JoeB131 By the time 1957 rolled around, Hollywood was just plain running out of things that looked scary under a microscope that could be made into a monster if irradiated by Plot-onium. (you see what I did there?) Other people having used Ants, Spiders, Praying Mantises the only thing they really had left to go with were snails. Yup. Snails. But they avoid using the term snails because frankly, who can be afraid of something served at French Restaurants? SO they called them Mollusks instead.So the plot is that radiation has gotten into the Salton Sea, and made these snails into people eating giants. There is one particular scene where a snail kills a diver I remember from creature features back in the 1970's...But mostly, this follows the 1950's formula. Something is mysteriously killing people and the Military and Science have to team up to stop it, because this was back in the day when we still trusted the Military and Science implicitly.The problem is that this movie moves so slowly with the typical stock characters we've seen in other movies who have all the dimension of cardboard.

lemon_magic My scale for movies sometimes is affected by issues such as whether the movie has aged well/how well it holds up, how good it is ranked against other movies in its genre and time, and whether the movie gives me any excuse at all to enjoy it.On that scale, "Monster" isn't quite the classic as "Them!", but compares favorably to "Tarantula" (with Leo Carrol), and it beats the heck out of almost everything Corman and his studio has ever directed or produced.Sure, it's a little cheesy in spots, the lead role is pure cardboard (leavened with a bit of humanity here and there, and this is really how an official for "Navy Intelligence" might act)...and some of the other acting may leave something to be desired, but the director knows how to keep things moving, actors like Hans Conried manage to deliver a metric ton of exposition without faltering or dragging the movie down, the women are cute and adorable, the men are stalwart and heroic, and the scenario is an interesting one.The title turns out to be a bit of a misnomer, since the original monster is dispatched rather easily, but his brothers and descendants turn out to be the real problem, and I quite enjoyed some scenes that might have been boring and stupid in the hands of a lesser crew.Unjustly overlooked, seemingly forgotten, but worth your time to watch if you enjoy this sort of thing.

vfx3 I remember seeing this film years and years ago on TV, and remember thinking it lacking. However, seeing it recently, on a DVD from MGM with a gorgeous print and sound, I must say it's one of the best Sci-Fi monster flicks from the fifties. Director Laven runs a taught ship, and there are some great scares worthy of Lewton and Hitchcock. Also impressed with Ted Haworth and Augie Lohman's monster creation (which actually evoked some sympathy in me!) and the impressive music score by Heinz Roemheld. The actors do a very commendable job (even former Cowboy actor Holt), and pros like Dalton, Conried, Selby, and Adams do their best. Well-written script, with just the right amount of humor and science.

Tom van der Esch The monster that challenged the world! You can tell from the title alone that this is a very cheesy B&W monster movie. You will probably assume that it has a clunky story, boring characters, lame monster design and very cheap effects.Well, yes and no. This movie isn't as bad as I first thought it would be. It has that classic charm from most movies of it's time.Let's break down the elements of the film one by one.To explain the story in a nutshell, it's about a giant mollusk-type creature emerging from a lake after an earthquake, terrorizing the countryside. It's up to a handful of people to stop this creature.The acting: it was quite good actually. It's always a little tricky to act 'serious' when you face a giant fabricated monster, but they did a nice job in this movie. I didn't find any major inconsistencies in the plot or dialogs, which is nice. There are of course always some scenes in a movie like this that look pretty bad, but there weren't many in this film. In overall, I couldn't really complain about the characters.What is there to say about the music? It's just a classic, standard score that fits a movie like this just fine.The monster is quite original for a change. Sure, nowadays it may look silly or even unbelievably cheesy, but you got to have an open mind for films like these. I thought the monster was well-done and actually looks a little intimidating in some scenes. Not bad guys.What else is there worth mentioning? Well, if I have to name one point of critique, it would have to be the underwater scenes. A lot of shots are re-used and sometimes it doesn't look very realistic. Maybe it was done on purpose, but it just looks a bit messy.The monster that challenged the world is really not that bad. If you are a fan of B&W monster movies, then this one is a must for your collection. 7 out of 10 stars!