Customer Reviews

Creature from the Haunted Sea

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This movie has it all! Sexy women, violence, secret agents, lost treasure, and a monster. What more could any viewer want? Or deserve?

The narrater of the film is also the secret agent of the movie. You think James Bond had cool stuff? Well this dude doesn't need Q. He makes his own stuff. He has a radio made of frankfurters and pickles! His insight is deeper than the sea itself. "The sun was beginning to set. I could tell because it was getting dark". That's observationm at it's finest. I'm glad he's on our side!

OK the movie is about escaping Cuba with a strongbox full of gold from the Cuban treasury. The crooks are trying to double-cross the Cubans as they escape. They try to scare the Cubans with stories of a monster, but there is a real monster!!!

The characters in this movie are entertaining and draw you in like a fish on the line. The head crook thinks he is Humprhey Bogart filming a remake of Key Largo. His main squeeze is a stacked blonde with enough sass for five golddiggers. There is another dude who communicates in animal sounds only, and another henchman talks somewhere between Popeye and Froggy from 'Our Gang'.

Now for the monster. He is an indescribable horror! Large bulging eyes (that resemble ping pong balls), giant claws for hands (Which resemble yard rakes from Sears Robuck), a huge mouth full of razor sharp teeth (the mouth cannot move or close), and a huge shaggy body (which resembles a cross between a fur coat and a guile suit worn by a US Marine Corps sniper). Simply horrifying.

This movie must be watched at least 10 times to fully appreciate it. You will see something different every time.

The first time I saw this film was when I was 13 or so on a late night horror movie show in the mid sixties, I thought it was just a really dumb movie, but I liked it, I thought it was just someone trying to make a serious horror film that just turned out funny. When I saw the film for sale on DVD I just had to buy it, just to see if my boyhood memory of the film was true what I found was a film that must have been planed to be funny or at least I hope so, as a fan of really campie movies I have to rate The Creature from the Haunted Sea right up there with Plan 9 and other dumb movies, call me weird but I just like it its good for a giggle.

CREATURE FROM HAUNTED SEA isn't so bad when you consider that Roger Corman made it along with two other movies (The Last Woman On Earth, and Battle Of Blood Island) almost simultaneously in Puerta Rico! The casts are interchanchable. The storylines of the three couldn't be any more different from each other! CFHS is a silly, semi-interesting spy / monster flick with what resembles a pop-eyed, rubber-gloved christmas tree as the monster! Need I say more? I like it enough to watch it every once in a while. Check it out...

This zany little Roger Corman quickie turned up frequently on a local TV station's late, late, late show many years ago. Thinking "Creature from the Haunted Sea" was just another lousy low grade horror flick, I barely noticed it even as it flickered on the TV screen that I used, more often than not, as a night light.

But I did catch a scene in which a couple of skin-divers descended into the sea, and when I saw that one of them carried a toilet plunger, I silently mused a thoughtful "Hmm," and made a mental note to pay attention the next time it aired.

"Creature from the Haunted Sea" is a satire of adventure films as delightfully daffy as Corman's "Little Shop of Horrors," but with a more subtle approach. It's not a knee-slapper, but it is amusing, and well cast. There's Anthony Carbone doing a fiendishly silly homage to Humphrey Bogart, and future screenwriter Robert Towne as the earnest young hero. You even get a title song, a love theme containing the complete title, sung by the leading lady, Betsy Jones Moreland.

This is a movie that is probably best seen unexpectedly in the wee hours of an uneventful night. By morning, you may think it was just a silly dream.

"Creature From the Haunted Sea" was a Roger Corman improvised monster cheapie made as an afterthought while he was in Puerto Rico after he shot "Battle of Blood Island" and "Last Woman on Earth" (which is why "Last Woman on Earth" features the same cast as "Creature From the Haunted Sea"). The results are a choppy mess that defines the monster-musical-spy-comedy-spoof genre for the 1960's. I had to watch this one in multiple sittings despite the very short running time.

