Le scorpion noir

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.

By the late 1950s, filmmakers must have been running out of insects that they could mutate and transform into giant monsters. Audiences had already been treated to such fare as "Them" (giant ants), "Tarantula" (spiders), "The Monster From Green Hell" (wasps), "The Beginning of the End" (grasshoppers), "The Deadly Mantis" (praying mantises), et al. All of which, I suppose, left scorpions. Hence, "The Black Scorpion," in which a Mexican volcano belches forth a slew of the title nasties to terrorize the countryside. This film, a poor man's "Them" but still better than some of the others just named, features impressive stop motion FX from master Willis "King Kong" O'Brien (although close-ups of the scorpions' slavering countenances are pretty ridiculous looking), realistic-looking shots of a countryside shadowed by that smoldering volcano, and a formulaic 1950s monster script. It also boasts three exceptional scenes: a descent into the subterranean lair where the scorpions and other giant creepy-crawlies dwell; a scorpion attack on a speeding railway car; and the final battle, in a sports arena, between the last surviving arachnid and the Mexican army. Mara Corday, who also starred in "Tarantula," here adds some nice eye candy, and '50s sci-fi stalwart Richard Denning is his usual sturdy self. All in all, not a bad time killer...and, on this DVD incarnation, with some nifty extras, too.

Another stop motion classic from the atomic age. Giant scorpions awakened by volcanoes menace Mexico. You think a swarm of giant scorpions is bad, wait until you see the biggest and baddest of the bunch...The Black Scorpion!!

Willis O'Brien (the effects genius from King Kong) gets more than alittle help from Pete Peterson animating these arachnid monstrosities in all their stop-motion glory.

The effects were very well done, but unfortunately the transparent matte shots of the Black Scorpion entering Mexico City are terrible. Almost to the point where it ruins the movie. As is the constant (once or twice would be enough) close up of the scorpions face (which is a drooling animated prop). It would have been wonderful to see the Black Scorpion trashing buildings and attacking people in the city rather than a poor matte shot of the scorpion running through the streets.

Still overall a very enjoyable flick. The acting was actually pretty good compared to most of the genre films from the time.

The best scene from this film (hands down) was the descent into the underground lair of the scorpions, which also features not only a giant freaky worm, but a huge freaky looking trapdoor spider as well! The spider and worm prop were from the famous deleted "bottom of the ravine" scene from King Kong. So this is as close as you're going to get to reliving that infamous lost scene. Other great sequences include two scorpions battling the giant worm in a fight to the death, the scorpions swarming over and attacking a train at night, the Black Scorpion slaughtering the smaller scorpions, and the climatic fight between the Black Scorpion and the Mexican military in a soccer stadium.

I miss these kind of movies!

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.

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.