El monstruo vengador

"The Creature Walks Among Us" begins much like the first two Gillman films, "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954) and "Revenge of the Creature" (1955), with some doctors and a crew taking a boat down river to capture the merman. Instead of a small steamboat on the Amazon, however, it's a big ship speeding through some imaginary Everglades. Apparently, the filmmakers had no idea what the Everglades actually are, nor any concern that their audience might, as one would have more trouble finding a spot in the tropical wetlands to stand without their head being above water and where they weren't being eaten by alligators than they would from becoming unconscious from diving too deep in clear waters, which is what happens in the film. Regardless, there's more of the same lovely underwater photography and a tense sequence as they hunt and are hunted by the amphibious creature. Once again, the monster is captured and wreaks havoc when on the loose, too. Otherwise, this final creature feature is substantially different in tone and characterization.

The woman is quite the distraught and abused wife this outing, and like the rest of the main human cast, a disagreeable character. The Gillman seems to think the same, as he's less interested in her than he was in the last films' damsels. Out of boredom, she shoots sharks for sport and endangers the mission by her incompetence at deep-sea diving. Two other members of the crew hit on her repeatedly, one on whom is rapey about it, and the other makes clunky colonialist metaphors about men reaching for the stars or the jungle. Worst of all, though, is the woman's sociopath and jealous, beady-eyed husband, who dreams of being a mad doctor in the vein of a Frankenstein or Moreau by turning the Gillman into a Lung-man. The creature catching on fire during the film's best scene, however, along with a tracheotomy, causes this mutation for him, as his scales are burned off to reveal an under-layer of human skin, and X-rays reveal that he can breath without his lost gills because he also has lungs. No vivisection required.

The marriage drama is gloomy, and I could see how it might upset some horror fans' expectations, but I appreciate the change of pace, especially since the last two films were so repetitively similar. On the other hand, the pacing isn't as good here, especially compared to the first film, and is rather repetitive, replaying the same situations of marital squabbles and lecherous other men. There are a few too many characters, most of them being of no consequence, although this does lead to an early unintentionally-funny scene where they introduce each other with a greeting along the lines of, "Dr.... Dr.... Dr." And there's no explanation as to why the Gillman suddenly bulks up after shedding his scales. Yet, while spelling the end of the series by the Gillman also shedding his gills, the new makeup allows us to see the actor's eyes. His displays of strength, including a great final rampage, add some much-needed action to the plot, too. Instead of entrapment within the (former) illusion of Sea World tranquility of "Revenge of the Creature," he's essentially put in a concentration camp this time. The result is a more sympathetic creature, which along with the unsympathetic men, makes "The Creature Walks Among Us" more similar in some ways to "The Shape of Water" (2017) than to the first two creature features.

MORD39 RATING: *** out of ****

Why Oh Why do so many fans never let go of an original film and denounce any improvement that might be made? While the original film is a classic of the fifties, I think that was purely because it was the first (a distinct advantage most first films in a series have!)

The second film was only "okay," and was a rehash of the first one. But why I like #3 so much is due to the daring change made to the Creature himself. He looks truly menacing and powerful when he becomes a land being, but more importantly he becomes much more human-like. We get to see how docile he truly is, and how it turns out to be that destructive animal known as Man who really makes him wild.

When the Creature DOES get wild in this one, he's a REAL killing machine! The rampage he goes on in this movie still packs a jolt for me.

I seem to differ from many of my fellow "monster movie" fans because I find this film the best of the series and in many ways one of the better horror flicks from this era. The reason for this preference on my part is because the human characters are rich, the actors do an excellent job, especially Jeff Morrow, and the focus is on the relationships between the characters against the backdrop of the adventure of again capturing the creature and then dealing with what to do with him when they get him. These relationships are as complex as my last sentence. The film opens with establishing a very strained relationship between Dr. Barton and his wife Marsha by inference of their nonverbal behavior. We soon find that Dr. Barton is not simply a very suspicious man afraid of being turned into a cock old by his young sexy wife. He is exploding with paranoia and she is repelled by him. This sets the underplay of all the remaining events in the film. Dr. Barton is a narcissistic, arrogant man besides paranoid. And, these are his more charming features. Jeff Morrow, who usually played a good natured hero, gets to show his muscles an actor by making himself totally repulsive in this role. Rex Reason is very good in his role and does so by using his good looks, great voice and easy charm to underplay his part. Thus, he makes himself a pleasant contrast to the splenetic Dr. Barton. Leigh Snowden as Dr. Barton's wife Marsha is, well, very good and also underplays her sexuality so well that it becomes intense. For those who look at a "monster movie" and think the plot of the movie is the monster, which in a good monster film would never take place, this film is not for that person. For those who like a little gem of good acting and interesting characters- enjoy this film.

