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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mama, Don't Let Your Collies Grow Up To Wear Shrew Suits!, May 19, 2004
This is an oldie but goodie. It is standard black and white drive-in silliness about scientists on a remote island who have created 'giant killer shrews' that have more than a passing resemblance to collies with bad toupees. This movies stars James Best and Ken Curtis (you've seen them in westerns, including 'Gunsmoke') as well as Ingrid Goude (Miss Universe Sweden 1956) as the daughter of the principal nutty scientist of the Shrew Island Nature Preserve. Shrews are the smallest of the insectivores, and world wide there are approximately 314 species, of which 'Giant Killer Shrew' is not one. All shrews have short legs, and a long snout. They also have beady little eyes and are primarily insectivores. Shrews are voracious eaters and are easily prone to starvation, so at least in this one area the movie has it right: in the words of Captain Thorne Sherman (James Best) "it looks like a small rat, and smells like a skunk." I couldn't have said it better. Enough of the biology lesson, back to the film... In this film Captain Sherman and his unlucky sidekick find Shrew Island while hiding out from a hurricane. They are convinced to stay by the sultry Ingrid Goude, who speaks mysteriously with a Swedish accent despite her father evidently being a Texan. Once nightfall arrives everyone is trapped in the compound as the 300 killer shrews try to get in. Somehow the hurricane affects them, and they are starving, too, so pandemonium breaks out. (The science of the movie is a bit hazy about all this.) Turns out that the shrews in question have deadly poisonous saliva, so even a scratch from a shrew tooth is fatal! They also can dig through walls, scale fences, climb trees, open doors, steal shoes, and do algebra. OK, they can't do algebra, but they can do amazing things to get at their captive audience. The survivors eventually construct a 'tank' of 55 gallon drums and wade to the boat unperturbed once in the water, because this species of shrew (unlike the other 314) can't swim. Lucky for them! This is a great film of the genre. It is quick (69 minutes) and fun from start to finish. It was once riffed by the MST3K folks, but I have not seen that version in quite some time, though I recall it being a fun episode. This one is a step back to the monster movies of yesteryear, and it feels great to watch!
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DVD ~ Ken Clark
DVD ~ Jason Evers
DVD ~ Phillip Barry
DVD ~ Kenneth Tobey
DVD ~ Don Sullivan
