Creature From The Black Lagoon
Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)
This is another that i’d class more as horror than sci-fi, but as its my favourite universal monster movie, and its directed by Jack Arnold, i’m giving it a review––although admittedly i’ve already written and said a lot about this movie on other platforms down the years.
I’m sure everyone on the planet has seen an image of Gill Man at some point, but this movie has a lot more to it than just one of the greatest ever creature designs. The witty dialogue and dynamic between the three leads, David, Kay, and Mark is fantastic stuff. Their bitchy banter often entwined with moral questions and responsibilities is pure cinema. I find Mark infuriating at times, but also, he’s kind of the person you need to have around in this type of situation. While I side with the creature for most of this movie, he’s also not wrong at times… which makes me hate him more.
Then there’s the absolutely stunning underwater photography. I’ve never seen anything like it. And the fact that it was achieved 70 years ago makes it all the more remarkable. The levels of creativity back before CGI was even a dream really are special. The scene of Kay swimming and Gill Man almost mimicking her actions under the water have stuck with me since I first watched the film 30+ years ago. I adore that scene.
The whole cast is a delight. The leads, the others on the boat. The Captain. The Creature From The Black lagoon itself. Everyone plays their role perfectly. The setting is great. Love all the backlot stuff from back then and wish we went back to it. If you can’t be on location, then backlot is the next best thing. (I probably come across as very anti-green-screen and CGI by now, but I'm not. Well, maybe I am, but more I just think it should be used sparely as another tool rather than replacing everything) The effects and costume design as mentioned previously are special. This movie has everything going for it.
An argument can be made that it’s a little slow, dragging in the second act as they build towards the inevitable finale, but I think thats just something of the time. Most movies from his era have that. But, as I like all the conversations between Mark and David, I just see this time as more character building for the attempted escape scene at the end and final battle with Gill Man.
Creature From The Black Lagoon may have come late in the Universal Monster Movie catalogue, but for me, it’s one of the best. I love most of the others, but something about the setting, characters, and design of this one edges it over the others. Dracula and Frankenstein are masterpieces, but they don’t have the individual characters Black Lagoon has to support the iconic monsters. If it’s one you’ve slept on because it isn’t Wolfman, Mummy, Dracula etc, then give it a go, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It’s the last classic Universal Monster.
