THE SHE-CREATURE (1956)
I have to be honest. I wanted to like this movie more than I did. It's in my wheelhouse. There is nothing inherently wrong with it. Let me do the synopsis thing, and then I'll try to make sense of it all. An occult hypnotist has smoothed out the wrinkles of his road show. He subverts the will of his lovely assistant through the power of suggestion, and presumably, her soul is transmigrated back in time. She links up with her past life as a...um, a crawfish? A brawny barnacle maybe? I don't know what the hell it is, but it's beginning to vacate the ocean in search of...um, companionship? Refreshments maybe? I don't know what the hell it wants. Huh, it just occurred to me that I don't know anything about The She-Creature. The monster is cool, though! There are shades of The Monster of Piedras Blancas, which is simply divine. One day, I need to type up a definitive list of "fishman" flicks.
So where does this AIP picture go wrong? It's hard to quantify. There are far too many scenes of Dr. Lombardi (the aforementioned hypnotist) explaining the plot to cops and reporters alike. On the upside, the cast is game. Marla English is enticing as the diffident Andrea. Apparently, Peter Lorre rejected the script outright. But again, the film doesn't actually veer off course. I just wanted more of the she-creature. This is fine entertainment for a late autumn night. Coincidentally, I watched it on Halloween, although I'm not sure when this review will be published. Director Edward L. Cahn also gave us Invasion of the Saucer Men and The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake among many, many others. The She-Creature was remade in 1968 as Creature of Destruction. Man, I'm dying to see that one. No, I'm not being sarcastic.
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