetheless this is a very good little film with a lot going for it on its own terms. The Monster, of course, is the star of the show, and the suit designed for him is impressive and scary, and must have seemed even more so in the 50s. As is typical of this sort of film, screen shots of the Monster are limited up until the climax, when he runs wild in all his visceral glory. The Monster's killings are quite brutal and rather bloody for the conservative 50s, and there are several decapitations in his wake. The coastal setting, where folk tales of the alleged Monster are whispered in the shadows, is evocative and the director uses the location to maximum effect. Acting is for the most part competent if unexceptional, highlighted by the dazzling Jeanne Carmen as the lovely Lucy, upon whom the Monster inevitably turns a ravenous gaze. Ms. Carmen is a luscious damsel in distress, and it's a shame she didn't do more sci-fi. Don Sullivan plays Lucy's boyfriend, Fred, and veteran b-movie actor Les Tremayne is a local doctor. John Harmon turns in a surprisingly effective performance as Lucy's father Sturges, the local lighthouse keeper, a man with many secrets and who knows more about the Monster than anyone suspects. The townsfolk of Piedras Blancas are developed with some attention to detail, and it means something when one of them dies. The only real weaknesses of the film are its obvious low budget and a somewhat lagging pace that does make the movie feel a bit longer than its short run time of 71 minutes. But overall, this is a pretty good monster movie that meets most of the genre requirements. Unfortunately, this is a difficult movie to find, but if you can track it down, the Monster From Piedras Blancas is a surprisingly effective chiller.

I recently obtained a VHS copy of The Monster Of Pidras Blancas off E-Bay and was pleased I did, I had been after this movie for several years but could not get it anywhere.After several headless bodies are found washed up on the shore of Pidras Blancas, locals are baffled by these horrible deaths. There turn out to be the responsibility of a legendary monster, which lives in a nearby cave and is fed by the local lighthouse keeper. After the monster kills more people, there is a confrontation on top of the lighthouse at the end...The cast includes 50's sci-fi regular Les Tremayne (The War Of The Worlds, The Monolith Monsters), Forrest Lewis and John Harmon.The monster in this movie looks very similar to the Gill Man from Creature From The Black Lagoon.Although a little slow moving in parts, I certainly enjoyed The Monster Of Pidras Blancas and is rather creepy at times too. Quite good.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.