Sting of Death

"Sting of Death" is an unbelievably tacky but irresistibly charming 60's monster movie that still attempts to cash in on the success of Universal's "Creature from the Black Lagoon" even though it was more than a decade already since that film hit big at the box office. But instead of the tropical Amazon jungle setting of "Creature…", we have a Florida Everglades setting (which is still a great location, by the way) and instead of a the convincing and genuinely scary missing-link type of amphibious creature here we have a … jellyfish man! Not just any type of jellyfish man, but a Portuguese Man o'War monster with a diving outfit and a big cry cleaning bag over his head! But the unusual – to say the least – origin of the monster is not the only reason why "Sting of Death" is such a legendary bad horror film! It's also one of those contemporary 60's flicks that insisted on portraying all teenagers like disrespectful and misbehaving juvenile delinquents doing nothing but dancing all day long. There's a downright hilarious sequence early in the film when a boat full of university students arrive on the Everglades Island. They jump ashore and promptly start dancing ludicrously. The music is quite atrocious (what do you expect from a song called "Do the Jellyfish" written & performed by Neil Sedaka?) and director William Grefe just repeatedly shows close-up images of girls shaking their bottoms. Then, suddenly, the teenagers spot the deformed and slightly retarded island handyman and unanimously interrupt their dancing to do some cruel bullying. They're so proud of themselves for being the crap out of a defenseless retard that they spontaneously start a Conga dance. Two minutes later, it's time for another shameless and integral 7 minute lasting dance montage; this time next to a pool. They're so busy dancing that nobody even notices the Jellyfish monster hiding in the pool and patiently waiting for the first stupid person to take a refreshing dive. The Everglades setting is terrific and the special effects (the dry cleaning bags) are tremendously inventive and charming, but the plot of "Sting of Death" is hilariously inept and imbecilic. The main characters are quite amusing, since they all feature at least one noticeably peculiar physical characteristic. There's the island professor (who owns the island estate) with a gigantic black spot on his forehead – kind of like former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev) – and he apparently enjoys walking around amongst the teenagers dressed in a tight and brightly colored short like he's some sort of old pervert. The lead hero acts like a life-size mannequin doll and he really seems terrified to move a muscle when he speaks. The finale of "Sting of Death" contains some unforgettable material like an underwater lair, a jellyfish breeding tank and the craziest showdown in history. If you like bad horror, this is a must see!

Got to give it 4/10. One point plus three more - 1) you've got Neil Sedaka singing, "Do the Jellyfish." 2) You've got really, really pretty color, better than a lot of mainstream films from the same era. 3) And the final man vs. monster confrontation is so hilarious that you'll play it over and over, if, of course, you're drunk on your ***.

Kind of disappointing, really, because this probably would've been more fun if it had either been inept and stupid start to finish, or if it had been 'way-over-the-top whack like an Al Adamson epic. Worth watching mostly so you can tell people about this messed-up movie you saw about a guy with a Portuguese Man-o'-War for a head.

[The other Southern film with a trashbag-based monster, of course, is Attack of the Giant Leeches.]

The main thing I dug about this movie is the cool pad under the sea where the jellyfish man hangs out! You swim down to the bottom of the lake and you find a cave. Swim through the cave you end up in a swingin' mad scientist lab/paradise cove! It's really cool, You come up through the floor of the lab and you're not underwater anymore. Surrounded by big foam rocks and special 60's science equipment in the walls, it's like a honeymoon suite or something! Plus, the color in this movie is really nice, and it makes everything seem a little extra appealing. Maybe that's why I was so impressed with this little hideout under the sea!

If you see this movie on the Something Weird DVD after "Death Curse of Tartu" you will be shocked to notice that the Florida everglades don't look like such a dismal place after all. They're all bright green and pretty, like a summer vacation! Tartu's movie make the Everglades look like hell on earth. Sting of Death shows the other side.

Lastly, my favorite thing about this movie - THE JELLYFISH. What are they, little Glad sandwich baggies tied up with sparkley ribbon floating in a lake somewhere? Just bobbing up and down like someone just ate a crazy piece of candy and threw their colorful and clear wrapper in the water. The fish don't move, just bob with the waves. They don't attack, they just chill. They don't even have recognizable jellyfish features. Since when do jellyfish heads stand out about 2 inches from the water and never sink under?

And the JELLYFISH man with the huge balloon head. I think I wanna be him for Halloween. Looked like a beach ball spray painted grey. I think I'd get too hot, though. And the deformed guy sometimes has a right eye and sometimes he doesn't. That's tricky!

This movie is funny. Watch it because it's funny. And the main girl looks like Winona Ryder and Alissa Milano mixed together. 5/10.

One of the more obscure works from 60's SF/Horror Cinema has raised its ugly head in the form of SOMETHING WEIRD'S VHS & DVD release (some early copies had tech flaws so beware unscrupulous dealers). Not so much awful as just plain dumb, STING OF DEATH has a few unintended yocks along the way for the "so bad its good" crowd, but is mainly numb and dull more than "fun". On the plus side, the photography and songs (by NEIL SEDAKA!) aren't half-bad, and the ladies are far more attractive than usual for this type of regional exploitation quickie (including DEANA LUND in her debut). But, the musical scoring is lax, the dialogue mostly lame and it has one of the most illogical creature costumes in history! To wit, a none-too-well disguised black wetsuit with a few rubber tentacles and big CLEAR plastic bag on an actor's head! This is the "jellyfish" monster! At first we were ready to give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt and assume the creature PUT ON the wetsuit before diving into the waters - but no, in the "climactic" sequence the creature transforms before us STRAIGHT INTO THE WETSUIT! And, you gotta laugh when you see the actor's pale white skin emerge from between the bottom leg of the wetsuit and the BLACK RUBBER FINS the "monster" has on!

Yes, it's a low budget schlocker but you've gotta give credit to this cast for playing it completely straight throughout the proceedings. And look for a pre "Land of the Giants" Deanna Lund as one of the groovy chicks coming to the doomed island. Looks like it was fun to film!