Serpiente de mar

My review was written in May 1986 after watching the movie on Lightning video cassette.

"The Sea Serpent" is a low-grade Spanish monster picture shot in 1984 in Portugal and Spain. Entry is aimed at youngsters who like watching miniatures (here in the form of boats, train, helicopter, lighthouse, bridge and monastery) and went directly to video cassette release Stateside.

Timothy Bottoms portrays Capt. Barrios, a seafarer given a second chance after an accusation of being drunk on a disastrous earlier voyage wherein the brother of Lenares (Jared Martin) was lost at sea.

In a prologue, a U. S. bomber in trouble drops an A-bomb in the sea, exploding it (stock footage of a mushroom cloud) so s to avoid the sophisticated weapon being retrieved by a nearby Russian boat. The explosion awakens a sea monster on the ocean floor, and said monster proceeds to destroy Barrios' ship.

At a naval hearing, disgruntled Lenares testifies that Barrios was drunk at watch again, and no one believes the captain's tale about a sea serpent. Stripped of his captain's license and subject to criminal proceedings, Barrios leaves Spain and heads for isbon after reading a newspaper story about a woman who reported seeing a sea monster there.

He finds her (Taryn Power) in a hospital and breaks her out, the tow of them traveling to a university to consult Prof. Wallace (Ray Milangd, in his final feature film) about the monster's legend.

After having seen the monster himself, Lenares turns over a new leaf and joins up with the heroes, the four of them going hunting. They singe the beastie when an oil car of a passing train falls on it and explodes, with the monster swimming away towards Africa, setting up (horror of horrors) the prospects of a sequel.

Since the monster is alternately hand puppet or a full-view Venus Flytrap-styled mouth for chewing hapless cast members, picture is obviously for smallfry only. Articulating in English but crudely dubbed, cast is bland and tech credits weak.

A silly, yet lightly enjoyable low-grade Spanish sort of Jaws knock-off (even just listening to the rehashed John Williams' music score) that also provides shades of 1950s atomic monster films. How this sea serpent comes about, is presented in the dodgy opening set-up with some unintentionally amusing dialogue exchanges and over-the-top actions. The cause is that of a nuclear bomb being dropped in the Atlantic Ocean, where the radiation escalates the growth of an eel that goes on to terrorise the coast of Portugal. For some reason after hearing the witnesses trying to explain what they saw, I started to think of another possible outcome that maybe it laid dormant to be only disturbed by the bomb, but that being the case I don't think they would have made such a big deal that it was atomic.

"THE SEA SERPENT" (aka HYDRA) pretty much lives and dies on its goofy second-rate special effects, ridiculous plotting and ham-fisted performances (or better put dubbing). There's nothing subtle about it. Just look at those twirling beady eyes, as this hand-puppet serpent pops up from the sea?! Something which I wouldn't have associated director Amando de Ossorio, as he gave us the dread-induced, atmospheric "BLIND DEAD" films. Exotic coastal locations stick out, in spite most of the action occurring at night. When our titular squealing serpent isn't taking out its frustration on miniature models (the lighthouse being my favorite), or repetitively using flailing victims to floss its teeth - it can be fairly flat watching Timothy Bottoms (playing sea captain, and looking the part) trying to convince everyone of his monster story (even physically showing us in one sequence how this beast moves), although Ray Milland, when he does show up, evokes much needed stability.

Thrilling film in low budget plenty of chills , screams and lots of silly amusement . I admire creative effort to keep budget down , but this time is too little . It deals with an American Air Force jet carrying a atomic bomb is forced to drop it in the Ocean. Then , there takes place a nuclear detonation in the Atlantic that re-animates a giant sea monster . The creature terrorizes the Spanish coastline , capable of causing death and destruction . 1985 , Galicia , Spain , a sea captain , along with a seaman (Jared Martin) aboard a boat called ¨Alcantara¨ and set out in fishing when the strange monster attacks , being sunk and the crew devoured alive . Later on , the captain , whose ship was sunk by the monster , is condemned , but he escapes and join forces with an American tourist (Taryn Power , Tyrone Power's daughter) whose best friend was eaten by the monster in Estoril , Portugal . The couple goes to Lisbon asking for help a respected as well as likable professor (this film was Ray Milland's last theatrical feature) and both of whom team up to stop the beast .

