Attack of the Crab Monsters

Starring: Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, Russell Johnson, Leslie Bradley
Directed by: Roger Corman
Rating: Approved
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction
1957

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of scientists and adventurers are stuck on an island dominated by giant telepathic crab monsters.

Review:

Tim: I want you to know that I didn't enter this movie expecting to hate it. Quite the opposite- I loved that at some point in the history of film, a group of people decided to get together and make a movie about giant crab monsters. The 1950s were a weird time for movies. I loved the idea of this film, although I was a little nervous about the quality of the film. Unfortunately, this movie is just a total mess. I didn't like it at all.

In a movie like this, all the focus is on the creature, when the focus needs to be on the human characters. Without character development, everything else falls apart. Sadly, the characters in this film were bland, boring, and forgettable. There really wasn't anyone I cared about in the least. The movie didn't do a good enough job of conveying the different personalities of the characters, so they all kind of blend together for me. I remember Pamela Duncan (as she's the only female cast member) and I think a guy that she was dating? honestly, I spent about a third of the movie wondering if they were actually an item or what was going on there. The movie didn't do a great job of specifying that. Speaking of Duncan, I strongly disliked her performance. I'm honestly surprised she had a career in Hollywood at all. She didn't impress me in any way. That's a shame. The rest of the cast was equally as forgettable.

The crab monsters themselves were kind of cool. They were significantly larger than I expected, although they were fairly slow moving, which made it ridiculous than the human characters kept dying at their hands. They should have been able to trot away faster than the crabs could walk. I kind of love the idea that the crab monsters could speak telepathically with the humans. This idea makes no sense at all, but it adds another quirky element to the film. I'm sure it was done out of writing laziness (how else to establish why they did what they did), but it was kind of cool, especially as they mimic the voices of the dead. I did think it was utterly ridiculous how people kept following voices away from their shelter into the island without telling anyone else. Oh well. I did enjoy the creepy sound of the crabs walking. That was one of the best parts of the movie (which isn't a good sign). The crabs themselves did look kind of cool, if you really suspend your disbelief.

Even at 62 short minutes, this film felt too long. It dragged in too many places and just felt redundant- the characters walk around the island for various reasons, running into the crab monsters. That's it. There was the strange explosions and earthquakes that added nothing to the story, too.

Overall, Attack of the Crab Monsters is just a movie that did not work. It never established realistic or likeable characters, the plot was paper thin, and it never gave the audience a reason to care. The crab monsters weren't cool enough to overcome any of these flaws. This is a movie that isn't worth watching.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 3.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Undead, The Thing from Another World