Criaturas do Fundo do Mar

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.

This is pre-Airplane humor. Anyone who thinks this is a "monster movie" will be sadly disappointed. My first clue? The very first scene has a guy getting his shoes shined. And what is he wearing? White canvas sneakers. There are lots of quirky dialog that doesn't even need MST3000K to make jokes about. "Did you get that?" "Right. Where do I turn for the decoder pin?" "Left." "Left?" "Right." "Right". And the classic, "It was dusk. I could tell because the sun was going down."

Nothing in this movie was intended to be "horror". But if you listen closely and watch, you'll find plenty to laugh about. Kind of clever, actually.

The movie is a deliberately bad b-rated comedy crime-horror. It was made for giggles and not meant to be a great crime-drama (it simply spoofs crime-dramas).

I had a couple of laughs with the film so the movie is not all that bad but it's not all that good either. For me it was missing something; I think it was missing a bit more comedy-horror because the comedy crime-drama seemed to dominate the film. Maybe it was just me expecting more of a comedy-horror since that is how this film's genre is labeled.

Don't expect to see the creature/monster often either because you will not. That might be part of my disappointment with the film - not enough monster.

There is an overall drabness to the film too - as if there was some other element missing to make the film stand out a bit more. It's not an overly dull film but it is a bit on the drab side.

I felt the movie had the potential to be funnier than it really was. It's not a down right awful film but it is not a b-rated film that stands out in the crowd of "bad but good" b-rated horror flicks.

I would say this is a good morning or afternoon film for those who would like to watch it for the first time. And, for me personally, the movie really is good for a one time watch just to say "I've seen the film".

4.5/10

**SPOILERS** One of Roger Corman's early work in the field of international and political intrigue. The movie takes place in early 1959 in Cuba that has just been overrun by Castro's revolutionary troops with the remnant's of the ousted Batista Regime running for their lives to avoid a Cuban revolutionary firing squad.

With the Castro forces bearing down on him loyalest Cuban General Tosdada attempts together with a squad of loyalist troops to leave the island with what's left of the Cuban Treasury that amounts to a foot-locker of gold bullion. With only Mafia boss Renzo Capetto being able to get Gen. Tosdada off the island with his yacht it soon becomes evident that Renzo is far more interested in the gold Tosada has with him then in the safety of him and his troops.

Together with his two henchmen Happy Jack Monahan and the somewhat mentally retarded Pete Peterson Renzo attempts to fool Tosdada into thinking that the waters off Cuba is the home of this horrible sea creature who's out to get him and his boys on board Renzo's yacht. There's also a side story in the film involving CIA undercover agent Agent XK150 code name Sparks Moran who infiltrated Renzo's gang in order to get enough evidence on him to have him put away for among other things tax evasion. Agent XK150 soon falls heads over heels in love with Renzo's girlfriend, and Happy Jack's sister, Mary-Belle Monahan who despite Agent XK150 swearing his eternal love for her can't stand the very sight of him!

The film really picks up when the sea creature makes his grand appearance with him offing the Cuban troops without Renzo & Co really knowing that he's doing it. The creature looking like he's outfitted with a bunch of garbage bags tied together with strings of seaweed and two eyes looking like fried eggs is about the best thing in the film. It, the sea creature, even rivals the beautiful Mango Happy Jack's island girlfriend who in fact ends up getting eaten by it in the films closing minutes.

**SPOILERS** The films ends with all the bad guys as well as Cubans getting offed by the sea creature with Agent XK150 making it to the safety on a deserted Caribbean island with his new love, with Mary-Belle ending up as the creatures lunch, Senorita Rodriguez to live happily ever after. This is a big jump for Agent XK150 in now living with the senorita rent free and with an unlimited supply of coconuts and banana, that's both healthy and nonfattening,for the rest of their lives. That's far better for Agent XK150 then the meager, even by 1960 standards, $41.00 a week that the US Government is paying him. As for the sea creature he's back home under the waves of the Caribbean Sea with the remains of the Cuban Treasury that he, only consisting on fish & seaweed, has no idea what to do with!

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.