Director: Edward L. Cahn
Year: 1956
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
Following a hypnosis session at a party, a rash of murders leads the police to the professor who conducted the experiment, and eventually finds that he inadvertently triggered his assistant to undergo a process that reverts her into a prehistoric creature, and they race to stop the creature's rampage.
Review:
This one wasn't all that great, as it definitely has its problems. One of the biggest factors against the film is the fact that the plot to this one drags the film out far longer than it really should, since there's just not a whole lot of creature action in this. It's held off to such a small section of the film as the vast majority of this one is not in the slightest bit considering the antics of the released creature, concentrating more on disproving his techniques, which is quite a vast section of the film. Not only is these the endless scenes of him at parties and showing of her going around trying to build a case of his phoniness that comes off as the main focus here, there's not a whole lot here which makes it seem interesting or exciting and this leaves the film just wandering around and just plain stalling for creature action as it winds through them, leaving the few moments of action fun but entirely all-too-brief. Since the longest attack seems to last at least two or three minutes and it's not the finale, that comes up as a big stumbling block in this one to hold back the tempo and pacing found here being yet another factor which leaves the film to end on a whimper than a bang.
These big issues, along with a lame romance angle that feels forced the second it's introduced and really doesn't do much to help the film, really do hold this one back from its main positives here. The main factor that helps this along is that the titular creature does look good and rather original in its design, as the beast is cleverly designed and quite frightening when it appears in its rather chilling form, while it also has a fair mystery in whether or not it's a real creature or a figment of the imagination. That comes from the strange attacks here that leave enough clues behind into being unsure of this, and that leaves this one with a couple of tense and somewhat thrilling creature attacks here from it's appearance at the sea-side shack, the attack on the couple in the car and the strong series of continuous appearances along the beach including the final half which features some more decent action. These here make this one quite fun, but it's not enough to save it.
Overview: **.5/5
A problematic entry, but definitely enjoyable for what it is, this is a decent enough entry here, while being let down by some big issues that are what ultimately hold it down. Give it a shot if you appreciate this kind of creature feature effort or are a fan of the creative crew, while most others out there should heed caution with this one.
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