After seeming to have been killed at the end of each prior installment (with no explanation in this or the prior sequel how he survived), the Gill Man is now residing in the Everglades of Florida. Wealthy scientist Jeff Morrow has gathered a team of medical and scientific types to help him catch the Gill Man and study him. The creature is caught, but seriously burned in the process. Rushing him back to the boat, they wrap him up in bandages, and try to save his life. As he recuperates, his gills fall off, and a humanistic skin if found underneath. Okay, a little far fetched, but, the Gill Man is in between man and fish, so this plotline works. What got me was that the new human Gill Man is gigantic and lumbering in size, where the original was trim and athletic. That never made sense to me. Don Megowan (the new Gill Man) was a big fellow, and his size made him more menacing, but, I have always had a problem with that size and weight difference.

Again, we're treated to some excellent underwater photography. And, the action is on par. Jeff Morrow is nicely evil, and Rex Reason is ruggedly masculine as the hero. Leigh Snowden as Morrow's wife, lends the added touch of beauty to the story, and Greg Palmer's rather slimey character is played perfectly.

Almost any movie could have been improved upon (well maybe not an Orson Welles or Frank Capra film), and yes, there could have been some changes that would have made this better, but, I still like today as I did in 1956 when I first saw it. It's a proud member of my classic library. For most, this would be a fair at best movie, but, you gotta give 'em credit for trying to be original with the Gill Man, and not just rehashing parts one and two. Also, the team of Morrow and Reason always made for good viewing.

In the third and final installment of the "Creature" trilogy, it is clearer than ever that the real monsters are the scientists themselves, with their constant prodding and poking of nature. The Creature is bestial, but no more evil than a wolf or a lion, when you come down to it. He is a natural part of his landscape. But Man is not content to leave him there.

In the first movie, the scientists didn't really know there was a living Creature. That story was one of survival...kill or be killed. In the second film, Man is not content to let the Creature live his isolated existence, so he is captured, brought to civilization and displayed like a sideshow freak. In "Creature Walks Among Us", science now thinks it can "improve" the Creature. As one might expect, the results are tragic.

Millionaire scientist Bill Barton is obsessed with capturing the Creature and "tweaking" him. Barton himself is a seriously unbalanced man...abusive to his beautiful "trophy" wife and insanely jealous when she is in the company of other men. Barton is the ultimate control freak and as his hold over his wife weakens, he increases his control over the Creature, capturing him. When the Creature is severely burnt by a fire, Barton and his team of scientists convert him into a hulking, ungainly land beast that even wears clothes.

The "land" Creature is a pathetic sight and evokes tremendous sympathy. Despite the constant babbling of the egg-heads to the contrary,the Creature is not meant to be a land dweller. Graceful and natural in the water, he is a stumbling, confused brute in the air. Yet his instinct always guides him back to the water where he belongs.

As Barton's marital and mental condition deteriorates, it is also clear that humans are more purely hateful, grasping and neurotic than animals. Finally, both the Creature and Barton erupt into violent conflict.

The movie has its slow spots but is extremely well-directed, almost like a film noir. The scene where the Creature catches fire is breath-taking, but it's the haunting last scene of the movie that will stay with you. At the end, there is nothing "monstrous" about the Creature anymore. He is a victim, pure and simple. This radical concept makes this movie daringly different from almost every other 50's monster flick.

The acting is pretty good, with Rex Reason playing a sympathetic scientist who is the voice of reason. Jeff Morrow (who co starred with Reason in "This Island Earth") is nasty but nuanced as the grasping Barton. Leigh Snowdon is lovely as Barton's sexy young wife and also gives a pretty good performance.

More than just a monster movie, this is thought-provoking entertainment. "The jungle or the stars?" asks Dr. Morgan, concerning mankind's destiny. Watching "The Creature Walks Among Us" doesn't make me too optimistic about the stars...