Night 6: ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (1954)

This is part of the ’31 Nights of Horror Classics’ series, which I’ll be doing for Halloween 2017. Every night of this month, I’ll be watching a horror film made before the 90s and I’ll be posting a short review here.

Fear and pity are a powerful combination. The horrific monster that haunts this film will most likely provoke both!

The movie follows an expedition to the Amazonas, where a group of scientists has found a mysterious hand that seems to belong to a huge amphibian. But when sudden deaths begin afflicting the crew, their quest to capture it alive turns into a classing hunt for a beast.

While I watched Creature from the Black Lagoon I was surprised at how a very straightforward monster story could have so much conflict. It’s easy to sympathize with a monster that seems in awe of beauty. However, it’s also impossible to forget how violent and mischievous it can be as it defends its territory.

That’s partly what makes this film so interesting. It can be read as an allegory of colonialism and the invasion of virgin territories, which ultimately brings them to their doom. It’s also a conflict of nature vs. technology, civilization vs. savagery, primitivism vs. modernity… and it’s all told through a very simple, basic horror tale.

Sometimes I found myself rooting for the dejected creature whose home had been invaded by these alien humans. At other times, I was truly horrified at its unrestrained -although inexplicit- violence.

Watching it as an adult makes it predictably less scary. But I can see how, through the eyes of a child, Creature from the Black Lagoon would be terrifying. The monster itself has a wonderful, disturbing design that helps create some really scary frames.

It’s also laced with moments of beauty. The sequence during which the creature swims under the beautiful Kay (Julie Adams) is simply unforgettable. As is the final, somewhat tragic scene of the creature retreating to its home after confronting the humans.

The narrative does have its weak points, though.

At times the film can feel repetitive in its formula. For example, characters go out to seek the monster, and then it will follow them to the boat, try to kidnap Kay, and do a random killing. It happens a couple of times, and by the end, it feels worn-out.

The way the residents are portrayed is also extremely condescending. In fact, the locals are mostly useless, except for being killed before any of the members of the main crew, or offering mythical, non-scientific information about the creature. They’re never involved in the study of their own home. They are there to watch more intelligent foreigners do it for them, and they’re not really interested in any of it.

Another plot point that is –disturbingly- never explained is what happens to those killed by the creature. Since the majority of them are locals, it’s even more unnerving. What are they doing with the bodies? Burying them? Cremating them? Throwing them into the waters? Will they inform their families? Do they have any?

In any case, It’s a really enjoyable movie that will most likely put your allegiance to the test.

Grade: 6/10. Fun. Stimulating.

Scare Factor: creepy images.

Gore/Violence: multiple moments in which the creature is shot. Mostly off-camera deaths.

Nudity/Sexual Situations: none.

Previous Night: ‘The Mummy’ (32)

Next up: ‘It Came from Outer Space’ (53)