Queen Crab

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.

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

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

Way to go Tubi! What a brilliant creature feature!

Girl with awful parents befriends freshwater crab who strokes her hand with her (it's a girl crab!) mandible and thus an unbreakable bond is established between the two.

A bond that will dictate the girl's entire life and the crab's own life right into "adulthood".

Every creature feature convention trope is broken in this brave little flick, even though the special effects such as they are are cartoonish apart from those scenes towards the end lit by a phosphorescent full moon. Brilliant mood setter.

You can tell which idiots in the movie will meet their just ends at the crab's mandibles. You can also tell which characters are going to be positive and support the unlikely friendship between the girl and her pet with an exoskeleton. It's so sweetly rewarding that the morons die. I've NEVER forgiven Spielberg for killing off Eddie in Jurassic Park II, The Lost World.

The movie is rich in so much subtext: parents suck, some people don't deserve to be parents, freaks bond, girls bond, science is the only way to deal with freaks, quiet natural scenery can harbour unseen wonder and terror...and the ending just what I emotionally wanted to happen.

A 50s B grade SciFi flick with a difference. Parody with a heart of gold. Just loved the freshness of its themes.

That's good because a garbage plate is a Rochester New York dish. It has a low budget, super cheesy, and good for what it is. I had no problem with this 1950's type of cheese fest. Other horror movie with the same budget takes themselves way to serious.