Blu-Ray Review: Creature from the Black Lagoon: Complete Legacy Collection

 

By the time, Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) came out it looked as if the Universal monster movies had reached their end. The Frankenstein Monster, Dracula and the Wolfman had all made their farewell Universal monster movie appearance in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) and The Invisible Man made his last appearance in these films in Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951). And it had been since House of Dracula (1945), that any of the Universal monsters had appeared without Abbott and Costello. By this time horror had been changed by the sci-fi craze with sci-fi B movies taking the place of a genre that had once been defined by the Universal monsters. It was unexpected that in this era a new Universal monster would appear and that this new monster would enjoy a similar popularity to the previous monsters.  

This 2018 Blu-Ray set contains all three entries in the original Creature from the Black Lagoon trilogy: Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature (1955) and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956). The first two features were made during the 3-D craze of the 1950's and were shot in that process. This set includes both the 2D and 3D versions of these two films. Bonus features include audio commentaries on all three movies. Film historian and horror movie expert Tom Weaver provides the commentary alone on the first film. He is joined by Lori Nelson (the female lead) and film historian Bob Burns for the second movie and is joined by only Bob Burns on the third movie. These audio commentaries are extremely informative, and you have to listen to them more than once to get anywhere near all the information. Yet Tom Weaver is still just as entertaining as he is informative. Also included are a short documentary entitled Back to the Lagoon, production photographs and the original theatrical trailers. These may seem like basic Blu-Ray bonus features, but they are still delightful to film buffs. New HD restorations were made for all three movies. The first film looks amazing and allows one to truly appreciate the visual charm of this movie. This is especially seen during the great underwater scenes; the underwater photography was truly groundbreaking for 1954 and still looks great today. The second film however looks nowhere near as good. It does not look bad but there is an obvious drop in visual quality after watching the first film. The third film may not look as amazing as the first, but the visual quality is certainly an improvement over the second. 

Here are my opinions on all three movies themselves. 

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954): It is easy to see why this movie was so popular. It is a simple, straightforward but very effective monster flick. The creature's costume is fantastic and immediately memorable, the underwater scenes are still visually stunning, the creature is both creepy and endearing and the action scenes still hold up. The human characters may not be complex, but they do fulfill their jobs fairly well. Maybe not the masterpiece of Frankenstein (1931) or Dracula (1931), but still one of the better monster movies of the 1950's.

Revenge of the Creature (1955): This King Kong inspired story of the creature in captivity, is the weakest film of the trilogy. Though the creature is sympathetic, too much time is spent on incredibly bland human characters. This includes a romance that is so cliché and poorly written that is hard to care about. The film does pick up in the final act, where it becomes what it should have been all along. 

The Creature Walks Among Us (1956): This third movie is surprisingly strong. The premise of a scientist changing the creature from a sea creature to a land creature is actually pretty original idea. Not only is the premise strong but it is told quite well. It is easy to form a strong emotional attachment to the creature and there is some quite intelligent social commentary with the human characters. These are probably the strongest human characters in the trilogy. They are a bit more complex, and you can't always describe them in simple words like good or bad. The scares are also quite strong here with an even more eerie atmosphere than the previous films. This may actually be my favorite movie of the trilogy (maybe not the most popular opinion), and it is such an underrated gem of a monster movie. 

Motion Picture Exhibitor, 1954

Movie Review: Kiss of the Spider Woman

 

Michael's Movie Grade: D

A very ambitious film but ultimately a misfire.

This film is really two movies in one. One is a prison drama about two prisoners, one a macho very serious revolutionary and the other a sensitive movie obsessed gay man. The other is a fictional 1950's movie musical, which the movie obsessed inmate tells his cellmate all about. 

