The Crater Lake Monster

Deep in an old mine, an archaeological team makes a groundbreaking discovery. Then, by some serendipitous happenstance, a meteor strikes in nearby Crater Lake! Later, as fate would have it, THE CRATER LAKE MONSTER emerges, hunting for human snacks. When the local hillbilly population starts to dip, Sheriff Steve Hanson (Richard Cardella) is on the case.

Packed with non-actors delivering their lines with enough wood to build a barn, and "comedy" so unfunny it may cause brain hemorrhaging, this movie is a true blunder to behold! Then, it gets "serious", with a dramatic side story, and that's even worse!

One particular day-for-night scene has the "actors" point out how lovely the stars look, while the sun blazes down. There was absolutely no attempt to make it seem any darker than noon! There are several such scenes, made especially hilarious when someone uses a flashlight to illuminate something -already well lit- in plain sight!

The only thing worth watching is the monster itself, as it's a fairly decent stop-motion creation. No, it's not as good as Ray Harryhausen would have done, but it's still better than anything else in this shambles!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: #1- The ludicrous liquor store robbery! #2- The "scientific" explanation for the creature's sudden appearance! #3- The sheriff's sideburns! #4- The fun-filled finale!

A spectacular movie event for the true schlock-o-holic!...

The Crater Lake Monster is a 1970's monster themed b-movie but alas not one of the better ones.

It tells the story of a meteor that awakens something ancient beneath a lake which proceeds to chomp on the locals.

I was drawn to the movie because of the cover art but shortly into the film you'll realise that it's not being entirely honest with you.

The movie itself looks and sounds great, in fact I was stunned to discover that it's as old as 77 so for that it gets a remarkable thumbs up. The SFX however leave a lot to be desired even for it's time. The "Monster" looks like it's straight out of Jason & The Argonauts movie (The original ones) and for that reason it's very hard to take seriously.

One stand out part of this film is a couple of comedy characters who actually make the film somewhat watchable to a degree. I actually laughed but was frustrated that even the dreadful finale had to screw that up.

With more plot holes than you can shake a stick at this should have been better but poor writing and laughable sfx ruined it.

The Good:

Some oddly good comedy

Looks ahead of its time

The Bad:

SFX are unintentionally funny

Cover is deceptive

Weak finale

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Bray Wyatt has come a long way

Stars are easier to see during the day

Dying underwater will cause your blood to teleport onto your boat

This movie is a great Drive-Inn 70's Sci-Fi / Thriller I know most people give it bad comments though. Since it was supposed to take place at Crater Lake instead because of the low budget limitation it was filmed in California at some land formed lake up there. Anyway the lake is dark, murky & a good bit of it leaves behind that creepiness image & feel that Loch Ness gives you. Not the greatest acting but I guess good enough for this type of B-Drive Inn Sci-Fi Film. What makes this movie so great u ask? Any fan of Stop-Motion Animation knows of the great David Allen who followed in the footsteps of the stop-motion legends Willis O'Brien & Ray Harryhausen. He was inspired by them in the early 1950's as a young boy he saw some of their films on television. The Plesiosaurus which is a prehistoric water reptile from the Dinosaur ages that has a long neck razor sharp teeth & four flippers with a tail. It can walk on land as well. The attack scenes depicted in this film handled by Dave Allen using Stop-Motion Animation. Then some scenes in the water had like a fabricated head made for some of the close up water attack shots & a few other shots in the film. The Loch Ness Horror (1982) also has a Plesiosaurus in it which is supposed to be what Nessie is the nickname of The Legendary Loch Ness Monster of Scotland. Same with the lake monster that's in Lake Champlain in Upstate New York. Champ is the nickname & that is America's Loch Ness Monster. Back to Crater The Stop-Motion Animation in this film is some of the best Animation I have ever seen. This is one of his early efforts not to mention also. Equinox from 1970 was his first big break & that film earned a huge Cult following by Sci-Fi, Horror & Fantasy Film Buffs like myself. I also just got that 2 Disc DVD Special Edition Set from Criterion Collection I have checked some of it out awesome stuff. I can't wait to watch both versions of the films this weekend with the extras on Disc 2. Anyway back to Crater Lake Dave was assisted by Jim Danforth & Randall William Cook two other great Stop-Motion Animators Danforth that was focusing on more matte painting on Films at that time since Stop-Motion was becoming obsolete. His last film he did in which he did all the animation on was When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth (1970). Which he earned an Oscar for Best Visual Effects in America & that is a British made film. He started Matte Painting on that film as well while still doing Stop-Motion also. But Equinox he only does Matte Painting & most of the films after Equinox too. He does some assistant animation occasionally & other animation though. Jim Danforth he loves animation he thinks it gives that feel & look that CGI doesn't give cause it is too real the same was said by Ray Harryhausen. I agree with them both I prefer Stop-Motion Animation over CGI myself. Dave Allen's Animation in Crater like steals the show it is what makes the film worth watching. Otherwise if there was no great Stop-Motion either done by Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, Pete Peterson, Jim Danforth, David Allen, Randall William Cook, Phil Tippet, Jim Aupperle, Doug Beswick, or Dennis Muren which is an exceptional animator the others are the best animators out there. My point is without Dave Allen's Animation or one of the other greats I mentioned which Willis O'Brien passed away in the early 60's so he couldn't do the animation obviously. If u are a huge Stop-Motion Fan like me then u will really enjoy this movie. Other then that stay away I guess unless u are a fan of Drive-Inn B Sci-Fi Films with great special effects & low grade everything else. It is one of my favorite 70's Sci-Fi Flicks anyway.

The heat of a meteor crashing into the lake incubates a prehistoric egg, which grows into a plesiosaur-like monster that terrifies the community and eats those daring enough to go into the lake, like a couple on a honey moon, a felon, and a mild-mannered fisher-man. Granted, the acting is bad (even though actor Mark Siegel went on to have a great effects career at Industrial Light and Magic)and the poor sound and picture quality of the crown international VHS (I just bought my copy of this film on DVD, much better video quality!), and the irritating flaws (How can that chick see "stars" in the middle of the day? How come a cop is driving over a course of 6 MONTHS to get to a dinner?), but despite the poor continuity and plot holes, I must admit that I did enjoy this film. The stop-motion special effects for the dinosaur are excellent, the suspense is adequate, the characters are quit funny, (unintentionally, most of the time) and it was pretty fun to watch and poke at the flaws.......enjoy!

We have a lake. We have an animated meteor crashing. We have a killer stop-motion dinosaur with flippers. Okay, so let's call this movie THE CRATER LAKE MONSTER. What else can we add? Hmm, two idiots called Arnie & Mitch to define the ultimate definition of "comic relief". We also got to have a sheriff who doesn't really do a damn thing in this film and whom nobody listens to. Aw crap, we're over halfway through the movie and we forgot to insert a bad guy! No worries, let's introduce some guy with a moustache, have him rob a store to indicate he's a bad guy, then have him pop up somewhere near the lake, have him chased through the woods and all this for the sole purpose of him ending up as dinosaur snack food. That should work.

A complete, clumsy mess, this film. Its logic will twist your mind to force laughter out of you. The first film to feature Dave Allen as a "stop motion supervisor". After this one, he joined forces with Charles Band for several years until the the mid-nineties, when Band ran out of money to pay him, I guess. The dinosaur effects are charming and the whole film is pretty damn unintentionally funny. Unfortunately, that's about the only good thing that can be said for it.

Good Badness? Yes. The mind-bending logic in the narrative should be enough reason for that. If not, Arnie & Mitch will do the trick. 3/10 and 8/10