MegaMonsterMonth #5 - The Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957). With Spoilers From The Bottom Of The Sea.

"Attack of the Crab Monsters was the most successful of all the early AIP horror movies. I have to admit the title had a lot to do with the picture's success, but the plotline was the real secret. You always had the feeling when watching this movie that something, anything was about to happen. I think this construction, plus the fact that the creature was big and ugly, won over the audience." - Roger Corman

Synopsis

On a remote island in the South Pacific a joint military-scientific team is investigating the effects of H-bomb testing on nearby Bikini Atoll on local wildlife. They are the second team to be sent to the island, the first one having disappeared without a trace. It turns out that the radiation has caused local crabs to mutate, growing to enormous size. They also absorb the minds of those they kill, making the extremely intelligent. They are slowly destroying the island, as a prelude to, in the words of one of the crabs, attacking "the world of men." As our heroes are killed off, they come up with a plan to kill the crabs before their insidious evil can spread.

Analysis

Let's get the one worst part of this movie out of the way; the crab monster (only one was created even though there are multiple crabs in the films). It looks silly, like a big, mostly immobile paper-mache mockup on a dolly cart. The worst design decision was to give it a face. While this was supposed to make the crabs look vaguely (very vaguely) human, it really looks like it is half asleep, with droopy eye-lids.

Other than that, this is a solid B-movie. The cast does a nice job, particularly a pre-Gilligan's Island Russel Johnson as the no-nonsense hero and Pamela Duncan as a token lady scientist. The script has some nice touches, particularly the idea that the entire atomic structure of the crab monsters (and other mutants mentioned, but not seen) has changed, creating a new sort of matter. It really is just techno-babble, but it adds to the sense that in the Atomic Age, the things were are creating (even if inadvertently) are growing beyond our ability to control or even understand them.

Having an intelligent monster was a great idea, one that sets the movie apart from its contemporaries. In addition to creating a threat with a motivation beyond "crush city, eat people, repeat" it also leads to some inspired weirdness, such as having the crabs able to speak in the voices of those they have eaten.

Within the limitations of the budget, the movie manages to provide some suspenseful moments. With only five locations (a house, the beach, a cave system, an aquarium used for underwater scenes and a generic outdoors area) Corman does his best to keep moving between them and to avoid using too many static shots. The film is also pretty gruesome with a rather graphic decapitation and a hand being torn off during a cave-in.

Some of the dialogue is stilted and there is a half-hearted love triangle between Johnson, Duncan and Richard Garland. There are some significant plot holes. And, of course, the titular monster looks like an iconic representation of every cheesy special effect in every low-budget movie. But overall, it's a fun, fast-paced film that tells a decent story and does so in a way that makes the most of limited resources.

Notes

Legendary low-budget effects artists and monster maker Paul Blaisdal turned down Corman's offer to make the giant crab due to inadequate effects funds. Given that most of the films he worked on seemed to be made for spare change, this is saying something.

Verdict

What makes one B-movie worth seeing and another not? That's hard to say. In many cases, on a purely objective level, there is little to distinguish them from one another. Most have casts of c-list actors or former stars heading into obscurity. Effects are often rudimentary, hampered by a lack of time, money and expertise. Cinematography is often limited to master shots and production time is short, with little time for retakes. But some have that special something that others don't.

In the case of Attack of the Crab Monsters that something is its pace, the story, which, while not perfect, is engaging, and the overall quality (taking into account how little time and money Corman had). And, let's not forget that it has a charming goofiness about it. The monsters may look dumb, the actors may be stilted, the plot holes may be big and numerous, but as a whole, the movie is entertaining and a good example of how to make a successful, low-budget film. Definitely check it out.