"The Giant Gila Monster," "Attack of the Giant Leeches," and, of course, "The Killer Shrews." Yep...the horror films we find on YouTube in the public domain. Cheesy and almost funny...still these films are better than anything George Clooney or Kevin Costner have done over the past 30 years. These public domain horror films are endearing. I'm not sure if 1968's "Curse of the Swamp Creature" is a public domain film...but it looks it...albeit, with a little less glitter. Directed by Larry Buchanan, "Curse of the Swamp Creature" is our feature today...and...it's IN COLOR!!!
Dr. Trent (Jeff Alexander) is a mad scientist secreted in a compound deep in the Florida swamps. He is trying to tamper with evolution, as most of us are. Still, his failures are piling up, and fed to his alligators. He is creating a fish-man. A human who grows gills and webbed hands so it can live in the water or land. He has a hot wife, Pat (Francine York). He keeps his hot wife locked in a room, as many of us do. Then one day, Barry (John Agar), an oil engineer arrives with his team. Barry is a dolt and clueless. He'll sleep through most of the danger...all the danger, actually. He'll constantly turn the other way when anything weird happens...and when the sultry Pat asks him to help her escape...he goes to sleep.
Along with Barry is Brenda (Shirley McLine). She is a lounge-skank. Barry thinks she is the wife of another oil engineer. Yep...Barry is easy to fool, when he's awake. Both Pat and Brenda will try to come on to him...he just rolls over and goes to sleep. Dr. Trent needs another specimen to turn into an aqua-man. He skips over the narcoleptic Barry and goes right to Brenda. Poor Brenda...you think Barry is going to save her? Meanwhile, Pat is moved from a room to a closet...do you think Barry will save her? No! He's asleep. Now Dr. Trent succeeds, and a horrendous monstrosity comes out of his laboratory tank...and it's pissed off.
Will Barry wake up if the swamp creature tries to make a move on him? Will anyone let Pat out of the closet, or is this a good place for her? Will we see an epic battle between the swamp creature and Dr. Trent's pet alligators? However inspiring and heroic you may think you are, most of your friends see you as a Barry figure...so learn to like this film. For some public domain scares, and an endearing sleep-aholic, see "Curse of the Swamp Creature." In all fairness, Francine York does give us some nice cheesecake here.
The squids and other boneless swimmers are super intelligent, with brains distributed around their body, they know how to make a gal moan!!
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