Movie Reviews: The Black Scorpion
When a volcano erupts in Mexico, a pair of geologists head out to investigate. They soon discover a destroyed house and a wrecked police car. Heading on to a nearby village, the pair learn that villagers have been disappearing and livestock is being killed. The culprits are soon revealed to be giant prehistoric scorpions that ere released when the volcano erupted. Although the cave in which the scorpions had their lair is sealed off, the biggest is left remaining and make sits way to Mexico City for a final showdown.
At a risk of repeating myself, I have to say that the draw of these movies for me is never the compelling human drama. I'm only here for the giant monsters going on the rampage. The special effects might not have been by Ray Harryhausen this time, but they were done by his old mentor Willis O'Brien of King Kong fame.
However, the stop-motion effects are often intercut with close-ups of a model scorpion that looks downright goofy. The model is more likely to cause a laugh rather than a scream.
These movies usually have an annoying child whose only purpose is to get themselves in danger and this movie is no exception. Our two geologist heroes head down into the scorpion cavern to investigate, so of course the annoying kid sneaks along with them. It goes just as well as you think. Thankfully, the kid disappears from the movie as soon as the action switches to Mexico City.
It was a pleasant change to see a natural occurrence be responsible for unleashing the monster instead of nasty old radiation getting the blame. Well, either that or the dangers of science. You know what I mean. These old movies usually blame scientists messing with things that should not be messed with.
Those of you that have been reading my movie reviews for a while now will know that I am a sucker for old monster movies. However, most of these movies have involved giant reptiles having been mutated or awakened by radiation. I hadn't actually gotten around to watching any of the movies involving giant creepy-crawlies until now. You'll be glad to hear that I am planning on watching more giant bug movies soon, so watch out for reviews of Them! and Tarantula in coming weeks. As always, I am open to hearing any suggestions of good bug movies that are worth watching.
Three pointy hats.
Next time: Popstar- Never Stop Never Stopping
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