L'Étrange Créature du lac noir

This review is for the Classic Monster Collection. I must say I was stunned at how well restored the production was done. It looked clearer than when I saw the film on TV in the sixties. The monster wasn't that scary from modern standards. I liked the opening as an elderly man in white asks an unmarried couple to help him with his prehistoric problem. This product is also in French. There are also English subscripts. There is a commentary by an historian who reads off of the director's notes for most part. The riverboat looked like the "African Queen" with the captain as dowdy as Charlie Allnut. What I liked about the film is that it didn't try to insult the intellect of the audience, bring in real science and characters that acted reasonably except for Mark (Richard Denning) who provided an additional antagonist.

I've noticed that some of the reviewers that hated this actually love to watch it. Over and over. I have to separate the different levels of like and dislike with a film like this. Cheesy? That's a word that popped up several times, Yes it was cheesy, but lovable. Silly story line? yes. Less than stellar acting? Yes. Simplistic? Yes. Fun to watch? Yes. Like one reviewer said, "They don't make em like this any more". I'm glad they don't. It was an era in film making that has passed and I appreciate films like this because they exemplified a time when we weren't very sophisticated. I'm happy to have grown up in a time like that, and that's why I watch movies like this one. Sophistication isn't all it's cracked up to be.

My Take: A classic for its day. Jack Arnold's CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is, most likely, FRANKENSTEIN and Dracula's little cousin. A little-known relative of the more famous monster movie classics, CREATURE is nonetheless a nice trip down memory lane. Plot concerns a rouge swamp beast (Ricou Browning and Ben Chapman sweating it out in the decent monster suit) who falls for (what else?) a beauty on board a research ship, while the men find good fortune in capturing the beast and saving the gal (whose only real requirement is to scream her heart out). Those who remember stepping into the drive-way while the weird eerie music played on the opening black-and-white titles brings a sudden memory of being a wee bit scared if that rubber monster you now find cheesy so much nowadays. Still, despite stiff acting and cheesy effects gimmicks, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is a nice trip back to the good ol' days of monster pictures. Originally released in a 3-D. Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.