Creature from the Haunted Sea

Usually I'm pretty charitable to this kind of low-budget flick, since these people work just as hard (and in most cases, much harder) than their big-studio counterparts to make movies and to me the difference between oh, say, this and "Scream" usually has more to do with money than talent.

This one is different. No attention to plot, etc, no attempt to create suspense, etc. The whole freebooters preying on the Cuban revolution thing is a underexplored angle for a better movie. This one, however, sucks. Even an infomerical would be a better choice. Avoid.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about this film, judging by the reviews and the low rating. As should be obvious to any halfwit, "Creature from the Haunted Sea" isn't meant to be taken seriously and it isn't trying to be gripping or suspenseful or scary. It is in fact a completely unhinged example of filmic surrealism and is closer to Alfred Jarry than to William Castle or any of Corman's other horror films. Personally I loved every character in this mess. I loved Carbone doing Bogie in The African Queen and the deckhand with his feral yelps and Mama (who looked like a cross between Della Reese and Juanita Hall) in her flowered tutu and the girl named Mango...it goes on and on. I liked especially the way the strange off-kilter and mostly bad acting kept undermining any sense of stability in the formation of the characters' personnae.

Too bad that the Latin stereotypes serve to date the film. But still, the Cuban military men are undeniably funny in the way that all bureaucrats, of whatever color or persuasion, are funny.

The sound quality is unfortunately very poor, and this film is in serious need of restoration. But for those who don't take these things seriously, you will encounter something remarkably original and yes, funny. Also check out "The Last Woman on Earth" which uses the same shooting locale and some of the same actors but overlays a basically simple post-apocalypse plot with ponderous existential musings.

Roger Corman is a major figure in the world of low budget pictures and he brought pace ,energy and wit to a wide variety of cinematic genres .I will maintain to my dying day the The St Valentine's Day Massacre is the best post World War 2 gangster picture bar none and his Poe adaptations are stylish ,elegant and finely wrought . However it is idle to pretend that his career does not have its share of dross and this tedious nonsense is a severe test to viewer patience. Its plot revolves around a scare story invented by a gang of U S adventurers who try to scare off treasure hunters with tales of a monster guarding the treasure .Guess what -turns out there is a monster after all and he wreaks havoc on the gang .

The tone is intended to be humourous -the gang leader is played as a Bogart parody ,there is a bungling and inept US spy ,a gangsters moll and -most teeth clenchingly irritating of all - a crew member who communictes mostly in bird and animal noises .Add some dated Latino stereotypes and a laughable inept monster and even at artound 70 minutes this an ordeal.

To work a comedy horror needs to be funny and horrific -this is neither,

Gangster, Renzo Capetto (Antony Carbone) makes a shady deal in Cuba, resulting in his acquiring a fortune in gold. Capetto, his thugs, his girlfriend (Betsy Jones-Moreland), and a few Cuban soldiers, set out for Puerto Rico in a boat.

Along for the ride is the bumbling, Sparks Moran, alias: Agent XK150 (Robert Towne), trying to get the goods on the whole mob. When Capetto's men set out to knock off the extra passengers, a hideous sea monster watches! Looking like a cross between a compost heap and a goggle-eyed Christmas tree, it pursues the group relentlessly! Then, it attacks! As their numbers diminish, they must battle for survival against the humongous, killer salad.

CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA is the kindred spirit of BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE. The two share very similar plots, with SEA being set -mostly- on water instead of snowy hills. While both are pretty good, this movie uses more humor to great effect. Beautifully absurd, this is more fun than a barrel full of sea biscuits! Producer / Director Roger Corman shows once again, his acumen for filming these crackpot quickies...

So many people seem to believe that this was supposed to be a straight-up horror film. It is anything but that. Creature From the Haunted Sea is a broad farce first, a political satire second, and finally a horror film/creature feature third. In fact, the said creature in the title has barely a presence in this film at all.

Roger Corman obviously wanted to make a silly comedy with political undertones about the times, but always the businessman, he knew to throw in a monster and cool sounding title to bring in the ticket buying public. Folks need to realize when they watch this to not expect a nail biting thriller or blood curdling horror film. This is comedy all the way.

The film is about an American gangster who agrees to transport a couple of Cuban military officers and some of their men off the island after Castro's revolution. They also bring along a large part of the Cuban treasury. Also aboard the boat is an undercover spy for the American government, who is trying to figure out what all is going on. The gangster also has his girlfriend with him and a couple of hired hands, one of which is his girlfriends brother and the other a strange fellow who makes animal noises all the time. The gangster decides he would like the money the Cubans have brought along for his own and decides to bump them off one by one, blaming things on a local legend about a sea monster. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that the legend is true and there is really a sea monster.

The acting in this film is fine for what it is and the actors play their roles like they should. Its a Corman picture so you know its a cheapie, as the monster is one of the silliest looking creatures I have ever seen. I really didn't laugh at anything in the movie, though it caused me to elicit a small chuckle a couple of times. The picture moved along briskly enough and wasn't a bore, though it didn't thrill me either. My biggest gripe is that so many DVD companies who have released this try to pass it off as a serious horror film. Anyone expecting that will be sadly disappointed.

Not a terrible movie, but not what you would probably expect either.