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".

The monster had a striking resemblance to the Creature from the Black Lagoon, which was a much better picture with great cinematography. To make a correction: the substance used to kill them was sodium, not sodium chloride. Sodium burns on contact with water. It's a soft metal, not a powder, so it would take a lot to kill them. But why not just use flame throwers or some other flame source? The music by the Del Aires was really corny. I did a search and found nothing relating to them. Did they ever put out a record? You wonder where they plugged in their amplifiers on the beach. And how were the canisters of toxic material so easily broken open? I wonder what became of the actors. I don't recognize a single name from the cast.

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".

Schlockmeister Del Tenney shot most of this Grade Z monster romp on a beach in Stamford, Conn., although the story apparently is set in southern California. Sun worshippers of varying ages are being done in by some mysterious creature from the sea (in this case, Long Island Sound). The monster was created by radioactive waste. In short order, there are two monsters and eventually many. A kindly old scientist races against time to figure out how to kill the critters, which are you basic men in rubber suits. The monsters are so slow-moving, it's amazing they manage to catch anybody. In one scene, a woman runs directly into the arms of one of them, and it still has trouble holding her. Badly acted by what appears to be some New York-based actors and lots of extras, and it's not the least bit scary. The fun part is to observe the early '60s hairdos and outfits. Some of the guys sport tiny, tight bathing shorts and wiggle and gyrate like they are participating in a gay parade. The girls' bikinis for the most part appear to be bra tops and diapers. A Beach Boys-type group wails its way through a half-dozen terrible songs throughout. As for the monsters, they have googly eyes and what appears to be a bunch of Hummel hot dogs wedged in their large, perpetually open moths, the better to drink human blood, I guess. Watch it for its camp value.

It's hard to hate a film that creeped me out for years! made me leery of dark forests and deep water forever. I know it is drekk but it's definitely good drekk.What startled me at the time was how fast it got to the point. Beach scenes, spilled radiation barrels,the monster created,and gets its first victim a few minutes later with blood gushing everywhere.Then a few dull minutes of talk,then the classic slumber party scene!20 girls laughing,singing,and having pillow fight not knowing the things from hell are creeping outside!The attack is surprisingly gory,with shots of bloodied bodies all over the room.definitely get the 79 minute version,not the edited tv version.