When I read the plot outline I felt that this was going to be another cheesy B monster flick but I was wrong, this film wasn't bad at all.
The premise starts with a US navy submarine coming into contact with an unknown creature during a routine patrol. A couple of scientists are brought in to help find out what they're dealing with and ultimately how to destroy it.
What I like about the film is that the plot is quite methodological, it shows the steps that the navy and scientists take in identifying, locating and in trying to fight the undersea creature. Everything is given a "scientific" explanation and unlike what you'd expect to see in a modern film of a similar topic, there's nobody championing peace or trying to "understand" this creature. Everybody is on the same side and that is the side of blowing this thing up.
It seems that the makers got quite a bit of help from the navy as there's plenty of footage of real navy ships and this really added to the film. Of course the centerpiece is the create created by Ray Harryhausen and various other special effects. Though by today's standards some of the effects can be considered a bit flimsy, this doesn't take away much from the film and it is overall a fun 80 minutes of monster fantasy.
The premise starts with a US navy submarine coming into contact with an unknown creature during a routine patrol. A couple of scientists are brought in to help find out what they're dealing with and ultimately how to destroy it.
What I like about the film is that the plot is quite methodological, it shows the steps that the navy and scientists take in identifying, locating and in trying to fight the undersea creature. Everything is given a "scientific" explanation and unlike what you'd expect to see in a modern film of a similar topic, there's nobody championing peace or trying to "understand" this creature. Everybody is on the same side and that is the side of blowing this thing up.
It seems that the makers got quite a bit of help from the navy as there's plenty of footage of real navy ships and this really added to the film. Of course the centerpiece is the create created by Ray Harryhausen and various other special effects. Though by today's standards some of the effects can be considered a bit flimsy, this doesn't take away much from the film and it is overall a fun 80 minutes of monster fantasy.
