MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR: Everyone Has to Start Somewhere

MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR (Blu-ray)

1954 / 64 min

From Film Masters

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Film Masters has been restoring and releasing quite a few Blu-ray collections of early Roger Corman productions. Unlike previous ones, the latest isn’t a double feature, but does offer a film of considerable historical importance…

Monster from the Ocean Floor is the first film Corman ever produced. It’s pretty silly and slapdash, but hey, everybody has to start somewhere. If Corman had failed to scrape together the meager funds he needed to throw this together, just think of all the other B-movie bonanzas that would be missing from our lives.

The plot is simple…there’s an octopus-like monster with a glowing white eye lurking off the coast of a Mexican village. The locals are afraid of it, which convinces commercial artist Julie Blair (Anne Kimball) the legend might be true. However, hunky marine biologist/love interest Steve Dunning (Stuart Wade) is skeptical, at least until he motors around the cove in his one-man submarine (which is prominently featured throughout the movie because Corman got to borrow it from the builders in exchange for an on-screen credit).

When light bulbs attack.

The beast kills a few people, of course. An unfortunate cow also meets an untimely demise, but not before Julie hilariously encounters it on the beach and runs away, screaming her head off. While that scene alone is worth the price of admission, the monster itself is kind of a neat creation, though more cute than scary. The climax pitting it against Submarine Steve is a hoot.

Monster from the Ocean Floor is definitely lower-tier sci-fi horror, but fairly well assembled for the budget. It’s also been given a pretty decent facelift here, and as usual, Film Masters includes a smattering of entertaining bonus features offering some historical context. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Bob Baker: From Monsters to Marionettes is a charming look back at the legendary puppeteer, who created the monster for this film; Roger Corman: Becoming a B-Movie Maker is an archival interview with Corman, who fondly recalls his humble beginnings.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Tom Weaver., with some commentary by Roger Corman.

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET - With photos and an essay by Tom Weaver.

STILL GALLERY

TRAILER