Attack of the Crab Monsters

I've got to tell you right from the start; I'm not a fan of these giant monster films. I am, however, a big fan of Roger Corman - and even though this silly flick isn't anything near as good as films such as his 'Edgar Allen Poe series', The Attack of the Giant Crab Monsters is a worthwhile B-movie. The film is typically low budget and not very well made, and it's not hard to believe that Roger Corman churned out dozens of these films. As the title suggests, the film follows the idea of a bunch of giant crab monsters - and when Corman says 'Giant Crab Monsters', he really isn't kidding as these things are huge! Basically, we follow a bunch of scientists researching a nuclear bomb site. The plot is hardly original, but seeing the giant crabs is fun and the acting in this film is always going to raise a smile. Attack of the Crab Monsters does show some imagination with its monsters, however, as the crabs have the ability to take in their victims conscious. It's not the greatest idea in the history of bad B-movies, but it is strangely chilling and the film is better for it. I can't say that there's a lot here for people who aren't into B-movies, but those that are should check it out.

Ah, Roger Corman, the purveyor of the finely tuned art of ten-dollar-to-shoot-and-distribute sci-fi movies. This, Attack of the Crab Monsters, is part of the minor boom in the B-movie world of the GIANT THING THAT WILL KILL YOU craze, where anything that could be done to capitalize on the threat of *the* bomb (remember, kids, by the way, duck and cover!) could be marketable for a short time, as long as not much real solid thought or questions were raised. Charles Griffith's script posits a group of scientists- off to seek out another expedition that went missing, on some small island out in the middle of A-Bomb-nowhere's-ville, and encounter a super-atomic species of land-crab that get possessed by those that they kill. They (or rather one at a time as Corman's budget had only enough for one crab at a time to shoot) project telepathically the 'souls' of those they kill, and can only be controlled by, gasp, electromagnetic fields!

So, once you get past the fact that there's not a shred of intellectual engagement here, that there's an opening title scrawl that comes out of a video game directing 'You' to be apart of the crab team and that the voice of the crabs are like the voice of God, and that the crab itself happens to have Asian eyes, it's fun crap. Crap, of course, not to be taken likely, as you and your friends can make a very fine MST3K right in your living room for no additional charge! On that level, it's classic stuff, and seeing one guy get his hand chopped off by a random rock, lots and lots of long takes of two of the scientists in deep-sea diving gear looking around for s***, is good for a gas. And the action is a real hoot, in that no-budget 50s tradition that combines miniatures that are really the production designer's toy-towns made by their kids and stock footage of LOTS of A-Bomb explosions, plus the crumbling field or two. Did I mention you can see the strings puppeting the crab? Will these directors never learn?

Roger Corman's Attack of the Crab Monsters is just one of many cheapo monster movies from the 50s to blame nuclear fallout for messing up nature, and features lots of the elements one might quite rightly expect from the genre—a team of brave US scientists (including the obligatory pretty female doctor), wooden acting, unconvincing locations, and crummy effects. However, it also manages to present a few unique ideas that elevate it above many of the standard 'mutated monster on the loose' creature features of the era.

The critters that grow to massive proportions in this film are land crabs that have been exposed to radiation from A-bomb tests, but rather than simply being scaled-up versions of regular crustaceans, these guys possess an atomic structure consisting of liquid in a permanent form, making them extremely hard to destroy; they also have the ability to assimilate their victims, absorb their knowledge, and lure further victims to their death by talking to them telepathically. Pretty far-fetched I know, but very creepy, the crabs eerie, echoey, disembodied voices being surprisingly effective.

Of course, given the movie's low low budget, the monsters themselves are pretty rubbish—awkwardly moving lumps of papier-mâché with gangly legs dangling uncontrollably, coat-hanger antennae, and massive human-like eyes that look really daft—but I wouldn't have it any other way: a badly designed, poorly constructed monster is half the charm of a B-movie like this.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for a couple of surprisingly nasty moments (a decapitated body and a severed hand—in black and white, but still pretty gruesome) and the somewhat unnecessary but enjoyable underwater swim by Pamela Duncan.

A bunch of people are on a remote island. They're there to study the effects of an H bomb explosion that took place nearby (uh oh). There was a former group there--but they disappeared without a trace (double uh-oh). Then they start to hear the voices of the former crew call to them at night...

I'm making this sound creepier than it actually is. This is basically a low LOW budget B movie with an admittedly novel idea (which I won't reveal). The cast of characters are the usual assortment we get in movies like this--a bunch of scientists (including Russell Johnson years before he played a scientist on "Gilligan's Island"), a muscular hero type (Richard Garland) and a hot woman (Pamela Duncan). The acting is actually good and the script pretty literate for this type of film. As for the giant crabs-----well it IS a Roger Corman picture! They're pretty funny--they look like they're made of paper mache and move VERY awkwardly. They're more funny than anything else. Still, this is a fun if silly B picture. You could do worse. I give it a 6.

In the late 1960's, television independents were not what they are today. They, the local stations, had little, to no money for quality program broadcasts. One of the tricks that many of these stations had was to strip, for a five day run, a low budget movie. Attack of the Crab Monsters was one of them. I loved the film as a child. Even though I was at such a young age, I could still comprehend how poorly this film was produced. Nevertheless I marveled at it's wonderful imagination.

After viewing it recently, I realized how special this film really is. Remember now, it has been almost 20 years since I saw this feature and while I was expecting to look at this work with nostolgic dismay, I was very surprised that it was so much fun to watch.

Forget logic, decent special effects or good acting, you won't find any of those things here. What you will find however, is a campy silly yarn with crabs that eat the brains of humans and by doing so, gain their knowledge and personality.

The crabs have wonderfully scarey faces. And believe it or not personality. Too bad this film is so hard to come by.

If there is, but, one hideously produced film, for you to see in you life time, make it Attack Of the Crab Monsters.