The film opens to the sonorous tune of flatulent woodwinds and silly animation. In disguise, secret agents XK-120 and XK-150 (who also provides the film's attempt at continuity via his incoherent narration) meet in a bar. Agent XK-120 has a decoder ring, and the plot quickly delves into the Cuban revolution (while the soundtrack sounds as if Gene Krupa had invaded Cuba) and a plot to loot the Cuban treasury. After a subplot about sharpened garden rakes, the Cubans give the bulk of their treasury to trustworthy American mobsters led by Antony Carbone as Renzo Capetto. Ponder. Fortunately XK-150 is on the case to tell us what's happening, although it still makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. XK-150 also keeps the loyal Cuban resistance informed by making a radio out of hot dogs and dill pickles. I am not joking. The Cuba stuff is just awful.

Where will the film go from there, you may well ask. The principal cast gets on a boat from Cuba, and the journey takes days: it's 198 miles from Miami to Havana. To the tune of lots of schizophrenic xylophone music, Pete, a gangster, does animal impressions (his favorite is the Himalayan yak), Cuban comic relief General Tostada becomes a target of many hilarious translating errors, and (finally) there is a murder onboard, which is quickly blamed on the rake monster.

The beauty of the movie, though, is there really is a rake monster, which is a creature of staggering comic proportions, complete with ping pong ball eyes. He immediately targets the boat, which sets a course for monster avoidance. The Cuba plot and sea monster plot do not go together like peanut butter and chocolate; they're more like battery acid and lye. As the sea monster plot eclipses the Cuban revolution plot, the film officially becomes a train wreck.

Onboard the boat the General wants to go to Caracas, the mandatory wily female, Mary-Belle, wants to go to Cannes, someone else wants to go to Bali, Indonesia, and Renzo wants to go to San Juan. XK-150 reports that they are going to Bali, and recommends an intercept in the Panama canal, whereupon the Cuban Coast Guard pursues the boat to get their gold back. This chase gives rise to the most painful scene of the film, when tone deaf Mary-Belle belts out a tune that is really and truly one of the worst songs I have ever heard anywhere. The Coast Guard intercept also gives rise to an unfortunate gunfight, and an even more unfortunate fish fight.

The crime boss conjures a very obscure plan involving running the ship aground, and then capsizing it (?), so he hypnotizes the animal husbandry expert to help execute the plan. Unfortunately, despite all the careful planning, the boat collides with the monster and they try to abandon ship right there: you know, where the monster is. XK-150 takes this all in stride and compares it with some time he spent on Lake Minnetonka. Fortunately the cast boards a lifeboat and alights on an abandoned island near San Juan, whereupon an extremely complex plan for hiding the gold unfolds.

After the most painful collect call in screen history, the cast busies themselves with island habitation. Pete finds his Puerto Rican love connection, and their mating ritual is something you do not want anything to do with. The male cast members end up with Puerto Rican women thanks to a matronly matchmaker named Porcina and her daughter Mango: it helps for the matchmaking bit if you know some elementary Spanish. It doesn't make it any better, but it makes it more comprehensible.

It becomes a race to dive on the boat for the gold: Cuban frogmen are diving the wreck. Renzo dives the wreck, finds the strongbox; at the same time the monster finds him, therefore, the monster has found the strongbox. (Question: why are they diving with both spears and toilet plungers? Follow up: what does the monster want with the gold?) In a foreshadowing of "Jaws", the monster takes Mango underwater, and the movie ends with an annoying monster-infested screamfest that is sure to annoy. I'm pretty tolerant of bad movies, but the plot resolution here is too much to take: it is both confusing and stupid.

I love B-movies of all eras and genres, but this is one of the toughest I have ever sat through. I have endured most of the Corman catalog, and believe this to be his worst film ever, and that's saying something. From the terrible and incoherent narration ("It was dusk. I could tell because the sun was going down."), to the ridiculous monster, to the brainless script, awful acting, relentless soundtrack, and inept secret agent, this was a turkey of enormous proportions.

