Review of Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) by Ryan H — 25 Jul 2011

Insert sound clip here "Oh, David!".

It was fitting that the only thing Kay says in the second half of the film is David's name, since that is her key of existence. The underwater shots are surprisingly good. I also enjoyed Kay deciding to throw off her shirt and jump in the water in her swimsuit, like she was prepared for her scene all along. There were just so many funny moments, mainly because the director decided to have his actors look like they are doing these choreographed movements. One of them is when everyone is talking around a table, then David picks something up and smiles when the conversation is over for the scene change. The movie revolves around the fact that they are people playing in a movie. It's good fun. I would love to see this in the original cheesy 3D form. I can't ever remember anything coming out of the screen. Maybe the fossil hand in the beginning? And the creature coming out of the cage? By the way, that fossil hand was hilarious. The man takes one hit at the rock and it comes out like a prop was just stuck in a piece of plastic. The creature, on the other hand, looks fantastic. Obviously the artist put a lot of love and care into the costume. The story of how the creature exists is interesting, but obviously not plausible. If this thing really is an attempt at evolution, why aren't there any others? And why hasn't anyone else seen them? They do say once in the film that people who go into the black lagoon don't come back, but we don't see more than one in the movie, even in the cave. This is part of the fun, creating a suspension of disbelief and enjoying the campy fun of this 1950's sci-fi horror flick.