Review of Revenge of the Creature (1955) by Gavin S — 19 Jun 2007

The Hollywood desire to make mediocre sequels to films that don't really need them is certainly nothing new. This film proves that quite clearly. A new expedition to the Amazon succeeds where the first failed--they capture the "gill-man" and bring him back to Florida, where he is put on display in an aquarium.

And he pretty much stays in that aquarium for the rest of the movie while John Agar tries to train him and all the while the poor lovesick creature keeps trying to grope John's girlfriend. (I might add that the gill-man is placed in a salt water tank despite the fact that his natural habitat is in a tributary of the Amazon, and this being a 50s sci-fi movie, he never suffers any ill effects.

) But then, just when the plot demands it he escapes and then takes forever to finally kidnap the heroine and go on a pathetic rampage. The gill-man this time fails to bring out the same feelings of awe and in fact its underwater scenes this time look like nothing more than a guy in a fish suit doing tricks, right down to the obvious bubbles that keep popping out of the top of his head! The film also drags until the gill-man finall gets loose and after all that time there just isn't any pay off and they actually have the audacity to recycle footage from the end of the first film! If you love the first film, you'd be better off skipping this one, but if you don't then be on the look out for a young Clint Eastwood as the lab assistant who finds a lab rat in his pocket.