Legend Films presents "CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA" (June 1961) (63 mins) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- now in COLOR and Glorious Black and White --- If you like campy B-rated movies this one does not disappoint --- It is filled with many "what the ...." moments that keep you entertained in this otherwise slow flick including a musical interlude, a convenient pay phone, and tourist savvy natives --- Not to mention Sigmund the sea monster's older "green trash" cousin and the most lethal toilet plunger in history --- All in all one of the best campy films I have yet found - recommend with lots of friends and beverages

Under the production staff of:
Roger Corman - Director / Producer
Monte Hellman - Director
Susan Olney - Producer
Barry Sandrew - Producer
Charles B. Griffith - Screenwriter
Jacques Marquette - Cinematographer
Fred Katz - Composer (Music Score)
Angela Scellars - Editor
Jane Huizenga - Production Designer
David D. Martin - Technical Director

Story line and plot, is a monster movie concerning a Government Agent (Robert Towne) is chasing gangster Renzo Capeto (Anthony Carbone),a mobster likeness to Bogart who along with his fiancée (Betsy Jones Moreland) and underlings are aboard ship with a group of exiled Cubans --- Renzo schemes a plot to invent a mythical sea monster to eliminate the Cubans and steal the national treasure --- The film is a horror comedy blending parody, humor and suspense.The comedy has some moments here and there --- Clearly this film was never meant to be taken as seriously as some seem to take it --- The biggest flaw with it however is it's too slow-moving...it takes forever before we get any kind of resolution --- The highly entertaining rampage of the Monster at the end does make up for somewhat for the slow opening half --- But once again I recommend this only for Corman staunchest fans.

the cast includes:
Antony Carbone ... Renzo Capetto
Betsy Jones-Moreland ... Mary-Belle Monahan
Robert Towne ... Sparks Moran / Agent XK150 / Narrator (as Edward Wain)
Beach Dickerson ... Petet Peterson Jr.
Robert Bean ... Happy Jack Monahan (Mary-Belle's brother)
Esther Sandoval
Sonia Noemí González ... Mango Perez
Edmundo Rivera Álvarez ... Gen. Tostada
Terry Nevin
Elisio López
Tanner Hunt
Blanquita Romero
Armando Rowra

BIOS:
1. Roger Corman (Director)
Date of Birth: 5 April 1926 - Detroit, Michigan
Date of Death: Still Living

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Legend Films Trailers

The complete print was restored and colorized by Legend Films, using the latest technology --- Although the Legend Films release was advertised under its reissue title, both the color and black and white prints featured the original title and opening credits --- Legend Films can restore, colorize and release many of the classic earliest black and white films --- a patented coloring and remastering process makes each film picture perfect plus more vivd than ever --- no one can resist collecting every title that Legend Films releases.

Hats off and thanks to Barry B. Sandrew Ph.D. (Founder, COO & CTO) and his Legend Films Staff --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage era of the '20s, '30s & '40s --- order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Legend Films where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector.

Total Time: 63 mins on DVD ~ Legend Films. ~ (10/21/2008)

In Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters from the 1960's , writer Charles B. Griffiths (who penned Creature from the Haunted Sea ) admitted that the monster in this movie cost 50 bucks. It consisted, he said , of a fur coat, some ping pong balls for eyes, and garden claws for hands.

If you watch it in this shrugging context, and go in with lowered expectations ( that is, just to have fun ) this movie is an example of what Corman and his team did best at this time. Movies that second-billed on a drive in while you were trying to retrieve a jordan almond from the back of your date's throat.

Its not the best or worst example of the lot (and the beginning shots of cubans photographed in heavy shadow almost ALWAYS puts me to sleep), but what the heck. You laugh, throw popcorn at the screen and remember what 'scary movies' were like in an earlier, less graphic time.

What do American gangsters, Cuban refugees and imaginary sea-monsters have in common? How about an approximately $0 production budget, an utter lack of direction and some of the worst acting ever to grace the silver screen?

