Le scorpion noir

Black Scorpion, is another semi classic, 50s giant monster movie. It should have been called the scorpions that ate Mexico. If you enjoy other movies from the 50s that feature giant insects or other huge monsters wreaking havoc on mankind, you will also like Black Scorpion. You do have to keep in mind that this was made in 1957. Don't be looking for the thrills you can get from the special effects in today's horror movies. The movie has to be viewed within the context of the time it was released. For it's time, the special effects were great. This was truly a scary movie for it's time and continues to be exciting today. I found this to be a very entertaining movie and recommend it to anyone who enjoys the giant monsters of the 50s and early 60s. Enjoy.

Way above average giant insect thriller, mainly due to the awesome special effects of Willis O'Brien ("King Kong" - 1933). Three set-pieces are superb: the first appearance, rather unexpectedly, of heroine Mara Corday talking to telephone linemen, who soon are under attack, then the train wreck which is terrifying and bizarre, and the final confrontation in the stadium, featuring grand editing and surprising touches. Mexico setting works well, music and sound effects are exemplary, sub-Earth sequence featuring more creatures is eerie. Title refers to the largest creature in the climax, budgetary limitations revealing a black traveling matte, still mystical, with fascinating zoom-in camera shots. Some have faulted the scorpion's "drooling" close-ups, but I find them bone-chilling. Even the main titles are innovative - alternating flashing white/black letters on white/black backgrounds, set to gripping soundtrack. Defects: some poorly-executed process shots, and the leading actors, Corday, Richard Denning, and Carlos Rivas, are hammy and unsubtle and a Corday-Denning romance occurs too late in the script, especially after all the mayhem.

This little gem from Warner Brothers is actually a pretty good movie for it's time and genre. The basis of the story is that 2 scientists, one American, one Mexican, head to Mexico to study an erupting volcano. What they find however, is nest underground of huge scorpions that are terrorizing Mexico City. The special effects are good for the era, the scorpion drools and makes scary sounds. The acting is so-so, Richard Denning overacts at times, and the relationship with the ever lovely and B movie horror queen Mara Corday, is not well developed, and the little Mexican boy "Juanito" is nothing short of annoying. But overall the story works helped by the great special effects and the good storyline. A fun movie to watch on a rainy Saturday night.

When you watch films like this, you must put aside your ideas of what are or are not good special effects......if we compare all older movies with present films with modern technology, we would write off classics like "King Kong" and "Lost World" because they don't look like "Jurassic Park". Times change, computer generated effects are "in" and we sometimes forget that people like Willis O'Brien were pioneers in the fx field, working with little but their imagination and creativity. So enjoy this typical 50's Big Bug entry for what it is. I have seen it a number of times and have a little soft spot in my heart (not my head!) for it. It is full of those actors that were popping up all the time during the 50's as second leads or in "B" films. The cavern scene with the worms and scorpions is pretty damn good but that little brat Juanito needed to be scorpion bait from the beginning! Probably the funniest thing in the film is the reaction of the military men in the stadium when one of their own gets electrocuted because someone forgot to turn off the power....they just blow it off and go on. It's a fun film......just enjoy it and don't think too much.

A volcano erupts and spits up these scorpions that are huge and prehistoric. This is the premise for The Black Scorpion, a 50's sci-fi/giant bug film. As cheesy 50's films go, this one is entertaining, if not a little slow in places. The Mexican landscape looks authentic and the scorpions themselves are pretty good when left in the hands of Willis O'Brien. But the close-ups of the creatures are a bit overused, almost to the point of becoming annoying. The scorpions kill each other off until one giant one is left to wreak his vengeance(and whet his appetite) in Mexico City. The best scene is the one when scientist Richard Denning(and his incredibly boring assistant Carlos Rivas, and annoying stow-a-way Juanito) are lowered into a giant cavern and the realm of Willis O'Brien's wonderful stop-motion animation. The rest of the film is rather predictable but still entertaining, and Mara Corday is at least pleasant to the eye as she must have had her clothing painted onto her.