Queen Crab

Following a series of accidents, the sheriff of a small-town come to believe the stories about his niece raising a monstrous crab from her youth that was ingested with a growth hormone that made it huge which has now gotten loose and terrorizing the community, forcing him to deal with her creature to save the town.

This was a pretty solid and enjoyable throwback offering. Most of that fun is based on the old-school charm found throughout here in the special effects. Dripping with a wholly enjoyable dedication to the stop-motion effects work found for the main creature, both in the opening set up in the past that it shows it around the more traditional size or the full-size creature running wild on its rampage or acting gently with the girl who raised it that serves as s fun start to the action in the second half. This has a lot of screen time letting it get quite a lot of impressive elements to like here. There's also a lot to like with the fun reveal of the town they live in which sets things in motion. From the interactions at the barn showing off the citizens in the town to their different individual plotlines showing how they back together as friends to the various histories of everyone involved, this offers a fun way to get into things. That then allows for enough motivation and general information to be had that it remains quite interesting to dive into so that those action scenes feature some heartwarming moments as it interacts with the townspeople. These here are what makes for a fun time for the most part. There isn't much to dislike with this one. Taking the goofiness and low-budget indications into effect which may not be for everyone, the main aspect that feels off here is the supposed backstory involving her friendship with the actress who returns to town. They seem to be quite at odds and somewhat unrealistic to be that kind of friends, especially with her desire to protect the creature so their backstory makes no sense. The other issue here is the somewhat bland and pretty horror-less beginning to this one, as although we get an idea about the residents' nothing much really happens and it takes a while to start letting the crab loose. These are what hold the film back.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

The film poster should be sticked next to "trash" in the dictionary

A small freshwater crustacean mutates into a giant monster crab and attacks a small town! This silly send-up of 1950s sci-fi knows exactly what it is and never takes itself too seriously. The acting and screenplay is amatuerish but everyone appears to be having fun. The mix of low-level CGI and Harryhausen-style stop motion effects works perfectly here. Look... this is not a big budget summer blockbuster like Jurrasic World or Kong Island. It's just a fun little sci-fi creature feature that was made by Brett Piper his crazy friends. Take it for what it is and you'll enjoy it.

This low budget movie about a giant crab keeps to its cheap roots, which is good, but makes the mistake of trying to appease the "hate mongering crowd".

In one respect, this does okay. There's a bit of a fresh approach. The idea itself was well founded, but the group picked the worst writer to pen this story, as if usually the case when too many cooks spoil the broth. The idea that "voting" on the right route and right way and right writer is a guarantee to get the most predictable and stereotypical product one can get.

It actually helps that the actors can't act, but it hurts that they can't do comedy. In fact, they're so bad, that one wonders if they were so distressed and disgusted with the amount of "hate" written into the story, that they purposely didn't try.

And that's the thing. The "hate" is there. The "small town camaraderie motif of golden age sci fi and of the Japanese Godzilla series was a positive and refreshing approach.

Here, it looks like a small group commandeered this into the direction of "no artistry" and "no enjoyment". The "joy" is totally gone from this.

It's a summation of the little things. The contrived death of a man caring enough to try to help a woman, the contrived death of a woman defending her land, the protagonist's sensible ward becoming a sheriff, a position voted upon by people who don't respect "respect".

Overall, a bad movie, but the fact that it doesn't "waste" resources or talent gives it a pass, and it is slightly watchable. It flops against golden age sci fi and Japanese monster movie sci fi, but fares well compared to the totally depressing and horrible sci fi of the 21st century.

Lots of flaws, but for modern sci fi, this is actually a safe pick for viewing. It should have had a better writer.

My main reason for seeing 'Queen Crab' was it being part of my "seeing low budget films out of curiosity" quest. Expectations were conflicted, with the premise being somewhat intriguing if silly and with the potential to be a guilty pleasure. With it not looking particularly good and the low rating, part of me was nervous.

Watching 'Queen Crab' taking all that into account, with conflicted expectations and taking it for what it is, the film certainly could have been far worse and there are definitely worse films out there, of its genre, kind of film and in general. Is it an irredeemably bad film? No. Is it a good film? Not even close. Did understand what 'Queen Crab' was going for, that it seemed to pay homage to 50s creature films and it was clear for it to not take itself seriously, but felt that it didn't execute either very well. And this is coming from someone who gave the film a chance with no intention to dislike it with prejudice, and saw the whole thing.

The effects are not great at all with some awkward movements and cheapness, not blending well often with the environment, but they could have been far worse. While the intention to not take itself too seriously is to be applauded, 'Queen Crab' too often gets on the wrong side of silly absurdity.

Story-wise, it is ridiculous with a lot of draggy pacing, as a result of paper thin, often unevenful and over-stretched story-telling, and clumsy and far from tense or suspenseful action. The acting is a bad mix of overdone and bland, no real standouts while the photography is relatively drab, the ending is far-fetched and the dialogue is cheesy and ham-fisted.

For all those faults, 'Queen Crab' is not a complete mess. The titular creature has a little menace and is not too goofy. The sound isn't too intrusive or too much of a drone.

'Queen Crab' has the odd fun moment, it doesn't confuse and at least it was clear what tone and approach the film was aiming to go for, that cannot be said for a lot of low-budget viewings seen recently.

Overall, very lame with a lot of huge flaws but at least didn't insult my intelligence. 3/10 Bethany Cox