Creature from the Haunted Sea is yet another B-movie triumph adopted by the fans over at Legend Films (I suspect that Mike Nelson's presence there has an influence). Like the responsible and doting parents that they are, they've applied their trademarked nurturing to Creature, cleaning up the existing black and white version of the film and imbuing it with full color for the first time in its nearly fifty year history.

Can't decide between sticking with the classic black and white or experimenting with this new color version? You don't have to, because both are included on the same disc--for essentially the same money as other black and white only DVDs (at the time of this review).

Again, know what you're getting into: this is a comically dumb movie. A popcorn movie. Crack open a beer and enjoy it with your college buds!

Made as an afterthought on the trip back from some other shoot (a fairly typical Corman occurrence), CFHS is probably much too weird even for most fringe types who like Corman's other stuff to accept.
The setting is the Cuban Revolution, and Corman educates viewers on the conflict not with stock footage of some other war as Ed Wood might have done, but with Addams-style cartoons. The film's opening scenes are sharp- if easy- satire, relating a chase and the introductory meeting between the movie's nominal hero Sparks Moran and a female co-spy. Sparks is played by future Oscar-winning screenwriter Robert Towne, who brings to mind Nicolas Cage's head on Alan Alda's body, and underplays his idiotic secret agent admirably. We learn that a chest of gold has been stolen from Cuba's treasury, and Moran is infiltrating the group of militants and mobsters who are trying to sail away with it.
They get on a sailing boat, and the mobsters plan to kill off the Cuban army members one-by-one, using a made-up creature as their cover. But a real monster shows up, and they have to alter their plans.
Some of the best comedy is in this section, as we meet a crewman capable of making animal noises, hear more of Moran's noodlehead pontificating, and when the mobster's moll sings a number without stopping during a machine gun shootout. I'm not aware of another filmmaker besides Corman working in satire like this by 1960.
But then their ship crashes on some reefs and they seek refuge on an (almost) deserted isle. The movie slows down and gets repetitive here, and additional scenes were shot to pad out its running time for TV. These are of a comedic level with Ma and Pa Kettle at Waikiki or even the abysmal Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, as two crew members meet tropical ladies they fall in love with. Whereas the earlier sections were silly but (I daresay) ahead of their time, the hijinx in this portion you've mostly seen before. By the time the monster shows up and starts killing people again, the damage is done.
A few funny deadpan wisecracks are spread throughout, of the kind that might make Clouseau seem like Einstein: "It was coming on dusk. I knew because the sun was going down." But the movie dies a death far worse than the monster could ever inflict in its middle portion.
One step down from Little Shop of Horrors, a step-and-a-half from Bucket of Blood, if this flick would've stayed on the boat or Cuba and avoided the reefs altogether, it might have surpassed them both.
Quality note: I took 1 star off this otherwise 3-star flick for the poor quality. This dvd skipped all over the place in Chapters 1 and 2 of 4, so you may wish to try another version. But probably none of them are going to be wonderful. Alas, it's public-domain Corman, after all. Caveat Emptor.

Before all you cheesy horror film buffs blast me for trashing this movie I would like to point out that I love old cheesy horror films. I own hundreds of them and I have been watching this stuff for well over 40 years. I usually know what to expect and I have a deep affection for these movies. 'Creature from the Haunted Sea' has a interesting sounding premise, but it is just so bad in all areas, acting, pacing, editing, silly sub plots and of course a ridiculous looking monster. The narrative is soooooo boring with no flavor at all to the voice over, it plays like one of those old school documentaries that you used to fall asleep to in grade school!

The monster which we hardly get to see(and for good reason!)is one of the stupidest looking creatures of all time. It looks like a cross between a turd with ping pong ball eyes and a very abused muppet(think Cookie Monster being flushed down a toilet)! I have no idea what version is the best, but I have seen this on the 50 pack horror set and one of the single editions with little difference in quality. I give it 2 stars because it does have some funny moments, but really.... this is almost total trash. For "hardcor(man)e" fans only.