Blood Capsule #291

THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US (1956)

I'm a Gillman fanboy.  1955's Creature from the Black Lagoon is my top Universal horror film.  While it doesn't surpass its predecessor, 1955's Revenge of the Creature (man, they were really chucking 'em out back then) absolutely rocks.  I've always seen The Creature Walks Among Us as the weakest entry in the trilogy.  Why pick it to review?  I was curious to see how I felt about it as an old(er) man.  The plot finds a team of scientists capturing the Gillman in his native Ft. Lauderdale.  I mean, the Amazon.  During the muggy seizure, Gill sustains third-degree burns and loses some of the gills around his face.  Of course, the scientists respond by playing Let's Make Him Human.  This is never a wise idea.  My poor mother has been playing the same game with me for the better part of forty years.  It hasn't worked out so well for her, and predictably, it doesn't work for our protagonists either.  How does the platitude go?  You can give a Gillman lungs, but you can't...erm, keep him from bodyslamming government officials?

I had mild fun on this viewing, but the movie still has issues.  In fact, it has the same issues I recognized as a twentysomething.  The script wants to concern us with a love triangle.  I'm sorry, but the people involved are not interesting enough to support that kind of gambit.  There are pacing problems as well.  The second act slows to a crawl, which is where most of the affected drama takes place.  Sitting here, I can't even remember the names of the main characters.  Gill is most empathetic.  As per usual, the underwater photography is sublime.  As with the first two films, Ricou Browning dons the wetsuit for the water shots.  Here's something you may not know.  On land, the creature was played by David Lee Roth.  That explains the high kicks and other acrobatics.  Director John Sherwood also helmed The Monolith Monsters, although strangely, he didn't do much else.

The Creature Walks Among Us was the last of the original Universal horror heavyweights, so I can understand how it might be a sentimental favorite.  The Sammy Hagar era is divisive, but--gee golly, what is it with me and Van Halen jokes today?  Stay frosty.