Review of Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) by Cassandra M — 12 Sep 2009

Universal were the pioneers of classy horror pictures in the golden age of the genre, and this Amazon adventure is perhaps their last great horror picture. The film follows many of the staples of previous Universal offerings, except this time the film doesn't follow an already established story (like the likes of Frankenstein and Dracula did) and the location is a much more important element of the story in this film than it has been in other Universal monster movies. Director Jack Arnold puts us firmly in the Amazon jungle, and all the foliage and animal noises combine to ensure that the action is set firmly where it's supposed to be. This location effects benefits the story immensely, but it also does something more important than that - it represents a triumph over low budget, and that always impresses me. The way that the action is kept mostly in one place helps this too, as it gives the audience the impression that the scope of the film is larger than it really is. Like all good monster movies, the story is thin and easy to follow; and it basically just follows a bunch of explorers/scientists who travel to the Amazon to do research after finding a half-man/half fish fossil.

The script and acting in the film are less than brilliant, but by the same standards; aren't bad either and certainly passable for this sort of feature. The creature itself is, of course, the star of the show and it's design is both inventive and even somewhat realistic! Of course, the monster is purely fictional so it would be impossible for it to be truly realistic; but if there was a missing link between man and amphibian, I reckon it would look something like the creature in this movie. The idea of an undiscovered creature coming from the depths of the sea, an area still largely unexplored to this day, is fascinating; and arguably more terrifying than the idea of some unknown entity coming down from space, as the sea is a big part of our own planet. The film doesn't have much in the way of depth and themes, but there is a somewhat muddled comment on the idea of hunting and taking things out of their natural habitat. On the whole; this is an excellent creature feature and one of the best films that Universal ever produced during their golden age. If it's monster movies you want, you could do a hell of a lot worse than this!