Most critics seem to be praising Jennifer Lopez's performance (as the star of the fictional movie), calling it one of the best of her career. No offense to J-Lo but her casting is actually one of the film's greatest flaws. She is a talented performer and does a good job with song numbers. However, she is missing that larger-than-life quality the role calls for. We are supposed to believe that the movie obsessed inmate views the actress and the character as a larger-than-life screen goddess. Yet watching J-Lo on screen we never once get this feeling from her. This makes one of the most important aspects of the story fall completely flat. The fiction 1950's film within a film also never quite worked for me. It never really captures the look or feel of a 1950's movie musical. The look is simply too modern and as someone who has seen plenty of 1950's Technicolor films, this simply took me out of the movie. I know this film within a film is not supposed to be a masterpiece, but the storyline itself is too messy and it hard to understand why someone would be so obsessed with it. The songs are pleasant to listen to but easily forgettable. Writing this review the same day I watched the movie; I am having trouble even trying to remember what any of these songs sound like. 

The prison drama is not much better. The two inmates are rather bland and stereotypical characters. Though there are attempts to endow these characters with more depth, they never quite overcome their familiarity. There is also an attempt to add greater emotional depth to the relationship between these characters, but it just seems to come out of nowhere. This robs it of any emotional effect it could have. This movie tries to make some political commentary. However, for such an otherwise ambitious film, it plays it too safe in this regard. Though one of the main characters is a revolutionary, we never hear him state what he is actually fighting for, outside of some very basic left of center statements. Because of this it is hard to get caught up in his storyline. It is hard to connect to a person who is constantly being threatened with torture for his political activism, when the activism feels like nothing more than a plot point. The final act of this story seems to go on forever making this movie seem much longer than it is. 

The closest thing this movie has to a saving grace is the actors playing the two prisoners, Tonatiuh and Diego Luna. They are fantastic and add some humanity to these otherwise bland characters. That they played both the prisoners and two characters in the film within a film is a clever idea. 

This is a real disappointment of a film. It frankly should have been much better than it did. 

Dynomutt, Dog Wonder: Everyone, Hyde! (1976)

 

Everyone, Hyde! is the first episode of Dynomutt, Dog Wonder which originally aired as the second half of The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, which was really a combination of two shows, the other being the first season of The Scooby-Doo Show. Dynomutt, Dog Wonder kicks off with a cross-over with Scooby-Doo. 

In this episode caped superhero Blue Falcon and his robotic dog sidekick Dynomutt must stop the evil Mr. Hyde, a super villain who has created a formula that allows him to turn into a monster. While trying to stop him they run into the Mystery Inc. Gang, who helps them take down the villain. 

There is a lot to enjoy about this episode. Dynomutt and Blue Falcon are fun and likable characters right from the start. The similarities between Blue Falcon and Batman just add to the fun, giving this episode an enjoy sense of light parody. Mr. Hyde is one the best Dynomutt villains. He has a wonderful design that is delightfully creepy and memorable. His gas that turns people into monsters that look like him, is an enjoyably creepy idea that makes him not only a good supervillain but a great match up for Scooby. The Mystery Inc gang are well utilized here and get some great moments. They have good chemistry with Dynomutt and Blue Falcon. The scenes between Scooby and Dynomutt are especially fun. At the same time the Scooby-Doo characters never take the spotlight away from Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, who are after all indented to the be the real stars. Just like in the actually Scooby-Doo episodes one of the best aspects here is the background art, which is great to look and provides a great sense of atmosphere. 

The humor may not be hilarious, but it has its charms. The humor here is more likely to make you smile than actually laugh.   


As the second half of The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour, Everyone, Hyde! was preceded by The Scooby-Doo Show episode, High Rise Hair Raiser (1976). Everyone, Hyde was directed by Charles A. Nicholas, who had previously been a director at Disney, where he directed many of the Pluto cartoons. 

This is simply a very fun episode. 

Movie Review: Tron Ares

 

Michael's Movie Grade: D

This film works better as a music video than it does an actual movie. 

Before I get to greatly criticizing this film, I must state that I absolutely love the soundtrack by rock band Nine Inch Nails. This did not come as a surprise since Trent Razor (one of the members of the band) has become one of my favorite film composers. Nine Inch Nails fully lived up to what I expected from them here. The 80's inspired synth pounding rock score is so much fun to listen to. On top of this it fits the world of Tron perfectly and even makes some mediocre action scenes briefly seem exciting. 

