Time for a
new feature here at the Horror Dude Blog, Friday Fifties. I plan on covering a
cool genre flick from the fabulous decade of the Fifties every Friday. That is
until I run out of movies that I want to watch. Given how many there are I
think that might take a while! Is there a better way to start than a giant bug
movie? Hell might as well kick this off with one of my favorites.
An
announcer tells us of the devastation of Mexico as it suffers from earthquakes
and a volcanic eruptions all while stock footage of disasters play on the
screen. Then we are introduced to a couple of scientists that are heading to do
some research on the volcano and the geology surrounding it. Along the way they
stop at a weird abandoned house and hear noises they can’t explain. They also
find a smashed car, a dead body, and a baby! I’ll let you decide which is
scarier of the three.
After a
detour to a small village to find someone to take the baby they head out to the
volcano. There they meet up with a pretty lady rancher who becomes the love
interest of one of them. I mean it’s the fifties so there is always a love
interest. Not long after giant scorpions attack the cattle and anything else
nearby. The scientists and the lady team up with the military to track the
nocturnal menace back to their nest to destroy them before they journey out
again to kill! After checking out the ecosystem of the cave they blow it up
sealing the scorpions below forever… Or maybe not. Okay clearly the bugs get
out and go on a rampage. This leads to a big showdown at a soccer stadium in
Mexico City where the army, the scientists, and the last of the scorpions duke
it out.
I’ve
always loved this movie. While the story doesn’t break any new ground and
follows the familiar big bug genre pattern it does so perfectly. The characters
are introduced and established quickly. This allows for the action to start
right away. It begins with the creepy sequence at the abandoned house where
they find the baby all alone, things smashed up, and the body clutching an
empty revolver. What was he shooting at and did he hurt it? Who leaves a baby
lying around? Something is up, and this is reinforced by the weird sounds that
finally chase them away towards town. There is a little bit more character
introduction and then the scorpions show up. There is no padding in The Black
Scorpion and it is all good stuff from start to finish.
I've always loved the creature effects in this one. |
The
special effects work might look a bit silly now but for the fifties it is
stellar. We get a combination of puppet for when there is a closeup on the
“face” of the scorpions mixed in with some stop motion for when they are
scurrying around interacting with things. The stop motion includes some really
great model work with trains, cars, and buildings all getting involved. I love
how this looks on screen. There is even some classic rear projection work done
to put our cast in the scene with the monsters. So why is this so amazing?
Might be the fact that the legendary Willis O’Brien did the effects work! You
know the guy who brought King Kong to life in the thirties?
I love
this movie. You should love this movie. If you don’t then you clearly aren’t a
fan of creature features. This is a must watch for fans of the classic black
and white “B” movies. Do a Google search for The Black Scorpion. It can be found
easily and cheaply. Stop reading now and go watch it! Did I mention that I love
this movie?
© Copyright 2018 John Shatzer
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