Monster of Piedras Blancas

Director - Irvin Berwick (Malibu High, Hitch Hike to Hell)
Starring - Les Tremayne (Adventures of the Gummi Bears, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo), Forrest Lewis (The Munsters, Son of Flubber), and John Harmon (Microwave Massacre, The Unholy Rollers)
Release Date - 1959
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The field that walks lover's beach"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

 

   I love living in the era that I do.  I love the technological advancements we currently have and I love the giant steps we are making for social injustices but I do wish I had lived during the drive-in era.  Watching all those copy cat invasion films, creature features, and so on.  One of the hundreds of monster I had always heard about but never had the opportunity to watch is the 1959 film Monster of Piedras Blancas.  The film was released by Olive Films sometime ago on blu.  I requested a review copy and was told I would get it but when it failed to show I broke down and bought a copy just because I had always wanted to check it out.

     The film follows a sleepy coastal town that is now plagued with a series of murders.  One of the locals believes that it is the legend of the monster of Piedras Blancas which involves a murderous sea creature that inhabited the land before it was settled.  When he is murdered the locals start investigating and learn that the monster is real and the lighthouse caretaker had been keeping him at bay with meat scraps.  When he failed to feed the beast it goes on a bloody rampage killing everyone it comes in contact with.
     I wasn't expecting a lot from the film but I was looking forward to some cheesy monster fun.  For the most part, the film delivers on the cheese and camp I was looking for but it was a bit of a slow burn.  The acting for this one is very out of place at times and over sold at others.  I felt like I was watching a film consisting of a cast made up of 80s professional wrestlers.  They over sold certain scenes and underplayed the important ones.  I would honestly say this was due to direction but it only added to the monster movie charm.  The story for this one is very simple, straight forward, and campy.  The film doesn't try to stand out from the crowd but deliver the same monster movie tale told over and over again with a new monster.  The creature feature was in full effect by 1959 and they only wanted to cash in on the fad.  The story does get stale at times but the overall all delivery is still entertaining.  Finally, the film is not a bloody bath most would expect from a monster movie.  The creature looks horrible but that is what makes this film so much fun.  We do get a death scene here and there but they are boring for the most part with very cheap effects.  Overall, Monster of Piedras Blancas is a drive-in classic.  If you can't watch the movie in a drive-in setting then it is perfect to watch with friends with some booze and maybe a fully packed bongs.  Check it out.