Day 45: The Beast from 20, 000 Fathoms.

Day 45: The Beast from 20, 000 Fathoms (1953, Dir. Eugène Lourié)

Inspired by watching Cloverfield I thought I’d opt for some monster terror… 1950’s style!

Much like Them! another acclaimed American monster movie of the 50’s much of the terror in this films stems from Cold War paranoia with everything from Atomic bombs to a biological airborne threat. Whilst never being specifically mentioned this level of underlying threat drives the narrative of the film.

Fortunately the beast itself is genuinely effective, a true cinematic wonder created by the special effects of the ever fantastic Ray Harryhausen! The beast itself almost makes up for the dull pseudo science, clunky dialogue and B-movie acting; well at least it almost does, there just isn’t really that much of the monster to see. It is generally a shame that this monster just doesn’t live up to many of the other big classic creature features out there; lacking that iconic punch which can be seen elsewhere from King Kong, Godzilla and Them! to other works or Harryhausens, such as The Valley of Gwangi, Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonaughts.

This movie is ultimately worth seeking out for the creature sequences alone each being an impressive technical feat and also a truly impressive spectacle, the beast is really enjoyable to watch and you’ll probably end up rooting for him by the end of the movie. It’s good old fashioned fun which continues to visually impress, especially the monsters impressive final attack on… yep, you’ve guessed it New York City!

5.5/10

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045546/

Extra: Talking of Cloverfield all three secret monsters have appeared on this blog now…