Creature from the Haunted Sea (in color) - Reviewed by axlish
Reviewed By: axlish
Release Date: October 21st, 2008
Directed by: Roger Corman
Released: Legend Films
MOVIE: 2 out of 5 Skulls
TRANSFER: 4 out of 5 Skulls
EXTRAS:.5 out of 5 Skulls
Fidel Castro has just overthrown the government of Cuba and the outgoing government has depleted the national treasury and have split it up and sent it off with a variety of departing citizens. One such group is led by Captain Renzo Capetto, originally of Sicily but now heading anywhere that will have him. Along for the ride are several Cuban soldiers, a Cuban general, a completely off the wall skipper who mostly speaks in genuine sounding animal noises, a high society glamour girl and last but not least, an international spy who is posing as a crew member.
The captain concocts a plan to steal the Cuban gold from under the soldiers and their captain. His plan is basically to create the impression that a sea monster is killing the crew members one by one, until only the captain and his companions remain. The plan starts well until extra people start turning up dead that weren’t killed by him. Something odd is going on so the captain decides to change the plans. Now his idea is to sink the boat, retreat to the nearest island, then dive down and pretend to rescue the treasure but actually just hide it until they can return later that year and retrieve it.
Unfortunately, the Cuban soldiers are expert divers and insist on coming along. The captain decides that he must kill everyone at once and quit beating around the bush. Only one problem, a hulking sea monster shows up and wreaks havoc! What follows are several ridiculous scenes of the monster tossing folks left and right. The captain must now not only kill all of the Cubans, but take care of the monster as well if he intends to get away with the treasure.
Roger Corman is known for his cornball movies from the late fifties and early sixties, and this film certainly fits the mold. There are lots of serious themes at play here such as murder and international espionage and the Cuban revolution, but that doesn’t stop Roger from turning it into a film similar in tone to Beach Blanket Bingo. The characters are all off the wall stereotypes of the era, making light of their perilous situation at every turn. This is really just another silly film exploiting someone in a monster costume chasing people around. With that said, I still had a good time with it and would recommend it to anyone who is into this type of film.
The colorization process is subtle yet well done, with no loud neon greens or purples that often plague this procedure. Of course the black and white version is included as well. Both transfers are beautifully remastered with very little grain or scratches present. The audio is a bit of a downer as many scenes are plagued with poor overdubs that are riddled with hiccups and bumps in the track. The only extras are trailers from Legend Films library of colorized classics.
Slightly Recommended