The Slime People

No, this is not the story of a bunch of McDonald's fry cooks. Nor is it the biography of my ex-bosses at a certain midtown NY ad agency. What "The Slime People" turns out to be is an extremely shoddily put together film depicting what happens when a race of lumbering, bipedal reptilians attacks L.A. from underground and erects a dome of fog around it. The "director," '40s star Robert Hutton, is also the action lead here, looking for all the world like a dressed-down Dan Hicks. His thesping is passable, but the small band that he falls in with emotes terribly...especially the two women. I don't think I've EVER seen worse acting. This film, although it lasts a mere 65 minutes, is guaranteed to induce a headache, (a) because the sound quality of this Rhino DVD is so lousy, and (b) because most of the film takes place in a dark, misty fog. Nothing seems to make any sense; the characters' actions and what they say all leave the viewer shaking his/her head in bafflement. Other than the admittedly cool-looking monsters (which, to the film's credit, we DO get to see in the opening seconds), the FX are god-awful. The machine that the Slime People are using to erect that impenetrable fog dome looks just like a wiggly Hefty garbage bag, and is as easily disposed of! All in all, "The Slime People" gives "Robot Monster" some competition as one of the worst films of all time. Don't miss it?

THE SLIME PEOPLE is an extremely low budget monster flick that has very little to recommend it, even for huge fans of this genre. For the most part this is talky and dull, charting the lives of a group of survivors who are hiding out in the mountains after the titular foes have taken over their city by lowering the temperature and filling the place with fog. There's a lot of back and forth argument and descriptions of places and events we never get to see, before things finally kick into gear with a low budget attack sequence right at the climax. To be fair, the creature costumes aren't all that bad, but it takes far too long to get to that point.

Well this is my first review. My grandmother tried to explain cateracts one time to me. I never really understood until the fog scenes in this movie. Slime creatures mysteriously appear and create a wall of fog which no one can get through. five people are trapped but manage to get out. The fog is so dense in this movie you literally can't see what's going on. The acting was quite bad but funny to watch, accept from the marine.......I kept rooting for the slime men and they couldn't finish the kid off. But all's well that ends well as always in old sci-fi movies. People figure out how to break through the wall and manage to kill a few slime people along the way and save the day as always. It's not really the worst thing I've ever seen and really not bad if you like old school scifi like I do.

Far from being a cinema classic, or even a classic of low-budget films, The Slime People still has a kind of charm that makes you want to stay with it until the end. Cheap sets and costumes, and pretty bad acting, make this one mostly forgettable, though the plot really isn't too bad. With a bigger budget and some better actors this might have been come off as a classic. Worth watching on a rainy Sunday afternoon if nothing else is on.

Plot

After Los Angeles is invaded by an army of subterranean monsters, a small group of people must fight for survival in the deserted metropolis.

Cast

Not familiar with anyone involved. Judee Morton however was the standout performer, though the competition wasn't exactly steep.

Verdict

When you go into a 60's B movie like this you must lower your expectations to crippling levels. You must be aware it was a different time and take these things into consideration. Alas even doing so The Slime People is weak stock and fails on most levels.

The cast are hokey, the creatures look horrendous, the plot is riddled with holes and nonsensical moments and though I don't think it's quite as bad as most here are making out I can't dispute that this is a very poor excuse of a science fiction flick even for it's time.

Rants

Is it wrong that I expected so much for from the slime people themselves? I expected, you know.....slime people. Creatures made of slime, not these.....I don't even know what they are. Outside of a bit of slime around the mouth (Which was probably drool, it was black and white after all) these weren't slimey in the slightest. So few actual slime monsters in movies, I don't know why this bothers me so much but it does #sad #moreslimepeopleplease

The Good

Has a slight charm Judee Morton

The Bad

Poor acting Dreadful "Fight" scenes Plot is awful Creatures are shoddy.