Creature from the Black Lagoon

Creature from the Black Lagoon

According to IMDb trivia, Ingmar Bergman would watch this film every year on his birthday. This is weird because the movie didn't come out until he was 36 years old and also it's terrible.

I'm gonna start with the good here, because I believe it's a classic for a reason.

While the land cinematography is overall pretty standard and forgettable, the underwater shots are surprisingly gorgeous and impressive for the time. The water is so clear that it has to have been filmed on a set, but the water goes so deep that it's hard to think of a set that would allow for that. It's also crazy that they made the stuntmen stay down there for so long, especially the Creature.

The other great thing is the titular Creature. It's a unique and unusual design, a great addition to the classic monster canon. Though he's unlike the classic monsters in that there's nothing particularly tragic about him. While Frankenstein just wants to feel human and the Wolfman is a good guy who has an uncontrollable curse, the Gill Man (that's what they call him in the movie) has a lot more in common with the Xenamorph in Alien in that he really just wants to kill people.

Now the bad.

The acting and writing are awful. It's that classic Ed Wood-esque, stiff, awkward, 1950's b-movie acting that's so unique to schlock of its time. The one female character is written by males to be hot, dumb, and useless. She's supposed to be an archaeologist but instead she leaves the science up to the boys and wears designer outfits and heavy makeup instead. It's pretty insulting. Also, these are the worst archaeologists of all time. At one point they poison an entire river in order to kill one Gill Man, undoubtedly killing almost everything else in the water. It would be so-bad-it's-funny if it wasn't so boring, but it is so it isn't.

Watch a compilation of scenes with the Gill Man on YouTube. That's all you need here.