The Horror of Party Beach

The Horror of Party Beach has got to be one of the all time great "Z" grade movies. To a 12 year old kid these monsters were so cool. I didn't care about acting or production values back then, this was great cinema! While it featured the very first slumber party massacre on film, (quite bloody and graphic for its time), it also had some of the funniest dialog and scenes ever put on film. Some teenagers recruit the help of the local college professor to kill these radioactive sea creatures. He discovers by accident( the family maid Eullabelle spills some salt onto a severed limb left by one of the beastly denizens) that sodium can destroy them. This sequence with the maid is hilarious! The fact that the professor has to drive from Conn. to N.Y. just to get a large supply of salt is absurdly funny in and of itself. The Del-Aires are on hand for your musical pleasure, singing their smash hits Zombie Stomp and Elllllaaaiiinnneee! Where was Dick Clark when all this was happening? I rate it a Fiiiiiiiive!

All in all, this movie still holds a special place in my heart. But if you want a similar type of film, only better, check out Roger Corman's 1980 cult classic " Humanoids From the Deep".

Classic camp drive-in horror of the 60's is a gem for those who love these kind of flicks.

Toxic chemicals dumped into the ocean result in some Sesame Street sea monsters that terrorize a Conneticut community!

As its title implies, Horror of Party Beach is one cheesy piece of horror schlock complete with all those wonderful old drive-in elements! You've got it all - silly looking monsters, lots of dumb teens, lots of old rock songs, plenty of big-haired bimbos, and enough hokey dialog to crush a small city! It's a nostalgic riot for those who love old monster flicks. Despite all of its flaws Horror of Party Beach does have some nicely spooky scenes and some surprising goriness!

The cast is pretty much as good as one would expect for a movie like this. The late Eulabelle Moore is a big stand out though as the paranoid house maid. She thinks the monsters are a result of voodoo and she doesn't mind voicing her opinion! Eulabelle, you are golden.

A totally enjoyable B monster romp that's thankfully coming to DVD soon. Those who love the genre must see it!

*** out of ****

Believe it or not, this is NOT the worst horror movie ever made. That dishonor would have to go to either "Manos, the Hands of Fate" or perhaps "Demonwarp." At least "Party Beach" is somewhat entertaining.

Radioactive waste dumped into the ocean, just off of a popular beach party site, reanimates human skeletons and turns them into huge salamanders with cookie monster eyes and mouthfuls of hotdogs. They promptly go on a killing spree, the first victim being the obligatory slut in a bikini. After that, the monsters crash a pajama party, make off with three dimwitted broads (whose car conveniently breaks down just mere inches from the monsters hideout) and actually deign to kill a couple of drunken MEN! I mean, fully clothed men who aren't sexy or in bikinis or anything! Wow! Anyway, it's up to the towns brilliant scientist, his expressionless daughter and her hunky slab of whitebread boyfriend to stop the monsters!

Yeah, this is pretty dumb stuff, but the beach scenes are a lot of fun with some GREAT music by the Del Aires. The monsters are ridiculous, the acting is atrocious and the plot barely makes sense, but this film has an odd, innocent charm to it nevertheless.

Horror of Party Beach, The (1964)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Insane cult classic from director Del Tenney who also made the infamous I Drink Your Blood. Dumb scientists are dumping toxic waste into the ocean, which in turn creates half fish, half zombie monsters that start attacking the locals and drinking their blood. This is one of those infamous bad films that has gained a huge cult following over the years and it's easy to see why since this film has pretty much everything. This is certaily a very poor movie but there's just a certain charm that keeps it entertaining throughout. We've got jocks, bikers, sluts, sea monsters, bad rock 'n roll, insane dialogue and everything else. The sea monsters are some of the dumbest looking monsters ever created but that adds to the charm. The dialogue is also very silly but this here gets plenty of laughs as well. If you're into these 'so bad they're good" films then this here is a must see. The original rock 'n roll songs in the film are also terrible, especially "Zombie stomp".

At the beginning of this film, you'd think you were watching one of those "beach party" musicals as The Del Aires - a so-so group of the day - provide us with some rock music of the time period. Hey, we even got a folk song later by a couple of girls. It wasn't exactly Joan Baez and company, but they weren't bad.

Alice Lyon as "Elaine Gavin" may be one of the all-time worst actresses I've even seen on film. It is no shock this is her only movie. Some of the other actors ranged from bad to decent.

However, it's the "monsters" - the guys with the "Creature From the Black Lagoon" suits but with better eyeballs and hot dog-like appendages hanging from their cheeks - that mainly make this horrible film a hoot, making not really horrible but good because it was fun to watch.

To its credit, it was fairly fast-moving, too, with enough action to keep one's interest. The "creatures" were an active bunch! It all makes for decent viewing if you are a fan of the 1950s schlock monster and/or sci-fi films.

Recommended!