"Hydra" is a humdrum adaptation based on monster movies from a story and screenplay by the same director , Amando De Ossorio . This is a middlingly entertaining European monster movie in the 50s style , though packs absurd situations and cheesy frames when takes place monster appearance , attacking swimmers, boats and lighthouses without mercy . ¨Sea serpent¨ is an atmospheric as well as eerie movie that contains bemusing scenes when appear the giant monster and take place his attacks in some ridiculously made scenes , including primitive special effects . The picture has numerous "older technique" FX such as transparency , miniatures , matte paintings, scale models , reverse-footage , trains and helicopter similarly to toys ; all of them were made by Amando De Ossorio and makeup artist Fernando Florido . It's a slight fun with professional make-up , naive special effects , functional art direction and passable set decoration by Jose Luis Galicia who designed several Paella Western . You will watch it and think it is either awful , hilarious, a masterpiece, or all three . It's a simple entertainment with embarrassing images , naive special effects , campy production design and evocative setting . Although critics do not appreciate much this picture ; however has a kind of loopy , Ed Wood quality that must be endured to be totally considered . The fable is mostly silly and laughable , though a few Naif effects and action are professionally made . Some illogical parts in the argument are more than compensated for the excitement provided by the monster appearance though some scenes are a little bit cheesy and ridiculous . While not a hit during its original run, the film has got a limited gossip , when reissued many years later considered to be one of the best worst monster films of cinema history .

"Hydra: Monster of the Deep" was lousily directed by Amando De Ossorio . Amando was a slick craftsman who began in films as a writer and assistant director and continued his career by making short films and industrial documentaries . He was one of the main directors of the Spanish horror boom in the 70s, specially for his quartet of films about the living dead Templars which started with his first great success and immensely popular ¨Tombs of the Blind dead¨ which to be continued by a trilogy : ¨Return of evil dead¨ , ¨Ship of Zombies or Blind dead 2¨ and ¨Blind dead 3 or The night of the sea gulls¨ . Amando owns his own studio and created and/or designed many of the simple special effects sequences you see in any of his many imaginative undertakings . Amando who recently passed away was a good craftsman who realized a lot of amusing as well as entertaining films . He displayed a varied career and specialized on all kind of genres as Western in "Rebels in Canada" and "Grave of the Gunfighter" , Monster movie as ¨Serpent of sea¨ and , of course, Terror as ¨Malenka¨ , The possessed¨ and ¨night of witches¨ . Ossorio also studied painting and photography , moreover, he also made his living as a painter of creepy images of the Knights Templar in his later years.

'Hydra' -- better known as 'The Sea Serpent' or 'Serpiente de Mar' -- this low budget horror film involves an eel that mutates into a giant monster after exposure to nuclear radiation, terrorising locals boating off the coast of Lisbon. As one might imagine, the film has formed a cult following in Portugal as one of few horror movies filmed there, but the worth of the film is debatable. Firstly, the plot does not add up. The films opens with the Americans deciding to drop a nuclear bomb in the ocean to prevent Russia from realising they have one and retaliating, which is sort of logical; what isn't logical is them activating the bomb before dropping it (!), producing a giant mushroom cloud that the Soviet Union would have to notice! The film also features possibly the most blatant rip-off of the John Williams theme to 'Jaws' and the acting leaves a lot to be desired. Most vexing of all though is that the title creature is never very scary. When Timothy Bottom first sees the creature and shirks back, it is unclear whether he retreating in fear or simply shock at the second rate creature effects. For all its vices though, 'Hydra' is difficult to dislike a film with glow-in-the-dark fish and a local hospital that looks like a five-star hotel. The sardonic, near Kafkaesque dilemma Bottoms finds himself in also resonates, held responsible for sinking his ship as a result of being a soul survivor rather than acknowledged as a hero for warding off the beast. A scene where he wildly acts out the movements of the serpent in a hotel room (oops--hospital room) also needs to be seen to be believed.

and abysmal, over-the-top acting, you might enjoy this rubbish flick.Apparently atomic bombs makes life mutate in about a day or two (or according to other viewers, wake them up). Or so it seems. And apparently massive atomic explosions off the coast of Spain doesn't make anyone ask any questions at all. Coming to think of it, the plot doesn't make sense in any way whatsoever (why would evil sock puppets attack lighthouses?), so the nukes going off for no reason at all doesn't stand out too much.

OK, getting past this, and the fact that the "monster" is a glorified thing you make of socks in kindergarten, you may actually be able to stand this. But for once the complete lack of gore doesn't help, leaving the monster attacks in all their naked rock-bottom-budget "glory".

I doubt you'll be able to watch this though, so better stay well away.