However, I can't help but wish this score was attached to a better movie. The main problem with this film is that it gives you nothing to connect with emotionally. All of the characters are completely bland and lacking any personality. The storyline is completely cliché and offers nothing that we haven't seen a million times before. It also seems to simply be going through the motions with little to no effort to put into it. The dialogue feels very forced and is not believable in the slightest. The falls completely flat. The world building is also extremely lacking and despite strong visuals the sci-fi world is never believable. 

Despite an excellent soundtrack and some strong visuals, this movie suffers from very weak writing. 

The Scooby-Doo Show: A Bum Steer for Scooby (1976)

 

A delightful episode. 

In this episode the gang goes to visit Daphne's uncle's ranch. However, the ranch is being haunted by a ghost bull and a ghostly Indian.  

There is a lot to enjoy about this episode. The desert setting is perfect for a Scooby mystery and allows for some wonderful background art. I especially love the purple canyons in the background. Adding to the great sense of atmosphere are the burial ground and the cave scenes. Both of which provide some excellent spooky moments. The moving skeleton in the burial ground is especially a lot of spooky fun as is the scene with the hawk. The bull ghost is also very memorable and fun. The humor is quite good in this episode. The slapstick with Scooby and Shaggy is excellent. 

This episode does have some flaws though. One is that we never spend any time with Daphne's uncle or get to know anything about his personality. Other realities of the gang have been simply more memorable. I also felt that though he is effective the ghostly Indian is too similar to other Scooby villains to be especially memorable. 
 
A bit of trivia, this is the first episode where Daphne's last name Blake was used though it is exclusively used for her uncle. 

While not perfect this episode is a lot of fun. 

The Scooby-Doo Show: A Frightened Hound Meets Demons Underground (1976)

 

Another wonderful Scooby mystery. 

In this episode, the gang investigates when demons are wreaking havoc in Seattle. 

Everything about this episode is fantastic. The demons have a delightfully creepy and memorable design. They also feel like a real threat to our heroes and provide some delightfully spooky moments. The way they appear in puffs of smoke and the creepy noise they make upon appearing make them even more spooky and fun. This episode also benefits from a great sense of atmosphere. This episode has some unique and memorable settings for a Scooby mystery. The underground city is an especially memorable setting. Not only is this setting wonderfully effective in and of itself, but the various abandoned stores underneath is equally fun. My favorite is one that is filled with statues of monsters and ghosts. What makes this scene even more fun is that some of the statues resemble characters from previous Scooby mysteries including Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf (1970) and Which Witch is Which (1969). This episode also has an especially fun climatic chase which masterfully mixes slapstick and thrills. Speaking of slapstick, the humor in this episode is often quite funny. The gag with Scooby and the shadow cracked me up. 

An excellent episode and a must watch for Scooby fans. 

The Scooby-Doo Show: Mamba Wamba and the Voodoo Hoodoo (1976)

 

A real fun episode.

In this episode, the gang reconnects with some old friends who have formed a musical group. The musical group has a new song based on an ancient voodoo chant. This song seems to bring back an ancient shaman, who plans to turn everyone into zombies. 

There is a lot to love about this episode. Mamba Wamba himself feels quite dangerous with how easily he seemingly dispatches the various band members (some of these scenes are delightfully creepy). He also has a wonderful creepy laugh and a great design. The zombies he creates from the band members are delightfully creepy and gives a great spooky feel. The design of the pink zombie is also quite creative and memorable. This episode also benefits from a great setting, which allows for some great background art, which gives a wonderfully spooky atmosphere. The scenes with Scooby and Shaggy in the swamp are especially effective in this regard. The slapstick is also excellent in this episode, especially as Fred's trap backfires and Scooby and Shaggy run through the swap scared (this scene makes for a perfect mix between comedy and suspense). 

If I had one complaint about this episode, it is that the song itself is rather bland and forgettable. For an episode whose plot centers around a song that is supposed to be the next big hit, the song should at least be better than this.

All in all an excellent episode.